Mount St. Helens.
A volcano located near Washington State, it had erupted dozens of times over the past several decades.
Most of those eruptions were minor.
The last truly massive eruption had been twenty years ago, killing more than fifty people.
Since then, it had mostly been small-scale activity.
However—
At this very moment, a figure bathed head to toe in golden light suddenly streaked across the sky.
He plunged straight into the volcano's crater.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Not long after—
The volcano, which had been dormant, suddenly erupted with terrifying violence.
Blazing magma shot straight into the sky, soaring over a thousand meters high.
Then it began raining down toward the nearby town.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
For a moment—
It was as if Admiral Akainu's Meteor Volcano had descended upon the world.
Balls of magma fell from the sky like a true meteor shower.
A very real meteor shower.
"Run! Everyone run! The volcano's erupting again!"
"How is this possible?! Why is our town being hit too?!"
"It's over… it's all over!"
"Our town is going to be destroyed!"
The townspeople stared at the sky, watching the dense rain of blazing fireballs falling toward them.
Their faces went pale, bodies trembling.
Many were frozen in place by sheer terror.
This was no exaggeration—
A disaster of this scale left them no chance to escape.
Nowhere to run.
All they could do was wait helplessly as the meteor rain crushed their town—and them along with it.
Boom!
Just as despair engulfed everyone, a sonic boom suddenly echoed through the air.
The crowd's vision blurred.
A young Eastern man appeared on the scene like a ghost.
It was Alex.
Since the system's mission was to "resolve the Nuclear Man crisis,"
That clearly meant more than simply killing Nuclear Man.
The chain of disasters Nuclear Man caused was also part of the crisis.
Alex, naturally, couldn't ignore it.
"It's Alex!"
"Alex is here!"
"Thank God—Alex has arrived!"
Some people recognized Alex immediately and erupted into cheers.
The excitement spread rapidly through the crowd.
Many jumped up in joy.
But others remained cautious.
Even if Alex was powerful, could he really deal with something as massive as a volcanic meteor storm?
Countless gazes locked onto Alex—
Hope, doubt, desperation—
At this moment, Alex was the town's only hope.
"Volcanic eruption, huh?"
Under everyone's gaze, Alex shot straight up toward the falling fireballs.
At the same time, he raised a hand.
His vast telekinetic power exploded outward, crashing into the meteor rain.
"Look! They're going back!"
"All the fireballs—they're being blown away!"
"It's Alex! He did it!"
Shouts of disbelief and joy rang out.
The townspeople watched in amazement as—
A colossal telekinetic gale appeared out of nowhere.
It swept up every single fireball.
Blowing them back to where they came from.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before their eyes, all the magma reversed course.
They streaked across the sky in brilliant arcs—
And slammed back into the volcanic mountain range.
"We're safe!"
"We're really safe!"
"Alex saved us!"
Cheers erupted across the town as relief and joy washed over everyone.
But Alex remained calm.
Because with his x-ray vision, he could already see deep inside the volcano.
Another eruption was imminent.
He didn't know how Nuclear Man had activated the magma to such a degree—
But Alex knew he had to stop the next eruption.
Whoosh!
Alex vanished and flew straight toward the volcano.
Fzzzt!
Blazing heat vision sliced through the mountain, severing an entire peak.
Alex lifted the massive chunk of rock into the air—
And slammed it down over the crater.
Like placing a lid on a pot.
The volcano was sealed shut.
Alex dusted off his hands and nodded.
Now the volcanic crisis was truly over.
Throughout all of this—
Nuclear Man stood atop a distant mountain peak, watching silently.
Everything he saw was transmitted live back to Lex Luthor's secret base.
Luthor's expression twisted into something truly ugly.
Hatred.
Resentment.
Rage.
And barely restrained murderous intent.
What Alex had done to him years ago—
Luthor would never forget it.
The humiliation of losing an arm was etched into his soul.
Alex.
He had finally appeared again.
But this time, Lex Luthor was no longer powerless.
"Engage Alex."
Luthor issued the command without hesitation.
This Nuclear Man was stronger than any Kryptonian from Smallville, Brainiac, or even Zod's forces from six months ago.
He was the culmination of years of work.
A creation that had crushed Superman the moment it debuted.
Luthor was eager to see—
Just how strong Alex really was.
Boom!
With the order given, Nuclear Man exploded into motion.
Bathed in golden light, he rocketed toward Alex at incredible speed.
In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him—
And threw a vicious punch straight at Alex.
"That's it?"
Alex sneered.
He shifted his shoulder and casually threw a punch of his own.
Crack!
The sound of shattering bone rang out.
Nuclear Man's wrist snapped instantly.
His entire body was launched backward like a cannonball.
He flew several kilometers before smashing into a distant mountain—
Collapsing half the peak.
Boom!
But the next moment—
Rubble exploded outward.
Nuclear Man emerged unscathed, flying back once more.
He charged at Alex again.
Alex casually waved his hand.
Telekinetic force condensed into a razor-sharp blade—
And sliced forward.
Shhk!
The sound of flesh being cut echoed.
Nuclear Man's head was severed—
And flew cleanly into the air.
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