14: Metamorphosis

14: Metamorphosis

March 16, 2007.

In the end, Daniel had bought some stocks from Stark Industries, which almost put him in the red. He had been spending a lot lately and would soon have to find ways to start making money legitimately.

"Will I have to dust off my degree?"

He had never expected to have to practice his profession again, and certainly it wouldn't be as easy now that he had to obtain his certification again.

Fortunately, these were just idle thoughts. With his plans in motion, he wouldn't really have to get that job, or any kind of job.

If he really needed it, he would just go diving for a few hours in search of some treasure or something like that.

For now, that building in the distance seemed to be emitting too much smoke. Without hesitation, he hurried towards it.

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"The fire was quickly controlled by Defiant, authorities still unaware of its origin, but thanks to the hero's swift intervention, there are no casualties, and material damage is also kept to a minimum"

Carol watched the images broadcasted on the news from her cellphone, chewing her lunch with interest. She saw Daniel exhaling icy air, easily extinguishing the fire, and wondered how he did it.

Although he had taught her a lot during the past few days, it seemed he had skipped this part; she would have to ask him later.

"Things seem to be going quite well, don't they?" Chloe's voice caught Carol's attention, who turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.

Chloe pointed at the images on the phone.

"You know, it's been months since he appeared, and so far, everything seems fine. I just wonder how long it will last"

That made Carol furrow her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

Chloe looked at her while taking a sip of water.

"A lot of people on the internet have been placing bets on when the first villain will appear or something like that. Many believe that since a comic book hero appeared in real life, it's likely there'll be someone or something like him to oppose him, like a supervillain or a monster."

Carol rolled her eyes; she wanted to tell Chloe that this wasn't a comic, that monsters didn't just appear out of nowhere in real life.

But before she could say anything, Chloe kept talking.

"I think it'll happen, sooner or later, something will go wrong. You know, this isn't a utopia. I like heroes like everyone else, but if we're realistic, for every yin, there's a yang. The question is, where is that yang? What motivations will it have? Will it be another person with superpowers? Or something else?"

Chloe began theorizing non-stop; as an aspiring journalist, extraordinary cases had always been her favorite. It's why she spent her time searching for and compiling data on Smallville's mysteries.

Carol shook her head; monster or villain, it didn't matter; Daniel would take care of them.

She had faith in that.

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Malibu, California.

In Tony Stark's mansion.

The man himself chewed on a slice of pizza as he watched the recent images broadcasted by the news.

"Joule-Thomson effect. He has superhuman lung capacity, but how can he have such control over air pressure in his lungs?" Tony wasn't a doctor or a biologist; his specialty was machines and everything related to them. Nevertheless, he had recently been studying a lot about anatomy.

How could a living organism have such capabilities? He didn't know yet, but if he wanted not only to match but surpass it, he had to understand where its limits lay.

Which was easier said than done, but that was the fun part; if things were too easy, it wouldn't be worth it.

With this new discovery, Tony pondered on how to counteract or match it. He glanced at the designs he had been working on; most of the projections in front of him were discarded. He kept the basics of what he had already started and began anew.

"I'll need a different alloy, something to help counteract the low temperatures..."

Thinking about it, he remembered a satellite he had designed not too long ago.

"That will do"

Ideas began to flow into his mind; it seemed he would be busy for a while longer.

"All right, Jarvis, prepare more coffee; it looks like we won't be sleeping tonight"

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His skin twisted, his stomach growled, he could feel his bones breaking and rejoining.

Something was different, something was changing.

Greg groaned in pain as he writhed in his bed; he was hungry, so hungry.

"Greg! Where are you, you damn brat! The principal just called me because you're not in class!"

The door to his room was forcefully opened; the resounding thud as it hit the wall echoed in his ears. Bright green eyes snapped open forcefully, black veins covering his sclera.

He swallowed, the scent of fresh meat filling his nostrils.

"Listen to me very well, young man—" his mother's voice was cut off when he stood up, horror beginning to fill her face as she looked at him. Before a piercing scream could escape her mouth, her neck was firmly gripped.

The 17-year-old teenager effortlessly lifted his mother's chubby body into the air.

Despite the pain, despite the hunger, Greg felt better than ever, much better.

His body was changing, something inside him had awakened, he could feel it, writhing under his skin, flooding his bloodstream, coursing through every inch of his body.

It was a metamorphosis.

His mouth opened; what were once human teeth had transformed into sharp fangs. There was no thought, only instinct; with a single bite, his mother's head was separated from her body with a crunch.

Blood dripped, bathing the floor of the room. Unable to stop himself, he kept chewing; bite by bite, the body disappeared, leaving only a red stain on the floor.

