The Last Daughter of Krypton - Doomsday

North America
~ 3,000 B.C.E. ~
(Not far from present-day Metropolis)​

Metropolis
Present Day​

Outside the entrance to The Daily Planet, street vendors attempted to sell off their wares to anyone that would stop for a moment and look around. For a decent price they could even get fresh fruits and vegetables right off of the delivery truck, though most people settled for buying the produce that already been unloaded onto the sidewalk.

It was like that every morning.

And every morning, just as Kara Kent arrived for work, she was offered a fresh tomato.

"No thank you," the young reporter said with a smile as she tried to push her way through the crowd.

"How bout an orange, huh?"

"I'm good," Kara said before she disappeared into the main lobby of The Planet through the revolving doors. Once inside, she walked over to the elevators and waited to take one up to the bullpen. She'd been working at The Daily Planet now for quite a few years, but since space was limited she was forced to continue working out on the floor. She honestly didn't mind, since it meant she got to sit close to Jason Andrews. They had an interesting relationship, both at work and when they were off the clock, though Kara was hoping things might become a bit more serious between them.

There was so much she wanted to tell him.

Jason? Yeah. Hi. Um... I'm Supergirl.
No. Really.
Look at what I can d-

"Kent! Where's my st-"

"It's on your desk, Chief!" answered Kara.

"Not that one! The one ab-"

"I put it on your desk!" she shouted back.

"You mean you finished typing that already?" Jason asked as he sat down at his station across from her.

"Uh... yeah. I was... working late last night," Kara explained, and her fingers were soon tapping rapidly at her keyboard. She was almost finished writing another report on the VA scandal when Jimmy Olsen came over and placed a cup of hot tea on her desk.

"What are you working on, Double K?”

“A report about the VA. Apparently the Republicans aren’t happy with how Secretary McDonald is handling things.”

“I don't think there are two l’s in McDonald.”

“Huh? Oh. Oops,” Kara said, and she backpedaled to fix her ‘mistake’. “Good catch.”

"Well, you might be the fastest typist working here, but you sure as hell can't spell worth a damn," Jason said, drawing a slight glare from his colleague.

A playful smile was all it took to reestablish peace between the two.

Jimmy knew better than to get in the middle of things, so he stayed quiet until another minute had passed.

“C’mom. There’s got to be something more interesting to write about than that, right?”

“Jimmy, what’s interesting isn’t always what’s important,” Kara replied before saving her latest draft. "It can't all be about Supergirl or Batman or whoever," she added. Olsen simply shrugged his shoulders as he started to play with his camera, and Kara leaned over to the side and ‘accidentally’ knocked over the cup of tea. She apologized profusely and offered to get him a fresh cup. To be honest she just needed an excuse to slip away and stop a news copter from crashing into one of the office buildings downtown. Kara got back to the office a couple of minutes later, and she made sure to put lemon into the tea for Jimmy.

J'onn Jonzz had his arms folded across his chest while he kept watch over the Watchtower's various monitors. Even if it seemed like he wasn't aware of his surroundings, there were very few beings in the universe who could surprise the Martian Manhunter. That didn't stop people like the Flash from trying, however. It was a light day, and Wally was tired of being cooped up in the medical lab.

"You should be resting," J'onn said as the Flash came up behind him.

"Come on. I'd like to see you try being in the same room as Nurse Ratched for more than a couple of minutes."

The Flash shuddered before he looked up at the monitors to see what the rest of the League was up to.

"What's Bats doing?"

"Collecting meteor fragments."

"Oh. Is Wonder Woman..."

"Flash."

"I know, I know. What's Supes up to?"

"She's working."

"Isn't GL supposed to relieve you soon?"

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason. Want to play Brawlin' Bots?"

The Flash waited a moment and then grinned.

"Dibs on the green one."

The Lex Luthor Museum of Natural History​

Lex Luthor's limousine pulled up the museum a little earlier than his subordinates were expecting, but that was just the way he liked to run his operations. And even if he was early, he still demanded answers. Walking into the back offices, Lex's top researchers began painting a picture for him by spreading out numerous photographs of an excavation project that LexCorp had funded.

Even if didn't have anything to do with the alien, Luthor gave the project its due attention.

But his time was precious.

Answers were needed before questions could be asked.

"As you can see, Mr. Luthor, based on the surrounding layers, the object's been buried for approximately five thousand years."

