The post-war ruins were deathly silent.
Only the large red sword, stuck diagonally into the ground, still glowed with a faint, unwilling red light.
"Oh my god..."
Barry stared at the devastated Gotham suburbs, his mouth agape for a long time.
"This destructive power, even a renovation company would probably pack up and run overnight, right?"
He flashed, appearing next to Steppenwolf's discarded giant axe, and reached out to grab it.
"Heave-ho!"
He exerted himself, and the axe lifted slightly.
"Whoa, this thing is so heavy?"
Hal Jordan descended from the sky, green light coalescing into a large hand that gripped the battle-axe.
"This thing is really heavy, very dense. But for Tel-Rol to pick it up so easily, his strength is truly terrifying."
No sooner had he spoken than the batwing landed smoothly, and Bruce Wayne stepped out of the cockpit, his expression beneath the cowl unclear.
Everyone's gaze eventually converged on the large red sword.
Diana stepped forward, the air around her seeming to grow heavy with her approach.
She reached out and grasped the hilt.
It was cold to the touch, yet exuded a scorching evil aura.
The lava-like patterns on the blade had already dimmed, lifeless.
Diana took a deep breath, and the divine power within her flowed from her arm into the blade.
"Om—"
The previously dim red patterns suddenly lit up again, and the lava patterns began to flow once more.
"No!"
A blue light flashed on Victor Stone, and his arm immediately transformed into an energy cannon pointed at the great sword.
"High-energy reaction! Radiation type... matches Red Sun spectrum."
Red Sun spectrum.
The Kryptonian's bane.
"So..." Barry's words caught in his throat, "Kara, she..."
Hal cursed under his breath.
No wonder... no wonder Supergirl, who was always so sunny and cheerful, had been defeated so terribly.
Diana's brows furrowed slightly. She pulled hard, yanking the massive red weapon from the ground.
The sword was heavy, causing her arm to sink slightly.
"Victor, take this back with you."
She handed the sword to Cyborg.
"We must figure out its principle."
"You all handle things here." Diana's gaze swept towards the distance, the direction where Tel-Rol had vanished, "I'll go find them."
With that, she didn't wait for anyone's reply, pushed off with her legs, and shot into the sky.
The remaining men exchanged glances.
Bruce looked at the land destroyed by the aftermath of the battle, and the faint city lights in the distance, his voice low as it came through the communicator.
"Wayne Enterprises' disaster relief and reconstruction fund will intervene immediately."
"Barry, count civilian casualties and transfer them to safe zones."
"Hal, assist with evacuation, don't let anyone near here."
"Victor, lock down the network in this area, delete all eyewitness footage and data."
His commands were brief and direct.
"Received."
"No problem."
"Leave it to me."
After the battle ended, the superheroes began another tedious task—cleaning up the mess.
Above the atmosphere.
This was the closest place to the sun; the dazzling sunlight was unobstructed, painting everything golden.
Tel-Rol floated at the edge of silent space, holding Kara in his arms.
He looked a little tired, his eyes hollow as he gazed down at the girl in his embrace.
Kara lay quietly in his arms, her face pale, devoid of any color.
The penetrating wound on her chest was like a black hole, devouring all her vitality.
Tel-Rol extended a hand and pressed it against the wound.
Strands of almost imperceptible white aura continuously flowed from his palm into Kara's body.
He was using his own qi to sustain her life.
"Kara, stop playing dead."
His voice was a little hoarse, sounding somewhat lonely in this absolutely silent environment.
"Didn't you say you'd teach me how to be a qualified Earthling?"
"Are you giving up already? Where's your professionalism?"
In his mind, some images uncontrollably popped up.
"Tel-Rol! I told you to control your strength! Control it! The repair cost for this wall is going to be deducted from my salary again!"
Kara stood with her hands on her hips, scolding the guy who had accidentally punched through the training room wall.
"Hmph, troublesome woman."
He said so, but in his heart, he thought the wall was too flimsy.
"Hey..."
He infused another surge of qi into Kara, feeling her faint life force stabilize just a little.
That breath of life was like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
And he was the one desperately shielding the candle with his hand.
"Aren't you called 'Supergirl'? How are you more fragile than me?"
"I told you I can transform, but you didn't believe me."
"If you don't get up soon, I'm going to destroy Earth."
Another image flashed by.
"This is a microwave oven! It's for heating food! You can't put metal inside! Do you want to blow up the kitchen?!"
Kara fumbled to unplug it, looking at the still-smoking metal box with a frantic expression.
"The energy output of this thing is too unstable."
He commented with a look of disdain.
Tel-Rol just held Kara like that, unmoving.
Earth slowly rotated, and he moved with the sun's trajectory, always keeping Kara bathed in the most intense sunlight.
A day passed.
The girl in his arms showed no signs of waking; her life force remained weak, even on the verge of extinguishing.
Two days passed.
Tel-Rol's Super Saiyan form could no longer be maintained, reverting to black hair and blue pupils.
The continuous output of qi made him feel exhausted.
But he didn't stop.
As long as that flicker of candlelight remained, he wouldn't stop.
"Hey... Kara..."
"If you don't wake up soon, I might move to another planet..."
"This planet, without you... is too boring..."
His voice grew softer and softer, and his eyelids began to droop.
Three days and three nights.
He could no longer feel the passage of time, only knew to chase that golden star.
His own consciousness began to blur.
"Hey... we promised... to have a fight, didn't we..."
"If you don't get up soon... I'll... renege on the deal..."
His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.
Just as he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, about to fall with the girl in his arms towards the blue planet.
A shadow enveloped him.
He laboriously lifted his heavy eyelids, his vision already blurred.
A figure in a blue and red spandex suit appeared before him.
The large "S" symbol on his chest appeared exceptionally clear at this moment.
Tel-Rol couldn't see his face, only felt that the figure blocked the dazzling sunlight.
A steady voice, yet suppressing immense power, sounded in his ear.
"I'm sorry, Tel... I should have come sooner..."
"I'll take it from here."