The sky seemed to split apart as the ground quaked with ferocity. Lightning cleaved the heavy clouds and thunder rolled like the roar of an angry god. A violent force pressed down on everyone in its path, warping the air around them.
Wonder Woman stood face‑to‑face with Kara. Her expression was solemn, fierce, and resolute.
"If saving Rachel means a sacrifice," she said, voice steady, "then I'd rather go down a proud Amazon than live in shame."
"Alright," Kara replied, lips twisting into a weak smile. The tremors battered them, but she refused to falter. "I've changed my mind. I can't make that decision. Rachel is my little sister. If I ever did it, I'd carry that guilt forever."
Wonder Woman drew her Vulcan Sword from its scabbard — the gleaming blade born of myth and righteous judgment. It was the first time she'd ever wielded it in battle. Previously she relied on her paired swords, but this moment called for something greater.
Lifting the blade high, she said, "By my command as Vice Chair of the Justice League, our mission changes — full‑force engagement with Trigon. We protect Rachel at all costs."
She then turned her hardened gaze toward Green Lantern, bound by the Lasso of Truth.
"Do you object?"
His voice was solemn yet unshakable. "My role is as a cosmic guardian, not merely a League agent, but I saw this choice coming. I obey. If we fall — then we fall together."
The Lasso's bonds vanished.
Adrian stood still, gaze locked on Wonder Woman's sudden shift. Her decision was unexpected, but it carried conviction. The violent surge of crimson smoke and otherworldly pressure enveloped them, assaulting their minds. The sky bled red.
Then came the voice:
"Hehehe! My daughter, you tried to hide, but I found you! You cannot escape — you cannot defy me!"
Above them, a colossal silhouette materialized. Red‑skinned and infernal, Trigon's projection dominated the heavens. Golden armor plated his chest, and six menacing eyes stared down. The platform beneath him cracked and groaned under oppressive weight.
Even his projection embodied sovereign command.
Flames churned like boiling clouds, consuming all light near his feet.
"You think you can stop me?" Trigon boomed.
Wonder Woman planted her feet — Vulcan Sword raised — and countered, "We have no choice but to fight!"
"You," Trigon sneered, "are unworthy. This age has no true weapons, no heroes left. Surrender before me!"
Adrian stepped forward, voice ice‑cold yet unflinching: "What about me?"
Before Trigon could answer, twin torrents of crimson‑gold energy erupted from Adrian's eyes. Heat Vision — devastating, unstoppable — tore upward and blasted at Trigon's form. The beams cleaved through elemental fire and smoke alike.
Trigon snarled, abruptly taken aback. "You… are no Kryptonian I've ever seen. Who are you?"
Adrian didn't hesitate. "I am Superman's brother — Rachel's brother — and your worst mistake."
He launched himself with brutal force, fist whipping through the air like a thunderclap. Wind screamed, rocks shattered, and even Trigon flinched.
The demon lord responded by summoning infernal armies — flaming beasts with hellfire burning in their veins — driving toward Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl.
Adrian collided with Trigon again and again. Bone spurs cracked outward like jagged weapons from his fists. Each strike thundered through the hellfire haze. Trigon grunted, finally slamming Adrian backward with brutal force. Hellfire spilled across his scorched form.
Then, like lightning from the North Pole, Clark arrived.
He struck Trigon in the neck with devastating speed, his rage unleashed without restraint. Every punch was a force of nature — thunder rolling, wind screaming.
But Trigon fired back — an infernal beam that launched Clark backward, shattering earth and stone.
Adrian, badly burned yet unbroken, intercepted Clark's fall.
"We fight together," he growled, eyes blazing crimson with ferocity and unrestrained power.
Their attacks converged — Heat Vision against Hellfire Vision — shaking the very air with explosive force.
Before the next assault could land, Rachel's cries echoed.
Trigon recoiled momentarily, abandoning the attackers as his malice surged toward Baron Winters's chamber.
But Adrian didn't flinch. He stood between Trigon and the frightened child.
"Get them out of here," Winters gasped. He thrust them into the roaring fireplace — its flames erupting with unnatural intensity.
Space twisted, reality bent, and in the blink of an eye, Adrian, Clark, and Rachel appeared in a forgotten era.
Before them lay streets of old, horse‑drawn carriages, and wooden storefronts.
Adrian scanned his vision like a weapon. A newsstand's date confirmed it:
San Francisco, 1906. A hundred years in the past.
Clark staggered, clutching his shoulder.
"We… we traveled through time?"
Adrian didn't sugarcoat it. "Yes. And the Great Quake is about to hit."
He handed Rachel to Clark, eyes fixed on the void ahead.
And there, materializing from nothing, was Trigon's looming form once more — more furious than ever.
Adrian didn't hesitate. His body crackled with unfiltered destruction — bone spurs, crimson gaze, and an aura that warped the world around him.
He launched forward like thunder, grabbing a metal statue and hurling it into Trigon.