Gotham City, once the city of sin, is now nothing but ruins that silently weep.
On the scorched, putrid earth, two figures were frantically fleeing.
Their battle suits were already tattered, revealing skin underneath stained with gunpowder and blood.
" Barbara! How much Kryptonite do we have left?" Kate Kane roared at her companion as she deftly flipped over a broken piece of steel.
Behind them, several lowly Parademons let out piercing shrieks, and with each flap of their bat wings, a nauseating stench filled the air.
Further behind them, two even larger monsters were slowly pursuing them, their every step causing the earth to tremble slightly. These were Apokolips' most terrifying individual combat units— the Doomsday.
Barbara Gordon sidestepped as she ran, fumbling from a hidden compartment in her tactical belt until she pulled out a bullet that gleamed with an eerie green light.
"This is the only one left!" She was breathing heavily, sweat trickling down her forehead, leaving two clear streaks on her dusty face.
Kate snatched the bullet from her hand with swift, steady movements, without trembling at all despite the intense exertion.
She loaded the bullets into the magazine of the large-caliber pistol at her waist with a crisp "click".
"I just happen to have an idea," Kate said through gritted teeth.
"Who isn't?" Barbara replied, and the two exchanged a glance; their years of tacit understanding meant they needed no further words.
At the next intersection, the two suddenly went their separate ways.
Barbara turned into a narrow alleyway; she knew the terrain like the back of her hand.
She threw a Batarang with her backhand, not at an enemy, but precisely at the load-bearing structure of a dilapidated building above the alley.
With a sickening, twisting sound, large chunks of cement and steel bars crashed down.
The two Parademons at the forefront were unable to dodge in time and were instantly buried under the rubble, without even having a chance to scream.
On the other side, Kate used her grappling hook to swing into the air, her body drawing a sharp arc in the air.
She circled around to the rear of the remaining Parademons, descended from the sky, and slammed her knee heavily into the back of one Parademons's neck, the immense impact snapping its neck.
Before the remaining Parademons could react, Kate had already landed, rolled over, and flicked out her short stick, accurately piercing the eye socket of the other one.
In just a few breaths, those scum were wiped out completely.
But the real trouble has only just begun.
The two Doomsday stopped in their tracks, their crimson pupils locking onto the two separated individuals.
"Oh no!" Kate's heart skipped a beat.
Scorching energy began to gather in the eyes of the Doomsday, a destructive ray powerful enough to level this entire block.
Without hesitation, Barbara charged toward one of the Doomsday, throwing smoke bombs in the process.
Thick smoke instantly spread out, temporarily obstructing the monster's vision.
The Doomsday's rays erupted, but missed their target and instead sliced a nearby building in half.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kate has already circled around to an excellent sniping position.
She lay prone on a pile of rubble, raised her pistol, and locked onto another Doomsday.
" Barbara, lure them together!" Kate growled into the communicator.
Working!
Barbara's figure appeared and disappeared in the smoke as she used her grappling hook to weave between the ruined buildings, constantly taunting the two enraged beasts with explosive Batarang.
The Doomsday weren't very intelligent. They were thoroughly enraged by this annoying "little bug," abandoned their energy-charging beams, and instead used their massive bodies to rampage around, trying to crush Barbara into a pulp.
Once, twice... Barbara always dodged at the last second.
Kate held her breath, her finger firmly on the trigger, all her senses heightened to the limit.
She was waiting, waiting for an opportunity that lasted only a fraction of a second.
Now!
During a chase, in order to sandwich Barbara, the figures of the two Doomsday momentarily overlapped in mid-air!
Kate pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang!"
The deafening gunshots echoed through the deathly silence of Gotham.
The Kryptonite bullet, carrying the last hope, spun as it left the barrel, leaving a trail of eerie green.
It pierced the head of the first Doomsday with pinpoint accuracy, its powerful kinetic energy undiminished, and then shot into the heart of the next Doomsday.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment.
The two enormous monsters froze abruptly, and the red light in their eyes quickly dimmed.
Green energy spread from the wounds, destroying every cell in their bodies.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
Two enormous corpses fell to the ground one after the other, kicking up clouds of dust.
It worked!
Kate slid down from the rubble, her legs buckled, and she almost collapsed to her knees.
Barbara staggered out from the side, leaning against a broken wall, panting heavily.
The two looked at each other and saw the exhaustion of surviving a disaster on each other's faces.
However, just as they were about to catch their breath, an extreme chill rose up their spines.
Five enormous shadows had silently enveloped them without them even realizing it.
Kate and Barbara stiffly looked up.
In the sky, five... no, five identical Doomsday hovered above their heads, their scarlet compound eyes like five ominous blood-red stars, coldly looking down at the two tiny ants on the ground.
The desperate battle we just fought, the bullet that was fired with everything at stake, has become a complete joke in this moment.
Barbara watched this scene, and the last trace of color drained from her face.
She gave a wry smile, straightened up by leaning against the wall, and said to Kate, " Kate... it seems this is the last time we'll fight side by side."
Despair surged in like a tidal wave, almost completely overwhelming their will.
Kate didn't reply; she simply stood silently next to Barbara, the two of them back to back, adopting a defensive posture.
They knew very well that any resistance against five Doomsday was futile.
But they are descendants of bats.
Even if it means death, we must die standing, fighting to the very last moment.
The five Doomsday simultaneously let out a low roar as they slowly descended from the sky, their encirclement tightening as if they were savoring their prey's final struggle.
Just as one of the Doomsday raised its claws, preparing to deliver a fatal blow...
The two of them only felt a blur before their eyes.
A red cloak, like the most dazzling crimson streak in the sunset, appeared silently in the air above them.
That was a figure they knew all too well.
That blue and red bodysuit, that red cape, were once the most dazzling symbol of hope in this world.
The Doomsday stopped moving; they seemed to sense some kind of threat and turned to face the uninvited guest.
The two Batwoman were completely dumbfounded.
Their minds went blank; they couldn't comprehend what was happening before their eyes.
The figure ignored the two people on the ground; she simply stared coldly at the five enormous monsters.
Then, she took a soft breath.
There were no earth-shattering energy fluctuations, no terrifying thunder and lightning; it was just an ordinary breathing action.
"Call--"
A visible stream of white, cold air gushed from her mouth.
Where the cold front passed, the air condensed into ice crystals. The five arrogant Doomsday didn't even have time to react before they were instantly frozen solid by the thick ice layer, turning into five lifelike ice sculptures, still in their attacking postures.
The whole world was deathly silent.
Kate and Barbara tilted their heads back, mouths agape, forgetting even to breathe.
Then, the figure took another breath and blew it out again.
This time, it was a powerful gust of air.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The five enormous ice sculptures shattered under the impact of the airflow, turning into countless ice crystal powders that refracted light in the dim sky before falling gently.
It was like a... snowstorm that purified everything.
From its appearance to its end, it only lasted a few seconds.
The five Doomsday that plunged them into despair, just like that... gone? Gone after a couple of breaths?
This was beyond their comprehension, overturning their entire understanding of power.
The figure slowly descended from the sky, standing on a pile of rubble, a red cloak fluttering gently behind it.
But none of that matters anymore.
Kate and Barbara's eyes were fixed on the red cape.
That was the deepest imprint in their memories, a totem that everyone in this desperate world once looked up to.
He... is back?
An indescribable surge of ecstasy and excitement broke through the dam of despair, causing their bodies to tremble uncontrollably.
" Superman..." Kate's voice was dry and hoarse, with a hint of uncertainty and trembling.
Barbara also stared at that figure, muttering to herself:
"... Is that you?"