Chapter Summaries

Alex captured Catwoman after she attacked him and demanded that Bruce pay to take her back. Bruce agreed to Alex’s ten-million-dollar price, then asked how much Robin was worth.

• Alex caught Catwoman’s whip, struck her unconscious, and dragged her into the room.
• Alex called Bruce, who said Catwoman had acted on her own and asked whether she was safe.
• Bruce offered one hundred million dollars to get Catwoman back, but Alex set her price at ten million dollars.
• Bruce accepted Alex’s terms, and Alex told him to collect Catwoman from the maple tree outside his home.
• Bruce stopped Alex before he hung up and asked how much Robin was worth.

Zatanna confessed to Poison Ivy that she wanted to be with Alex and offered to help her leave his side. Poison Ivy accepted a trip to the Miskito Cays in exchange, leaving Alex’s villa for the island’s abundant plants.

• Zatanna went to Alex’s villa hoping to find him, but Poison Ivy told her he was away.
• Zatanna asked Poison Ivy to leave Alex, citing his police work and her own desire to be with him.
• Poison Ivy realized Alex had begun to matter to her, though her love of plants remained stronger.
• Zatanna offered Poison Ivy money and a trip to the Miskito Cays in eastern Nicaragua.
• Poison Ivy accepted Zatanna’s offer and agreed to leave Alex for the island’s plants.

Alex planned to smuggle Poison Ivy to Central City and make her his assistant, while reflecting on his feelings and desire for a carefree life. Meanwhile, Zatanna had secretly sent Poison Ivy away and prepared to pursue Alex.

• Robin secretly attacked Alex with a stronger electric shock grenade, but Alex woke up and beat him.
• Alex took Robin to Wayne Manor and whipped him in front of Bruce, then spoke with Bruce and enjoyed Alfred's coffee milk tea.
• After leaving Wayne Manor, Alex brushed off Commissioner Gordon's demand that he hand over Poison Ivy and planned to take her to Central City.
• Alex reflected on his attraction to Poison Ivy and Zatanna, deciding he wanted to be a playboy rather than commit to one woman.
• Zatanna revealed that she had disguised Poison Ivy and sent her by chartered ship toward Nicaragua Island.
• Zatanna stood up, adjusted her clothes, and prepared to capture Alex's attention.

Alex planned to leave Gotham for Central City and then confront Lex Luthor in Metropolis, but seeing Zatanna asleep at the villa made him recognize how strongly he had grown attached to her. He discovered Poison Ivy was missing and sat beside Zatanna to wait for her to wake.

• Alex recalled how Jack embezzled gang money, then agreed to occupy the Northwest District after Alex threatened to multiply his debt.
• Alex decided to leave Gotham immediately rather than let his feelings for Zatanna grow, though he felt reluctant to part from her.
• Alex returned to the villa and found Zatanna asleep on the sofa, resisting the urge to hold her while she slept.
• Alex searched the room and villa for Poison Ivy but found no trace of her magnetic-field response.
• Alex sat beside Zatanna, telling himself he would wait until she woke and explain what had happened.

Zatanna woke to find Alex gone and searched the villa, growing increasingly distressed as she wondered whether she had driven him away. She eventually found his letter, read it, and angrily called him a coward.

• Zatanna woke on the sofa with Alex's jacket over her and realized her aching calves had recovered.
• Zatanna searched the villa for Alex but found no sign of him and feared that she had done something wrong.
• Zatanna returned to the sofa and lay there in despair until she noticed a letter on the coffee table.
• Zatanna read Alex's letter, slammed it onto the table, and shouted, "Alex, you coward!"

On a Metropolis train, Alex realized how casually Darkseid could torment him and resolved to gain power by evolving into a Divine Dragon early. As he and the system discussed how to do it, two girls boarded, and one urged Kara to ask Alex for his phone number.

• The system warned Alex that distancing himself from Zatanna would keep Darkseid from using her to threaten him.
• After hearing how Darkseid treated suffering as entertainment, Alex understood that the tyrant might torment him simply for amusement.
• Alex imagined Darkseid skewering and roasting a Divine Dragon, then asked the system how he could evolve early and gain more power.
• Alex and the system agreed to pursue his early evolution and began discussing how to achieve it.
• Two girls boarded the train, and one of them asked Kara to get Alex's phone number.

Jenny asked Kara to get Alex’s phone number, believing he was her true love, and promised to treat him sincerely. Kara approached Alex, who sensed her overwhelming physical power, but he coldly rejected her before she could ask.

• Jenny tried to approach Alex but fled back to Kara, frightened by his intimidating presence.
• Jenny begged Kara to help her and offered her a month of hot cocoa and donuts in exchange.
• Kara agreed to ask Alex for his number after warning Jenny not to deceive him about her past.
• Kara ignored Alex’s repelling magnetic field and walked toward him, while Alex sensed that her strength far exceeded his own.
• Alex called Kara ugly and told her to get lost before she could ask for his number.

