Above the city, the gale screamed.
In the vast blue sky, shattered clouds slowly dissipated.
Superman stood tall, his cape billowing behind him, snapping in the wind like a hunting banner.
Before him, the Super Skrull—his body genetically modified to mimic Earth's greatest superheroes—stared downward in stunned silence.
Beneath him lay a massive crater where molten magma pooled, and at its center, the charred remains of his fallen comrade. A wave of unprecedented despair rose in his chest.
How could this be?
The Hulk copy—one of their most powerful creations—had been obliterated effortlessly.
Even Carter, the mastermind behind the Super Skrull team, found his confidence shaken. His expression stiffened, a rare flicker of panic settling in.
Among his creations, the Hulk clone was second in strength only to himself. Yet against Superman, that power meant nothing.
The battle had lasted mere seconds.
In that brief span of time, Hulk had been completely overpowered. He hadn't even had the chance to struggle.
Too strong!
The Earth—just a remote planet in the vast universe—should never have birthed such a terrifying force.
A Kryptonian!
One thought echoed in Carter's mind.
Where was Krypton?
A species this powerful couldn't possibly be obscure, yet no records in galactic history mentioned them. It was as if this monstrous race had appeared out of thin air.
Fortunately, according to all known data, Krypton had been destroyed. As far as the universe was concerned, only Superman remained.
If more Kryptonians existed, the universe itself would become their playground.
The thought barely had time to settle.
BOOM!
Carter snapped back to reality. Now was not the time for distractions.
As his senses returned, he saw Superman once more—an immovable mountain blocking his path, an obstacle impossible to overcome. The arrogance he had felt just moments ago had vanished, replaced by a tension that gripped his entire being.
Meanwhile, across the city—both in person and through screens—millions of humans watched in breathless anticipation.
Then, Superman moved.
From the moment he arrived, he had barely taken a step. Though he'd already annihilated several powerful enemies, he had remained still, standing impassively as they threw themselves at him.
But no one believed he was incapable of action.
It was clear: Superman, the unshakable force, the savior of humanity, had been allowing his foes to attack—letting them break themselves against his power.
Like the Superman of legend, the hero of film and story, he was here to destroy those who dared threaten Earth.
He had not moved because he did not need to move.
His stillness had been a weapon, a psychological war meant to crush their confidence before the real battle even began.
And now, he moved.
Whoosh!
Superman vanished.
No eye could follow his motion.
No one needed to.
Because everyone knew exactly what he was doing.
"No… NO!"
One of the Super Skrulls screamed in horror.
"He's coming!"
Boom!
The words weren't even finished.
A copy of Daredevil—a companion of the speaker—was struck by Superman's fist.
The unlucky Daredevil replica took the blow head-on. A thick mist of blood burst from his body as he crumpled like a rag doll, plummeting from the sky like a meteor. He crashed into the molten crater Superman had created with his heat vision. Waves of searing heat erupted, swallowing him whole.
He made no sound.
Before the remaining Super Skrulls could even react, Superman vanished once more.
"We're doomed…"
"Run!"
"He's a monster! RUN!"
One by one, the Super Skrulls broke. Fear gripped them, pushing them past the brink of collapse.
Even though each of them possessed extraordinary abilities, they had completely lost their fighting spirit. Superman wasn't an opponent—they now understood he was an unstoppable force.
Whoosh!
A searing beam of heat vision lanced through the air.
Another Super Skrull melted instantly.
Panic.
Despair.
Under immense pressure, the Super Skrull squad crumbled, scattering in all directions.
At that moment, they forgot the mission they had sworn to complete—the revival of the Skrull Empire.
Or rather, knowing the outcome was certain death, knowing that the future was a void of darkness without a shred of hope, who could continue fighting?
There would always be someone.
Carter.
But, unfortunately for him, none of his so-called allies shared his resolve.
"Cowards!"
As Carter watched his comrades scatter in terror, fury exploded in his chest.
His eyes burned with rage. Golden energy flared around him, surging outward like a raging storm.
Boom!
He raised his hand and unleashed a devastating beam of golden energy, a blast powerful enough to vaporize nearly anything in its path.
Boom!
Superman's heat vision met it head-on.
The two energy blasts collided, creating a vacuum zone in the air.
Ripples—visible to the naked eye—spread outward like waves across a lake, consuming the city in their wake.
Millions of people watched in stunned silence through their screens.
They could barely comprehend what they were seeing.
Could beings of such power truly exist in this universe?
And yet, their attention was focused on one man.
Superman.
At last, they understood why he had inherited the title from the movies.
The God of the World.
A name well deserved.
Whoosh!
The clash ended.
Superman disappeared from Carter's sight.
Carter's eyes widened, straining, burning—but even with all his enhanced perception, he couldn't track Superman's movements. All he could see was a streak of blue, a faint blur, darting through the sky like a blade slicing through air.
And then—death.
Superman wasn't engaging Carter.
He was eliminating the rest of the Super Skrulls first.
His actions were deliberate. His purpose, crystal clear.
Carter was already dead—Superman had simply chosen to save him for last.
He wanted Carter to watch.
To witness the total annihilation of his people.
To understand, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Skrull Empire would never rise again.
Superman wasn't just killing them.
He was breaking their spirit.
Of course, he wasn't worried about Carter lashing out in desperation—trying to destroy New York in a last act of defiance.
For one, the Justice League was watching. They were far from helpless.
And more importantly—Superman himself wasn't about to give Carter a chance.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
In midair, Superman moved like a specter of death.
One by one, the Super Skrulls fell.
Each obliterated in an instant.
Minutes passed.
And across the world, countless eyes remained locked on their screens, watching the massacre in stunned silence.
The Super Skrulls—beings who had stolen the powers of Earth's mightiest heroes—were nothing before Superman.
No resistance. No struggle.
They were little more than cattle, waiting for the slaughter.
The battle had shifted the moment Superman appeared.
His strength had shattered every expectation, every belief, leaving only awe in its place.
At this point, no one else mattered.
Even if Batman himself stepped onto the battlefield, no one would look away.
Superman had become something beyond a hero, beyond a warrior.
He had become a myth.
A legend.
A force of nature.
And under the crushing weight of that realization, the world could do nothing but watch.
Unforgettable.
For a lifetime.
….
patreon.com/Vks_sh