Chapter 284: Titan

"Everyone get off the street immediately, hide in the lower floors of buildings, or find cover—quick! Quick! Quick!"

"Superman has gone mad, run!"

"No, no, no, oh god, half a building is falling down!"

As the crowd screamed and fled in panic, the damaged buildings began to crumble, with countless fragments of debris plummeting to the ground; huge concrete blocks, steel bars, and sharp shards of glass rained down on the pedestrians in the street like flowers scattered by a celestial maiden.

Clearly, the citizens of Metropolis lacked sufficient experience; the crowd scrambled in all directions, jostling and hindering one another, piling up in a knot that made onlookers anxious.

"Oh my God."

Drake and Camilla were currently hiding in a corner of a damaged building, their faces pale as they watched that red cape darting at high speed through the sky.

"I told you, the room should have a basement," Camilla complained softly. "Now the house is smashed through, and we have nowhere to hide."

Drake replied softly as well: "Hiding in a basement would be truly disastrous; by the time our house actually collapses, we'll be completely trapped inside. Who knows how long we'd have to wait for rescue—believe me, a building that's already been damaged is actually safer."

Having said this, the two fell silent, looking at each other. Drake gazed at the surrounding walls and ruins, and sorrow welled up within him: "When we were in Gotham, we only heard that a very powerful superhero had come to Metropolis, reducing the frequency of violent crimes to about once every few months. We thought life here would be as good as before, but no one said that violent crimes here now could destroy half a city block at a time."

Lady Camilla also chimed in: "That's right; these people are running around in a panic, clearly living too comfortably and not exercising often."

The couple, having spoken thus, looked at each other, and their hearts involuntarily recalled the days in Gotham.

Back then, everyone had grown accustomed to gunfights occasionally breaking out on the morning streets, the hundred-powder being hawked from fragrant food carts, and gang thugs occasionally being thrown out of windows; although life was quite noisy, at least no one was tearing down houses.

"Crime in Gotham happens almost every day," Drake sighed. "But the damage caused was at least within the realm of 'humanity'; I mean, at least a house being blown up could still be considered major news."

Voom—!

As they were talking, an invisible sonic wave suddenly spread through the air. A half-cyborg figure, half silver and half black, used a mechanical hand to pull himself up into the sky and blasted the airborne building fragments to pieces with a sonic cannon on his right hand.

"Superman! Snap out of it!"

Boom! Boom!

The half-cyborg figure fired every micro-missile on his body; continuous, violent explosions and fire engulfed the terrifying caped man in the sky. Terrifying shockwaves, temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees, and high-speed shrapnel completely covered that area, scorching and attacking his skin.

Yet the man at the center of the explosion felt nothing. He reached out to feel the scorching flames, experienced the vibration and impact with every cell in his body, and watched as sharp shrapnel pierced his red-and-blue suit—then he let out a cold, mocking chuckle.

The flames were warm, the sensation against his skin like a warm bath; the shockwaves were numb, their force not even enough to count as a massage; and the weak shrapnel couldn't even scratch his suit, shattering into pieces of scrap metal against his steel body.

For the first time, he experienced this feeling of omnipotence, which made him obsessed, making him intoxicated. Then he laughed wildly, burst out of the flames, and casually punched the other figure away.

The cyborg's body left a sharp sonic boom in the air as it crashed through a building, embedding itself deep underground.

"Beg for mercy, Cyborg! Beg me for a quick death!"

The caped man flew above the city sky; his arrogant laughter seemed to shake all of Metropolis.

"He really looks like that mindless, super-evil big villain from the comics who's about to destroy the world," Drake couldn't help but remark. "I never imagined Superman would be of this style."

"I regret it, Drake," Camilla sighed as well. "In the few months since we moved here, we haven't encountered a single crime. At that time, I was thinking that this place was so much safer than Gotham, and I even decided to spend the rest of my life in Metropolis—that was a huge mistake."

Meanwhile, the rumbling sound in the high sky echoed like thunder across the heavens; the caped man transformed into a blurred streak of light and dove into a building, shaking Metropolis once again.

Sharp-eyed Drake saw him carrying Cyborg back up into the sky, but this time, Cyborg's condition seemed extremely dire.

"Superman tore off that iron-block's mechanical arm and one mechanical leg," Drake sighed. "That guy is done for; he can't beat Superman—he might be torn into pieces directly."

"Hey, Superman! What are you doing to Cyborg! Are you crazy? He's a special member of the Titans, not a villain!"

Hearing the voice, the caped man turned his head. He saw a green figure suddenly appear on the street. Although he didn't know who the other was, he still sneered: "Fool, of course he's not a villain—but I am."

He casually tossed the half-crippled Cyborg aside, smashing him directly into a nearby building, but he didn't care. Instead, he continued to mock the green teenager: "Are you also a fool who claims to be a superhero? How many more of you are there? You can all come at once."

"As you wish!"

Accompanied by a crisp shout of anger, a scrapped car slammed down like an iron hammer. The startled caped man turned his head sharply; just as he raised his hand, the massive vehicle, carrying tremendous force, hammered him into the road like a nail.

"What's going on?"

Drake in the corner looked at the girl in the red uniform with a 'W' symbol on her waist. This person seemed to have appeared in Metropolis news before; she and the green-skinned teenager were teammates.

The girl frowned. She threw the car in her hand aside, but could only see a deep pit smashed through by a steel body, unable to see the other's shadow.

"Superman shouldn't be unable to withstand the kinetic energy of a car; this has nothing to do with his own mass—his bio-field should clearly allow him to remain motionless."

"Is that so? It seems you know Superman very well."

A cold male voice, suppressed with anger, sounded beside her ear. The girl's pupils suddenly contracted.

He flew behind me? When?

At the same time, the green-skinned teenager couldn't help but be startled. He shouted loudly to his teammate: "Wonder Girl! Be careful!"

"Too late to say that now," the caped man sneered, lifting a heavy steel plate from the building.

"It's too late!"

Thud!

(End of Chapter)