Luthor studied one of the photographs carefully, but he'd already made up his mind. He turned to his personal assistant and told her to have a helicopter ready to take him to the dig.

Recreation Area
Watchtower​

"Bopped your block off!"

"So it would seem," J'onn said.

Once the game was reset, it didn't take very long for the Flash to defeat the Manhunter once again. J'onn seemed to recognize that he was at a disadvantage, but that didn't stop him from playing.

"So how is your ankle?"

"I'll be back up to speed in no time," the Flash said with a bit of pride.

"You need to be more careful," J'onn said quietly.

"I know, I know. But I had to act quickly."

"You always act quickly."

"That all depends on who I'm with," the Flash said as he glanced at a pair of female Justice League members. "Besides, Supergirl had my back."

"You interrupted her dinner date," J'onn reminded him.

"I saw what she was having. I saved her from making a terrible mistake."

When the Flash's attention was once again distracted by Fire and Ice, J'onn took advantage by defeating Wally's bot.

"Bopped your block off."

The Flash started to protest, claiming that he was distracted, but J'onn stood up from the table and pulled out a package of Oreo cookies.

"Next time I get the green one."

Kara Kent had just finished typing up another segment of an article she was writing when she decided to take a break. She sat back in her chair and stretched her arms, then leaned forward and brought up her email account.

Swell. Any more spam and I wouldn't be surprised if vikings started marching in.

Kara started emptying her folder when she caught sight of a message from one of her old classmates.

Smallville.
High School Reunion.

"That came up fast," Kara said.

"What did?" Jason asked as he came over to peek at her screen.

"Class reunion."

"Won't that be fun," he said dryly.

"It could be," she responded. "But it's not for another couple of weeks. Want to be my plus-one?"

"Can't. Perry's got me covering the Wayne Expo. They're supposedly going to unveil a new airliner that'll take people up into space... something I'll never be able to afford on my salary," Jason said.

Being a star reported at The Daily Planet had its perks, but it also had its limitations.

"Can't you just get Supergirl to give you a ride?"

Kara smiled and looked back at her computer screen, but she decided to hold off on an answer for the invitation. She was needed elsewhere at any rate. A fishing boat not far off the coast had run into some trouble, and the police had their hands full dealing with Livewire and an armored car chase.

LexCorp Excavation Site​

Luthor could see his men working hard to unearth the alien object, but he didn't seem to care that they were being pushed to the point of breaking. Workers could always be replaced, and they weren't being paid all that much to begin with. The operation was watched over by Lex's private security, who made sure that no one could enter or leave without Lex's authorization.

It wasn't an illegal operation, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Activists protested outside the gates, but what concerned Luthor the most was the media. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get The Daily Planet to let up on him.

After receiving an update on the excavation, Lex retreated to an office building that overlooked the main dig and poured himself a drink.

He wanted to be there when they dug it out.

The Universe Orb showed many things.

Many possibilities.

Lyla approached the orb, but she remained silent.

The versions had been getting worse.

"What... do you have to show me?"

Metropolis.

A great battle.

Ruin.

Lex could see that something was going wrong with the excavation. His men had assured him, again, that the object would be pulled out within the hour, but no progress could be seen from where he was standing. Not only that, but some of the equipment inside of the mobile office began to beep uncontrollably.

He knew it wasn't an earthquake.

This was something else.

A thick cloud of smoke suddenly burst forth from the main opening of the dig, and several large boulders fell on top of a few workers that were waiting to go in.

Not that that concerned Luthor.

Mercy, having already anticipated what Lex would require after the first sign of trouble, had the helicopter prepped to launch. It had emerged by the time the rotorcraft was well into the air, and even Lex was disturbed at some level by the carnage it wreaked on the poor souls down below. Luthor had been responsible for many hideous creations, but nothing in recent memory could equal what he was seeing now.

His creations had a purpose.

This... thing... seemed to want to destroy everything.

As Lex's helicopter turned towards Metropolis, he watched as the beast turned its aggression on the protestors and reporters that had started running for their lives. Even before the helicopter pulled away he knew that they wouldn't make it. It honestly didn't matter. Lex's mind was already working on other options, and he thought that now would be a perfect time to show off his latest technological achievements.

In a world under constant threat from beings such as Brainiac, Darkseid and even Supergirl, Lex saw himself as the one person that could save humanity.

The world's leaders would rally behind him.

