Standing before Clark was Adrian.
He crossed his arms over his chest, shielding himself from the blast of Clark's Heat Vision.
Crimson beams of energy hissed and crackled as they struck him, the air vibrating with every impact.
Energy met flesh in a violent clash—like a spear driving into an unyielding shield—sending flashes of light across the ruined yard.
Lana and Chloe stared, frozen in shock.
Jessica Brooks, who had been helping her injured father, stood wide-eyed, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
Everything unfolding before her shattered every rule of reality she had ever known.
She had already been stunned by Clark's powers—now another superhuman stood before her, just as strong, maybe stronger.
Jessica glanced at her father.
He, too, stood speechless, his mouth slightly open, disbelief painted across his face.
When Clark realized his Heat Vision couldn't pierce Adrian's defense, he stopped his assault.
Smoke and dust swirled in the air before clearing—revealing Adrian's familiar face.
His expression was cold, his eyes locked on Clark with restrained fury.
A muscle twitched in Adrian's jaw.
Then, without warning, he disappeared.
In an instant, he was in front of Clark.
His fist connected squarely with Clark's cheek.
Bang!
The impact echoed like thunder.
Clark's body blasted through the wall of the house, crashing into the courtyard and tearing a deep scar into the ground as he slid to a stop.
Inside the shattered home, windows exploded, glass raining down like shards of ice.
Jonathan and Jessica flinched from the shockwave, their ears ringing.
Before the dust could settle, Adrian leaped after Clark.
He landed in the yard with such force that cracks split the ground beneath his boots.
Clark groaned, spitting dirt from his mouth as he stood.
His head spun, but instinct kicked in—his arms came up just in time to block another lightning-fast punch.
But Adrian wasn't finished.
His attack was a feint.
Using the momentum, he kicked hard at Clark's calf, knocking him off balance.
As Clark stumbled forward, Adrian drove a vicious uppercut into his jaw.
With a roar, Clark was launched into the sky.
The air rippled and boomed from the sheer force of the blow.
Adrian shot upward after him like a missile, closing the distance in a blink.
"Hmph."
He swung again.
His fist smashed against Clark's face, sending him spinning higher into the clouds.
The air thundered from the shockwave, each strike echoing through the valley.
Below, Lana, Chloe, and the others stood frozen, mouths agape as the sounds of battle rumbled above like a storm.
Jessica steadied her father, both staring skyward, barely believing what they were witnessing.
Jonathan leaned heavily against a broken fence post, his breath ragged.
His eyes followed the battle above, worry clouding his face.
He wasn't just afraid for Clark.
He was afraid for Adrian—afraid that his anger would consume him completely.
Adrian hovered high above, his chest heaving, fury burning in his eyes.
His heart raced, not from the fight, but from what had driven him here.
He'd never known real family before this life, but Jonathan and Martha had filled a void he didn't know existed.
To see Clark—his own brother—turn on them, to see Jonathan nearly burned alive, ripped through him.
Logic was gone.
Rage had taken its place.
Clark's betrayal had lit a fire that couldn't be smothered.
With a snarl, Adrian dove.
Thud!
Clark hit the ground first, the earth shattering under the impact.
Dust and debris flew outward in a violent ring.
Clark lay dazed, groaning in pain.
His powers were strong, but his control—his maturity—wasn't there yet.
He wasn't Superman.
Not yet.
And against Adrian, whose abilities rivaled those of a god and whose anger made him unstoppable, Clark was completely outmatched.
Adrian landed softly nearby, watching him struggle to rise.
His gaze was icy, but there was hesitation—buried somewhere beneath the rage.
Clark wiped blood from his lip and gave a crooked smile.
"You look pissed, Adrian."
He was breathing hard, his leather jacket torn, his face streaked with dirt and sweat.
Still, he found the strength to sneer.
"What's wrong? Angry because I exposed Mom and Dad's lies? Their stupid, small-town tricks? They've been holding us back. I could be something greater, but they've kept me chained here!"
Adrian's expression didn't change, but his voice came out low and sharp.
"You're angry at them, not me. But your rage—it's blinding you, Clark. Keep going like this, and you'll burn everything you love."
Clark's eyes flared red again.
"Don't lecture me!"
With a roar, he charged, his fist blazing like lightning.
But Adrian was faster.
He vanished—and then reappeared beside Clark, driving a brutal punch into his ribs, followed by another to his chest.
Clark flew backward like a ragdoll, crashing through a tree.
The impact snapped the trunk clean in half.
Using the recoil, he sprang forward again, refusing to stay down.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
He fired his Heat Vision, twin beams of crimson light cutting through the air.
Clark gritted his teeth and charged straight through the blast, deflecting part of it with his arms.
But Adrian increased the output, the beams blazing hotter, brighter, until the ground beneath them began to smoke.
The collision of their powers filled the forest with thunder.
Clark dove to the side, using the momentary smoke cover to grab a nearby car.
With a shout, he hurled it straight at Adrian.
The vehicle spun end over end, only to be sliced cleanly in half by Adrian's Heat Vision.
But that split-second distraction was all Clark needed—he lunged forward, fist aimed for Adrian's jaw.
Adrian caught it.
The two brothers locked hands, muscles straining, faces inches apart.
Sparks of red light flickered between their eyes as raw power collided in the air around them.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Clark pushed with everything he had—but Adrian's strength was overwhelming.
Slowly, steadily, Clark's knees bent under the pressure.
Chloe and Jonathan arrived at the forest's edge just in time to see them locked in that furious struggle—Clark fighting desperately.
The fight between brothers had become something more than physical.
It was a battle of will, of belief, of everything they both stood for.
And as the wind whip ped around them, one truth became clear—only one of them could end this without breaking the other.
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