The Elite was high-profile by nature. Since they had no records anywhere, they weren't afraid of being investigated. Floating cameras hovered around them, ready to broadcast the battle live. With their alien relic spaceship, Little White Rabbit, they could do anything.
The Elite hacked into every TV network in America. "Ladies and gentlemen, wherever you are, I greet you. Hello, America. Please let me take a bit of your time. This concerns the future of a civilized world."
Manchester Black wore a T-shirt with a British flag and a trench coat, declaring in front of the camera that The Elite was true justice.
Look at Superman, completely helpless, barely holding his own against a second-rate villain like Atomic Skull. It was pathetic.
"To every villain, schemer, and dictator around the world, we will find you fools and deliver ultimate justice," Manchester Black said. "You can't hide. We'll find you and deal with you ourselves. We don't belong to any organization or government. We work for the oppressed everywhere. Our mission is simple: eliminate those who treat people like trash. We'll make 'villain' a word of the past. We are the alliance of all good people. We are The Elite. Good people have been waiting for us, so here we are—to show the power of good."
They made a high-profile declaration of war on every villain, then prepared to show their power by killing Atomic Skull—the murderer who could fight Superman to a standstill.
"Coldcast, attack."
The big guy gathered energy in his hands and charged like a wrestler. He hooked Atomic Skull's neck and smashed him into a wall.
"Tank," Kid muttered.
Then Hat pulled countless ice shards from his hat and launched them at Atomic Skull.
"Mage."
Menagerie bent low, and a swarm of bugs flew from her back to bite Atomic Skull.
"Hunter."
Finally, Manchester Black's psychic power kicked in, his eyes glowing black as he slammed Atomic Skull back.
"Guess he's the warrior," Kid added.
Liu A'dou thought this was basically a full team, missing only a healer. Hat's Hat was enviable—it could produce anything. As a fellow magician, Kid needed to prepare a ton of gadgets in advance, while Hat only needed his hat.
It was one versus five. Superman barely helped, just filling gaps. The Elite went all in against Atomic Skull.
Energy beams and iron fists flew, explosions and bright lights filled the street. It was intense. Atomic Skull was powerful, but he couldn't hold his own against a team beatdown.
From this, Liu A'dou realized Superman was also testing The Elite's abilities. Since he'd have to deal with them, he needed to know them inside and out.
Superman filled in where needed so the League could show their full strength. Coldcast gradually drained Atomic Skull's energy until he finally collapsed to his knees.
People crowded around. "Kill him!" someone shouted—a relative of one of the victims, desperate for vengeance.
Superman faced the furious crowd. "Everyone, calm down. The murderer will be judged by the court."
But rage made people lose their minds. "Kill him!"
Manchester Black stood over Atomic Skull, his right hand shaped like a gun, eyes cold. "You're dead. This is the will of the people."
"No, he should face justice in court."
"Oh, so we'll just send him back to prison? Give him another chance to break out and kill more innocent people? Why not just let him slaughter everyone in Metropolis right now?" Manchester Black sneered, fed up with Superman's naive righteousness. "Look around—this mess is all your fault. If you'd killed him the first time you caught him, none of this would've happened. I won't let him cause any more pain. Never again!"
"Kill him!" A boy who had lost his parents hugged their corpses, his eyes bleeding tears, face twisted with rage as he screamed, "Kill him!"
Manchester Black nodded. "Say hi to Satan."
"Kill him, kill that bastard!" Amid the frenzied shouts of the crowd, Manchester Black made his move. A burst of psychic power split Atomic Skull's skull.
Pop! His head burst like a balloon, shattering into white fragments. Atomic Skull fell to the ground, leaving only a headless corpse.
"No!" Superman roared with fury when he saw The Elite execute a criminal without trial right on the street.
But Superman didn't do anything. He looked at the people around him, at their joyful faces. The heinous criminal was dead, and they were happy. But Superman felt like they'd lost something important.
The Elite vanished, leaving only chaos in their wake.
"It's not fair. I don't want to be Superman."
"You have to be Superman. We're The Elite." This was a playground, full of children. A few kids were playing pretend.
"It's not fair. You can kill me, but I can't kill you. It's not fair. I don't want to be Superman." The events of the previous night had already caused a massive reaction by the next day. Even kids understood that The Elite could kill whoever they wanted, but Superman couldn't.
"That's the rule. You're Superman."
"Superman sucks."
These kids probably didn't grasp the full meaning. They just knew killing was powerful, and not killing was lame.
Superman had never imagined people could twist things like this. Everything was upside down. He didn't kill to set the right example, but now he felt awkward. People didn't understand he worked so hard to uphold the authority of their laws.
If having superpowers meant you could ignore human law, those people cheering last night would be the first to die without a trace.
"You little brats, what nonsense are you spouting?" Liu A'dou kicked at the kids without hesitation. "Superman might not kill, but when has he ever lost? He can beat people up and toss them in a dark cell."
Liu A'dou snarled, "Understand? Superman is way stronger than The Elite. Got it?"
Seeing the scary adult, the kids nodded frantically and ran off.
"You didn't have to do that," Clark said with a wry smile as he walked with Liu A'dou.
"Sometimes humans are stubborn. They need guidance, but also discipline," Liu A'dou replied. "Come on, let's look around a bit more." Guiding public opinion was supposed to be the job of governments and organizations, but in this world, they had Superman. As an icon, he had to take responsibility. But when public opinion spun out of control, it needed a hard slap, like Liu A'dou disciplining those kids.
"…" Superman was speechless. Liu A'dou was brutally straightforward.
"Compared to Kryptonian civilization, our human civilization is still young. We have plenty of flaws. But Superman, the fact that you selflessly help us means you've seen the good in us," Liu A'dou said. "So you can see the qualities we can't always see ourselves. The value of humanity. Please believe in it. Believe we can carry that faint light out into the universe."
Superman thought this sounded like a roundabout compliment. But it hit home. Of course humans had good points—like Lois Lane: beautiful, independent, strong. So many good qualities. Superman would protect those qualities.
The reason Liu A'dou said all that was because of what happened last night. If Superman had really wanted to save Atomic Skull, he definitely could've. But he acted like he was too late. It showed Superman hated Atomic Skull's murderous ways and had used The Elite to get rid of him. That made Liu A'dou worry about Superman falling into darkness. After all, in the comics, Superman had a history of turning dark. So Liu A'dou wanted to give him a little moral insurance.