The Monitor Womb
Watchtower​

Hal Jordan had been keeping as close a watch on the screens as he could, and while there had been numerous alerts, none of them really warranted sending out more than a handful of Justice League members. A few "natural" disasters occurred in uninhabitable regions, and more than a few of the crimes that were being committed could be handled by the police.

All-in-all, things were pretty normal.

Almost too normal.

Hal couldn't help but smile when he saw Kara Zor-El battling against Livewire. The self-proclaimed Queen of the Airwaves had put up a decent fight, but she was doomed right from the get-go.

"Well, that's what you g-"

Hal's attention was immediately diverted to one of the other monitors, and he reacted quickly to the alarm by alerting as many active members of the League as he could.

J'onn and The Flash were the first to arrive, and messages went out to the other core members since they were away from the Watchtower. It didn't take long for Batman to call in, and Diana soon followed. Kara, after taking care of Livewire, had just started to fly off towards The Fortress when she got the call, and after receiving a status update from the group she turned around and headed back towards Metropolis.

"We'll be sure to save some of the action for you," Wally said to Supergirl as he, J'onn, and Cyborg were teleported to just outside of the city limits.

"Jeeze," Wally said, and despite his affinity for making the best out of nearly any situation, there was nothing humorous in what he saw. J'onn materialized shortly after Flash arrived, and Cyborg settled down and began scanning the area. Considering the destruction, he wasn't surprised to learn that there weren't any vital signs present.

Wally took a quick look, but it was plain to see which way the creature had gone.

Trees had been completely uprooted.

In addition to human casualties, which were quite high, Wally came across plenty of animals that had suffered similar fates.

"He's not far," J'onn said.

"That didn't sound creepy," Wally responded.

"He's right. My sensors are pic-"

Cyborg looked up just in time to see a tree come barreling towards him.

It wouldn't have been the first time (and probably wouldn't be the last).

Victor rolled to the side to avoid it, and when he got up onto his feet he had already changed one of his arms into a powerful energy cannon. What would have easily vaporized most lesser beings, however, was shrugged off by the creature as it charged at him. The Flash sped over to pull Victor out of the way, and, as Doomsday reached over to grab the speedster, J'onn materialized behind the beast. The Martian Manhunter tightened his fists and landed a solid blow to the creature's back.

The ground broke apart as the creature was beat down into it, but it pushed itself back up as if nothing had ever happened.

The Martian's eyes glowed red.

He attempted to probe the creature's mind, and before he was quickly forced out he caught a brief glimpse of the creature's psyche.

It was certainly fearless.

Mad.

Hungry.

It truly was doom personified.

Unable to assault the creature telepathically, J'onn was forced to rely on his other strengths to halt Doomsday's rampage. In order to keep on the defensive, J'onn's body became intangible as the creature charged at him, but whereas most beings would have slipped right through him, Doomsday somehow managed to wrap his clawed fingers around the Manhunter's neck. Before being taken down, however, J'onn shifted his molecules around so that he could slip from the creature's grasp, reforming behind him once again and then driving both fists into Doomsday's back.

"This is one bad dude," Cyborg said as he attempted to reconfigure one of his weapons to try and pierce the creature's thick skin.

"I know. I don't think I've ever seen anyone grab at J'onn while he was... you know..."

"Intangible?"

"Yeah! That's the word," Wally said.

LexCorp Facility 27​

Lex Luthor immediately disembarked from the helicopter after it had settled down on the rooftop of Facility 27 and walked briskly to an elevator that took him down to the administrative offices. He had a few calls to make, and then he could watch all of his hard work and calculations bear fruit. LexCorp was a successful corporation, but it wasn't at the top.

Not that that was his fault, Lex would tell himself over and over.

He was a giant in the modern world.

Goliath.

And he was constantly confounded by an army of Davids.

Not this time.

Within minutes Lex had been put into direct contact with several high-ranking military officials that had already started preparing themselves for a confrontation in Metropolis. Even with members of the Justice League present, they couldn't afford to take chances.

They had seen, over and over, the destructive capabilities of some of these beings.

Lex, however, assured them that he was in control, and not the JLA.

When it was all over, he'd have secured even more lucrative contracts with the Department of Defense.

Getting rid of one or two of Earth's "heroes" would just be an added bonus for him.

After Lex had finished making his calls, he ordered that the battle suits be sent out to confront the new menace. Ordinarily he didn't like to let his emotions show through, and he really had no cause to celebrate yet, but in the comfort of his own office he couldn't help but grin.

