I Can Control Fiction In DC: 2, Metropolis

<< …. The Government has not identified with this creature and is rumored to have left members of the Justice League wounded or near dead at Carlin Heights...... >>

<< ..... Will Superman meet the Challenge and keep this ..... Doomsday … out of Metropolis? >>

“..... Carlin Heights? .....” Inside a black limousine riding on the streets of Metropolis, a bald man wearing an expensive suit raised an eyebrow and muttered.

“Mercy. Does that name sound familiar to you?”

In front was a television and to his left was his assistant. A hot, dark haired, fair skinned woman who simultaneously served as his bodyguard.

Mercy Graves. In response to his question, she answered indifferently.

“.... It's the location of The Asset, Mr. Luthor".

This was the wealthy billionaire, owner, and CEO of Lexcorp and influential politician, Lex Luthor. At the moment, the man's brows furrowed for a few moments, seemingly attempting to recollect.

Mercy's lips twitched.

“The one from Cadmus Labs”.

“...”. Luthor faced her with a deadpan look.

“I have countless Cadmus operations Mercy. It would do you well to be specific”.

Lex certainly missed the sight of her slightly clenched fists.

“.... In the last Military incident ….”.

That seemed to do it, as an expression of enlightenment finally appeared on the man's face.

“Ah. You mean that asset”. A slight frown emerged, seemingly bringing back unpleasant memories. They faded just as fast as they appeared though.

“Well then … Any action?”

“Unknown sir. There were no reports of a collision between both subjects”.

“Oh”. Whatever interest Luthor had brewed up faded rapidly. “I see”.

Watching him turn his attention back to the TV, Mercy wasn't the least bit surprised.

The subject in question had shown a high level of inactivity for months now. Almost never leaving the confines of its abode.

Even Luthor's initial enthusiasm had waned greatly.

<< It seems that Superman is the only Hope Metropolis has. In the Past, that's always been enough …. >>

“Oh please, cry me a river”. Lex Luthor uttered blandly as his limousine drove into the underground lair somewhere in Metropolis.

On National Television was the label, [Doomsday For Metropolis?] and the scene of the rampaging creature tossing Superman around like a rag doll was being displayed for all of America and beyond to behold.

Looking at her boss, Mercy noticed an almost imperceptible upward curl of his lips.

It was quite faint and perhaps could have been taken for a mistake by anyone else. But Mercy had worked under this man long enough to know him better than anyone else.

“.... I see you don't seem troubled by its appearance in the slightest”.

“Trust me when I say Mercy, that that scene was the most amusing thing I've seen all week”.

Yep, she definitely wasn't mistaken.

“Still, all humor aside …". Lex uttered without any expression changes. “What kind of civilization would produce that?”

Lex's curiosity wasn't uncalled-for. In many years, few things could weaken The Man Of Steel. Even fewer could tussle with him to this extent and have such an advantage.

'Here we go again'.

Mercy frowned slightly. And once again, her boss had taken interest to a dangerous element that could potentially mean the death of him.

'..... Turns out he was right. Lex will never learn ….'.

“It seems its only function is destruction”. Her personal thoughts did nothing to corrupt her professionalism.

“.... Yes. Perhaps it's a weapon. A first strike meant to wipe out all life on a planet for a conquering force”.

“That would explain why it came to Metropolis. It's attracted to large crowds”.

“... Indeed,". Luthor placed the remote aside and reached for the television. At that moment, the screen zoomed in on Doomsday's face. “Who besides me would send an Apex predator here to kill the strongest thing it could find?”

He uttered with a cunning smirk and eyes full of intrigue.

The car finally came to a halt. At this point, they were already deep underground, seemingly in a high-tech base.

“You think it might kill Superman?” Mercy asked, stepping out of the car. Lex did the same.

“.... It would save me a lot of trouble ….”. The man thought in contemplation. “Perhaps even do me one more …".

Lex walked ahead with steady steps. Mercy following behind him by a foot, fully aware of where he was going with this,

“Tell me, Mercy, who would you think would win in a battle between This …. Doomsday and The Asset”.

“I have too little information to make a definite statement”.

“Oh, come on now. Where's your imaginative thinking?”

“... You don't seem to put The Asset on the same level as Superman …". The female bodyguard replied. “So why ask if you already have your own answer”.

“A different perspective, Mercy". He replied while looking at the large TV screen in the base displaying the same news feed.

“From my perspective …". She stopped beside him, crossed her arms and spoke. “I've never seen the subject in action. But If his ability is as absolute as you once estimated, then the battle will be over before it even begins”.

“..”. Silence followed. Luthor's brows knitted even more.

“Yes … That would be the end result. Wouldn't it?”

“However, he's never shown up again”. Mercy continued. “No matter what happened, be it in Metropolis or beyond. Even this. He didn't respond. Judging from his character, I doubt he would remain indifferent to it when a monster shows up at his door”.

“Indeed”. Lex responded. “Unless of course, his ability didn't work on it. Meaning, his powers have a limit …".

This was his conclusion.

“Is that surprising?” Mercy asked blandly.

“No … No, it isn't”. Luthor affirmed. 'When an animal at the top of the food chain meets an Apex predator. One has to step aside'.

In this life, no power was absolute.

He believed this. And with this in mind, all thoughts of The Asset was tossed aside.

“Though now I can't stop thinking, what if the Caped wonder can't bring it down?”

Multiple mech suits of varying sizes and high-tech metal lined the sides of the room.

“Metropolis will still need to be protected”.

It happened then. The metal floor on the platform a few feet away suddenly opened up. Following which, a special Super suit, quite similar to the others, except carrying green paint emerged slowly from the floor.