Greg licked the blood from his lips, feeling his body flooded with warmth, feeling his strength increase, his veins pulsating with bright green energy.

"Hahaha!" he laughed uproariously; he had never felt so good.

He clenched his fist, raised his arm, and watched as the muscles bulged.

He had changed; he was something different, something superior.

Remembering how all of this happened, he couldn't help but growl, the sound of his voice reverberating through the silent house like the screech of a thousand insects.

He would make Whitney beg; he would make him suffer. He would kill him, and then Lana would be his, only his.

Whether she liked it or not.

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Classes had come to an end. Chloe stretched, closed her notebook, and began packing her things.

The bell continued ringing for a few more seconds before stopping; everyone started leaving in a hurry, many stumbling over each other.

Chloe chuckled at them; boys, always in a rush.

"So, will you help me?" Chloe's question was directed at Carol, who was also leisurely gathering her belongings beside her.

While they were in class, Chloe had mentioned to Carol about a lead she had. Smallville had always been full of strange mysteries, and mostly people didn't care about them. Chloe thought differently; as an aspiring journalist, she believed it was her duty to inform people with the truth, whether a mystery was real or false. It was her duty to investigate and report.

Carol didn't know how to politely decline; she had been helping Chloe since they were kids, often getting her out of trouble and assisting her without her realizing it. They were friends, best friends, and spending time together had always been fun.

But that time had passed; Carol had more important things to do now.

For a long time, she had always followed Chloe because she never had much to do on her own, there was no purpose or anything to occupy her time. Not until now; now she had responsibilities. She had promised Daniel that she would keep an eye on Metropolis whenever she had time.

She wasn't obligated to do it; she could simply spend an hour patrolling, and that would be enough. But she felt that would be inadequate; she hadn't been training so hard just to casually stroll through the city and go home afterward.

She felt that would disappoint him, that for some reason, he would think less of her that way.

Maybe it wasn't as altruistic a reason as the classic comic book heroes had, but then again, it all started with the simple desire to use her powers freely.

"I don't know, Chloe, I might have something to do"

Chloe stayed still; surprise couldn't be hidden from her face as she looked at Carol, staring at her without blinking.

She had known this girl all her life; she never had anything to do. Suspicions began to fill her mind along with dozens of questions.

The curiosity rooted in her soul ignited; after all, she was an aspiring journalist, being nosy and gossipy were just some of her traits.

She touched her chin thoughtfully as she approached Carol more than she should have.

Carol took a step back, her expression darkening.

"What's wrong?"

"hmmm"

Chloe half-closed her eyes, sighed, and then smiled.

"Never mind, if you're busy, it's okay. Anyway, it's not something that requires much help"

While being nosy was one of her traits, Carol was her friend. If she wanted to tell her about something important, she would. So, she didn't give it much thought for now.

Soon, they exited the classroom. Walking through the school hallways was routine, although they would soon bid farewell to them; this was their last year, graduation was approaching, along with the final exams.

They soon approached the main door; Carol furrowed her brows, her nose wrinkled. There was a strange smell in the air, she looked toward the entrance, the smell coming from outside the school.

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In the school parking lot, Whitney laughed with his friends, his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

Everyone seemed happier; the boys looked at each other as if they knew something the others didn't, and the girls simply caught the good mood.

"We'll have the tryouts soon. If we get great results, those sports scholarships will be ours."

The tryouts were a senior year game where several representatives and famous talent scouts would attend. It was their only chance to excel, and all the members of the school's football team had been preparing for this for months.

Whitney was excited yet worried; he smiled along with the others, but he couldn't help the doubts creeping into his mind.

This was his chance, the path that would take him out of this town, the road to greatness.

As he thought about his future, a shiver ran down his spine as a strange smell reached his nose. He wasn't the only one who noticed it; his friends and even his girlfriend wrinkled their noses in disgust.

"Where the hell is that smell coming from?" one of his friends covered his nose with clear annoyance, looked around, and noticed a strange figure, covered by a black hoodie, standing not far from them.

"Hey, asshole! Go home and take a damn bath, you stink!" Everyone turned to look in the direction of the shout; it was clear that the smell was coming from there once they became aware of it.

Whitney frowned; the figure was somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar. It was tall, even taller than him, even though it seemed to be hunched with its head down, the hoodie barely fitting, as if it were forced against its body.

It seemed like someone you didn't want to mess with, but none of those present were afraid; they were several and they were athletes, picking on others was their thing, not the other way around.

