Superman - Rise of an Empire

Clark Kent moved with urgency, his boots pounding against the steel floors of the devastated base. Smoke and alarms filled the air, the distant crackle of flames mixing with the rapid gunfire echoing down the corridors. His wound throbbed, but the pain was secondary—his focus was on one thing.

The serum.

If it fell into the wrong hands, everything he had built would be for nothing.

Clark burst into the wrecked laboratory, his eyes immediately locking onto the chaos inside. The once-sterile room was now a battlefield. Broken monitors flickered erratically, shattered glass crunched under his boots, and flames crawled along the walls.

At the center of the destruction stood Bloodsport, his rifle trained on Colonel Sam Lane and Dr. Emil Hamilton. Lane had his own firearm raised, his posture tense despite a bleeding wound on his shoulder.

"You're too late, General," Bloodsport taunted, tossing a metal canister in the air before catching it. The last vial of the perfected Super Soldier Serum.

Clark clenched his fists. "Put it down, Bloodsport. Walk away now, and I might not break every bone in your body."

The mercenary chuckled, shaking his head. "Still trying to play the hero, huh? Face it, Kent—you're just a man now."

With a flick of his wrist, Bloodsport fired a grappling hook from his gauntlet, latching onto an exposed ceiling beam. Before Clark could react, the mercenary yanked himself upward, flipping through the smoke and debris, landing effortlessly on a higher catwalk.

Clark didn't hesitate. He sprinted after him, leaping onto a collapsed support beam to gain higher ground. His body ached from the earlier fight with Deathstroke, but he pushed forward.

Bloodsport sprinted toward an exit, tapping his earpiece. "Package secured. Get the transport ready."

Clark hurled a metal pipe at the mercenary's legs. Bloodsport barely dodged, twisting in midair, but the impact disrupted his balance. He landed hard, skidding across the platform before rolling to a stop.

Clark was on him in an instant. He grabbed Bloodsport by the vest and slammed him into a steel wall. "Where do you think you're going?"

Bloodsport coughed but grinned. "Right where I need to be."

Suddenly, a countdown appeared on the mercenary's wrist gauntlet. 00:05.

Clark's eyes widened. "You son of a—"

BOOM!

An explosion tore through the wall behind them, sending both men flying in opposite directions. Clark hit the ground hard, his ears ringing. Through blurred vision, he saw Bloodsport pulling himself up, staggering toward the edge of the facility, where a black stealth aircraft hovered in wait.

Clark forced himself to his feet, pain screaming through his body. Bloodsport reached the aircraft's loading ramp and turned back, raising the canister mockingly.

"Better luck next time, General."

The ramp closed, and the aircraft shot into the sky, vanishing into the night.

Clark clenched his jaw, fists shaking with frustration. The serum was gone.

The Aftermath

The fires were slowly being extinguished. The base was in ruins, bodies of fallen soldiers lining the halls. Medics rushed between the injured, their voices a chaotic mix of urgency and despair.

Clark stood beside Colonel Lane and Dr. Hamilton, watching as the cleanup efforts began.

Lane exhaled sharply, wincing as a medic wrapped his shoulder. "We lost good men tonight."

Clark nodded, his face unreadable. "And we lost the serum."

Hamilton removed his cracked glasses, rubbing his tired eyes. "Bloodsport is smart. He didn't just take the serum—he wiped every bit of research we had on it. We're back to square one."

Clark inhaled deeply, suppressing the anger bubbling beneath the surface. This wasn't just a setback. This was an act of war.

"What's our next move?" Lane asked.

Clark turned, his gaze steely. "We find Bloodsport. We find out who he's working for. And we take back what's ours."

Hamilton hesitated. "If he uses the serum…"

Clark's expression hardened. "Then we put him down."

The battle for power wasn't over.

It was just beginning.

TO BE CONTINUED...