The fight against Doomsday seemed to be going nowhere. J'onn traded quite a few blows with the grey-skinned creature, but Flash and Cyborg seemed to be at an incredible disadvantage. Moving at incredible speeds allowed Wally to really put some weight behind his punches, but Doomsday seemed to take them like it was nothing. And none of the weapons Cyborg tried seemed to do anything other than singe the creatures hairs.

If it even had any.

J'onn caught the creature's arm as it reached out to strike him, and he used his strength and Doomsday's own momentum to throw him to the ground.

The Flash attempted to capitalize on the quick takedown, but Doomsday smashed his fist into the ground and caused it to crack open underneath the speedster's feet.

Wally stumbled and fell, but Cyborg flew in and grabbed him before Doomsday could effectively stomp on him.

J'onn re-engaged the behemoth as soon as he was able to, and traded punch for punch with him.

Once more he demonstrated why he was one of the original seven.

Fighting was not something he truly enjoyed.

Life had so many other pleasures.

But this... this was a fight he needed to fight.

But he knew he wasn't alone.

The Daily Planet​

Kara Zor-El reached Metropolis not long after she'd gotten the alert from the Watchtower, but before heading out to the field she changed clothes and entered The Daily Planet as Kara Kent instead. Not surprisingly, Perry White was furious to find one of his ace reporters coming to the party late. Word of Doomsday's actions had already reached the city.

News traveled fast.

Jason came over the moment Kara was back at her desk, but he was just stopping in to check on her (and playfully gloat) before catching a ride out to get the scoop.

She thought about stopping him.

But he was a reporter... just like she was.

It was his job to go after the story.

Just like it was hers.

But she had to be there in a much different capacity.

She had another responsibility to the people of Metropolis.

Jor-El's words came back to her as she pushed herself away from her desk.

... to serve its collective humanity. Live as one of them... and discover where your strength and your power will lead you. To always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people... they wish to be. They only the lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you...

Kara stepped out onto the roof of The Daily Planet and looked up at the golden sphere that crowned the building.

With her right fist extended, Supergirl soared up into the sky.

Outside Metropolis​

Cyborg was way out of his league.

The Flash ran over as quickly as he could to get Victor away from Doomsday, but the hell-bent creature had already managed to rip off one of Cyborg’s arms. Victor cried out in pain, but his circuits worked quickly to prevent the damage from spreading to the rest of his systems. Losing an actual arm would have been life-threatening, but Cyborg didn’t exactly have regular arms.

J’onn, meanwhile, re-engaged the creature as soon as he could, but the fight seemed to be going relatively nowhere. He struck him in the back with both fists, but Doomsday pushed himself up off the ground and struck the Martian in the face with the back of his arm. He turned to follow through with another decisive blow, but J’onn flew out of the way.

Doomsday was uncontrollable.

Indestructible.

His thirst for destruction seemed… unquenchable.

Another one of his punches sent the Manhunter hurtling into a house, causing it to collapse all around him. Up above, news helicopters encircled the area, filming the chaos from a considerable distance.

It didn’t take long, however, for Doomsday to prove that very little was outside of his reach.

He couldn’t fly, but he could certainly jump high enough to get at the helicopters flying above him. The crew inside knew that they were going into a hot zone before taking off, and even with superheroes present, there was always a chance that something could go wrong. But that didn’t stop them from crying out in alarm when Doomsday jumped up and grabbed onto the legs of the helicopter and brought it crashing down.

The Flash managed to save one of the camera men that had fallen out of the helicopter, but even with his incredible speed, he had no chance of reaching any of the others.

Doomsday emerged unscathed from the fiery wreckage, and as he turned towards the city several intense energy blasts struck him in the chest. Doomsday shielded himself with his arms, and his red eyes caught sight of Luthor’s super-soldiers as they settled on the ground and continued firing. Each of the suits had cameras built into the armor, allowing Lex to see what they saw.

He felt confident in their abilities, having spared no expense in their construction and training.

They had gone up against rebel insurgents and the worst sort of terrorists.
Bank robbers.

Thieves.

But no amount of training in the world could truly prepare them for this fight.

Or protect them.

Their special suits cracked under Doomsday’s fixed grip, and their weapons ultimately proved useless against his tough body, even as they surrounded and fired at him from all sides. Doomsday grabbed one of the men and threw him at some of his teammates, knocking them over like bowling pins.

