The Watchtower briefing room was unusually tense.
A massive holographic projection flickered at the center of the table — Coast City under siege. An alien war machine had descended without warning, metallic limbs drilling into the earth, siphoning energy directly from the city's power grid.
Batman's voice cut through the air. "Unknown origin. Unknown tech. Energy signature fluctuating. It adapts to resistance."
Clark stood at the head of the table, as he always had. Leader. Symbol. Steel.
But today, something in his posture was off. His jaw was tight. His gaze distracted.
Vita stood across from him, arms folded, expression unreadable. She did not look at him — but she felt him. The hesitation. The fracture.
"We hit it fast," Clark said firmly. "Full-force containment. I'll neutralize the core."
Vita's eyes flicked up slightly. "You don't even know where the core is."
Clark's jaw flexed. "I'll find it." Batman's eyes narrowed subtly.
Diana glanced between them.
There it was. Not weakness. Unsteadiness.
Minutes later, the League descended over Coast City.
The sky was darkened by smoke and crackling blue energy. The alien construct towered over skyscrapers, shifting constantly — its metallic limbs morphing, shields flickering unpredictably.
Clark shot forward first.
Too fast.
He slammed into the structure with brute force — and was immediately blasted backward by a shockwave that rippled across the sky.
Flash barely caught him mid-air.
"Okay! That was… aggressive," Flash muttered.
Vita hovered higher, eyes blazing gold as she scanned the machine. She wasn't attacking.
She was studying.
The construct shifted again — absorbing power from the city grid.
"It's adapting to impact force," she called out calmly. "Clark, stop charging it."
Clark pushed himself upright mid-air. "We don't have time to analyze."
"We don't have time for you to lose control either," she shot back.
The words hung heavy. The League heard it.
Clark's eyes flashed with heat — but not from power.
From pride.
"Stand down, Vita," he said firmly.
She didn't.
Instead, she flew higher, her wings spreading wide, radiant against the smoky sky.
Her voice sharpened.
"Batman — redirect power grid to overload sector twelve. Diana — flank left joint. Lantern, shield the civilians. Flash, cut external conduits."
They moved.
Not because Clark ordered it.
Because Vita did.
Clark hesitated — just for a second.
And that second cost them.
The alien machine shifted, firing an energy pulse directly toward a residential tower still half-evacuated.
Clark froze.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Five years ago, he would've moved without thought.
But now?
Now he doubted himself.
Vita didn't.
She shot forward in a streak of gold light, intercepting the blast mid-air. Her wings absorbed the impact, glowing intensely as energy crackled across her form.
The sky lit up.
She redirected the energy upward in a controlled explosion, saving the building.
The League stared.
Clark stared.
She didn't just block it.
She controlled it.
Evolved.
---
The machine began shifting violently, targeting Vita now.
Clark flew to her side. "You're overexerting."
"I'm not the one hesitating."
The words cut clean.
The machine launched mechanical tendrils toward them.
Clark grabbed one — crushing it.
Vita fired a precise beam into its joint system.
They moved together — but tension pulsed between every motion.
Finally, Vita closed her eyes mid-air.
Clark blinked. "What are you doing?!"
"Trusting myself," she replied.
Her hands glowed brighter.
She wasn't attacking the metal.
She was targeting the energy frequency inside it.
Her mind-restoring ability — evolved.
She sent a pulse of stabilizing light into the machine's adaptive core.
For a moment, the entire construct froze.
Glitched.
Then powered down.
Silence fell over Coast City.
The war machine collapsed into dormant scrap.
The League hovered in stunned quiet.
Batman broke it first.
"It wasn't adapting to force," he said slowly. "It was adapting to emotional aggression."
Vita lowered herself to the ground.
"It was feeding on instability," she said.
Clark landed beside her.
"And I gave it exactly that," he finished quietly.
There it was.
Acknowledgment.
Not defensive.
Not angry.
Real.
Vita finally looked at him fully.
For the first time since returning.
Her voice was steady.
"You're not weak, Clark."
His eyes searched hers.
"You're distracted."
That hurt more.
He exhaled slowly.
"You think I don't know that?"
"Knowing isn't fixing it."
The confrontation wasn't explosive.
It was worse.
It was honest.
The rest of the League watched — not intruding, but understanding something fundamental had shifted.
Clark wasn't the only pillar anymore.
Vita wasn't returning to stand behind him.
She was standing beside him.
Or maybe—
Challenging him.
Batman stepped forward.
"Today," he said calmly, "Vita Nova demonstrated evolved energy control. Superman demonstrated compromised focus."
No sugarcoating.
Clark nodded once.
Vita didn't smile.
She didn't gloat.
She simply turned toward the city.
"Civilians first," she said quietly.
And began helping rebuild.
Clark remained still for a moment.
Watching her.
Realizing something terrifying and beautiful at the same time.
She hadn't come back broken.
She hadn't come back angry.
She had come back stronger.
And for the first time in years—
Superman felt unsteady steel.
Not because he was weak.
But because the balance had changed.
And the woman he once lost…
Was no longer the one who left.