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The blinding light slowly faded, and every soul aboard the Ark stared at the point in space where it had erupted. They couldn't tear their eyes away, even as the glare seared their vision.
"Clark… did he do it?"
As the last of the light vanished, their hope turned to ash.
After the violent release of solar energy dissipated, a bruised and battered Superman was still there, floating in the void. But Clark, the hero from another world, was gone without a trace.
"How… how could this be?"
Many collapsed to their knees, overcome with grief. They couldn't know that Clark had simply returned to his own universe. To them, he was dead—sacrificed in a final, desperate act to protect them.
Nearby, Superman's son, Jonathan Kent, drifted comatose, his small body lifeless in the vastness of space. The last two heroes capable of facing the corrupted Kryptonian were gone.
Who was left to fight? Who could possibly protect them now?
"One minute…" Damian Wayne whispered, his voice cold and steady. He had been tracking the time. From the moment Jon fell to Clark's final, explosive sacrifice, only one minute had passed. A single minute, bought with a hero's life.
"Damian, what are you doing?" Green Arrow asked, sensing his intent. He tried to block the boy's path, but Damian pushed him aside.
"I only need to last for thirty seconds," Damian said, a grim determination in his eyes.
With Jon unconscious and Clark gone, the remaining heroes knew they had to hold the line, even if it cost them their lives.
But before Damian could launch his desperate attack, a streak of emerald light shot from the Earth, appearing directly in front of Superman.
"I'm too late…" Hal Jordan said, his gaze falling on the unconscious Jon Kent. He didn't see Clark, and his heart sank as he pieced together what must have happened. The battle had been decided in the single minute it took him to fly from the planet's surface.
"Then I'll deal with you myself, Superman!" Hal roared. Gripping the Godslayer sword given to him by Wonder Woman, he showed no fear and prepared to charge.
Across from him, the corrupted Superman braced himself. In his judgment, even though he was severely injured from his battle with Clark, he was more than strong enough to handle a Green Lantern who had possessed the ring for less than a month.
Just as their battle was about to begin, the dark canvas of the universe lit up. More and more green lights appeared, streaking into the solar system. The Green Lantern Corps had arrived, led by one of the Guardians of the Universe. They had come just as humanity was about to fall into complete despair.
"In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power… Green Lantern's light!"
With their oath echoing through the void, the entire Green Lantern Corps, alongside Hal Jordan, channeled their willpower. They created a colossal green construct, a titan of emerald energy large enough to dwarf the Earth itself. With endless power, it swung at Superman.
"RAAAGH!" Superman roared in defiance, but his body instinctively dodged. He was grievously wounded, and facing the combined will of the entire Corps, he felt a flicker of powerlessness.
While he was no match for their construct in a head-on fight, his speed still gave him an advantage. The giant, formed from the will of thousands of different minds, was powerful but clumsy. Just when the heroes believed victory was only a matter of time, Superman's strategy shifted.
Controlled by the virus, he realized he could not win this fight. After dodging another massive punch, he stopped engaging the construct. He wasn't retreating. He was changing tactics.
He flew straight for the sun.
The Green Lanterns directed their titan to give chase, but as they drew closer to the star, its immense heat and radiation became too much. They weren't Kryptonians. Even with the protection of their rings, they were no match for Superman in his own element.
Powerless to stop him, they watched as Superman plunged into the sun's surface, freeing himself from all restraints and beginning to devour its energy.
"He's going to… extinguish the sun," one of them realized in horror.
The Guardian quickly made a calculation. At the rate Superman was absorbing solar energy, Earth would enter a miniature ice age within three years. In a few decades, the sun would be completely snuffed out. They knew what was happening, but they were utterly helpless to stop it. They could not follow him into the sun to defeat him.
"Our priority must be to escort the humans to their destination," the Guardian announced, making a difficult choice. "We will abandon this system."
There was nothing more they could do. Their best option was to get the last of humanity to a new, uninfected world where they could survive and one day find a way to fight back.
The Ark, carrying the last hope of mankind, turned away from its dying home and headed for the stars.
Meanwhile, back on the silent Earth, Cyborg stood watch. He had chosen to stay behind, binding the infected Wonder Woman with her own Lasso of Truth. He knew other survivors were scattered across the planet, and he would spend his days ensuring she could not harm them, waiting for Damian and the others to one day return.
As he stared at the golden lariat, a question formed in his mind.
Does the Anti-Life Equation have a consciousness?
The virus didn't cause physical mutations. The infected Martian Manhunter still had all his Martian abilities. The infected Black Adam could still summon his power. Superman was still a Kryptonian, absorbing solar energy. The virus didn't change what they were, only who they were.
Was it a virus, spreading an idea? Or was it something more? A distinct consciousness, spreading itself from host to host, overwriting the soul within? Was he looking at Wonder Woman, her mind twisted by a malevolent influence? Or was he looking at the Anti-Life Equation itself, wearing Diana's body like a suit?
He looked at the bound figure, whose face was a mask of cold emptiness. Tentatively, Cyborg asked the question that had begun to consume him.
"The Anti-Life Equation… is there a cure?"