"You didn't hear me?!" Being ignored, Whitney's friend became furious. He walked with firm steps to the strange figure and looked him in the face; then his angry expression gave way to a confused one, which soon changed to one of shock, with fear and bewilderment beginning to appear in his eyes.

"You—" Before he could say more, a hand shot out at great speed, grabbing him by the neck and lifting his 1.8-meter body as if it weighed nothing.

The boy began to choke, making strange noises as he was strangled.

"What the hell!" Whitney and his friends were alarmed and began to hurry, but before they could do anything, a disgusting crunch was heard.

The boy's neck, who had been captured, seemed to have broken; his body stopped struggling, becoming motionless.

People around looked at the scene in astonishment; students began to walk away, some simply stood in their places not knowing what to do, and there were others who had not yet realized what was happening.

The figure shook its hand, and the body flew easily dozens of meters, crashing against a car, denting the metal with its body and causing the car to overturn.

The girls screamed, the boys stepped back, and people watched with wide eyes the clear display of strength this time no one could ignore what was happening.

"It's good to meet again" the deep voice accompanied by a buzzing sent chills down the spines of everyone present.

Greg took off the hood, causing screams of fear and shock to flood the place. Black veins pulsating with green light and cracks in his skin oozing black blood could be seen on his face; his eyes, with a completely black sclera, had turned green, but not a normal green, but a sickly one.

Perhaps the most terrifying thing was the large amount of red blood covering his jaw and mouth, dripping as if it were still fresh.

Whitney's eyes widened; his face paled as he recognized the face in front of him, even with the changes he had undergone.

"Greg?!"

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Carol heard screams, the sound of something hitting heavily against metal, and then more screams. She wanted to run towards the doors, but Chloe was still by her side; she couldn't simply vanish at super speed with her present.

So, she had to run at the speed of ordinary humans. Chloe followed closely, both curious about whatever was happening.

When they reached the door, Carol had to stand in front of Chloe to shield her. A body flew towards them with great force and speed. Carol caught it easily without being affected, but when she looked at the boy in her arms, she couldn't help but immediately let him go.

The corpse, with a huge hole where his heart should be, fell to the ground, staining the place with blood.

Whitney's lifeless eyes stared back at them.

Chloe let out a heart-wrenching scream, falling to the ground. The shock of the scene was hard to digest. Carol, who had never seen a corpse before, stood still, looking at the blood on her hands in confusion.

Then she heard more screams. She hesitated for a moment before acting at super speed and knocking out Chloe. Fortunately, her control of her strength was good enough now. Daniel had taught her how to knock out a person easily, which was very useful for dealing with criminals or, in this case, witnesses who could be a nuisance.

She took Chloe to an empty room and made sure she was comfortable before leaving. She went out through the main door, greeted by pure chaos.

Students ran without stopping. Some had fallen to the ground screaming, and others had been pushed aside so that someone else could run first.

Carol focused her gaze on the center of all the commotion. Several corpses lay scattered around a figure, all brutally murdered in different ways.

Heads torn off, bodies split in half, or pierced.

The sight was disconcerting, but Carol focused her attention on the culprit.

Holding a girl by the hair, whom Carol recognized as Lana Lang, was what could only be described as a monster.

His whole appearance was unpleasant in several ways. Carol, more than anyone, could see it in detail, and that disgusting smell she had been smelling came from him.

Lana screamed, trying to fight, but no matter how hard she tried, the grip on her hair didn't loosen at all.

Greg brought his face close to hers, a long, black tongue coming out of his mouth giving Lana's cheek a long lick, making her scream even more.

"Come on, don't scream. You'll thank me soon"

It was almost time, soon they could be together forever.

Greg smiled, a smile that froze when he felt a hand squeezing his neck tightly.

The grip was like steel pliers tightening around him. His eyes turned only for a pair of burning red irises to meet his gaze. This exchange lasted less than half a second; the next instant, a fist struck Greg's face with such force that a sonic boom followed. Flesh broke, red and black blood mixed with fragments of green flew, just like Greg's body.

Carol held Lana, her hair now shorter than before. She had broken Greg's grip on her by simply cutting her hair quickly with her heat vision.

Lana coughed, blinked confusedly. Everything had happened so quickly that her eyes couldn't register it at all.

"Are you okay?" The question didn't even register properly in her mind due to shock; she just nodded dumbly.

"Go to a safe place" Before she could say anything else, the hands holding her disappeared. She staggered, almost falling to the ground, but managed to stabilize herself.

She blinked even more confused. What the hell had happened?

She looked around; there was no one left, everyone had run away without looking back.

She didn't hesitate and also started to run, tears beginning to fall from her face.

