Chapter 131: Halloween Holiday Exploration! Aberrant Beast Suddenly Appears in the Woods!
Samuel Lane put the remaining pie in his hand onto the nearby table.
He wiped his hands, turned around, and looked at Lois: "I came to see my daughter by the way. I want to give her this."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out something.
It was a compass, the engravings on its casing worn shiny, as if someone had carried it with them for many years.
He gently placed the compass into Lois's hands, his voice carrying a father's unique tenderness: "I found this when I moved out of my office. It can guide you when you are lost."
Lois looked down at the compass in her hand, the needle beneath the glass dial trembling slightly.
She raised her head with a smile at the corner of her mouth: "Oh, thanks, Dad."
She stepped forward and hugged her father.
A smile appeared on Samuel Lane's face, and he raised his hand to gently pat her back twice.
After a moment, he turned his head slightly, lowering his voice almost right against her ear: "I also found some clues about the Department of Defense server data leak incident."
Lois didn't let go of her father, only rolling her eyes, her voice carrying a long-accustomed helplessness: "Here we go again."
Samuel continued in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Classified documents were stolen. They include a canceled biotechnology research project."
Lois immediately released her father's embrace, grasped his arms with both hands, and lowered her voice to press further: "Wait, could this project be about a Kryptonian?"
Samuel Lane looked left and right, confirming that no one nearby was paying attention to this side.
He withdrew his gaze and nodded: "That's right."
He turned slightly, his lips almost touching Lois's ear, his voice lowered to the extreme: "I think you should have your 'flying friend' investigate it."
Lois excitedly patted her father's arm, her voice full of irrepressible drive: "That's great, Dad, thanks for the news!"
She turned and ran, her sneakers stepping on the farm's stubble, her blonde hair whipping out an arc behind her head.
Samuel Lane reached out, opened his mouth, and only had time to say: "Wait, the one who should investigate this is Superman."
He watched his daughter wave back at him while running, raising his voice a few notches more, "Did you hear me? Send Superman!"
Lois had already run far away, leaving him only a waving arm and a diminishing figure.
————————————
In a remote forest.
A circle of rusty barbed wire lay in front of a deserted building.
Lois ran to the barbed wire, bent over to peer inside, her voice filled with excitement: "It must be here!"
Clark walked up to her, glanced at the dusty gray building, and asked with a hint of unease in his tone: "You promise we'll make it back in time to hand out candy, right?"
Lois turned to look at him, a bright smile blooming on her face: "Of course, I won't let the kids down."
Only then did Clark smile.
He bent down to grab the crooked barbed wire, lifted it gently with both arms, and flipped the entire net aside to discard it.
Lois walked excitedly toward the building, with Clarkfollowing behind.
Jimmy held up his phone, muttering some unknown words, and slipped right in after them.
Marcus stayed outside the building, watching Kara fly over to a tree a moment later, gently stroking a little squirrel's head; and a moment later fly into the dilapidated building, rummaging out a few bloody decorative props from some unknown corner, suddenly darting in front of Marcus and "scaring" him with bared fangs and brandished claws.
Marcus looked at her appearance, a hint of helplessness in his tone: "Why did you want me to come along. Mr. Jonathan and Ms. Martha still need my help."
Kara flew to Marcus's side, her blonde hair shining in the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy.
She shook the skull decoration in her hand, smiling with her eyes curved like crescents: "Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Martha have Delta, Kumoko, and Milong helping out, so missing one person like you doesn't make a difference. Besides, wouldn't it be great if we finish investigating sooner."
Marcus looked at Kara's endlessly excited appearance, thinking silently to himself: This doesn't look like someone who wants to finish investigating soon at all.
Kara casually tossed the skull aside, took Marcus's hand, and flew toward the building.
Her voice was full of spirit: "Let's hurry inside and investigate!"
Before long, they all came out.
Lois patted the dust off her hands, glanced back at the building, and said: "This building is completely empty. They've cleared out this entire building."
Jimmy shone his phone around left and right, chiming in: "Or perhaps they were never here. There are no roads leading to the outside world here, and some of these buildings don't even have doors. This whole place looks fake."
Lois furrowed her brows: "So, why would they build a fake structure?"
Just at that moment, Kara suddenly pointed at a patch of bushes ahead, her eyes lighting up: "Look, a dog!"
Everyone looked over following her gaze.
Standing in the bushes was a deer.
Jimmy waved his hand: "Kara, not all animals on Earth are dogs. That's actually a deer."
That deer suddenly turned its head.
On its other side, it unexpectedly grew a wolf's head, connected together with the deer's head.
"Ah! Not a deer! That's definitely not a deer!"
Jimmy was startled, hurriedly taking two steps back.
That two-headed animal was frightened by Jimmy's cry and turned to dive back into the bushes.
Kara clapped her hands excitedly on the side: "I told you that was a dog!"
