Alfred walked into the Metropolis PD headquarters through the front entrance.
The moment he crossed the threshold, police officers one by one turned to look at him, surprised.
Then, almost in unison, every officer in sight drew their weapons and aimed at him.
After Supergirl’s kidnapping, they have all learned of the dangerous butler living in Gotham.
“Good evening!
Who is in charge here?” Alfred asked.
“Bring me someone I can speak to.” A woman stepped forward from a nearby group.
“No need,” she said.
“I am Maggie Sawyer.
Head of the Special Crimes Unit.
And the one responsible for your kidnapping case.” “Superman claims I kidnapped Supergirl,” he said.
“So I assume there is a video of that, correct?” “We can show you the video,” Maggie replied, “if you surrender without resistance.” “I did not kidnap Supergirl,” Alfred said evenly.
“And I am here to search for her.” “We will determine that after the investigation is complete,” Maggie said.
“Do not make this difficult.” Alfred regarded her for a brief moment.
“The fact that you are saying this means you have made no progress,” he said.
“I apologize if I must be the one to inform you, but you are incompetent.” A ripple of anger moved through the officers.
“Allow me rephrase,” Alfred continued.
“Show me the video so I may clear my name.
Do not make this difficult for yourselves.
I have already taken down Superman.
I have little confidence your firearms will produce a better result than the man of steel.” Several officers exchanged looks of disbelief.
“Do you expect us to believe that?” Maggie said.
Alfred did not answer verbally.
He moved his hands.
Thin wires spread in every direction.
In an instant, every officer in the room, except Maggie, was bound and forced to the ground.
Maggie remained standing, frozen in place, staring at the scene around her.
“Again,” Alfred said.
“Show me the video and spare yourself unnecessary pain.” “You are putting yourself in serious trouble,” Maggie said, though her voice had lost some of its earlier certainty.
Alfred clenched his fist.
The wires tightened.
Groans filled the room.
“The human body,” Alfred said, “can only endure so much before it breaks.” Faint lines of blood began to appear where the wires pressed into flesh.
Maggie’s expression shifted immediately.
“Stop!” she said quickly.
“I will show you.
Just… give me a moment.” Alfred relaxed his hand slightly.
“Proceed.” Maggie moved behind the reception desk, her hands flying across the keyboard.
The screen flickered to life.
“This is the video.
It has no audio” Alfred stepped behind the desk, though the wires remained in place, holding every officer down.
On the screen, Supergirl descended onto the roof of a building.
Waiting for her was a man identical to Alfred.
The two spoke for some time.
She showed no sign of suspicion toward the fake Alfred.
Then a helicopter descended onto the roof.
The masked figure raised his hand.
A piece of kryptonite appeared.
Supergirl dropped to her knees instantly.
Men rushed out from the helicopter, lifting her weakened body and carrying her inside.
Within seconds, the aircraft lifted off and vanished.
The video ended.
Alfred stood still for a moment, processing.
Two details stood out immediately.
She had not reacted with suspicion, even after speaking with the impersonator at length.
And more importantly, she had not been affected by kryptonite until the exact moment it was revealed.
Which meant it had been either not there or concealed within a lead container.
Alfred’s thoughts aligned quickly.
This person has good enough acting skills.
And assuming no magic involved, he had a body capable of storing something without detection, maybe even opening a lead box while still inside him.
He was aware of one candidate only who fit this.
Clayface.
Maggie’s voice broke the silence.
“You have seen the video.
Release my officers.” Alfred nodded.
The wires retracted instantly, releasing every officer.
“Thank you, I believe I know who is responsible.” Before anyone could react further, Alfred’s form dissolved into smoke and vanished from the station.
Maggie stared at the empty space where he had stood.
Then she looked at her officers trying to regain their footing.
“Who the hell is he?…
He could have at least shared the clue,” she muttered.
——— Alfred formed out smoke before the gates of Arkham Asylum without a sound.
The guards on duty stiffened the moment they saw him.
One of them swallowed before speaking.
“A-Are you… the Penguin’s butler?” “Good evening, gentlemen,” Alfred said.
“I am looking for Clayface.
Is he currently housed in the asylum, or has he escaped?” The guard shook his head quickly.
“No, sir.
He’s not here.
He was transferred to Belle Reve Correctional prison a week ago.” “I see.” Alfred gave a slight nod.
“Thank you.
Have a pleasant night.” Before either of them could respond, he dissolved into smoke and vanished.
“What did Clayface do this time?” one of them muttered.
The other exhaled slowly.
“Whatever it is… it’s not our problem.
That butler is terrible news.” ——— Deep within a secured U.S.
military base in Nevada, two men sat across from each other.
King Faraday, the head of an undisclosed branch of the government, and General Eiling.
“I didn’t expect you to proceed with the kidnapping so quickly,” Eiling said.
“But tell me… how certain are we that no one can trace this back to us?” Faraday replied “The operation was top secret, even within my own branch.
Only a handful of trusted agents were involved.
As for Clayface…” he paused briefly, “he will not live to see tomorrow.” Eiling nodded in approval.
“Good.
We cannot afford loose ends.
Not when dealing with something that isn’t human.” Faraday exhaled quietly.
“After what happened with Apokolips, after Superman led those forces here… it became clear.
We cannot place humanity’s survival in his hands.
The fact that he can be turned against us is enough.” “That is what I have been saying since the beginning,” Eiling replied.
“Earth’s defense should belong to us.