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Carol followed the trail left by the body of the monster she had sent flying with a punch. It had gone beyond the school grounds, breaking several obstacles and reaching the forest.

She looked at the entrance to the forest and the trail of destroyed trees. She was about to enter and continue when an unfamiliar sensation reached her through her arm.

She raised the fist with which she had hit Greg and saw blood stains on it. The red and black didn't matter much, but when she saw the green color, something inside her stirred.

She could see vapor coming out of her fist and her skin turning red. The pain was something new, but unlike when she was hit by Daniel, this felt wrong. She had heard that there were different types of pain, but experiencing it firsthand was always revealing.

From the forest, a roar mixed with screeches and buzzing echoed everywhere. The sound was so unpleasant that Carol had to cover her ears; windows and glass within several kilometers suddenly shattered.

Heavy footsteps were heard, the vegetation shook, and several trees were forcefully moved, torn from their roots.

Greg emerged from the forest looking even more unpleasant than before.

Where Carol had hit him, the skin broke, peeling off his body and revealing a kind of black exoskeleton underneath.

But that wasn't all; the rest of his skin began to bulge and deform as if something inside wanted to get out.

"Who the hell are you?" he roared.

Carol adjusted the hood of her trench coat and the scarf over her face. She wasn't so foolish as to act without at least trying to cover her face.

She would return Chloe's scarf later.

Greg breathed heavily, each exhaled breath sending strong gusts of air that lifted dust, leaves, and debris everywhere.

It was as if he expected an answer, but Carol wasn't someone of many words. She clenched her fists and got into position.

Although she had many questions and doubts, she didn't think about starting a conversation. First, she would hit him, and then she would figure out the rest.

Seeing himself ignored, the primitive fury in Greg grew even more. His already fragmented mind began to visibly deteriorate; his muscles swelled, black veins pulsating with green energy protruding from them. Then he took a step forward.

The ground sank, his body disappeared from his position, leaving only dust in his wake.

She saw his attack coming, although Greg was fast, he wasn't fast enough. She easily dodged the monstrous body, and her fist connected with his stomach. The air exploded, and Greg was instantly sent back into the forest.

Carol prepared to follow him, but suddenly she felt nauseous. She frowned and looked at her fist covered in blood; something was wrong. She quickly shook her hand forcefully, Greg's blood flew off, and her fist seemed to be clean again.

She looked at her knuckles; her skin was red, as if something had irritated or burned it. Vapor was coming out of it, but soon its normal color returned, and the irritating pain disappeared.

His blood was hurting her.

This was an unexpected revelation; she needed to be careful. Quickly, she ventured into the forest; she didn't want to prolong this more than necessary.

Greg writhed; half of his body was buried in the ground, all the skin on his abdomen had broken, and the blood went from mixed colors to predominantly green.

As if it were acid, everything splashed by it began to visibly melt at high speed, creating clouds of vapor around it.

The ground exploded, and Greg freed his body from its burial, growling with anger and pain.

Carol appeared not far from him, watching as his skin broke, his body grew, and pieces of black exoskeleton were gradually revealed.

From the lower part of his back, a scorpion-like tail suddenly grew, swaying behind him. The skin on the tips of his fingers broke, and black claws extended like sharp blades from each one.

On his face, a pair of additional black eyes with green pupils grew, and on his forehead, a pair of long, thin antennas emerged.

Every passing second, he resembled more and more an insect.

Even faster than before, Greg leaped forward, leaving behind a sonic explosion.

Faster than any human could perceive, they moved around each other. Carol dodged every attack effortlessly, then struck, but this time Greg didn't go flying. The exoskeleton on his body made a dull noise when hit, and cracks opened, allowing the green liquid to seep through. Still, his body remained firm, and his deformed hand struck Carol's face.

Claws that could have torn through steel were shattered when faced with something harder than any metal on earth.

Greg screamed and recoiled, looking at his shattered hand.

Carol would have mocked him if she hadn't taken a step back herself. Green blood splattered her face, and vapor began to pour relentlessly from her skin; the scarf on her face mostly melted.

She used the sleeve of her trench coat to wipe her face as best she could. The fabric made of Element V resisted the corrosive effect of the blood, but vapor could still be seen coming from it too.

The screams of pain drew her attention back to her opponent. There she saw blood gushing from the broken limb; then suddenly, the stump swelled, his exoskeleton broke, and grotesque white flesh mixed with green blood shot out. In less than a second, a new hand grew where the previous one had been, replacing the limb with a new one.

Greg observed his new hand with fascination.

Beyond humanity, the pinnacle of evolution, he had transcended.

His stomach growled; primitive hunger began to assail him again. His body was still changing; he hadn't finished evolving yet; he could go even further.

