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SM/DC Chapter 78 : Luthor's Last Gambit
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 22:02:42 +0000 UTCThe air crackled with tension as Arthur stood before Superboy.
Doom, still kneeling from before, snarled, his body tense, ready to lunge. But Arthur simply raised a hand.
“No.”
Doom’s eyes widened slightly, but he obeyed, his massive form melting into Arthur’s shadow like a ghost vanishing into the night.
Superboy frowned, confused. "That thing was the strongest one here."
Arthur chuckled, rolling his shoulders. "The strongest ?" He gestured to himself. "That’s me."
Superboy exploded forward, throwing a full-force Kryptonian punch aimed straight at Arthur’s head.
CRACK!
Superboy’s fist met empty air.
Arthur had already tilted his head to the side, his expression bored as Superboy’s fist shattered the concrete wall behind him.
Arthur sighed. "That was slow."
Superboy spun, throwing another punch.
Arthur leaned back. Dodging again.
Punch after punch, each one missing by mere inches.
Arthur effortlessly sidestepped, ducked, leaned, weaving around the attacks like he was dancing.
Superboy gritted his teeth, his frustration boiling over.
BOOM!
Superboy lashed out with a devastating uppercut.
Arthur caught it.
One hand. No effort.
Superboy's eyes widened in disbelief.
Arthur tightened his grip on Superboy’s fist and twisted.
SNAP
Superboy grunted in pain, his arm wrenched at an unnatural angle.
Arthur’s smirk widened. "You're like a newborn. You can't even swing a punch properly, maybe because you are only a half breed."
Superboy growled, trying to pull away.
Arthur let him go, only to drive his knee into his stomach.
Superboy gasped violently, his body folding in half as spit flew from his mouth.
Arthur didn’t stop.
He grabbed Superboy by the face, and drove him headfirst into the ground.
The entire floor buckled, sending cracks spider-webbing across the facility.
Superboy groaned, trying to push himself up.
Arthur let him.
WHOOSH
Superboy lunged again, this time with a kick blasting straight at Arthur’s face.
Arthur vanished.
His kick hit nothing.
Arthur reappeared behind him in a shadowy flicker.
Superboy barely had time to register it before
CRACK!
Arthur hammer-fisted him in the back of the neck, sending him crashing face-first into the floor.
Arthur casually stepped on his back, pinning him like an insect.
"And letting the likes of Lex Luthor order you around?" Arthur scoffed. "Pathetic."
Superboy snarled, trying to push up, but Arthur pressed down harder.
CRACK!
Superboy screamed in pain.
Arthur crouched down, whispering just loud enough for him to hear.
"You are better than this."
He lifted his foot.
Superboy weakly got up, eyes burning with anger and humiliation.
Arthur tilted his head, amused. "You done?"
Superboy lunged one last time.
Arthur simply turned his body slightly and
THWACK!
a vicious backhand sent Superboy flying like a ragdoll, slamming into a wall and burying him in debris.
Arthur cracked his neck. "Yeah. This is a waste of time."
Arthur stood amidst the aftermath.
To his left, Superboy groaned in pain, buried beneath concrete and steel.
To his right, his lifeless clone lay in a heap, its severed arm still twitching slightly as the Kryptonian DNA burned itself out.
Arthur’s glowing eyes flickered between the two.
"I’ll deal with all of this later."
He exhaled, letting his power surge through his veins.
WHOOSH
The world blurred.
Arthur vanished in a streak of black lightning, zipping through the corridors like a phantom. His body became a shadow among shadows, undetectable, unstoppable.
His eyes snapped shut mid-run, allowing his senses to expand.
Life forces pulsed around him like beacons in the dark.
Every living thing in this place he could feel them.
Then…
THERE.
A familiar presence.
"That’s the place."
Arthur’s eyes snapped open as he pivoted, his momentum twisting him toward a reinforced door deep in the heart of Cadmus.
But before he could get closer
A squad of armed guards burst from the corners, rifles blazing.
Bullets screamed through the air, the muzzles flashing in rapid succession.
The bullets hit Arthur. Did nothing.
They bounced off his skin like pebbles against steel.
Arthur stopped walking, staring at them blankly.
Still shooting. Still trying.
Arthur sighed. "I saw you. No need for all this."
With a flick of his wrist [Ruler’s Authority] .
Their bodies locked up.
Their own arms twisted against their will, turning their weapons toward each other.
They screamed. They fired. They fell.
Arthur kept walking. Not even sparing them a glance.
With another gesture
CRACK!
The remaining weapons shattered like glass, their pieces scattering across the cold metallic floor.
Then he stopped.
Right in front of the massive, fortified vault door.
His gaze drifted up to the glowing red text.
'CLONING CHAMBER.'
Arthur’s lips curled into a wicked smirk. "You must be in here."
BOOM!
His fist slammed forward with monstrous force.
The impact rippled through the entire facility.
The reinforced metal screamed as it bent inward.
Then
The entire gate EXPLODED inward, torn from its hinges.
Smoke and fire billowed out from the ruined doorway.
Arthur stepped forward, bathed in the fiery glow.
His voice echoed through the chamber, laced with amusement and absolute dominance.
"Knock, knock."
****
Lex Luthor stood in the observation deck, his fists clenched.
Below him, smoke still curled from the destroyed Cloning Chamber gate. The reinforced steel, bent, shattered, obliterated was a testament to the sheer power now inside the facility.
