The metal sphere traced a perfect arc through the air and struck Superman squarely in the back of the head.
Superman's super senses had detected it the moment it came within twenty meters of him, but he paid it no mind.
A projectile like that could hit him straight in the eye without even making his eyelid red.
He glanced at the sphere from the corner of his eye. He made no move to dodge, kept facing the front line, and did not so much as stir his cape as he let the metal sphere strike the center of his back.
Then... the sphere burst open!
There was no metallic clang. Instead came a short, muffled pop, like a ripe fruit being crushed.
A cloud of thick, dark green dust erupted from the shattered sphere and spread through the air like an old blanket snapped open, covering every inch of space within two meters of Superman.
The instant the dust touched his skin, it seemed to come alive. It seeped into his pores, entered his capillaries, and reached the cores of the cells that stored his Kryptonian energy.
Superman's body went rigid.
His pupils contracted sharply. The deep blue of his eyes turned a murky dark gray, as though a curtain of ash had fallen over them and blotted out all light.
His knees began to buckle. The body that had once endured a nuclear blast with nothing but flesh and bone seemed to lose every cord holding its frame upright, collapsing layer by layer from within.
He dropped to one knee.
His dark red cape fell across the charred ground, gathering dust and debris.
Gritting his teeth, he tried to stand. His knee lifted him half an inch before the weakness rising from deep in his marrow forced him