He swallowed, black saliva dripped from his mouth; he needed to eat more.

Controlled by his most primitive instincts, he ran forward without hesitation, towards the nearest source of food.

Carol clicked her tongue at seeing him coming again; her eyes glowed crimson, the heat increased, and a pair of high-temperature beams were fired.

Greg saw the attack coming and barely managed to dodge, but his left arm was hit; the extreme heat easily pierced his exoskeleton, cleanly severing the limb.

The pain didn't stop him; he advanced without hesitation and soon found himself facing Carol again. She didn't stop using her heat vision; she turned her head quickly, cutting through everything in her path like a hot knife through butter.

Still, thanks to the short distance, Greg managed to duck, avoiding the heat rays, and struck forcefully. His claws met against Carol's side, seeking to tear through her body.

But all that happened was that his claws broke upon contact, the exoskeleton shattered, and blood gushed out.

Carol stopped shooting her rays and tried to lean back to dodge the splash.

She barely stepped away, yet found herself covered in green blood.

She grimaced at the burning sensation on her skin. Fortunately, the trench coat protected most of her body, so she didn't suffer as much as she could have if she were only wearing her regular clothes.

She prepared to shoot her heat vision again; her eyes glowed crimson, and the temperature increased. However, unlike before, the rays didn't shoot out of her eyes.

"Wha—?" she blinked, confused.

Before she could seek an answer, Greg pounced on her once again. The arm that was cut off had regrown, and the claws of his other hand had returned to their previous state.

The speed at which his body recovered was beyond possible.

Carol attacked without thinking; all those lessons with Daniel had instilled basic fighting instincts in her body.

She found herself face to face with Greg; her fist shot through the monster's chest cleanly, flesh and organs forcefully expelled.

Carol opened her eyes in surprise; due to haste and panic, she hadn't controlled her strength when hitting, and now it seemed like she had accidentally killed her opponent.

She withdrew her arm from the body and stepped back several paces. Suddenly, she felt dizzy, not enough to lose her balance, but enough to notice it.

She looked at the blood covering her; it shimmered, not from sunlight or its reflection, but because the blood was producing its own light.

Each drop splattered during their brief encounter seemed to glow with its own energy. She looked around; the entire ground where she stood seemed to shimmer in green.

She felt wrong, felt different; it was like she was... ill?

It was a completely unfamiliar and new sensation, and she could only name it because everything she felt now related to the symptoms she had heard humans suffer when they got sick.

She had to get out of here.

She took a step back, but a buzzing that irritated her ears caught her attention.

Greg stood up again; vapor escaped uncontrollably from his chest. Flesh grew back, his exoskeleton repaired, and a bright green heart beat again.

His eyes stared at her, devoid of humanity.

Flesh exploded from his sides; a sudden pair of extra hands grew. His ever-changing body grew larger, doubling his previous size, tearing apart the little skin that once belonged to a human.

Now there was nothing left of that.

Between the separations of his exoskeleton, the green light intensified, pulses of unknown energy flooded the place.

Carol barely managed to cross her hands in front of her.

Greg's fist met her arms; the shockwave sent bursts of air that tore dozens of trees around them. The ground shook, and Carol was thrown hundreds of meters back.

The buzzing of wings flapping at high speed came from all directions. Carol focused her sight, following the blurry figure moving in circles around her.

Wherever it passed, the air exploded, sonic booms filled the place.

Carol suddenly ducked; where her head had been, a hand swiftly passed. Kinetic energy sent bursts of wind that destroyed everything in its path.

In a second, dozens of similar attacks came from all directions. Carol maneuvered through them; he was fast, but not that fast. Still, she felt like something had changed.

Her breath had become heavy, sweat fell from her forehead for some reason.

Was she tired?

That should be impossible, but it was happening, Carol dodged the scorpion-like tail that sought to strike her, then her hand caught it and squeezed tightly, breaking the exoskeleton in her grip.

She dragged Greg to the ground, crashing him with force.

The tail detached, and Carol threw it aside, avoiding the blood.

She thought she would have a moment of respite, but Greg shot out of the crater his body had created, seeming even faster than before. Dragonfly-like wings fluttered on his back, creating a buzzing sound as he passed.

Carol raised her arm to block Greg's charge; her body bent slightly backward, her feet sinking into the ground, and she was forced to retreat several meters.

She looked at her arm; the trench coat had been torn to shreds, and thin red lines had formed on her skin. Greg's claws had cut her.

She didn't have time to register the pain; Greg kept attacking like a frenzied beast, no technique, just primal instincts guiding his body.

