The night sky crackled with tension, the embers of battle still smoldering in the ruins of the Hall of Justice. Superman hovered above the rebels, his cape like a banner of war, his presence as unshakable as a god.
But this time, he wasn't just here to fight.
He was here to be understood.
Superman looked down at Batman—at Bruce. His oldest friend, his greatest opponent. The man who refused to break.
"I never stole freedom," Superman said, his voice echoing across the battlefield. "I removed poverty."
The rebels flinched—not at his power, but at his words.
Superman's eyes burned, not with heat vision, but with the weight of the truth.
He gestured to the city beyond, the towering skyline of a world without suffering.
"Look around you, Bruce. There is no starvation. No homeless children begging for scraps. No warlords slaughtering the innocent for power."
He extended a hand, almost pleading. "I have ended human suffering. Permanently."
Batman remained silent.
Superman's voice hardened. "Tell me, Bruce—who stands beside you?"
The rebels stiffened. Superman's eyes scanned the crowd. "Not a single civilian. Not a single person who once suffered under the old world."
He pointed at them. "Every single person here is either a superhero or someone who was already rich before I changed the world."
Silence.
Superman's gaze locked onto Bruce. "Tell me, can you deny it?"
Batman's fists clenched, but he said nothing.
Superman's voice dropped lower, sharper.
"Every person here fights for one thing—capitalism. You don't fight for freedom, Bruce."
He gestured at Lex Luthor, standing further back, hidden in the shadows.
"You fight because the rich want their wealth back."
The words hit like a hammer.
Some of the rebels shifted uncomfortably. Green Arrow, once a billionaire, avoided Superman's gaze. Black Canary frowned, considering his words. Even Flash, who had always been hesitant about this war, hesitated.
Batman's voice was calm but firm. "And what happens when someone disagrees with you, Clark?"
Superman's eyes darkened. "They challenge me. They fight. And they lose."
Batman took a slow step forward. "And what happens to them after?"
Superman hesitated. For the first time, a flicker of something else passed through his face.
Batman pressed harder. "They don't just lose, Clark. They disappear."
Superman did not deny it.
But before he could answer—
The trap was sprung.
Batman's hand clenched a hidden trigger.
From the shadows, a burst of red energy exploded toward Superman—an electromagnetic pulse weapon designed to disrupt even Kryptonian physiology.
A last trick. A desperate gambit.
For a fraction of a second, Superman staggered. His body flickered, his energy surging wildly as the EMP pulse interfered with his Kryptonian bio-electric field.
That was all the rebels needed.
Batman's voice cut through the comms."Now!"
Green Lantern's ring blazed to life. Captain Atom surged forward, nuclear energy crackling at his fingertips. The final battle had begun.
To Be Continued…