Clark had to wonder if there was a guiding force on Remnant, some hand of fate, subtly arranging people and events for its own mysterious ends. It was just too much of a coincidence that he'd responded to the alert of Grimm attacking the port city of Argus and then found his friends there.

Now they were on a military plane, a model called the Manta, on their way to Atlas. It was comfortable on the inside. They all sat facing each other in a large room with seats on the walls. The old woman, Maria Calavera, was piloting. The commander of Argus base had offered a pilot, but Ozpin had declined the offer since they were probably going to discuss Salem and the Relic.

Ruby and the others had apparently gone through their own adventure while he was away. They told him about how they'd found an abandoned farm and fought their way out against a dangerous variety of Grimm which were physically weak but had the ability to make them tired and indifferent with their screams. It was also the first time Ruby had used her silver eyes intentionally.

Then they went over their plan for stealing a Manta. A lot had happened, such as Weiss pretending to accept Cordovin's offer to go to Atlas on her own, and Pyrrha taking down a giant robot. Over the course of the story, the sun sank under the horizon and the sky darkened into night.

Clark spent the next hour of the flight explaining how the phantom had kept him locked up, and how he'd eventually escaped. It also took some time to explain his Fortress to them, which is also where he'd received his new suit.

"It's totally awesome!" Ruby said, giving him a once over. Quite a few of the others voiced their approval as well.

"Thanks, guys," Clark said. "I thought it was a bit weird at first, but honestly it's started to grow on me."

They talked some more. Jaune was telling him about how they'd been living in Argus with his sister and her girlfriend when Clark's scroll rang.

He answered it and a hologram of Ironwood's face appeared. "General? What is it?"

"Your debut. I understand that we agreed to do it tomorrow morning, but in light of your actions at Argus, I believe we should do it tonight."

"Why rush it?"

"Online traffic and television viewership is at an unexpected high because of the coverage of the events at Argus. To do the most good, we need to reach as many people as possible. That means we need to make the announcement in the next few hours."

"Um, by the way, Ozpin agrees," Oscar spoke up from his corner of the room.

Clark sighed. "Alright, I'll go."

"Good. Come to my ship. I'll have my soldiers receive you and you'll be briefed on how the announcement will be made. Ozpin, you should be pleased to know that I've coordinated this with Glynda. Mr. Kent will also make an appearance in Vale."

Oscar paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah, Ozpin approves."

"I will see you shortly, then." Ironwood ended the call and Clark put his phone away.

"Clark, what does the general mean exactly by your debut?" Pyrrha asked.

"The Dart's finally going public," he explained. "Ironwood is taking care of the specifics, but in general I'm going to announce myself to the world. I'm here to help, whether it's Grimm, criminals, natural disasters, or any other kind of trouble."

It was tough leaving them, especially when he saw the looks on their faces. Ruby looked like she wanted to make a desperate plea for him to stay, but also guilty for wanting to stop him. Jaune, Pyrrha, Yang, and Qrow weren't happy about it either, but they lightened up when he promised he'd spend more time with them when they arrived in Atlas.

Ms. Calavera opened a door for him, and he dropped out. He flew alongside the Manta for a few seconds, giving it a final wave, before he went on ahead to Atlas.

\\

Weiss and the others returned to Atlas about an hour and a half after Clark had flown out of the Manta. She'd escaped this city mere weeks ago, and now she was coming back of her own free will. Someday in the future, when she looked back on this night, she might find it amusing.

But now, it was just frustrating. Weiss put on a smile as the others stared out the windows and admired the advanced city floating in the sky with its skyscrapers, airships, and enormous screens. She certainly wasn't going to dampen Ruby's enthusiasm with her own issues.

Ruby was more perceptive than most gave her credit for, however. "Hey Weiss, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Weiss responded. "We're here to fight for the survival of Remnant. I can set aside petty disagreements between my family for that."