He was unpredictable, and Carol found herself forced to be on the defensive more than she'd like.

This time, she didn't try to block any more blows; she simply focused on dodging as best she could, which became increasingly difficult. She didn't know if it was because her enemy was getting stronger or because she was getting weaker.

She had already guessed that the blood was the main problem—no, now it wasn't just the blood; the insect monster pulsed with energy, energy that seemed to make her sick.

If this wasn't happening, she would have ended this fight already.

She clicked her tongue, shaking her head to let one of Greg's fists pass inches from her face.

That was too close; she couldn't continue like this.

Second by second, Carol felt the fight getting harder. She barely dodged a blow, and a long cut appeared on her left shoulder.

Blood sprayed, and Carol screamed; this time the wound was deeper.

"Shit!"

She held her shoulder and couldn't help but breathe heavily. She hadn't gotten used to the pain yet; she could ignore it until now because it was mostly superficial, but this wound was different.

She almost fell to her knees but managed to stay standing. She wasn't going to collapse because of a wound, even if tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

Greg didn't ignore Carol's moment of weakness; he lunged toward her without pause, his four arms striking and sending her flying through the forest.

Her body broke through all obstacles in her path until she forced herself to stop.

Her vision was somewhat blurry; she saw drops of blood falling to the ground and held her head; she was bleeding.

She looked at her palm stained with red and couldn't help but tremble. She had never felt any kind of danger in her life.

Nothing had ever hurt her; nothing had ever frightened her.

Until now. For the first time in her existence, she felt that she could die.

Tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably; feeling real fear for the first time in her life was something she wasn't prepared for.

The fact that her body burned in pain didn't help at all; every passing second felt worse.

Her breathing became erratic; she looked up and saw Greg approaching quickly.

She wouldn't die here; she couldn't, not when her life finally had meaning.

"¡GrrrrZzzzkweeeRrrr!" Greg roared, the sound he emitted was as if a million different insects were chirping and whistling at the same time.

"¡Haaaaahhh!" Carol also screamed, her voice full of rage. Her foot stomped the ground, causing it to sink, and she launched forward at great speed.

The two met in the air; there was an explosion, and the surrounding terrain collapsed.

Carol spat blood; her body flew through the air. She tried to fly, to stay upright to avoid falling, but like her heat vision, her flying ability seemed subdued.

She barely kept herself in the air for half a second before she began to fall again, crashing to the ground and raising a cloud of dust.

She coughed forcefully, clutching her stomach. All the air in her lungs had been forcibly expelled, and she could feel something inside her break, something fracture.

The pain was so agonizing that she fell to her knees on the ground.

A cry of pain escaped her mouth; she began to hyperventilate, writhing on the ground for a brief moment.

Panic began to set in.

She lifted her gaze and saw Greg getting up from where he had fallen; any wounds, any blows he might have received seemed to have disappeared.

Even though green blood covered him.

Time seemed to slow down for Carol; fear, panic, and fear flooded her mind for a brief moment, and all intention of fighting vanished from her mind.

She sidestepped, dodging the attack coming toward her, her mind entering a state of flight.

Without hesitation, she began to run.

Carol might be from space, with powers beyond any human, but at the end of the day, she was just a teenager.

A girl who had never experienced fear, difficulties, or real struggles.

While other kids played, fell, got hurt, and then got back up, she remained the same; she never fell, never got hurt, and that's why she never learned to stand up on her own.

When others got sick, weakened, and lacked strength, she always stayed healthy, always strong, never sick, never weak.

So she never learned to overcome weakness, never learned what it's like to feel at the lowest point and still get up and try.

But now, now it was different; she could feel it in every inch of her body, in every cell that made her up, how power escaped from her, slipping through her fingers without her being able to do anything to stop it.

For the first time in her life, she could feel what all humans have experienced countless times,

Weakness.

She gritted her teeth, feeling the taste of blood in her mouth, the pain in her body, each sensation worse than the last.

She dodged another blow, rolled on the ground, and jumped to avoid being hit; every abrupt movement sent waves of pain through her body, her wounds burned, causing her to grimace involuntarily.

Her mind began to cloud, desperation starting to take root in her, but she managed to keep it at bay.

She tried to use her flight, her heat vision, anything, but her strength had diminished so much that it was as if her powers refused to listen to her.

She clenched her fist, dodged another blow, and countered; there was a sonic boom, then Greg's body went flying dozens of meters, hitting a huge rock in the distance.

But even if she couldn't use her other abilities, she was still strong, but she didn't know if that was enough.

She didn't believe it was enough.

She wasn't going to win this.

