Batman had already been monitoring the battle through satellite surveillance, and for the first time in years, genuine shock crossed his face.
"How is this possible?"
His voice was low, strained, almost disbelieving.
"Oracle."
He turned sharply toward Barbara Gordon's interface feed.
"Why are there nuclear warheads in play?"
Barbara froze for a moment, her hands hovering over the keyboard. The glow of multiple monitors reflected in her eyes, but even her intelligence network could not immediately process what was happening in orbit.
"I don't know," she replied, voice tight.
She swallowed and forced herself to continue speaking, though her composure was clearly slipping.
"I have never seen anyone insane enough to deploy nuclear weapons against Adrian at this level."
The name carried weight in the room.
Adrian.
A being who had already survived a nuclear-grade detonation once before, an event that had cost Captain Atom his life while Adrian walked away with minimal consequence. That incident had already shattered many assumptions about what could and could not stop him.
Barbara's fingers resumed moving rapidly across the console.
"Two launches originated from within the United States. Three more came from Canadian and Icelandic silos. I cannot pinpoint exact launch coordinates yet, but I am breaching Department of Defense satellite tracking systems now."
Batman's jaw tightened.
"It's them," he said.
"The exiled governments."
He pushed himself up from his wheelchair, posture rigid despite his condition.
"They still have access to old nuclear stockpiles. Only they would escalate this far."
Regret flickered across his face.
"I should have dismantled their remaining command structure earlier. I knew they were planning contingencies, but I underestimated how far they were willing to go."
Barbara's voice lowered.
"What do we do now?"
Batman exhaled slowly.
"We prepare for the worst possible outcome. They have forced Adrian into a state where restraint will no longer be guaranteed."
A distant engine roar interrupted the conversation.
A stealth fighter descended into the underground hangar beneath Gotham's Naihe Island. Inside the reinforced facility, Alfred Pennyworth stood waiting near the control terminal.
"The hangar doors are open, Miss Lance," Alfred said calmly as he engaged the lift system.
"I would be very grateful if this single strike is enough to end this."
Inside the cockpit, Black Canary adjusted her controls.
"I understand, Alfred," she replied.
Her tone was steady, controlled, but carried an undercurrent of resolve.
Before Alfred could respond further, a transmission signal interrupted the channel.
Batman's voice came through.
"Black Canary."
There was a pause, heavier than usual.
"I advise you to abort the mission."
Silence followed.
"What?" Dinah Lance frowned slightly.
"That is not funny, Bruce."
"This is not a joke," Batman replied.
"There has been a major escalation. Nuclear weapons have been launched into space, directly targeting Adrian."
The cockpit went quiet.
Batman continued.
"We already confirmed it. Multiple warheads. This is not a tactical strike anymore. It is desperation."
Dinah's grip tightened slightly on the control stick.
"And you think that changes anything?"
"It changes everything," Batman said.
"Nuclear detonation will not stop Adrian. Based on previous exposure, it will only trigger a more aggressive response. You are walking into an active escalation zone."
A brief pause followed before he added,
"You will not be dealing with a weakened target. You will be dealing with something closer to a full release state."
Dinah exhaled slowly.
"I have already made my decision."
"I know," Batman replied.
"But I still have to try."
A beat of silence passed.
Then Batman continued in a more measured tone.
"The aircraft's exterior plating is coated in reflective zinc alloy. It prevents thermal and visual detection of the cockpit interior."
Dinah glanced toward the dark hangar outside.
"So he cannot see me inside the plane," she said.
"Correct," Batman replied.
"Which is why he may assume the pilot is me. That assumption increases the probability of aggressive retaliation."
Dinah nodded once.
"Understood."
"Then wish me luck."
Her voice was calm, but final.
The transmission cut.
Batman remained still in his chair for a moment, expression unreadable, burdened by the weight of unfolding events.
Barbara's voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Batman."
Her tone was sharp now, alarmed.
"A nuclear detonation has occurred within the atmosphere."
Batman's head snapped up.
"What?"
Her hands trembled slightly as she processed incoming satellite data.
"It's Coast City."
The words hit the room like a shockwave.
"Impact zone is not central, but the damage radius is catastrophic. Half the city structure is gone."
Batman's expression hardened instantly.
"Airburst or groundburst?"
Barbara hesitated.
"I cannot confirm."
Batman immediately pulled up satellite overlays, scanning atmospheric distortion patterns, thermal spread, and ionization layers.
"It is an airburst," he concluded.
"High altitude detonation, above thirty kilometers. Not optimal yield range, but still within destructive parameters."
He tightened his jaw.
"Even at that height, the electromagnetic pulse and thermal radiation effects are severe. Civilian infrastructure will still collapse, and communication systems will degrade across regions."
Static suddenly filled the communication channel.
The feed flickered.
Then degraded further.
Barbara's voice broke through intermittently.
"Batman, I am losing signal integrity."
Then nothing but white noise.
Batman struck the arm of his chair in frustration.
"They are pushing the entire continent into collapse."
Above Earth, far beyond the reach of atmospheric systems, Adrian remained locked in combat.
The nuclear warheads arrived without hesitation.
Guy Gardner still had him restrained from behind, arms locked tightly around his waist, dragging him directly into the path of the incoming detonation.
Adrian did not resist.
His expression remained unchanged.
The missiles impacted.
Light erupted instantly.
A blinding nuclear flash swallowed space itself in an instant, tearing through the darkness with overwhelming force.
Guy's energy construct shattered under the impact almost immediately.
The blast wave hit Adrian directly.
His outer synthetic layer disintegrated instantly, breaking apart under the extreme thermal pressure. The protective material failed first, scattering into atomic dust.
Then the heat reached his skin.
Flames consumed the surface layer of his body, burning through tissue with terrifying intensity. The outer dermal structure evaporated, exposing raw muscular layers beneath.
Even those layers began to deteriorate under the sustained energy output.
Yet Adrian remained in place.
His body absorbed the impact rather than being destroyed by it.
The nuclear fire continued to burn across him, stripping away protective layers and forcing biological regeneration cycles into overdrive.
For a brief moment, he looked less like a man and more like exposed living anatomy suspended in space, constantly breaking down and reforming under extreme pressure.
Then, within the burning light, something changed.
His eyes opened again.
Fully aware.
Fully intact beneath the destruction.