"I wouldn't say they're all petty," Blake said, although not to comfort her. She was staring at Mantle, the poorer residences directly under Atlas which were predominantly occupied by faunus. As expected, she approved of Atlas far less than the others.

Weiss cleared her throat. "Yes, and hopefully they'll be resolved as soon as possible. Regardless, Ruby, I am fine."

Her team leader didn't seem convinced, but she also appeared to believe that it would be better to leave the subject alone for now. It was good timing too as they all got close enough to the city to actually see what was on the majority of the large screens.

Clark was on a stage with General Ironwood. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but an Atlesian soldier promptly called their Manta and directed them to an airfield nearby. The airport there was mostly empty and inside there were plenty of TVs which had the live feed of the announcement playing. They all gathered around one of them to watch.

Ironwood was speaking. "Now, with the help of one of Atlas' fighter ships, Mr. El will demonstrate his abilities."

"Why is he calling him 'Mr. El'?" Weiss asked.

"That's part of his alien name," Ruby answered. "Kal-El."

His alien name. Such a strange world they lived in.

Clark, or Kal-El, flew off the stage and headed away from Atlas. A drone followed him partway to record him, but he sped away too quickly and a moment later he arrived at a point miles away where a fighter ship was approaching a pack of Teryxes. They were winged, raptor-like Grimm which were large, easily the size of the Manta. Once they spotted him, they swarmed and attacked.

He rushed towards them without hesitation. With his arms outstretched, Weiss couldn't tell exactly from the video but she thought he'd made fists, he burst through their bodies.

Ironwood's voice narrated the scene. "As you can see, in addition to his incredible speed, Mr. El is extremely durable. Without any effort, he tear through the bone armor of Grimm and even withstand the missiles aboard this ship."

A pair of missiles fired off into the Grimm. They exploded almost directly on Clark with a display of fire and lightning, also killing several Grimm in the process. As the general had said, he was unharmed.

"He has more exotic abilities with which to combat the Grimm. From his eyes he can emit beams of extreme heat, and he can expel breath from his lungs at high speeds."

Clark demonstrated these powers, cutting two of the remaining Teryxes apart with his heat vision. A few he knocked away with his super-breath, at least that's what Ruby said his power was called.

To be honest, Weiss was more than a little frightened. It was likely that many would cheer and praise him for eradicating the Grimm so effectively, especially with his history as the Dart in Vale. However, she had to look at such a powerful individual with at least some caution. Who could really stop him if a dispute against him happened to turn violent? As far as Weiss knew, there were only a handful of people on the planet capable of even hurting him, and none she thought would succeed at hampering him in a direct confrontation.

Power, no matter what it's form, tended to corrupt. Weiss' family was a testament to that.

Even so, Weiss restrained her suspicion of Clark on behalf of their mutual friends, many of whom were looking at the screen with awe and glee. Ruby trusted him, and so did Yang and team JNPR. Blake was more on the reclusive side, but even she seemed to approve of him in some way.

The demonstration continued. Clark was demonstrating his strength now, and he'd flown down to the snow-covered ground and dug up a boulder the size of a city block. Weiss' mind reeled at the sight, it was far more impressive than catching her careening Bullhead, that boulder must weigh thousands of tons.

Clark casually rolled his shoulders and tossed it behind him, where it landed with a loud thud and threw up some snow.

"Mr. El has agreed to kill the Grimm for any nation which requests his assistance. Clearly, he will be more effective than any huntsman. Before this announcement, there have been several names assigned to him. The Dart, the Flying Man, the Mysterious Hero, but one name seems the most fitting to describe his extraordinary power. The name he has accepted is Superman."

Superman. It was short, and Weiss did agree that it suited him better than the Dart now that he had revealed himself to be a broad-shouldered, muscular individual. Probably best of all from Ironwood's perspective, as his fame grew, more people would easily associate the name with the 'S' on his chest.