She hurriedly chased after it, her voice drifting out from the bushes, "Don't run! Let me pet you!"
Chapter 132: Underground Secret Laboratory! KryptonMutant Monster Appears
Kara brushed aside the grass and chased in, looking left and right, but that two-headed animal was already gone.
She flew forward for a distance and suddenly stopped.
Ahead on the ground, a half-hidden entrance was exposed, with a rusted iron ladder extending straight down, and nothing could be seen clearly in the pitch-black passage.
Marcus and the others walked through the grass to Kara's side, and also saw that passage.
"Good job, Kara." Lois patted Kara on the shoulder excitedly.
She walked to the tunnel door, reached out and pushed, but the door didn't budge at all.
She withdrew her hand, pointed at the dents on the door panel, and said, "It looks like this door was forced open before."
Clark walked over to her side, grasped the door panel with both hands, and with a gentle pull, the entire door was forcefully ripped out.
He looked down at the deformed metal on the door frame: "It was opened by a very powerful force.
Later, something blocked the door from the inside again."
Marcus looked downward and said in a calm tone, "That thing might still be down there."
Kara turned on her flashlight, the beam swaying in the pitch-black opening.
Her eyes were bright, and she waved her fist excitedly: "Let's go down and take a look!"
Marcus didn't say anything and followed directly behind her, walking down.
Clark looked at their backs and shouted, "Wait, do you guys plan on just walking in like that?"
Kara turned her head, the flashlight's light casting up from below, illuminating half of her face.
She smiled and said, "Courage is a virtue of a Kryptonian, Karl."
Jimmy poked his head out from behind Clark, patted his shoulder, and his tone carried a bit of squeezed-out ease: "Don't you think it's fun to explore with friends?"
After speaking, he also slipped down in a flash.
Clark stood in place, looked at the increasingly smaller flashlight beam below, and then looked at the sunlight outside: "Biting apples with friends isn't bad either, right?"
Lois walked past him and said without looking back, "Relax, small-town boy. We have three Supermen, after all."
Clark looked at the pitch-black opening below, sighed, and followed down anyway.
They walked down the stairs.
The further down they went, the colder the air became, and water droplets oozed from the metal plates on both sides of the iron ladder.
Jimmy shuddered and whispered, "Whoa! This place is deep enough."
Lois held up her mobile phone for lighting, lowered her voice, and said, "There must be something shady here."
Suddenly, she saw Marcus and Kara walking in front stop their steps.
She quickened her pace and walked over, with Jimmy and Clark following behind.
When they saw the scene inside, they all let out a surprised "whoa".
The space before them suddenly opened up, the entire underground space illuminated by pale cold light lamps.
Rows of incubation pods were neatly arranged, so numerous they were countless.
Each incubation pod contained different creatures; some looked like deer, some like wolves, some had wings, some were covered in scales, and others completely lacked any discernible original form.
"I think we found it, what we've been looking for all along," Lois said softly.
Kara flew into the array of incubation pods, her gaze sweeping across the rows of glass pods, her voice carrying an indescribable unease: "What are all these?"
Lois walked up to a shattered incubation pod.
The pod body split down the middle, the nutrient solution had long since drained dry, and the pod door protruded outward, as if something had smashed it open from the inside.
She leaned close to the label tag in front of the pod, reading out loud in the cold white light: "Project Codename: B-1 Z."
She continued reading down: "DNA Sequence: Alien Creature."
The last line of text made her frown tightly: "Result: Active."
Jimmy also walked over, poking his head to look at that empty incubation pod, then turned his head to sweep across the neatly arranged pods around, his voice a bit timid: "Who knows what on earth ran out."
Kara stood in front of another incubation pod, her gaze falling on the tissue sample inside, her face slowly sinking: "These were all created using Kryptonian DNA."
Marcus walked to her side, scanned the rows of incubation pods, and said in a calm tone: "It seems someone intends to create an army of Supermen."
Suddenly, a sound came from the depths.
Everyone turned their heads simultaneously, and a six-legged, three-eyed dog-like monster rushed out from the shadows.
"What kind of dog is this?" Kara's eyes lit up.
"That is definitely not a dog!" Clark and Lois shouted at the same time.
As the words fell, Clark rushed straight up.
He reached out and gripped the monster's two swinging front claws, and man and beast wrestled in the passage.
Sensing it couldn't suppress Clark, the monster immediately lashed out with another pair of claws on the sides of its shoulders. Clark hurriedly retreated backward, and the clothes on his chest were torn open, revealing the blue battle suit inside.
Taking advantage of Clark's retreat, the monster opened its huge mouth, and a white beam sprayed out from the depths of its throat.
Clark only had time to raise his arms to cross and block in front of him. The beam landed on him, and frost instantly spread along his arms to his entire body.
"Clark!" Lois cried out anxiously.