Not to unchecked aliens hiding among us.” Faraday said “You mentioned the girl is necessary for developing countermeasures.
Do you already have a plan?” “We start by studying her,” Eiling said.
“Understand her biology.
Understand how her kind works.
Then we build from there.” Faraday nodded slowly.
“One of my subordinates proposed forming a specialized unit of meta-humans and criminals with unique skill sets.
A government-controlled force made of disposable agents.” “Task Force X,” he added.
Eiling gave an approving look.
“That sounds practical.” “I am already considering it,” Faraday said.
Before the conversation could continue, the door burst open.
A soldier rushed in.
“General Eiling!
We are under attack!” Eiling’s eyes sharpened immediately.
“Superman?” “No, sir,” the soldier replied.
“It’s a man… wearing a white mask.” Faraday’s expression changed.
“That must be him.
The butler.” Eiling relaxed a little.
“The Gotham butler?” he scoffed.
“Is he alone?” “Yes, sir.” Eiling said “A butler walking into a military base alone?
What a joke!
But we need to know if Superman knows about him, no we need to prepare for the worst” The soldier said “Sir… we can’t stop him.
He’s destroying everything in his path.
At this rate, Superman won’t find anything to attack.” Eiling frowned.
“He’s just some eccentric playing dress-up.” The soldier shook his head.
“No, sir.
He’s a monster.” Eiling studied the man for a brief second, then stood.
“I will see this for myself.” Faraday rose as well, falling in step behind him.
The two of them made their way to the monitoring room at a hurried pace, where rows of screens displayed live footage from across the base, but every single one of them was focused on the same figure.
The butler.
He walked calmly through the center of the base as if he were strolling through a street.
Around him, chaos unfolded.
Soldiers swarmed from every direction, bullets fired toward him in relentless streams.
But they never hit him.
Fine wires faintly flickering under the floodlights, moving around his body like a sentient shield.
Every bullet was either deflected or caught and flung back.
The ground behind him was littered with fallen soldiers.
Eiling leaned closer to the screen, his expression tightening.
“What the hell are these wires?” he said.
“How is he doing this?” On another feed, a soldier arrived with a rocket launcher and fired.
The rocket shot forward, only to be stopped a moment later midair.
The wires wrapped around it mid-flight, halting its momentum as if it had struck an invisible wall.
Then it shot in a different direction.
The rocket slammed into a cluster of soldiers to the side.
The explosion followed immediately, filling the screen with fire and the screams of the injured.
“Bring that bastard down no matter what,” Eiling said.
“You have clearance to use tanks and helicopters.” Faraday remained still, his eyes fixed on the screen, watching the butler advance.
“Do you think he’s human?” he asked quietly.
“No,” Eiling replied without looking away.
“There is no way that’s a human.
Those wires… that’s alien technology.” His jaw tightened.
“Damn it.
How many aliens are hiding on this planet?” “General, we need to move the girl,” Faraday said.
“We don’t know if Superman is coming or not, and that butler is already a problem.” Eiling turned his head toward Faraday, considering it for only a moment before nodding.
“We stall him,” he said.
“Move the girl to the back hangar.
Prepare for evacuation.” He gestured toward one of the soldiers in the room.
“You.
Take a team and follow Agent Faraday’s instructions.
Now.” The soldier moved immediately, and Faraday followed without another word.
Eiling stayed behind.
His attention returned to the screens just as two tanks rolled into position and aligned their cannons.
The surrounding soldiers pulled back, creating distance, leaving the machines to handle what they could not.
The butler did not stop.
He did not even acknowledge them.
The tanks fired in unison, the shells tearing through the air with explosive force.
For a fraction of a second, it seemed as though something might finally reach him.
Then the wires moved.
They intercepted the shells mid-flight, wrapping around them in a rotating lattice that spun around the butler’s body.
The motion was controlled as if calculated down to the smallest detail.
They were caught, slowed, redirected, and flung back at the tanks.
Both tanks were hit directly.
The explosions were immediate and violent.
The two tanks became nothing but wreckage.
Eiling stared at the screen, disbelief creeping into his voice.
“What… the hell is he?” Before the thought could settle, another screen showed a helicopter descending into frame, hovering above the battlefield as it unleashed a barrage of missiles.
One after another, they struck the ground around the butler, explosions chaining together until the entire area was engulfed in fire.
For a brief moment, the flames consumed everything.
Then he stepped out of them unharmed.
He lifted his gaze toward the helicopter, and in his hand, something new had formed.
A spear.
He threw it.
The spear shot upward with impossible speed, striking the underside of the helicopter.
For a moment, nothing happened.
The aircraft remained stable, hovering as if the attack had failed.
Then the butler moved his hand.
A pulling motion.
Light flickered across the helicopter’s surface, thin lines appearing and disappearing in rapid succession.
The structure gave way in segments, sliced apart before the explosion even began.
The aircraft fragmented mid-air, breaking into pieces that ignited a second later, scattering debris across the sky.
Eiling’s voice became quieter.
“Was that spear made of wires?” On the screen, the butler lowered his arm.
His attention shifted briefly toward the remaining soldiers, many of whom were already retreating, abandoning any attempt to engage.
Then he stopped and looked back toward the area where the missile barrage had struck earlier.
The ground there had been torn open, the explosions carving into the structure beneath the surface.
He began walking in that direction.
Eiling’s expression changed instantly.
“The explosions…” he said, realization setting in.
“They must have opened a path to the underground base.” His voice hardened.
“He’s coming here.”