Doomsday launched himself up into the air and then started to descend rapidly towards the soldiers as they were getting up.

Just as he was about to reach them, however, he was pushed away by a blurred streak of red, blue and gold.

Kara Zor-El continued to push at Doomsday with both of her hands until they were far away from Luthor's men. Doomsday attempted to break free by striking at Kara's back with his fists, but she quickly let go and flew away before he could hit her. She settled down next to Flash and Cyborg, who was in pretty rough shape.

"It's just a flesh wound," Wally said, and he gave Victor a soft pat on the back as he helped him up onto his feet.

"Right," Kara said. "Well, get him back to The Watchtower. We'll h-"

"I can still fight," Victor grumbled.

"Not in the condition you're in," Kara said.

She certainly applauded his spirit.

The Flash gave a quick nod in agreement, and before Victor could get in another word in he was whisked away.

The Kent Farm
Smallville​

Martha Kent tried not to worry. Seated in front of the television, she watched the latest news reports come in from Metropolis, and she knew that Kara would be there.

Metropolis was her city.

She was the Spirit of Metropolis.

Martha remembered when the newspapers first reported Kara's exploits, and buried in a shoebox somewhere she had various clippings of her adopted daughter's adventures. She couldn't have been more proud of her.

The front door opened quickly as Jonathan stepped inside, and after he set his work gloves down he walked into the living room and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"What are you watching?" he asked.

"I just turned on the news," Martha said before getting up. "There's a fight going on near Metropolis."

"Martha, I'm sure everything will turn out all right."

Jonathan offered a reassuring smile, and then he disappeared into the kitchen to raid the fridge. Martha arrived just in time to stop him from drinking lemonade straight from the pitcher.

"Use. A. Glass."

Jonathan couldn't help but smirk. He stepped out of the way as Martha went over to the oven and took out some freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. She set latest batch down on the counter and went to get some Tupperware to store them in once they had cooled, but she stopped once she heard her husband whine in pain.

Jonathan had pulled his hand back when searing hot pain punished him for trying to sneak away one of the cookies, and as Martha scooted between him and the cookies he backed up against one of the side tables and accidentally knocked over a picture of Kara, causing the delicate glass frame to crack when it fell to the floor.

Martha shot him a look.

"Serves you right," she said as she went to pick up the broken frame. "I baked those for Kara."

Outside Metropolis​

"He sure packs a punch," Kara said as she picked herself up off the ground.

"He seems to harbor an especially strong hatred for you," J'onn noted.

"Well I didn't do anything," Kara complained. "I know I've made quite a few enemies, but I'm pretty sure I'd remember fighting someone like him."

She turned and looked back towards Metropolis, and upon focusing her gaze she saw that the military had started putting up barriers near the bridges and tunnels leading into the city.

If, for some reason, Doomsday managed to get by her, Kara knew that the blockades wouldn't hold.

The soldiers probably knew that too, but if it brought some peace of mind to the people living there, then all the better for it.

"He's coming," J'onn said, and Kara turned back around to see Doomsday charging at her at full-speed. Kara's body immediately floated up off the ground, and with her arms extended she flew in with her fists clenched tight. At the last possible moment Kara avoided the creature's outstretched arms, and she managed to land a couple of heavy punches to the side of his face before he finally caught up with her.

Doomsday growled as his fists beat her down into the ground, and then he started using his feet to try and squash her like a bug.

J'onn flew in and knocked the creature aside, giving Kara a chance to get up onto her feet and get back into the fight.

Doomsday's punching and kicking certainly hadn't felt very good, but it was nothing Kara couldn't handle.

Her fists connected with his stomach.

She swung again, and this time she managed to at least knock him off his feet.

In some respects it felt like she was fighting against a stronger version of herself.

"You're a tough one, aren't you?"

Kara actually smiled.

It wasn't that often that she got to really flex her muscles.

Ever since she was little she had been taught to try and control her powers and emotions... which wasn't always easy. As she started to get older, it became even more difficult for her to keep things in check.

But even when things got really messy, she could always count on the Kents.

Rose.

Kyle.

And J'onn.

But above all, she had accepted herself.

The ground broke apart beneath her feet as she launched herself at the creature, striking him repeatedly with her fists. Doomsday growled each time her fists connected with his body, but Kara couldn't tell if it was because she was hurting him, or because she was just pissing him off.

Possibly both.

