"That's right."

The two men moved through the narrow cave, shadows stretching long against the jagged walls. Clark's voice grew serious.

"After we pass through the Space Gate, we'll hit a stretch of void—and that's where Ally is. We have to move fast, enter the Anti-World's gate, and avoid drawing her attention."

Tony's helmet glowed faintly as he turned. "Ally again. You still haven't explained who this villain is, or how she managed to cause the end of the world."

Clark's expression darkened. "It started with a pendant…"

By the time Clark finished explaining, they had arrived at a massive portal deep inside the cave. There was no sunlight here, only the eerie glow of the blue energy rippling across the gateway, casting shifting shadows across the stone walls.

Tony and Clark stood before it, their gazes fixed on the shimmering void that seemed to stretch endlessly into the universe.

"Ally became a god through the pendant," Clark explained. "Now she wants others to merge with their doppelgängers, to create more gods."

Tony whistled softly. "Ambitious. Honestly, she sounds worse than Thanos. But her plan has a hole in it. Two opposite individuals fusing together? That would drive them insane."

Clark hesitated. He had never thought about it that way. "You might be right. Since merging with her other self, Ally has grown even more unstable."

Tony flipped up his faceplate, rubbing his chin. "Then stopping her isn't optional. And I might already have a plan."

Clark studied him carefully. The confidence in Tony's eyes reminded him of Bruce Wayne back in Gotham—the same calculating mind, the same dangerous brilliance. For the first time in days, Clark felt a surge of hope.

"What's your idea?" he asked.

Tony's smile was thin, sharp. "The pendant connected the two worlds. If I can reverse-engineer its energy, I might be able to undo the merge. The same principle that connected them could pull them apart."

Clark winced.

"Energy, right? Don't worry," Tony continued. "We'll find Malrick. He's practically a walking reactor. Once we have him, we'll have the power source we need."

Clark cleared his throat. "That's not the problem. I was going to tell you—my brother Morgan and I destroyed the pendant with Heat Vision."

Tony froze, his plan collapsing in an instant. "You… destroyed it?"

Clark nodded grimly. "But after becoming a demigod, Ally absorbed my power. That's how she's able to drag both worlds together."

Tony's expression tightened. So the catastrophe was partly Superman's fault. That didn't help.

Clark pressed him. "What do we do now? The worlds have less than twelve hours before they completely merge."

Tony frowned, gears turning behind his eyes. "I've never dealt with a merging-universe problem before. But… if I gather enough parameters, maybe I could design a countermeasure. The problem is time. We don't have it."

"Then our only option is to find Malrick," Clark urged.

Tony's faceplate snapped back into place. "Agreed. Let's go."

They stepped toward the portal, but Clark suddenly grabbed Tony's arm. "Wait. There's something you need to know. The passage inside compresses space violently. The pressure is immense—you'll need extreme speed to get through it. Even I struggled the last time."

Tony let out a sharp laugh. "You couldn't mention this sooner?"

"Jarvis," he commanded, "activate Vibranium outer-layer defense."

"Yes, sir."

The armor's nanotech shifted, its surface transforming to shimmering black Vibranium plating. Clark's borrowed suit followed the same process.

"No ultrasonic waves in there, right?" Tony asked. "Because Vibranium can take a nuke, but sound frequencies are a nightmare."

Clark shook his head. "No sound waves. Just pressure."

"Good. Then let's roll."

Their thrusters roared, and together they launched into the glowing void. Immediately, the crushing force slammed against them, the vibration screeching across their armor like blades scraping metal. But the Vibranium held.

They tumbled through a disorienting spiral of light and force, before finally bursting out into open darkness.

Clark steadied himself. Tony checked his armor's readings, pride flickering across his face. His Mark 16 had handled it flawlessly.

Before he could gloat, Clark's sharp voice cut through the comms.

"That's John! And—someone else is fighting Ally! Is that Malrick?"

Tony snapped his gaze forward.

They were suspended in the void between worlds, an endless dark expanse. The only light came from Ally, her body glowing with stolen energy. Even from a distance, Tony could see the lines of age on her face, twisted with power. Her energy was tearing both universes closer.

In front of her, a battered mechanical suit was sent flying backward. Another figure stood defiant—a man in a pitch-black battle suit.

Tony's chest tightened. "That's him. That's Malrick."

Clark's voice was tense. "No! You don't understand. Ally's power drains energy. She stole mine, Morgan's—even Bizarro's. If Malrick fights her head-on, she'll consume everything he has!"

Tony wanted to believe. Malrick wasn't just powerful—he had defeated Dormammu himself. That had to mean something.

But as he stared, Malrick's figure blurred with impossible speed.

And in the next heartbeat, Ally was sent hurtling backwards, crashing through the darkness.

_____

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