“Luckily, It's a day I've been planning for a long time”.

Lex said. Looking at the kryptonite powered super suit he had designed to deal with Superman, he could help but stretch out his arms in the air with a brilliant light in his eyes.

“.... I see sir. May I ask if The Asset's disappearance is a cause for concern?”.

Lex's eyebrows furrowed. “Perhaps. But given his inactivity, it shouldn't be much of a problem”.

The bald man brushed it aside. His mind elsewhere.

It was time to show the world the power of Lex Luthor.

Everything else could wait.

There was a large TV screen in the underground base. Turning his head, Lex realized that the battlefield location had changed several times.

From the Center square, to the bridge, to downtown Metropolis and now, into the skies.

'The Boy Scout is really getting it hard this time'. Lex thought in his head and moved towards his suit.

“Now then. Time to suit up”.

Meanwhile …

Hall Of Justice …

The building that served as the Justice League's base of operations in this universe was based in Metropolis instead of Washington, DC.

The Hall of Justice stood tall and resolute, a gleaming architectural marvel nestled at the end of Centennial Avenue, one of Metropolis' prime locations. Its polished marble facade and towering spires made it a symbol of hope and unity. Surrounding it were high-rise buildings, their modern designs reflecting the city's progress and vitality.

A stark contrast to the scarred districts further away where chaos had erupted.

The battle in Metropolis had left its mark on several streets. Each clash tearing through walls and vehicles in the neighborhood.

Sirens wailed intermittently as emergency services rushed to contain fires and evacuate civilians. The streets directly affected by the battle bore the brunt of the destruction—craters marred the asphalt, and overturned cars lay scattered like discarded toys.

“… Honestly, not as bad as I thought".

Liam sat on one of these buildings. Observing the aftermath of the battle between Superman and Doomsday.

In the distance, plumes of smoke rose from several buildings, their faint silhouettes outlined by the flickering glow of fires.

Parts of Metropolis had definitely been impacted by the battle between the two aliens. The Metropolis bridge would need extensive repairs once this was over. Liam wouldn't deny.

Many would die. But in his perspective, the number of casualties would be minimal. At least, from what he understood of the DC universe, today's level of destruction was not even worth mentioning.

The death toll ..... Even more so. After all, there was only one enemy. And that enemy was being held down by the Man Of Steel himself.

The situation might look bad. But the total number of dead and injured made up less than a hundred people since the battle began.

Not a single building had collapsed, either.

It was nothing compared to Darkseid's Invasion many years ago that swept the entire world, causing casualties amounting to tens of millions.

In this universe, The Justice League had banded together to defeat the God Of Tyranny and his army of Parademons.

It was years before Liam arrived, however, and the world hadn't experienced a tragedy of that level ever since then.

Of course, if Superman died without killing doomsday, that would be a whole different story.

'Perhaps this universe's Superman isn't as strong as I expected'.

Liam thought.

It happened then.

The roar of the skies above pulled his attention upward, and his eyes narrowed as a blazing streak tore through the clouds. The fiery comet illuminated the devastation below as it carved a path across the heavens, trailing smoke and embers. It descended in a wide arc, slamming into the earth with an earth-shattering crash that shook the very foundation of the city.

A reverberating explosion resounded.

The resulting shockwave from the crash exploded in all directions, shattering every single piece of glass in the entire street.

Liam felt a powerful gust of wind slam him in the face, forcing him to tilt his head to the side.

'…. I stand corrected'.

A large amount of dust and debris was swept from the point of impact to one end of the street on Liam's left.

The cars on the street were blasted away by a flaming red light consisting of both the heat generated from re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and Superman's heat vision.

The dust settled. Turning his head, what fell into his eyes was a massive crater spanning the entire street.

'Well, I'll be a ….'. His inner thoughts came to a halt as something else caught his eye. In the distance, two figures came out of the corner, rapidly approaching the crash site.

'…. You've gotta be kidding me'.

Liam's eyebrows couldn't get any higher.

All because of the identities of the two individuals. Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen.

Since when did regular people lose their fear of death?

Meanwhile, down below.

“Come on Jimmy”. With the smoke dissipating, Lois Lane and her trusty cameraman, Jimmy Olsen, moved fearlessly to the crash site.

<< At this point. It's impossible to tell who's the victor. Though Superman has come from behind before >>

The dark haired female reporter said to the camera, her back towards the crash site.

Liam was speechless. 'Something's coming from behind alright'.

His thoughts weren't even finished when …

Boom! A figure leaped out of the crater, slamming into the earth.

Lois Lane had barely turned when she and Jimmy were swept to the ground.

The terrifying roar of a raging beast enveloped the sky. Doomsday emerged, the beast without a single scar on its form.

In the crater laid a motionless Superman. His breathing weak, suit torn and body battered and bleeding.

They couldn't see the victor clearly. Liam could.

Just from the difference in physical condition, the man of steel had already lost.

'Alright, it was fun while it lasted'. Liam thought, sitting up. The battle was over, and he had watched long enough.

'Let's end this …'.

It happened then. Liam had barely stood upright when a whirring mechanical sound fell into his ears.

The Kryptonian monster paused, turning towards the sound when a giant beam of green energy blasted it straight in the face.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone as Doomsday was sent flying.

The camera quickly turned in the direction of the green energy blast. Lo and behold, a large mechanical suit stood at the other end with a laser blaster mounted on its shoulder.

The entire surface was colored green, but the most eye-catching display was the giant holographic image of a bald head on the face area.

That was …. Lex Luthor?

Liam's expression hardened immediately.

“Luthor!”