Medical Lab
Watchtower​

The Flash got Cyborg back to The Watchtower as fast as he possibly could, and as much as he wanted to race back and help Kara and J'onn fight against Doomsday, he wanted to make sure that Victor got the medical attention he needed. Wally had never seen so many damn wires, and there was no way he'd be able to patch Cyborg back together himself without going over some very detailed schematics.

"I never really had a chance," Victor said.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up too bad. From what I could see, he was even giving J'onn a run for his money," Wally said.

Wally hated to see Victor like this.

For someone that was almost entirely machine, Cyborg was a lot more human than most, and he had a powerful spirit.

But Wally could see that his pride had suffered a serious blow.

Flash folded his arms across his chest and started pacing around the room.

"Aren't you going back?" Cyborg asked.

"As soon as I can," Wally said.

"I don't need a babysitter."

Victor looked at him carefully. It wasn't always easy figuring out what Flash was thinking, unless girls or running were involved.

"He was pretty fast."

"Yeah? Well I'm faster."

"And he's stronger than you," Cyborg added.

Wally frowned and then sighed.

"You know, I used to think that Bats was the only one I could call Deputy Downer. You're just as bad. You're Deputy Deputy Downer."

J'onn and Kara worked incredibly well together in their fight against Doomsday, but the creature's actions were difficult to anticipate. As the Martian had already noted, the creature seemed especially focused on Kara, but it seemed he was also intent on causing as much destruction as possible. After beating Kara into the ground, and backhanding J'onn, Doomsday launched himself up into the air to swat at one of the army helicopters that circled above.

In frustration, Kara beat at the ground with her fists before she got up onto her feet, and she flew over just in time to catch the helicopter before it crashed.

"Get out of here," she ordered as the men climbed out.

While they ran for safety, Kara turned around and flew back to help out J'onn.

The Martian Manhunter caught one of Doomsday's punches with both of his hands, but he wasn't able to turn the tables against him.

Doomsday growled as he attempted to overpower the Manhunter, and the ground cracked beneath J'onn's feet as he struggled to push back.

Kara flew up behind Doomsday and wrapped her arms around his neck, and with J'onn pushing against him, Kara was able to lift the creature up off his feet and then spun him around quickly. She threw him hard against the ground, but remained high up in the air.

J'onn joined her up in the air, and then both heroes unleashed intense thermal blasts against the creature.

Doomsday howled, but he was ultimately unfazed by their attacks.

He jumped up into the air and drove his right fist into Kara's stomach...

... and then he turned and struck J'onn hard across the face, stunning him.

With both heroes sent reeling, Doomsday landed on the ground and then traveled several miles in a single leap.

Doomsday had turned his sights on Metropolis.

Metropolis​

"This is like taking candy from a baby," Toyman laughed as his robotic soldiers marched into a jewelry store and began looting all of the display cases. Killer Frost stood nearby, though she did have her eye on a few beautiful sapphire rings and necklaces.

A few police officers attempted to thwart their heist, but they were easily dealt with.

Frost actually relished in their deaths.

"With Supergirl busy, tonight should be fun," she said as she froze another armed guard that attempted to take cover.


With the understanding that Batman was likely to join the other heroes in Metropolis, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and the Riddler decided to turn the Dark Knight's city into their own playground.

The fight against “Doomsday” was like an open invitation for the world’s greatest villains to come out of the woodworks and have a ball. Crime spiked in nearly every major city, and, against such powerful meta-humans, the U.S. military quickly found itself overwhelmed.

Bruce was almost at the rendezvous point, but he had to step back and put down the threat to Gotham.

He really didn't like where things were headed.

Bruce knew that it wasn't a coordinated attack, but he still didn't like the League being as divided as it was. But he didn't have a choice. He had to redirect his efforts, and hope to make it back to Metropolis to help out Kara and J'onn.

The Watchtower​

Hal Jordan had been keeping an eye on the monitors as best as possible, and yet it seemed that whenever he had one problem covered, another sprung up. The Justice League had grown in size over the years, so a lot of the pressure was taken off the founding members, but it seemed like there was never enough help.

"A never-ending battle, right Kara?" Hal said to himself.

He wanted to be out there helping, but reports that Star City was under attack forced him to put his plans on hold.

Metropolis​

“This is really getting out of hand,” Kara said as she and J’onn raced after the creature.

“His thirst for destruction is remarkable,” J’onn responded.