"Now, Superman will go to Vale to speak to Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch of Beacon for their portion of the announcement."

He flew off, and now the screen switched to covering a stage with their familiar former teacher at a press conference. They could already see the newly named Superman come down for a landing. He shook Ms. Goodwitch's hand and then went up to the podium to speak.

"As I said before, I am an alien. I come from another region of the multiverse, and through an accident on my home world, I arrived in Vale over a year ago. At that time, I received much assistance from Ms. Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and the now-deceased Headmaster Ozpin. While I do have an understanding with Atlas, I consider Vale to be a wonderful introduction to the world of Remnant. This Kingdom will always have a special place in my heart and I hope to maintain amicable relations with its people. However, I do not wish to give it special treatment. What I want is to extend my offer of protection and aid to all peoples of Remnant equally."

Ms. Goodwitch then began a short segment, describing Clark's reasons for secrecy and his behavior. He was new to this world, and a superhuman alien, caution was understandable. Although it was bizarre to hear about someone so reluctant to kill Grimm, the headmistress made sure to hint at how fortunate such an attitude was in regards to Clark's behavior towards the people of Remnant. It was a skillful display of speech, instead of mentioning directly that Clark could kill anyone on Remnant faster than they could blink, she focused on his attitude of compassion and empathy for all life, even monstrous imitations of life like the Grimm.

Ms. Goodwitch made sure to emphasize that he properly understood the necessity of exterminating Grimm, playing some of the footage of Clark at the Vytal Festival and his more recent feat of saving Argus. She also mentioned how the reduction in Grimm around Vale had been felt for months and had allowed development of more suburban regions around the city, a benefit which Argus could also expect in its future.

The final portion of the segment detailed how Clark had apprehended Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Roman Torchwick, and a woman named Neopolitan. All had played major roles in the attack on Vale during the Vytal Festival. Cinder was already in custody in Atlas and would be joined by Torchwick and Neopolitan for their hijacking of Atlesian ships. Mercury was going to be imprisoned in Vale.

It still took some getting used to, Clark flying across continents in a matter of seconds to deliver them to justice. But this is the world they lived in now, Weiss supposed. A world with a Superman.

\\

When Ironwood and Ms. Goodwitch had told Clark about how busy he'd be after the announcement, he'd thought he'd been prepared. It was crucial that the nations of Remnant write up formal agreements with him, so in addition to the show given to the public the governments of the world had received privileged contact information for 'Superman'. To get ready, Clark had gone to the Fortress and set up several screens to hold incoming calls and pull up any relevant information on all the Kingdoms.

He'd underestimated them. For the next few hours after his announcement, calls and emails flooded the Fortress. Even the Councils of Atlas and Vale kept him tied up for almost an hour, Ironwood and Ms. Goodwitch had sped up the process thanks to their work preparing his announcement and preliminary versions of the 'Superman' Accords, but they couldn't just unilaterally make decisions regarding Clark for their governments. Still, their Councils spent way too long on the minutiae of the agreements that they didn't even decide to change. They just said that they would 'consider it further' and reach out to him again.

The discussion with Mistral were interesting, to say the least. Clark was polite when speaking to the Council of Mistral, but he remembered just how much corruption was present in their government and how Dolus had been the only one whose crimes he'd managed to expose. Ling Ju-ahn had been appointed there as Dolus' replacement, and so far the Fortress hadn't been able to find anything concrete about a possible criminal history. Considering the Fortress' search algorithms seemed to work a lot better than Remnant's and how Clark suspected that the Fortress sometimes entered restricted government databases to provide him with information, that was either a good sign or a worrying one of another Dolus who was younger and more competent.

They didn't quibble over the details of their Superman Accords, which Clark suspected was partly because it was later in the night for them. They read over their copy, which was mostly the same as the ones with Atlas and Vale, and asked to meet him in person in the next few days to discuss and sign a final draft.

