XIX

My flight back from Bruce's cave was a quiet one. His promise to keep an eye out for Darkseid didn't sit well with me. He couldn't be trusted. I needed someone I could trust looking out for her in my absence. Arthur, yes Arthur would be a far better choice to keep her safe. The exiled Atlanian king was a man of his word. I turned on my cimlink and called him.

"Arthur…"

"Ultraman," he replied.

"I need you to monitor the Amazon's moments while she's inside the Cat's Den," I ordered.

"Already on it," he replied. "Did you think I've wait for Bruce to fuck it up before I took things into my own hands?"

God I loved Arthur. He was short and to the point. He pulled no punches. With Arthur watching over her I felt a bit better. But still...

"How has she been?" I said as I landed at the Watchtower.

Arthur let out a slight laugh. He knew that damn owl couldn't be trusted as far as either of us could throw him. And we were both stronger than the average human. So his ass would go pretty far. But I'm sure he's never seen me show concern for another human being before.

"She danced on the stage and headed to her dressing room," he replied. "Ollie looked at her for a bit too long but he stopped once Dinah caught wind of it. Nothing was out of the ordinary… so far..."

"Give me updates every 10 mins," I said as I headed inside the building.

"Will do," he replied as he turned off his comlink.

I entered the Watchtower from the rooftop entrance. As I walked down the first flight of stairs I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everything will be alright," I muttered to myself. "We are prepared for anything…"

Night crept up on me as slowly as my five o'clock shadow. Once inside my penthouse suite I washed off the stank of Bruce's presence from my body. The scolding water felt like tiny pinpricks of joyous pain. That's what I needed pain. I thrived off it. It was the only feeling I could still feel. It made me feel... normal.

As I stepped out of the shower I dressed myself in the sharpest suit I owned. Though I prefer a simple plaid tee and jeans, a mob boss had to dress accordingly. As I adjusted my suit in the mirror of my closet I looked at myself up and down. I looked like an apex predator. The suit clung to me for dear life. As I watched myself, all I could think about were all those animal's eyes watching her. Arthur said he was dancing on the main stage. Every curve of her body was probably on display. A hint of red filed my eyes. Why did she affect me so? She was just one woman. A woman who tried to kill me. Yet, every fiber of my being wants to shield her from their savage eyes.

The longer I thought about those animals being near her the more anger I felt. My heart rate tripled. Still looking at myself in the mirror I watched the flames of my eyes spread across my face and down my entire body. My flames slowly melted the fabric of my suit. The undershirt was the first to go, followed by my pants and jacket.

8 pm rolled around and my phone rang.

"Incoming call from Aquaman…"

"Damnit…" I hissed as I watched the last strip of fabric turn to ash. "That was Hugo Boss"

"Burned that Hugo didn't you Ultraman?" I heard Arthur say over the com.

I growled as I heard the snarkiness in Arhtur's voice. He met my anger with boastful laughter.

"I knew you liked her," he said. "...but I didn't expect her to get you so hot and bothered enough to destroy a $3,000 dollar suit."

"Just tell me how is she?" I asked. "... You fish bastard…"

"Ok, ok, don't burn up another suit," he replied swiftly. "There is nothing to report so

far."

As I heard what Arthur was saying, something didn't feel right. My gut was telling

me that something was off in his voice.

"Are you sure Arthur?" I asked.

I waited for Arthur to reply to my question as I walked back into my closet. He took a few deep breaths. Either good something had just happened or something bad. From how long it was taking him to reply it was probably bad.

"Arthur…" I said, lowering my voice.

I walked past several suits until I picked out a simple dark gray pant and blue shirt.

"Ultraman…" he said as I slid my clothes on.

I rolled up my sleeves and left three buttons open.

"Tell me what happened before I come down there and rip out our throat," I said as I slicked back my untamable curls.

"... I have been outside of her dressing room this entire time," he replied. "No one has been in here other than..."

Arthur's voice fluctuated more than it should have.

"Who did you let into her dressing room Arthur?!" I said with a snap.

"Ultraman I'm going to need you to calm down…." he added.

"I said don't boss me Arthur," I shouted back. "Who went into her dressing room besides J'onzz…."

"It was Black Canary," he blurted out.

"Ollie's girl," I growled.

"Calm down Clark," Arthur said, stumbling over his words.

Calm myself…? Was he kidding me?

"You don't want to burn up another suit now do you…"

"Fuck the suits Arthur!" I yelled. "She's a dead woman…."

I began to pace across my room cursing loudly. Dinah was notorious for fucking with the girls Selina had backstage. Hell she was probably the reason the girl the Amazon was replacing left. Her, Selina and some psycho Bruce called Harley were 'his girls'. They did his dirty work before I started to. None of Bruce's minions could be trusted. The things she could have said to her… No, the taint of this place was too close to her. And I was going to put an end to it.

"Tell J'onzz not to let her on the stage Arthur," I said as I stepped out onto my balcony.

"Ultraman, she's already heading on…."

I ignored Arthur and turned off my comlink. I could have called J'onzz but I knew him all too well. He wouldn't listen to me. Not in this state. In a flash I took to the skies and made my way to the Amazon. My sonic boom could be heard for miles. I wanted everyone to know I was coming, especially Selina. If she or anyone of her staff was up to no good they were going to pay.

As the Cat's Den came into view I heard her…

"I can't…"

"Oh come now legs…

. Can't a customer get a pre-show dance…"

That voice. I knew that male's voice. It sounded Russian...

"The lady said no son…" I heard J'onzz say.

"...Don't son me you green bastard!

...Don't you know who I am!

. I am Orion son of Darkseid…"

...Darkseid's son was here and touching what was mine… The sound barrier broke as I picked up my speed. Before I knew it, I was standing inside the Cat's Den with my hands around some pencil necked bastard. I slammed his body against the bar. The bar crumbled as I brought his body all the way to the back of the bar. I heard his spine break into two as we went through the bar. Thousands of dollars of booze shattered into pieces. The red fleshed man cussed as he tried to break my grip.

"My father will…" he gargled.

Blood and foam oozed out of the red man's mouth.

"Will do nothing," I growled.

I looked over to the Amazon, she was trembling with fear. Not from the ass who tried to touch her but from me. She didn't need to see what I was about to do to this piece of shit.

"Get her out of here," I ordered.

I watched J'onzz gently reach for her shoulder.

"I'll take her," I heard Selina say.

Selina cut J'onzz off and dragged the Amazon off. Once she was out of sight I let my fire burn within my eyes. I leaned in close to the red fleshed man.

"She wasn't yours or your father's to take…"

As I spoke I blasted him at point blank range. His head instantly was not longer atop his body.

"She's mine…"