So she ran; she knew the monster would get up again, nothing she did, no matter how strong the blow, seemed to work. That thing, that monster, kept getting up, while she kept getting weaker.

The forest turned into a disaster; the fight hadn't lasted more than three minutes, but that short period of time was enough to make the whole place look like a war zone.

Fortunately, they were far from the town; Carol didn't know what she would do if she had to worry about anyone else apart from herself.

Carol dodged, rolled, and jumped; she made every move she could to avoid being hit again, despite her fear, panic, and growing weakness, she never thought of stopping moving.

Because no matter how bad the situation was, how much fear she felt, or how much pain her body suffered,

one thought kept coming to her mind.

Daniel would save her.

From the moment she realized she couldn't win, this thought had been gaining more and more strength in her mind, echoing in her thoughts.

It wasn't a question or a doubt; it was a fact.

She dodged another blow and looked at the insect monster in front of her.

Her ragged breath calmed, her dizzy mind sharpened again, and the panic she had been feeling diminished.

Why had she been so worried?

The confusion she had been experiencing over the whole situation cleared from her mind; she pushed away the dark thoughts, and the fear subsided. Her senses focused again, even if her enemy seemed faster with each passing moment, she still managed to keep up with him.

Weak as she was, she hadn't lost yet.

She took a step to the left, twisted her waist, and crouched down; dozens of attacks attempted to hit her but only managed to graze her.

She had to keep standing because Daniel would save her. He would; that was a fact, there were no doubts in her mind about it, it wasn't hope because hope implied waiting for something that might or might not happen.

For her, it was an absolute certainty. She trusted this fact, this belief, so much that it made her fears completely diminish, her panic vanish, and the pain in her body numb.

She had been panicking for no reason; she wouldn't die here.

She smiled, her white teeth stained with blood, her tears had dried up, and her eyes shone red once more, even if faintly.

Somehow, for a moment, she felt stronger.

She easily dodged another attack and struck back; the black exoskeleton broke, blood splattered, but this time, Carol quickly moved away from it.

Greg didn't retreat despite being wounded again. He kept attacking with ferocity, frantically, and beastly.

But it didn't matter; Carol dodged every attack skillfully, using the minimal amount of movement required. She prevented her wounds from worsening and spent less energy.

Everything around them turned into a whirlwind of destruction, but Carol navigated through it without blinking.

Although her strength decreased every second for a reason she couldn't comprehend, she had already calculated the speed at which it was happening and had begun to adjust her movements accordingly.

Using short and direct movements, focusing on conserving her stamina, preventing her existing wounds from worsening, and not receiving new ones.

She took a step back, twisted her body slightly, and then counterattacked once more.

Her fist struck Greg's face with all the force she still had; his face broke, and his teeth flew out along with his two pairs of eyes.

The monster's neck cracked, and his body fell to the ground, rolling dozens of meters away until it stopped.

He struggled to get up, vapor coming out of his face along with a brighter green light; he was healing once again.

Carol took a deep breath and stood in a comfortable, firm position on her feet.

Daniel would save her, but until that moment came, she had to stay alive.

She had to keep fighting.

After all, how could he save her if she was dead?

Greg lunged at her once again; his face had left behind any semblance of humanity, six eyes stared at her with ravenous hunger, the lower part of his face was replaced by a pair of insectoid mandibles with the rest covered by a sturdier exoskeleton.

Four arms, a tail, and two legs attacked her from all directions; he was fast and agile, unafraid of hurting himself, pure animal instinct guiding each movement.

Carol blocked, dodged, and parried all the attacks as best she could.

Her leg shot out, hitting the monster's side with a precise kick; the exoskeleton cracked, visible fissures on its surface.

She didn't stop; she struck his head again, sending him to the ground. Without giving him time to react, she pounced on him and kept hitting him over and over again.

He tried to push her away, but Carol evaded his attempts and kept hitting him; his tail rose, trying to stab her, but she sidestepped it and grabbed it with both hands.

Then she threw him with force; the monster sailed through the air until hitting a mountainside, creating a huge crater.

The earth exploded; Greg stood up again and flapped his wings, the buzz reverberated through the forest, echoing everywhere.

He launched himself again, ready to keep fighting. Carol saw him approaching, about to raise her guard once more, but before she could, a sonic explosion was heard coming from the sky.

Before Greg could react, a figure sailed through the air at high speed, hitting his back against the ground with such force that his body split in two.

The ground sank, hundreds of meters of earth and rocks forcefully compressed by the impact, creating a small earthquake that was felt throughout smallville

Carol sighed, her shoulders relaxed, and her arms fell to her sides.

She looked at the figure that arrived in front of her in an instant and smiled broadly.

