Faced with a killing blow, Homelander was surprisingly calm.
He had already risen to his feet and taken hold of the edge of the red cape behind him.
He flicked his wrist.
The cape spread out before him.
It was the item he had drawn from a Superhero Blind Box and integrated into his system uniform.
Item name: Reflective Cape Trait one — Energy Refraction: Identifies and deflects energy attacks across the full spectrum. Any attack that touches the cape's surface undergoes total reflection. Additional effect: Reflected attacks retain all their original properties and power, while their speed increases by 50%. Trait two — Adaptive Coating: Any attack successfully blocked by the cape is tracked. Its energy returns unchanged along its original path.
"Bounce back."
Homelander spoke the two words softly.
Hiss—!!!
The red Annihilation Ray slammed squarely into the thin cape.
Without a moment's delay, the ray shot back along its original path at one and a half times its incoming speed!
"What?!"
Darkseid had no time to react.
Splat!
The Omega Annihilation Ray he had fired at full power struck him square in the chest.
"Aaaaaah—!!!"
Darkseid let out the most agonized scream of his life.
Even a god's body could not withstand the full force of his own annihilation power.
At last, he understood just how terrifying his new power was.
Annihilation energy ran rampant inside him, corroding his divine structure at the conceptual level and breaking down his physical defenses.
His body's defenses shut down, leaving him utterly vulnerable.
Through sheer tenacity, he survived the fatal blow.
But the backlash made his vision go black, and his mind went blank for a moment.
"Hah... hah..."
Darkseid had barely recovered from the pain and still had no idea what had happened.
Then, without warning, he