“Well, it looks like we’re on our own for the time being. But no matter what happens, we can’t let him get to the city.”

Kara was the first to reach Doomsday, and she deftly avoided one of his punches by flying around him and throwing a hard right of her own. Doomsday crashed into the ground, not too far from a collection of army soldiers that were gathered around a tank. As soon as the creature got back up onto his feet, he charged at the men. Kara flew in as quickly as she could, and she caught both of his arms with her hands.

“I’ll keep him busy for now, J’onn. I need you… ngh… to get these people out of the way,” Kara said as she struggled to keep Doomsday from bringing her to her knees. The ground cracked underneath Kara’s feet, but she managed to push back and force Doomsday off balance. She didn’t give him a chance to recover before slamming her fists repeatedly into his stomach.

Hoping that he’d learn his lesson and stay down didn’t seem likely.

Kara flew in for another shot, but Doomsday caught her fist in his hand and then pulled her in close so that he could slam his other hand into her exposed belly.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Kara actually winced in pain before she managed to break free, and as she took a few steps back she pressed a hand to her stomach and felt her abdominal muscles tense up. She was instantly reminded of her fights with Darkseid, and how her body could only take so much punishment. But even Darkseid couldn’t compare with this sort of ferociousness. With Darkseid, everything was calculated. His pride sometimes got the better of him, to be sure, but those episodes were few and far between.

Doomsday was different. His attacks were wild… driven purely out of a desire to harm every living thing.

Kara just couldn’t allow a power like that to continue unchecked. She flew at him with one arm pulled back, and as she ducked under his outstretched arms she came up and struck the underside of his chin with her fist. The force of the blow was strong enough to send Doomsday hurtling up into the air, and Kara quickly shot off after him. She caught up with him after just a couple of seconds, and then beat at his back with both of her fists. Even after he had stopped spinning, Doomsday was unable to keep up with Kara as she flew in circles around him.

His boney hands reached out to grab her, but she pulled away at the last second and flew back around him. Kara brought both of her fists down to bear against him, and the ground tore apart as Doomsday crashed into it. Supergirl remained floating in the sky, and through the thick cloud of dust she saw Doomsday recover onto his feet.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Kara complained, breathing a little heavier than usual. She gathered her composure and flew down after him, but Doomsday surprised her with a strong backhand as she drew in close. Before she could get back up, Doomsday launched himself into the air and came down hard on her with both feet, stomping on her as if she were nothing but a bug to be squashed. Before the dust had even settled he grabbed her legs, and after lifting her up easily he slammed her back down.

Kara was stunned.

This wasn't a regular fight.

She looked up as Doomsday reached down and grabbed her head, then held her up out in front of him so that he could repeatedly slam his fist into her gut.

He pulled back his arm to strike her again, but Kara let out an intense thermal blast to force Doomsday to let her go. She landed on her hands and knees, and Doomsday was on top of her before she could even lift her head up. He drove his knee into her face and kicked her down, then grabbed at her cape and used it to throw her like a rag doll into one of the apartment buildings on the outskirts of the city. The entire building collapsed on top of her, but luckily it had been evacuated before Doomsday could reach the city.

When Kara finally emerged from the rubble, she lifted a hand to her mouth and wiped away some of her blood.

"Okay. Round two," she said.

The skies had darkened overhead, and as Doomsday started racing towards her, Kara felt a couple drops of rain hit the top of her head. As more rain started to fall, she hovered above the ground and then flew straight at the monster, avoiding his outstretched arms to strike at him with both of her fists.

Kara had spent most of her life learning to control her abilities, putting up mental barriers that kept her powers in check.

She didn't want to hurt anyone.

She couldn't afford to lose control.

Until now.

Now, each time Kara and Doomsday clashed, their attacks sent shock-waves that could be felt deep within the city.

It was like the crashing of thunder... and even the ground started to shake.

Metropolis​

The sense of relief that the soldiers felt when Supergirl had arrived was quickly starting to give way to fear and anxiety. Their eyes widened in panic at the sight of the Girl of Steel being knocked around, but each time she fell to her knees she got right back up. While Kara may have lacked some of the fighting skills of some of her friends, she usually made up for that in pure grit and determination.

And, for those who were watching, she packed a mean right hook.

But Doomsday was really testing her limits.

Kara was amazed at his resilience.

She could only hope that he was hurting just as much as she was.