Kara confronted Alex after he called her an ugly duckling, and she revealed her beauty to challenge his judgment. Alex continued insulting her until Jenny pulled the furious Kara away, leaving Jenny still interested in him.

• Kara angrily demanded that Alex explain why he had called her an ugly duckling, and Alex repeated the insult.
• Kara removed her glasses and undid her braids, then asked Alex whether he still thought she was ugly.
• Alex again called Kara an ugly duckling and told her to leave, while her anger and magnetic field overwhelmed his senses.
• Kara threatened to teach Alex a lesson, but Jenny hurried over and dragged her away before they fought.
• Kara warned Jenny not to fall for Alex, but Jenny admitted she liked him and rejected Kara's offer to introduce her to her cousin.

After sensing Kara’s overwhelming strength, Alex became determined to evolve into a Divine Dragon so he could face threats like Darkseid without living in fear. The system gave him instructions for making Nuclear Energy Balls, but the cost and lack of access to advanced laboratories left Alex planning to extort Lex Luthor.

• After Kara and Jenny left, Alex reflected on how far his strength fell short of a Kryptonian’s, and the system scolded him for provoking Kara.
• Alex asked whether evolving into a Divine Dragon could make him as strong as a Kryptonian, and the system admitted it was uncertain but said evolution required enormous energy.
• The system explained that Nuclear Energy Balls could help Alex absorb nuclear energy and accelerate his evolution.
• Alex received the instructions and learned that making Nuclear Energy Balls required advanced particle accelerator technology and a laboratory costing 1.2 billion dollars to operate.
• Alex decided he had no money to begin the process and said he would extort Lex Luthor first.

Lex Luthor monitored Superman’s rescue of workers from an oil-rig explosion and saw the hero’s presence as a threat to humanity’s independence and potential. Unable to find a way to defeat Superman yet, Luthor resolved to destroy him for humanity’s sake.

• Lex Luthor used his satellite surveillance system to track Superman and learned he had rescued nearly a hundred workers from an oil-rig explosion.
• Superman passed LexCorp Tower and caused a sonic boom as a warning to Luthor.
• Luthor argued that Superman’s rescues made humanity dependent and prevented people from confronting danger themselves.
• Luthor feared Superman’s power could eventually let him conquer and enslave humanity.
• Luthor concluded that he had to destroy Superman so humanity could become self-reliant.

Lex Luthor learned that Lexi had cleaned up the T5 Incident and dismissed the superhero who destroyed the Central City laboratory as a clown. He and Lexi found a mysterious letter on his guarded car, with its unexplained appearance alarming his security team.

• Lexi reported that she had dealt with the researchers connected to the T5 Incident and prevented the laboratory materials from leaking.
• Luthor told Lexi that the superhero in Central City was a clown, then suggested that they might need superheroes.
• Luthor and Lexi rode to the third basement level and found a white envelope on the windshield of his car.
• Lexi stopped Luthor from approaching the envelope and summoned the captain responsible for his security.
• The security captain said that the envelope had not been on the car thirty seconds earlier.

Lex Luthor’s bodyguards launched an A-Class security response after surveillance revealed an invisible man had delivered an envelope to his car. After Lex Luthor read the letter, the unseen intruder appeared behind him and lifted him off the ground.

• The bodyguard captain escalated the threat to an A-Class Crisis and ordered the teams to secure the garage, scan for the invisible man, and protect Lex Luthor.
• Lex Luthor watched footage of the envelope’s precise delivery, and Lexi judged the unseen sender’s control to be greater than her own.
• The bodyguards tested the envelope for hazards, then Lexi opened it and handed the letter to Lex Luthor.
• Lex Luthor read the letter and called it interesting, but a voice sounded behind him as the invisible man seized him and lifted him into the air.

Alex attacked Lex Luthor in a parking garage, crushing Lexi’s arm and blasting away the bodyguards before demanding to know what Lex had found amusing. When Alex said he wanted Lex’s life, Lex insisted that no one in Metropolis could take it; a red-and-blue figure then burst into the garage, prompting Alex to throw Lex aside.

• Alex seized Lex Luthor by the neck and lifted him after hearing him laugh.
• Lexi charged Alex to rescue Lex, but Alex struck her with Magnetic Psionics and severely injured her arm.
• Alex unleashed a shockwave that blasted Lex Luthor’s remaining bodyguards away.
• Alex demanded to know what Lex had found amusing, and Lex asked whether Alex wanted money.
• Alex said he wanted Lex’s life, but Lex declared that no one in Metropolis could take it.
• Alex sensed a lethal threat and threw Lex aside as a red-and-blue figure burst into the parking garage.

Alex blocked Superman’s supersonic charge with Magnetic Psionics, but the impact badly damaged his body. When Superman increased his force, Alex was hurled into a wall, and Superman believed he had killed him.

• Alex threw Lex Luthor aside as Superman charged through the parking garage at supersonic speed.
• Alex used Magnetic Psionics to block Superman’s fists, but the impact tore apart his cells and left him near his limit.
• Superman mistook Alex’s intact defense for proof that he could withstand more force and pressed harder.
• The added impact blasted Alex into a wall, leaving him bloodied and motionless.
• Superman descended in shock, believing he had killed Alex and grieving over his mistake.