The meeting with Vacuo was also different in its own way from the others. The Headmaster of Shade Academy was there, which was normal, after all Ironwood and Ms. Goodwitch had positions on their Councils as well. The interesting thing was that a few of Shade's teachers were present in addition to the Councilors. The teachers and the Headmaster did much of the talking and decision-making. Clark had read through an unofficial account of their government, where most of the power was concentrated in Shade, but he hadn't thought it would be so blatant. They were upfront and to the point though, the meeting with them was over in half an hour. They were mostly fine with the current version of their Superman Accords and also asked that he fly over to their school in a few days to settle a few details and give his signature.

Lastly, the only sizeable political body independent of the Kingdoms: Menagerie. The only people on the other side of the screen were Chieftain Ghira and three other government officials who oversaw foreign relations, their military, and public relations. They were less formal than the other nations, which Clark liked. Menagerie had unique needs though, such as dangerous wildlife which were even more of a problem than Grimm in some regions. Vacuo had asked for similar considerations, but whether it was due to their culture of strength or wildlife being less of an issue, their requests for revisions hadn't been as extensive as Menagerie's. Clark himself wasn't sure about his approach to normal animal life, so he asked for a list of species they were most worried about and he promised to respond quickly.

Once the meeting ended, Ghira asked to speak to Clark privately for a few moments. The other officials left.

"So, you're an alien," Ghira said.

"I am."

"You do realize how difficult that is to believe? The only reason I'm even considering it is that there's no reason Ironwood to present you as an alien rather than a powerful human except it being true."

"You won't have to just take his word for it. I'm planning to let universities briefly study my cells to see my alien biology for themselves."

"Ah. Then you should also know that the Kingdoms likely share my skepticism. Although I suppose it doesn't really matter either way as long as you keep up your end of your agreements with them."

"I wouldn't say that. I do have access to advanced, alien technology. If it's safe, I may decide to share it with Remnant to improve peoples' lives."

"Really? Then I look forward to it." The chieftain chuckled. Understandably, he didn't fully believe Clark. "Superman, my gratitude for you ridding us of the White Fang hasn't diminished. You asked me to keep your involvement hidden, but now that you've shown yourself to the world, may I reveal what you did? It would help build up your reputation even further, although to tell the truth you already seem to be handling that expertly."

"Sure, you can tell people what I did."

"Then I will. Also, may I ask, how is my daughter doing?"

Clark smiled. "She's really happy to be back with her team. In fact, just a week ago, they found their fourth member and have a whole team again. Actually, Blake's partner, her name's Yang, is still a bit upset about Blake leaving them, but I think they'll make up soon."

"I see, it's good to hear that she's doing well. Could you please tell her to call? Her mother misses her."

"Sure." By Clark's judgement, Ghira was missing Blake plenty as well.

"Goodbye." The call ended and Clark looked at the screens surrounding him with a sigh. They showed multiple versions of the Superman Accords, a schedule for all the meetings he'd have to go to, a bunch of to-dos such as researching Ling Ju-ahn, the wildlife of Menagerie and Vacuo, and the specific laws of each nation regarding justifiable unauthorized entry in their territory and the allowances made for huntsman, or other individuals, protecting civilians from Grimm.

Clark was starting to consider whether he should hire some secretaries and clerks to take on some of the workload.

With a sigh, he closed the screens and took out his scroll. There had been a text from Ruby a few hours ago, and he'd told her that he'd be busy until later in the night. She'd made a group chat for her team, JNPR, Clark, and Oscar and his message had been relayed there.

It was past ten in Atlas, which wasn't really that late, so he texted them to say he was free to hang out if they wanted. A reply came seconds later.

Ruby Rose: Great!

Ruby Rose: I started thinking u were gonna be busy all night!

Ruby Rose: Ironwood gave us rooms in Atlas Academy. We can open a window to let you in.

Clark Kent: Cool, be there soon.