And that power was
Arthur Blackwynd.
Lex’s jaw tightened as he turned to Dr. Emil Hamilton, the scientist watching everything unfold with cold calculation.
"Lex," Emil said, not even looking at him. "You understand what’s coming for us, right?"
Lex inhaled slowly. Then, with eerily steady hands, he reached into his coat.
SHNK!
A blade pierced Emil’s chest.
The doctor’s eyes widened in shock. A sharp, wet gasp escaped his lips as he looked down, seeing Lex’s hand gripping the handle of a hidden dagger its edge dripping crimson.
"…You…" Emil’s voice faltered.
Lex leaned in, his voice quiet, yet absolute.
"My apologies, Doctor."
Lex twisted the knife.
Emil gagged, choking on his own breath, as his body trembled violently. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
Lex pulled out the blade with wiping the blood on his sleeve before tossing it aside.
He exhaled. Calm. Controlled. Unshaken by what he just did.
"I had to do this."
He glanced down at Emil’s corpse with zero remorse.
"To guarantee he walks into my trap."
Then, without hesitation, he contacted Galatea.
Across the battlefield, mid-fight
Galatea’s head snapped up as Lex’s voice cut through her mind like a blade.
"We have been attacked! Arthur Blackwynd is here and Emil is dead!"
Galatea froze.
Her pupils dilated. Her body tensed.
Kara took the chance rushing forward, fist cocked back.
"NO!"
Galatea’s rage exploded.
With blinding speed, she SLAMMED a brutal punch into Kara’s gut.
BOOM!
Kara’s eyes widened as she was launched backward, crashing through a concrete wall.
Galatea didn’t even watch her fall.
She shot into the sky, her target locked.
She was coming.
Arthur Blackwynd would die today, that was the only thing she had in mind now.
Kara, coughing from the debris, stumbled to her feet.
She saw Galatea already heading straight for Cadmus’ core.
"You are not going anywhere!" she blasted off after her.
****
Lex Luthor exhaled slowly, standing high above the chaos below.
His sharp eyes scanned the ruined remains of Cadmus. Fires burned. Smoke coiled into the air. The screams of dying soldiers echoed like a tragic symphony.
Then, he locked eyes with Arthur Blackwynd.
A chill slithered down his spine.
Arthur stood there, motionless. No smirk, no amusement, just pure, cold, calculated fury. His Doomsday bone gauntlet flexed, fingers curling like talons, ready to strike.
Lex barely had time to react.
Arthur raised his hand.
A crushing force clamped around Lex’s throat.
“Ghk—!” His airways squeezed shut. His feet lifted off the ground. Ruler’s Authority.
Before he could even process it, he was yanked forward like a ragdoll.
"Sh—IT!"
Lex flew through the air, dragged mercilessly toward Arthur. His mind raced, but Arthur was already cocking back his fist
the Doomsday-clad gauntlet gleaming with raw devastation.
Lex's pupils shrank.
"Hurry up, you useless pi—"
BOOM!
Something slammed into Arthur like a missile.
A blinding fist collided with his face, crushing him into the nearest steel wall.
The impact dented metal like paper.
The force shook the entire chamber.
Arthur’s vision blurred for a split second before he felt the full weight pressing against him. A hand still clenched around his skull, holding him in place.
Through the dust and fractured metal, he saw her.
Galatea.
Fierce. Eyes blazing red with raw vengeance. Her grip was like a vice, her knuckles whitening as she forced him deeper into the wreckage.
“You!” she hissed. “Will pay with your life for what you’ve done!”
Arthur scowled.
His muscles coiled, and before she could react
A devastating kick launched her backwards.
Galatea slammed through several consoles like they were made of glass. Sparks rained down as she landed on her feet, instantly rebounding relentless.
Arthur barely had time to steady himself before she was back in his face, throwing a vicious right hook.
He blocked. Their arms clashed. The shockwave rattled the entire room.
Blow after blow they exchanged fists like titans.
Every strike a seismic event.
A shockwave exploded behind them.
BOOM!
A streak of blue and red shot into the room like a meteor.
Kara.
She landed hard, the force of her arrival sending out a powerful gust, her cape billowing behind her.
Her blue eyes burned with fury as she took in the scene, Arthur, the ruined lab, Galatea who was engaged in a fight already with him, and finally...
Lex
Kara’s expression hardened instantly.
“I knew you’d be here too, freak.” Her eyes were laser-focused on Lex. There was no mistaking the venom in her voice.
Lex, ever the calculating strategist, didn’t even flinch. His eyes merely flicked toward her for a brief moment, his lips curling into a dark smirk as if the fight was already decided in his mind.
Galatea didn’t even flinch. She barely glanced over her shoulder.
Kara’s fists clenched. “Surrender, you guys lost already.”
Galatea smirked. “Oh, please. You can’t even keep up with me.”
But Arthur’s focus wasn’t just on Galatea.
Lex.
His eyes snapped back to him.
Lex was retreating, limping away from the battlefield, a sinister smirk curling his lips.
A hidden mechanism rumbled beneath the floor.
Faintly glowing. Activating.
Arthur narrowed his eyes. "What the hell is he up to?"
Lex stopped at a control panel, hand hovering over a button.
He turned, just enough for Arthur to see his grin widen.
“I’ll be seeing you in… never.”
Arthur’s stomach sank.
Something felt very, wrong.
