---
Doomsday advanced on Henry, landing several blows to his face.
Each strike made Henry's head spin.
He tried to defend himself, but with each passing moment, his strength was fading.
The blows from Doomsday shook the air and caused the ground to tremble.
Henry's nose was bleeding, his body covered in cuts.
His blood dripped down.
Henry fought back, but his punches weren't strong enough to take Doomsday down.
He attempted a punch, but missed.
His speed had slowed dramatically from the strain of the fight.
Doomsday dodged effortlessly.
Then, Doomsday grabbed Henry's hand and bit it hard.
Henry struggled to free himself, but it was no use.
Doomsday began to devour Henry's right hand.
Henry screamed in agony as his hand was eaten away.
He fought to escape, but it was too late. Doomsday refused to let go.
Finally, Henry managed to free his hand, but his fingers and wrist were completely mangled.
His wrist bled uncontrollably.
Desperate, Henry used his left hand to try to stop the bleeding, but it seemed hopeless. Blood poured out, and his vision was starting to blur. Henry was on the verge of passing out.
In a final burst of fury, Henry struck with every ounce of strength he had left in his left hand.
"You... You're going to die with me!" Henry shouted, landing a blow with his other hand.
His fist pierced Doomsday's chest, going through to the other side.
Henry's left hand twisted from the impact.
Doomsday was lifted off the ground by the force of the attack.
Then, Doomsday collapsed backward, unconscious.
Henry's left hand remained stuck in Doomsday's chest.
He didn't have the strength to pull his arm out.
Doomsday was down, but it wouldn't last long—he'd recover soon and come back for more.
Henry collapsed on top of Doomsday, his left arm still trapped in the monster's chest.
He was losing consciousness; he had no strength left.
The bleeding wouldn't stop, and if it continued, he would die in two to three minutes.
Henry rested his head against Doomsday's exposed chest.
There was a massive hole in Doomsday's chest, slowly closing due to his accelerated healing factor.
Henry noticed this, but his mind was preoccupied with more immediate concerns.
He had to stop the bleeding, or he'd die.
Using the last of his strength, Henry used his heat vision to cauterize the wound.
He focused his heat vision on his own hand.
"Ugh," Henry groaned in pain, but he had no choice.
In seconds, the wound was cauterized.
Shortly after, his vision blurred completely, and he passed out.
---
A squad of Zod observed the fight between the two and followed them.
(Inside a command ship)
"Sir, the mission seems to be a success. Doomsday-Zero has defeated the target," said a soldier.
"Send a squad there, collect the Zero weapon, and bring it back here. Make sure everything is functioning perfectly. I don't want this to get out of control like last time," said Jax, the commander.
"Yes, sir," replied the soldier.
"Sir, the target doesn't look well... Should we send a medical team?" asked another soldier.
"Yes, do it. He can't die yet. We still don't know the Emperor's orders," said Jax.
"Yes, sir," the soldiers responded.
A squad went to the location where the battle had taken place.
There was a trail of destruction around the area where they fought.
The squad approached in their spacecraft.
They landed and found Doomsday unconscious. His chest no longer had the hole in it.
Henry, on the other hand, was in bad shape, lying in a pool of his own blood, unconscious.
The soldiers and medics approached and placed him on a medical stretcher, then transported him inside one of the ships.
"What are the orders?" asked a medic inside the spacecraft.
"Commander's orders: take care of him. Don't let him die," said a soldier.
"Yes..." replied the medic.
The medics checked Henry's health status, treated his wounds, applied bandages, and changed his clothes.
After some time, a soldier entered where Henry was, followed by several armed guards.
He was still unconscious.
The medics couldn't understand what was happening.
"Orders from above. I need to take him to the capital. Prepare him for travel," said the soldier.
"But he's not ready yet. He needs further evaluation," said the medic.
"I'm just following orders. You should do the same," said the soldier.
"Yes..."
---
(Days later, Capital)
Henry woke up.
He struggled to sit up, his body aching. He felt weak, dizzy, and nauseous, like he had reverted to being human again.