"I'm here" Daniel said, looking her up and down with a furrowed brow.

How had she injured herself like that?

"I know" Carol replied, her body relaxing and the tension in her muscles disappearing. She almost stumbled, but Daniel held her, preventing her from falling to the ground.

"Come on, we need to treat those wounds" he began to adjust his grip on her to carry her, but Carol shook her head and raised her hand towards the crater that Daniel had made upon his arrival.

Daniel turned around and saw a green glow illuminating through the dust.

A dark shadow stood up, its shattered body beginning to rapidly reconstruct itself.

Daniel looked at him interestedly. He had been wandering the streets of Tokyo when Overwatch sent an alert to his cell phone, the one he had modified to use with his identity as Defiant.

He couldn't be everywhere at once, so he prioritized certain places and events, relying on Overwatch. One of those places was Smallville, the town didn't have a large number of officers, but they did have an alert system that recorded all calls and police reports in the area.

Whether it was a minor offense like littering or something as serious as murder, Overwatch kept track of everything and informed Daniel based on the severity, according to the criteria he had imposed.

A mass murder in front of Smallville High School set off all of Overwatch's alarms instantly.

Daniel knew what had happened as soon as students and teachers began frantically calling the authorities.

So he hurried back, but as fast as he was, he was still on the other side of the world and had found out maybe a minute or two after the fact.

He didn't expect such a large battle to have taken place in that short period of time.

What a disaster.

It wasn't the time to think about it; he needed to focus on the main cause of all this. He focused his gaze on his enemy.

He was sure that blow had shattered his body into several pieces, so how was he still alive?

"GrrrrZzzzkweeeRrrr!" the monster roared, emerald light beginning to emit from it in increasing amounts.

"Did you destroy his head?" Daniel's question made Carol look at him confusedly before shaking her head.

"No, I just... pierced his heart" remembering that moment, she couldn't help but furrow her brows in disgust.

"I see" Daniel's figure blurred, leaving only a residual image where he had been before. His body accelerated, arriving in front of Greg in an instant.

The insect monster opened its eyes in disbelief, its pupils shrinking, and its instincts screaming at it to run.

But before it could do so, a gloved fist covered its vision.

The fist struck with great force, the exoskeleton resisting for a brief moment before shattering into pieces in the next instant, green blood splattering along with flesh and brain matter.

The over three-meter-tall body trembled for a moment before falling like a puppet with its strings cut.

Daniel waited for a moment; there were different types of super-regeneration, those that needed a core and those that didn't.

The former, though troublesome, still had a clear weakness; the latter was more complicated. Perhaps only a trip to the sun could guarantee dealing with types like those.

Fortunately, it seemed he had hit the mark this time. The body convulsed for a few more seconds before staying still, the green glow in its body beginning to fade.

He felt a bit disappointed; Daniel had expected a more challenging fight. Although thinking about it, maybe someone else had the fight. Looking around, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the scene; the place looked like a battlefield ravaged by a typhoon.

Cleaning this up would be a disaster, but first he needed to help a girl.

He quickly reached Carol's side.

"How did you get hurt like that?" That was the question that puzzled him the most. While the insect monster might have been strong by human standards, Daniel, who had killed it, knew it shouldn't have been a problem for Carol.

Carol shook her head, she was confused too.

"I don't know, it's like being near him made me sick, I—" Carol stumbled over her words, her face paling, and she almost started to vomit.

Now that she wasn't in the middle of a fight, she couldn't continue to ignore the symptoms.

Daniel took her in his arms and flew high into the sky, passing through the clouds and soon beyond the atmosphere.

He let the sun help her; visibly, the wounds on her body began to heal. Carol sighed, relaxing and closing her eyes.

As she regained her strength, Daniel looked towards the earth.

He hadn't expected something like this to happen, much less so close to where he lived. He knew this world wasn't normal, but monsters? He hoped it wouldn't become routine.

He thought about his disadvantages; did this have something to do with them? But maybe this didn't happen because of him; he looked at Carol, maybe this had much more to do with her.

Whatever the answer was, he would find out.

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Note:

The effort to make this chapter was quite exhausting; there were many ideas I wanted to include but, for one reason or another, couldn't combine properly. In reality, I was going to have over ten thousand words, but I had to delete many things, haha. Well, the final result doesn't disgust me, so I think that's enough. What do you think?

I want to thank the people from Ko-fi again. This chapter should have reached you a few hours or even a day before its official release. If you donated to me through Ko-fi and didn't realize the chapter arrived via email, I recommend adding my email to your contacts because that's how I send the chapters in advance.

I hope to find a better method soon.