Superman killed Alex accidentally while saving Lex Luthor, then confronted Lex about his apparent indifference and the attack. Lex claimed Alex had tried to blackmail him, but Superman detected the lie and noticed a letter nearby.

• Superman saw Alex’s shattered body caught in the webbed wall, while Lex Luthor suppressed his awe at Superman’s power.
• Lex told Superman that Alex had deserved his fate, and Superman angrily lifted Lex by his suit and accused him of disrespecting life.
• Lex said Superman had beaten Alex to death; Superman admitted he had killed Alex by accident and said he would turn himself in.
• Superman questioned Lex about why Alex had attacked him, and Lex claimed Alex had tried to blackmail him because he was wealthy.
• Superman used X-ray Vision to detect that Lex was lying, then spotted a letter in the corner as Lex’s nerves twitched again.

Superman confronted Lex Luthor over human experiments using Superman’s genes and discovered nine experimental bases in Metropolis. As Alex, gravely wounded, faced Superman, he asked whether Superman would stop him.

• Superman read a letter and accused Lex Luthor of using his genes in experiments on more than three hundred people.
• Lex denied responsibility and challenged Superman to produce evidence, while Superman warned that he would eventually send Lex to prison.
• Superman’s gaze exposed Lex’s involuntary reactions to nine experimental bases in Metropolis, revealing their approximate locations.
• Lex reminded Superman that witnesses and surveillance footage showed him killing the Central City hero, and Superman said he would turn himself in.
• Alex slid down from the damaged wall, barely stayed upright, and asked Superman if he was going to stop him.

Alex survived Superman's devastating blow and refused Superman's offer of help, insisting he did not blame him. Still badly injured, Alex demanded $3.5 billion from Lex Luthor for the deaths in Central City and his expenses, while Superman stepped in to oppose him.

• Superman discovered that Alex had reconnected his shattered body with Magnetic Psionics and that his cells were rapidly regenerating.
• Alex rejected Superman's help and said he blamed only himself for being too weak to withstand the blow.
• Alex warned Superman not to interfere in his dispute with Lex Luthor, then demanded $3.5 billion in compensation and expenses.
• Lex Luthor denied Alex's accusations and considered killing him, but Superman remained at the scene.
• Superman stepped forward and said he could not allow Alex to carry out his threat.

Alex refused to let Superman stop him from making Luthor answer for the deaths of 321 families, while Luthor denied the charges and threatened retaliation. When Superman chose to oppose Alex, Alex revealed that Superman was Clark Kent, leaving both Superman and Luthor stunned as he walked away.

• Superman tried to prevent Alex from extorting or killing Luthor, but Alex insisted Luthor had to pay for the 321 deaths in Central City.
• Luthor demanded evidence of his crimes, and Superman admitted he had none but vowed to gather proof and send Luthor to prison.
• Superman threatened to watch Alex and report him if he killed anyone, while Luthor planned to use his wealth and power against Alex and his family.
• Alex hinted that he knew Superman's identity and weakness, then asked whether Superman would still oppose him; Superman refused to let Alex kill freely.
• Alex revealed that Superman was Clark Kent, a reporter for the Daily Planet, then staggered away as Superman and Luthor reacted in shock.

At NASA, George discovered that a controlled faster-than-light object was heading through the Oort Cloud toward Earth. General Zod brought the Kryptonian Mothership to the edge of the Solar System and ordered it to gather sunlight near Earth, wary of Jor-El’s son and the power he had gained.

• George compared Hubble images and identified a controlled, faster-than-light object moving through the Oort Cloud toward Earth.
• The Kryptonian Mothership crossed the Oort Cloud and reached the edge of the Solar System with only five percent of its energy remaining.
• General Zod felt the Sun strengthen his body and concluded that Kryptonians could become immensely powerful under its light.
• Faora reported the mothership’s low energy and urged Zod to reach Earth, find the Central Codex, and revive Krypton.
• Zod explained that Jor-El’s son had absorbed sunlight on Earth for thirty-three years and ordered the mothership to divert power toward Earth and gather sunlight at full capacity.

After regenerating overnight, Alex recovered from Superman’s punch and ate lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel while the system warned him that Lex Luthor might kill him. Lexi arrived with a Wells Fargo card containing the promised $3.5 billion, leaving the system to concede that Lex Luthor had paid.

• Alex woke surrounded by shed blood and tissue, then showered and had the Four Seasons staff clean the bedroom.
• The system berated Alex for taking Superman’s punch and urged him to beg for mercy, but Alex brushed off its advice.
• Alex ordered and ate three steaks at the hotel restaurant while the system warned him that Lex Luthor might be seeking revenge.
• Hotel security cleared the restaurant, and Lexi arrived with a black-and-gold Wells Fargo card containing $3.5 billion from Lex Luthor.