Before he left the Fortress, Clark warned Ironwood that he was going to be flying to Atlas Academy. He wasn't planning to use super-speed to fly in and he didn't want to set off an alarm or anything.

It seemed that the general kept a close watch on communication from Clark. He answered quickly and said that he'd warned the Academy and that Clark could fly in without cause for concern.

Just as he was about to leave, Clark received another text from Ruby.

Ruby Rose: Blake's wants to read in silence, so we're gonna hang out in JNPR's room. It's on the fourth floor in the West Tower, one of the four big ones.

Clark Kent: Ok. Tell Blake her parents want her to call them.

He flew out of the Fortress and arrived at Atlas Academy from the west side. He spotted their window and slowed down a hundred or so feet away from the window so they could see him approach, which meant that a few students outside at this time of night or looking out from certain windows also spotted him.

A strange feeling, but Clark was fine with it.

"Over here!" Ruby waved him in from a large window, easily wide and tall enough for him to enter with his body oriented vertically.

Yang gasped. "Oh my God, it's Superman! Please, will you give me an autograph?!"

"Ooh ooh, me too!" Nora waved a piece of paper in the air.

They had eager and starstruck expressions, so there was only one way he could respond to that.

"No."

Yang burst out laughing, and Nora did a very good job of looking dejected by the refusal. Ruby seemed to only be annoyed by her sister's joke, but it went over better with JNPR.

"So, how's Atlas compared to Beacon and Haven?" Clark asked.

"It's totally awesome," Jaune said. "Their training rooms are really high-tech and cool. They have this hard-light setup which can make blocks and platforms and stuff, sparring with you is going to be amazing there."

"I'll have to find some time to check it out then," Clark said.

"Are you going to have time with all your 'Superman' stuff going on?" Yang asked the question with a grin, clearly still amused by the name.

"Good question, and the answer is, I have no idea."

"Well you better not forget about us even if you're famous and everything," Ruby said.

"I'm not sure I could even if I wanted to."

"If fame could change people that much it would be frightening," Pyrrha said. "Although I do warn you, being easily recognized on the street isn't always fun. Do you agree, Weiss?"

Ruby's partner blinked, she'd been standing off to the side and looked like she hadn't expected to be included in the conversation. She answered in a polite tone. "Yes. Although the nature of Clark's fame is certainly different from mine or yours."

Clark sighed. "Yeah. Honestly, I'm listening to the school right now, and I'm probably not going be able to hang out with you guys normally anymore. Some people saw me fly in, and the news is spreading pretty fast among the students."

"We'll have to adjust, find private places just for us friends," Pyrrha said.

They talked for a little while longer. Clark asked about what their school life was going to be like, and it turned out that teams RWBY and JNPR had gotten a unique arrangement. They had more experience than other students their age, and their knowledge of Salem, the Maidens, and the Relics along with their willingness to defend Remnant meant that their status as students was awkward to explain to the general population who didn't know why they would regularly interact with the headmasters of the huntsman academies and possibly even carry out missions for them.

To solve this, they were on a sort of accelerated track. In a few months, they would get the opportunity to take a written exam and a physical one which required them to spar some of the teachers. If they passed, they would receive their huntsman licenses.

Oscar though would have to wait a little longer. Atlas Academy was going to be taking him on as a gifted student, similar to how Beacon had accepted Ruby, and he was going to have to go through all the classes. It was expected that he'd also be on an accelerated curriculum, so he wasn't going to be placed on a team either.

"Oh yeah, by the way, Ironwood said he prepared a room for you too if you want it," Ruby said. "I think you're getting one of the empty teacher's rooms."

"I won't be taking it."

"What? Why not?" Ruby asked.