He remembered what had happened — he had been beaten.
But Henry couldn't remember what happened afterward.
He looked around, unsure of his surroundings.
All he saw were thick metal walls. He had no idea where he was.
Henry looked down and saw something that terrified him.
His right hand was gone.
From his wrist down, his hand had been completely devoured by Doomsday.
His hand was wrapped in some kind of white medicinal cloth.
Henry tried to remove the cloth, but he couldn't.
On his remaining hand, he had a handcuff.
Henry tried to break the handcuffs, but they wouldn't budge.
He pulled as hard as he could, but nothing happened. These handcuffs felt extremely strong.
The handcuffs were green, made of Kryptonite — a material that weakened his powers.
After waking up, Henry began to feel the effects of the Kryptonite. He felt tired, dizzy, and weak.
Henry wondered why they hadn't killed him yet, whoever had sent that creature after him.
While he was lost in thought, someone entered his cell, followed by some guards.
It was a man.
The person wore dark, heavy armor, black from head to toe, with short black hair and graying sides.
It was Zod. He entered the cell with heavy steps and a scowl on his face.
Zod walked in and looked at Henry, who was lying on the ground, missing one hand and weak from the Kryptonite.
Zod and the others didn't approach too closely, to avoid being affected.
"I never thought I'd actually see you, son of Zor-El. How have you been?" Zod mocked him.
"What do you want with me?" Henry asked.
"I don't want anything from you... You've already given me what I wanted. Thanks to you, I can finally escape this damned dimension. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this day? I can finally return. All of this is thanks to you," Zod said.
Hearing this, Henry grew worried. He felt that Zod didn't have good intentions for Earth.
"What are you going to do with Earth? Stay away from my planet, you bastard," Henry shouted.
"Don't talk to me like that," Zod said, stepping forward and delivering a knee to Henry's face.
"Want to know what I'm going to do? I'm going to rebuild my home, and it'll cost whatever it takes," Zod said.
"I've already sent your device for analysis. One day, we'll replicate the device you used to enter and exit the Phantom Zone. And when that day comes... we'll be out of here..." Zod added.
"You can't... I won't let you..." Henry muttered.
"You're nothing without your powers... Fortunately, when Krypton was destroyed by those damn Viltrumites, many chose to escape through the Phantom Zone. Your parents weren't the only ones who thought of this. Many who came here brought a little piece of it with them..." Zod said, pointing at the Kryptonite.
"Why... Why don't you just kill me already?" Henry said.
"For a long time, everyone thought you'd come and save them. They have faith in you... I'll make them see with their own eyes that this was just a myth, a legend. When you die, they'll lose hope and accept my rule," Zod said.
Then, Zod grabbed Henry by the hair and punched him in the face, knocking him out.
"Take him," Zod ordered.
The guards transported Henry to another place, still with the Kryptonite handcuffs on.
---
Henry woke up. A guard splashed cold water on him to bring him to his senses.
This time, he was in a different place.
Henry was tied up. He could hear the screams of a crowd from above.
Even without his super hearing, he could hear perfectly.
Henry was in a cell with iron bars, surrounded by several other cells with other prisoners.
He was in some kind of backstage area of a coliseum, where the gladiators would stay.
Henry saw his cellmate and called out to him.
"Hey, buddy, can you tell me where we are?" Henry asked in their language.
The person in question, his cellmate, was also a Kryptonian. He looked weak and thin.
"Where are we? Hah, we're all dead. Does it matter?" the man said crazily.
Henry saw a guard enter. The guard went into one of the cells, dragged a prisoner out, and hauled him away.
"No, please! I don't want to die!" the prisoner screamed.
Henry swallowed hard.
He realized where he was. He was probably in a gladiator arena, or something like it, where prisoners had to fight for their lives.
Henry slumped to the ground and sighed.
For several minutes, Henry watched as guards entered and left. Each time, they took a different prisoner.
After hours, it was finally his turn to fight.
A guard came, opened his cell, and dragged him out.