When Doomsday charged forward, Kara flew off to the side to avoid his attack, and then she sprang forward and drove her knee into the side of his face, almost knocking him over. As she turned her body in the air to follow up with a strong kick, Doomsday grabbed her foot and forced her off-balance. He slammed her down hard into the ground, creating yet another huge crater in the road.

Kara clenched her hands into fists and then got up as soon as she could. She threw herself at Doomsday and got in some heavy swings before she was once again knocked into an apartment building.

Doomsday charged into the rubble, not giving the Kryptonian a chance to recover.

Kara did everything she could to fight through the pain.

She was starting to put everything she had into her attacks. Without her restraints, Kara was able to move faster and hit harder, and focusing her attacks on his bony protrusions seemed to cause Doomsday a great deal of pain. Kara took no pleasure in causing him harm, but she had to do everything she could to make sure that his murderous rampage was stopped once and for all.

Lex Luthor stared out of the window of his apartment complex on the other side of the city, and he listened quietly to the news reports of Supergirl's fight with the monster.

"Doomsday... how appropriate," he mumbled as one of the news casters relayed the monicker the people of Metropolis gave the creature.

Lex turned to one of the side tables, and he poured himself a glass of 63' Bas Armagnac.

On the off-chance that the fight would make it to his corner of the world, Lex had a helicopter standing by to take him to safety.

As he slowly lifted the glass up to his lips, Lex wondered briefly if he wanted her to win.

But... then again... maybe a god could die after all.

It would be worth it to see.

"Is it just me... or does Supes seem... bigger to you?"

"Flash!"

Wally quickly put up both of his hands in his defense.

"Hey! I didn't mean it like that," Wally said. "I just mean... well... look at her."

Hal took a closer look at the monitors, and he had to admit that Flash was right. The Green Lantern's fingers tapped rapidly at a few keys, and he noticed that Kara's vital signs had spiked considerably. There were only a handful of species in the universe that could put up those kinds of numbers... and not keel over and die from exhaustion.

"She's giving it everything she's got," Hal said.

He kept an eye on the monitors, and Kara's numbers kept rising.

Hal couldn't take it any longer.

"Keep an eye on things for me," he said to Flash.

"Where are you going?"

"To help."

The Earth was under his protection... and that should have been reason enough... but in his heart he couldn't stand to see what Kara was doing to herself. As he took flight, he could only hope that he'd make it in time.

War and Anger Shall Reign

Metropolis​

As Supergirl rolled to the side to avoid Doomsday's oustretched arms, the sharp bones protruding from his skin caught her cape and tore into the special fabric. Kara reached up and tugged at what was left, pulling it off and allowing the tattered remains to blow away in the wind. When Doomsday turned to charge at her, Kara stood up and took in an incredibly deep breath, and when she exhaled, the air around Doomsday began to freeze, slowing his movements.

She knew it wouldn't be enough to stop him, but she didn't expect for him to break out so soon.

Shards of ice that had formed against his skin began spreading out in all directions as Doomsday's arms beat down against her with incredible force, knocking her to the ground. Blood dripped from the side of Kara's mouth as he struck at her again and again with a clenched fist, but she was spared from further abuse when J'onn flew in and pummeled the creature with as much martian fury as he could muster.

The Manhunter left Doomsday buried at the bottom of a massive crater on the outskirts of the city.

He wouldn't stay buried for long.

J'onn pulled back and joined up with Kara as she regained her composure, and he recognized that the young hero had changed.

She certainly looked the worse for wear, but she also looked taller.

Stronger.

Deadlier.

Her blonde hair was matted with dirt, and her fair skin had started to bruise in certain spots, but she had taken quite a beating. Kara regarded her friend and mentor silently, and her eyes glowed bright red.

Without Kara's mental and physical restraints, it would have been child's play for J'onn to read her thoughts.

But...

Just one look at her and it was quite clear...

She'd had enough.

And despite the rain, fires raged all around her as numerous apartment buildings had been reduced to rubble. But the heat of the flames couldn't compare to the inferno dwelling within her. She took off with a speed that surprised even the martian, and he caught up with her just as she connected with Doomsday, and the force of their blows sent a shock wave that could be felt deep within the heart of the city.

By blindness you're driven insane...

Doomsday didn't let up.

He wouldn't let up.

A shattered body deeply hurt.

J'onn found it difficult to move in as Kara threw herself at the creature. She beat at his chest and struck at his bony protrusions, even though her own skin wore down and broke open.

They keep struggling on in anger!