For a long, long time, Superman remained motionless.
He really was unlucky. Having lived on Earth since childhood, he'd grown accustomed to restraining his power, to never striking first. After Jack Kadere copied his abilities, Superman had mistaken him for another Kryptonian—which only made him hold back even more.
Being beaten to a pulp had finally pushed him to fight back seriously. And right at that moment, Jack Kadere decided he'd had enough fun and stopped.
It was fortunate Superman had passed out. Otherwise, he might have died of frustration.
"Is he dead?"
Amanda Waller, June Moone, and Lois Lane approached cautiously. Waller stared at Superman with his head buried in the ground and asked Jack Kadere, still shaken.
"Dead? He's not that easy to kill." Jack Kadere smirked, waved at Lois, then turned back to Amanda Waller. "He's all yours."
"Understood." Amanda Waller nodded. The situation had spiraled out of control and the collateral damage was severe, but as long as she could deliver Superman into custody, her superiors would be satisfied.
At her order, soldiers approached tentatively and hauled Superman out of the ground like pulling up a stubborn root, then carried him away.
Where they took him, how the surrounding destruction would be handled—none of that concerned Jack Kadere. He wrapped an arm around Lois, pushed off the ground, and shot into the air.
Bang!
The two of them vanished into the night sky like a missile.
---
Lois Lane's apartment was practically destroyed, so Jack Kadere took her to a hotel over fifty blocks away.
With Superman's appearance, Zod should be arriving soon.
Things would get interesting then.
"Stay here. I'll be back shortly." Jack Kadere deposited Lois Lane in the hotel room, then flew straight out the window.
Wind roared past him. Before long, he landed at the villa in Central City.
Inside, Laurie wore her combat suit while she, Thea, and Trajectory moved the Kryptonite stockpile. There was too much of it—processing would take time.
Jack Kadere transported everything onto the Aerie, then worked at superspeed to cut off a small piece from one of the larger chunks. He took it with him.
Flying back to the Metropolis hotel, he found Lois Lane had just finished bathing. Earlier she'd been disheveled and covered in grime from the chaos.
Seeing him return with a stone that glowed green, Lois knew immediately what it was.
She lowered her head nervously, avoiding his gaze.
The way he'd controlled her body earlier, his one-sided demolition of Superman—it all frightened her. If circumstances allowed, she would have fled this place entirely.
Two people mattered most to Superman.
One was his adoptive mother, Martha. Martha was a strangely magical name—just because both their mothers shared it, Superman and Batman had actually gone from enemies to allies. Miraculous, really.
The other was Lois Lane.
In the comics, the Joker had tricked Superman into killing a pregnant Lois Lane, causing a drastic shift in his personality and creating the Injustice storyline.
In the movies, after Superman's resurrection, any signs of him turning dark had been reversed by Lois's presence—she'd brought him back to himself in time to defeat Steppenwolf.
What would happen if Lois Lane were removed from Superman's life?
Full-blown Injustice was unlikely. But going dark? That seemed inevitable.
Extremes had a way of meeting. Superman had spent his entire life suppressing himself. Once he finally broke...
That should be quite fun.
So—
"W-What are you looking at me for?" Lois noticed the excitement building in Jack Kadere's expression. It made her instantly nervous. "D-Don't control me again—"
Before she finished speaking, she saw the corner of his mouth curl upward.
And then that feeling washed over her again. The sensation of her body no longer being her own.
Jack Kadere's voice appeared in her mind, and her hands moved according to his instructions, unbuttoning her shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Her fingers found the clasp of her bra, undid it. Pushed her underwear down her thighs.
Jack Kadere had already stripped and was walking toward the bathroom.
Lois Lane followed him, unable to stop herself.
The water ran. Steam filled the small space. Lois knew exactly what she was doing, what she was seeing—his hands on her body, soap sliding over skin that wasn't hers to control. She couldn't stop it. Couldn't resist. Couldn't even form words of her own.
She was furious. Helpless. She couldn't even force herself not to look, not to think.
After the bath, they returned to the bed.
Jack Kadere's commands continued in her mind—kneel, open your mouth, lie back, spread your legs—and Lois Lane's body obeyed each one while she screamed silently inside her own skull. Her hands gripped the sheets when he told them to. Her hips rose when he told them to. Her voice made sounds she would never have made, moans and gasps that didn't belong to her but came from her throat anyway.
He took his time.
He was thorough.
Beat up Superman, fuck his woman.
Jack Kadere decided tonight had been truly wonderful.
Whether the beaten Superman enjoyed himself, whether the violated Lois was willing—none of that entered his consideration.
Afterward, he released his mental hold on her, changed the soiled sheets for fresh ones, and fell into a deep sleep with the silent Lois Lane in his arms.
Lois wanted to cry.
But while she'd been controlled, her body had been entirely beyond her reach. Now that she had it back, the urge to weep had already faded into something duller.
She had experienced everything firsthand. Jack Kadere had deliberately left the nerve pathways for physical sensation untouched—she'd felt the pain when he was rough, the exhaustion as it went on and on, and... other feelings. Feelings she was too ashamed to name.
Weariness gradually overtook her entire body.
Lois Lane drifted into unconsciousness.
---
A.R.G.U.S. Secret Interrogation Facility.
Heavy military forces were deployed in layers throughout the compound. Amanda Waller stood alongside June Moone and a general named Swanwick, watching through one-way glass as Superman sat handcuffed in the interrogation room beyond.
After waking, Superman had quickly grasped the situation. Faced with the military's questions, he remained silent.
A long time passed before he finally spoke.
He wanted to see the person who'd fought him.
General Swanwick turned to Amanda Waller. "This man—the one who defeated Superman. Can he be brought here?"
Amanda Waller's expression tightened. "That's... difficult. I've been monitoring him for some time. Nobody knows the true extent of his power, and based on current intelligence, he only does what he wants to do. I've tried leveraging him before, but—"
"This concerns the safety of Earth."
Amanda Waller glanced at Superman through the glass and said reluctantly, "General, whatever aliens can do, he can do just as well. He's stronger than them. Otherwise Superman wouldn't be sitting in that room."
The implication was clear.
Aliens could destroy Earth. So could Jack Kadere. And he was harder to deal with than any alien.
"He didn't defeat me."
Superman slowly turned his head toward the mirror, addressing the people he knew were watching.
Then, with a sharp snap, he broke his handcuffs.
He stood, walked to the glass, and pressed one hand against it.
"I'm here because I grew up on Earth. I am not Earth's enemy."
---