"I don't want people to read into me living in Atlas the wrong way. Ironwood probably just offered me the room in case I really want it but he also warned me about how favoritism can look, especially towards a military-oriented Kingdom like Atlas." Clark glanced around the room as if to make his point. It was well-furnished, but the bunk beds and blue and white aesthetic gave it a design which had a militaristic impression. "Don't worry though, I have my own place and I'll only ever be a few seconds away. Well . . . unless I happen to be in space."

That caught Ruby's attention. "You can fly into space?"

"Yep." That kind of response demanded a detailed answer, and Clark gave it to them. He told them how he'd flown beyond the moon, close to the speed of light, and more sheepishly he explained how he'd collided with part of it and had needed to take care of the debris before it hit Remnant.

It was getting late, and despite the protests of Ruby, Yang, Jaune, and Nora, the more responsible ones insisted that they had to sleep soon for their first day of classes tomorrow. Once Clark sided with them, the argument was over.

"Boooo, you guys are no fun," Nora pouted.

"Falling asleep in class isn't exactly fun either," Ren said. "Did you see those chairs, Nora? Atlas clearly doesn't think highly of comfort."

Nora grumbled a bit more, but she said she'd go to sleep for him.

"So, will we see you tomorrow, Clark?" Jaune asked.

Clark nodded. "Definitely. Guys, it is not fun negotiating and discussing politics and law with government officials. I'd ditch them completely if I could."

Weiss crossed her arms and commented, "I'm sure we'll understand if you placed a higher priority on your responsibilities." Despite her claim, it didn't seem like they all agreed.

Clark hadn't expected her to say anything beyond a polite goodbye, she'd been mostly quiet during his conversation with the others. He'd expected her to make a remark like that even less. "I understand that they're important. I'm dealing with heads of national governments on how to get them to agree to let me save people from Grimm or any other serious danger. I'm not really thinking of ditching them, I'm saying that my friends are important too."

"Oh, of course. I shouldn't have implied you were doing otherwise," Weiss tone was apologetic even though Clark didn't really mind what she'd said. If she wanted to make sure he was actually helping people, he encouraged those types of comments.

They said their goodbyes, making promises to hang out tomorrow, and Clark flew out. He put some speed on so few people would see him at this time of night. Some Atlesian news stations were waiting outside the academy, they'd heard the news of his presence there. Thankfully, Ironwood had barred them from entering.

\\

Salem faced the two Seer Grimm she had summoned in front of her throne. Each showed the face of one of her servants. To her right was Watts, and to her left, Hazel.

Tyrian was a useful and appreciated subordinate, but Salem required a discussion on strategy and his talents lay elsewhere. Ozpin's pet general had publicly announced the presence of his alien, a powerful being who'd traveled from beyond the gods' Creation, and it appeared that Salem could no longer expect her own alien ally to impede him.

There was worse news. Three of Cinder's underlings had been captured as well, so Salem would have to assume that Ozpin would soon learn of the plans which had been made in their presence and the identities of her servants. In addition, the announcement of the self-proclaimed 'Superman' had been accompanied by a written list of his capabilities. He possessed several abilities which Salem had been ignorant of, such as his enhanced senses, which meant that the Traveler, as he'd called himself, must have had them as well. It was infuriating to know that her supposed ally could have discovered secrets not meant for his eyes and listened in on hidden conversations.

Watts was actually in the process of describing his new procedures for someone with such senses. "Considering he can see through walls and hear conversations from miles away, it would be wise if we all avoided cities and stayed in more remote regions of the Kingdoms. Otherwise, we may be caught as soon as he flies by."

Salem nodded, simple but effective measures. "Will that be too much of a hindrance for our plans to acquire the Relics?"

"In Atlas, no," Watts answered. "The Relics there have already been removed from their vaults and no Maiden is necessary to retrieve them. I will have to adjust, as I had wished to work there in person, but I can also carry out my duties remotely."

Hazel offered his own advice. "Ma'am, I must admit, even after a successful acquisition of the Relics at Atlas, our prospects for obtaining the others are not encouraging. It would be a simple matter for Ozpin to order the Summer Maiden to give the Relic at Shade Academy to his Superman and then have him place it beyond our reach. Deep underground, or in an ocean trench perhaps."

