"Let him go!" Diana, already charging with her Godkiller sword, lunged at the Kryptonian monster the moment it impaled Clark. However, the monster's heat vision pinned her down, preventing her from getting any closer.
Sizzle! The clash between Diana's divine aura and the monster's heat vision intensified. Even with her divine shield, Diana struggled to push through and reach the Kryptonian monster in time to save Clark. If Clark hadn't lost his powers, he might have been able to hold the monster off for a moment, giving Diana a chance to help. But with the kryptonite cloud surrounding him, Clark had no strength left. He couldn't resist or even delay his death, which came swiftly as the monster took his life without hesitation.
"Damn it! What have you done?!" Tony Stark, hearing Clark's dying words echo across the battlefield, erupted with rage. The Avengers, who had begun retreating, were equally furious. Without hesitation, they charged back into the fight.
With the strongest protector of Earth—Superman—now dead, the burden of defending the planet fell squarely on the Avengers' shoulders. Previously, with Clark and Robert leading the charge, the Avengers didn't have to face the most powerful enemies. But now, they were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice if it meant stopping Earth's destruction.
"How is this possible? It's not affected by kryptonite? Was this all part of your plan too?" Batman, still in his Batwing, stared in disbelief at Clark's lifeless body, his voice tinged with shock and suspicion.
Batman began to realize just how dangerous Earth had become. If even his own actions had been anticipated by Lex Luthor, it meant Luthor had figured out not just Batman, but also Clark and the Avengers. Everyone's strategies had been meticulously calculated.
"Ha! Didn't see that coming, did you? Feel the despair! What I gave you before was just a slow-acting poison. Now, the real game begins!" Lex Luthor's voice rang out from his secret base, filled with excitement. "Superman, your final cry was music to my ears. Honestly, you died too quickly, denying me the chance to savor your struggle."
"But you're no longer Superman, are you? You're just a small-town boy now, far from the invincible hero you once were. I only wish the monster had torn your body to pieces—I would have enjoyed watching the blood splatter everywhere…"
"But this is only the beginning. Not only will Superman die, but so will Supergirl. And though Wonder Woman might be harder to kill, it's nothing a few more evolutions of the Kryptonian monster can't solve. I don't believe she can withstand my perfected creation!"
"Once I'm done with them, I'll send the monster away as planned. If it evolves any further, even a reinforced Earth might not survive its destruction. The planet's already been damaged enough…"
"Yes, let's see how many Avengers it can take down. Even if it doesn't wipe them all out, I don't need this kind of danger to deal with the Avengers."
Indeed, it seemed that everything except for Robert's interference had gone according to Lex Luthor's plan. The monster had succeeded in killing Clark, but Lex's entire scheme was still a gamble. If the monster had gone even slightly more out of control, Earth might have already been destroyed. Lex had waited so long to enact his plan, not only because he had found the perfect moment—when Clark's reputation was suffering—but also because Earth had become sturdier and more difficult to obliterate, giving him the confidence to take the risk.
From the start, Lex's goal had been to eliminate beings like Clark, who were far beyond human strength. As a staunch humanist, he had no desire to destroy Earth itself. That was the home of humanity, after all. Only if Lex believed that Earth's dimensional consciousness threatened human survival would he consider harming the planet.
"We can't just stand by after Superman's death. Today could very well be Earth's doomsday!" Tony Stark, now fully suited up in a non-top-tier armor, spoke gravely through the communication system.
"We need to be ready for the possibility that even if we all die, we might not be able to stop this monster. Today might also be the Avengers' doomsday…"
"Let's stick to the plan. Venom and I might not be able to stop it, but at least we can buy some time. I hope we all get to see each other again after today!" Peter Parker took a deep breath, his tone somber.
"All this talk of a 'monster' feels strange. If today might mark the end of the Avengers and Earth, let's give it a name—Doomsday! I'm going in first!"
Boom! With that, Peter Parker leaped onto Doomsday, immediately drawing its attention. Doomsday's massive hand came crashing down, but Peter dodged skillfully, causing the blow to land on Doomsday itself.
"Hulk smash!" Hulk followed suit, leaping toward Doomsday. Although Hulk's massive body seemed small in comparison, his direct approach earned him a powerful strike from Doomsday, sending him flying.
Thankfully, Hulk's thick skin and resilience meant he wasn't severely injured, though his rage only grew, pushing him to fight even harder.
With Hulk and Peter Parker now in the fray, Doomsday's heat vision was forced to stop. This gave Diana the opportunity to press her attack on Doomsday once again.
At this point, with Clark's death, Diana had become Earth's strongest combatant, especially with Kara still powerless due to the kryptonite gas surrounding the battlefield.