"You're not thinking creatively enough, Hazel," Watts said. "I hate to say this, but he could easily have Superman throw one of the Relics into space, maybe far enough that even Superman himself wouldn't be able to find it again. Although it would be more reasonable to have him place it in a convenient orbit."

Salem wondered, would Ozpin be trusting enough to put a Relic in a place that he would have to rely completely only on one single person to access? While he had used the Maidens as keys to his vaults, he had always had the option to wait for one to die if she became uncooperative and manipulate the next one.

Salem was forced to conclude that Ozpin would make the trade between higher security and less access. He wouldn't do it lightly, but if he were desperate enough he would keep the Relic out of both their hands forever.

Watts cleared his throat. "Ma'am, I wouldn't wish to step out of my bounds, but I wish to ask something important. I think that with his speed, it's very possible for Superman to throw you into space. We had a similar issue with our former ally, but he never demonstrated the speeds that I've seen from Superman. May I ask what precautions you have in place to prevent this?"

"I have placed a curse on my body," Salem responded. "One that will kill any individual who touches me without my permission." It was also a curse which had taken a considerable portion of her magic to create and maintain.

"Does it kill instantly?"

"No, it will take several seconds."

Watts frowned. "Will it debilitate him the moment he touches you?"

"I do not know. It will be painful, but perhaps he could endure and maintain some control his body to some extent until he dies."

As they spoke, Salem was relieved to have taken on Watts as a servant. He explained to her the true danger of being propelled beyond Remnant's atmosphere. According to him it was likely that this Superman could throw her fast enough that she would eventually leave the solar system. She would not fall back down but go on, away from Remnant for all eternity.

For the first time in centuries she feared for herself. She didn't need air to survive, but spending her immortal life suffocating in a void was a horrific image. Her curse was not enough, it would not activate if Superman did not touch her, and Watts said it was likely that Superman could tear out the ground beneath her feet and throw it into space with her.

There was also the possibility that Superman injured Salem before propelling her into the void, using his heat vision perhaps or simply dropping an enormous boulder on her. While she could return to perfect health from any injury, it took time for the gods' immortality to heal her body. Only a matter of seconds, but against such absurd speed there was not a moment's chance to defend herself.

Salem thanked Watts for his scientific knowledge and cleared the images on the Seers. A hand gripped the armrest tightly. What could she do to protect herself?

She could fly, but she didn't think she could return to Remnant if she was hurled out of it at the high speeds Watts claimed. Her best method of flight was magically manipulating wind, and there was no wind in space. She could transform herself into a few forms that could also fly, but even if they worked without air she didn't think she could return to Remnant with them.

Magical barriers were given some thought, but ultimately discarded. While Salem thought she could make one to divert beams of heat, it would take another substantial portion of magic to create one that would work against ones as powerful as Superman's and maintaining it constantly would be even more costly. Hoping to make one against simple, but powerful attacks such as dropping large rocks on her was a fool's endeavor.

It was no question that Salem's magic could kill Superman, but the matter of whether she could manage it before he shot her into space was far less certain. Not to mention that with his speed he could easily retreat to make more attempts. It was a conundrum; one she wasn't certain she could solve with her magic alone.

However, she had resources beyond her magic: the magic of the gods'. Ozpin had the Relics, gifts from the God of Light, but outside her castle was the lake which had been the abode of the God of Darkness. A lake whose edges had never receded over the millennia of producing Grimm, a sign of its limitless power.

Admittedly, it was less versatile than her magic. Its power was directed towards darkness and destruction, not spells like her curse which activated upon certain conditions or magical barriers. It likely couldn't be molded for the specific purpose of killing Superman or defending her either.

But could she mold it so that it indirectly served her? Yes, the idea was very promising.