Soon after, the other Avengers joined the battle against Doomsday. While speedsters like Barry Allen had little effect on it, heroes like Johnny Storm, Susan Storm, and Lorna Dane were able to slow Doomsday down to some extent.
Before the battle fully began, Lorna used her telekinesis to move Kara out of the kryptonite cloud. With the kryptonite no longer suppressing her powers, Kara quickly regained her strength and shouted to Lorna, "Polaris! Get Superman's body out of there! Maybe there's still a chance he can be revived!"
"What?!" Tony Stark, hearing Kara's plea, immediately remembered the unique physiology of Kryptonians. When Clark died, Tony had assumed he was beyond saving because previous Kryptonians had been killed for good.
However, Clark's death was different. Those other Kryptonians had been killed while still retaining their powers. Clark, on the other hand, had died after losing his powers. If he could somehow regain them, he might have a chance to come back to life!
Buzz! Without missing a beat, Lorna quickly moved Clark's body to Kara. After receiving it, Kara shot into the sky, disappearing from Earth's atmosphere.
"Stall for time! Anyone with healing abilities, hold the line! If you're about to lose your strength, retreat immediately. As long as Superman can be revived, we still have hope!" Tony Stark quickly shifted their strategy and gave new instructions to the Avengers.
Though Clark hadn't fared well against Doomsday, if he could be brought back, the combined forces of Clark, Kara, and Diana might be able to knock Doomsday back into space. Once there, they could figure out how to deal with it, which would be far better than continuing a world-ending battle on Earth.
However, when Kara reached the sun with Clark's body, nothing happened. The sunlight didn't restore him, and his gruesome wounds showed no signs of healing.
"Clark…" Kara hesitated for a moment, gazing at his motionless form before looking back toward Earth. She knew she couldn't wait here forever. Earth desperately needed fighters, and even though the green kryptonite fog still weakened her, she could still provide long-range support to the Avengers. Without her, Diana alone might not be able to hold off Doomsday, and the Avengers would surely suffer casualties.
After a moment of contemplation, Kara gently placed Clark's body to float in space. She then flew back toward Earth to rejoin the fight.
Meanwhile, back on Vormir, Robert and Lana, after some effort, had found a few old spacecraft. But as the cloaked man had said, they were all damaged by time and unable to fly.
This left Robert feeling a bit helpless. Fighting? That, Robert could handle—he had many methods for it. But repairing spaceships? That was beyond him. He didn't even know how to fix a car, let alone a spaceship.
Left with no other option, Robert and Lana returned to the altar where the cloaked man awaited. "I've told you all I can. Once you decide who is most important to you and make the sacrifice, the Soul Stone will be yours. Can you free me now?" the cloaked man asked.
"So, the Soul Stone is on this planet after all?" Robert had been using his senses, but had detected no unusual energy, nor could he locate the Soul Stone. Even using his abilities related to the soul yielded no results.
However, Robert had no intention of sacrificing anyone for the Soul Stone, so he began to consider another way.
"Yes, based on my knowledge, the Soul Stone is merged with this planet…" the cloaked man began to explain, but stopped when he saw Robert turn to Lana.
"Can you survive in space?" Robert asked.
"With the energy inside me, I can manage for a short while, but not for long…" Lana responded, somewhat uncertain.
"Good. Let's give it a shot. We're not making any sacrifices, so if this doesn't work, we'll just find another planet. I've still got a few transformation techniques left," Robert said quietly. "Go ahead and fly into space. Leave the
rest to me."
"Alright." Lana didn't question Robert's plan and immediately flew into space, leaving the cloaked man in stunned confusion.
"Maybe this will give you what you've been hoping for. By the way, I think I've heard your name before. Red Skull, right? Bucky and Steve used to tell stories about you…" Robert smirked at the bewildered Red Skull before disappearing from sight.
Boom! When Red Skull looked up again, he saw a bright sphere falling from the sky. Then, nothing.
Boom! A terrifying explosion rocked Vormir, turning the planet into cosmic dust. Robert and Lana stood in space, watching as Vormir was completely annihilated.
"It looks like we failed…" Robert said with a sigh, but just as he prepared to leave, an orange glow appeared where Vormir had been.
As the orange light shone, a familiar voice echoed through the cosmos. Though they were in the vacuum of space, both Robert and Lana could clearly hear Clark's final cry, and the scene of his death appeared before their eyes.
"Clark!" Lana's pupils shrank, and she instinctively called out his name. But the next second, a terrifying force sent her flying, her face filled with fear.
"Unforgivable!" Robert's body trembled violently in space as an overwhelming aura of rage, ferocity, and pure destructive power erupted from him. Everything in the surrounding space was sent hurtling away as Robert became the center of a cosmic storm.
A cataclysmic thunderstorm was born around him, fueled by his seething fury…
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