Kara immediately rushed forward, kicking hard into the monster's body, interrupting it from continuing to spray the freezing beam.
The monster was kicked flying sideways.
Kara turned her head to look at the frozen Clark, and just as she was about to fly over to help, a few fine cracks had already appeared on the ice shell.
Clark shook his arms, shattered ice scattered in all directions, and he broke through the ice entirely.
The clothes on his body instantly turned into that red and blue battle suit the moment he broke free.
Just as Clark steadied himself, he saw the monster kicked flying by Kara had already flipped itself up, opened its big mouth again, and white light lit up in its throat once more.
"Watch out!"
Before he finished speaking, Marcus had instantly appeared beside the monster, his right fist carrying the sound of wind and smashing fiercely into its torso.
The monster's entire body was blasted flying, crashing through several walls and disappearing into the dark depths.
Jimmy looked at that pitch-black large hole, swallowed his saliva, and said: "Should we chase after them?"
"Of course we should chase!" Kara said and flew toward the direction where the monster disappeared.
Marcus said "Let's go" and followed as well.
Clark looked at Lois and Jimmy beside him, and could only tuck one under each arm, chasing toward the large hole smashed out by the monster.
They followed the opening smashed by the monster all the way forward, finally entering a vast underground space.
Various strange alien plants grew here, some vines entwining around stone pillars, some flowers emitting a faint fluorescent glow.
After landing, Marcus scanned the area and said: "That monster seems to have hidden itself."
Kara flew forward, her gaze sweeping past those plants, her voice dropping a fraction: "These are Krypton plants."
As she walked forward, she flew to a plant covered in pale purple flowers and introduced: "This is the Oregrus flower. Its sap can be used to cook food."
After speaking, she pointed to another nearby plant with crimson petals and added: "This is the Blood-Bloom flower. It contains a huge amount of flammable liquid inside its body."
They continued walking forward, coming before a thick, sturdy tree.
Lois noticed an obviously disturbed patch of soil by the tree roots, squatted down, and frowned slightly: "Who knows what is buried inside this."
Clark glanced at that patch of soil, his gaze already penetrating through the soil layer.
He fell silent for a moment, his voice dropping a few shades: "A corpse is buried inside here."
"What!" Lois stood up in surprise.
"Who is it?" Jimmy was also startled.
Clark's line of sight focused on the ID badge on the corpse's chest.
After recognizing it for a moment, he said: "His ID badge says his name is Dr. George Otto Binder."
Lois looked around, then looked at the mound of earth burying the corpse, and said: "So, that monster ran out, and then, killed the research personnel?"
Clark squatted down, reaching out to pick up the glasses next to the grave: "If that monster killed him, why would it bury him?"
Suddenly, an angry roar exploded from the depths of the plant thicket: "No!"
Before the words finished, a tall figure with pale, grayish skin rushed out.
He slammed straight into Clark, and the two instantly grappled together, rolling and smashing into the bushes behind them.
Chapter 133: Thinking It Was a Fierce Monster, Who Knew It Turned Out to Be a Pitiable Clone
The grayish-White arm of that person choked Clark's neck, and the two rolled from the bushes to a nearby open space.
Clark grabbed his arm with a backhand, exerted force from his waist and abdomen, and flung him off his body.
The person with grayish-White skin crashed into a stone pillar, and gravel fell in rustling sounds.
Clark looked at the person in the pile of stones and spread his hands: "Stop. I mean no harm."
The person with grayish-White skin rushed out from the stone pile, smashing toward Clark with double fists carrying anger.
Clark did not counterattack; he raised his hands and steadily caught that pair of fists.
Bang!
The ground under Clark's feet sank down a bit.
He looked straight into the opponent's eyes, his voice still steady: "I mean no harm."
At this time, Marcus and the others walked out from the grass.
Kara rushed straight up and punched the person with grayish-White skin flying away.
That person rolled several meters away, lay on the ground for a while, and then climbed up while covering his face.
Kara blocked in front of Clark, staring at that person with hostility in her tone: "That is a Krypton clone. A monster."
That person stood up with his back to them, covered his beaten face, and slowly turned his head over.
Kara, Clark, and Lois saw that face clearly and were all stunned.
That face was seven parts similar to Clark, especially those eyes, which were filled with bewilderment and innocence.
"He is B-1 Z." Lois spoke subconsciously.
Suddenly, the bushes beside B-1 Z burst open abruptly, and that six-legged monster rushed out from inside, lunging toward Marcus and the others.
While the monster was still in mid-air, Marcus appeared above its head and smashed down with a punch.
The monster's body slammed heavily onto the ground, smashing out a large pit.
It struggled in the large pit trying to get up, but ultimately passed out completely.
Seeing this scene, B-1 Z roared angrily: "No!"
He rushed toward Marcus; Marcus flicked his figure to dodge, and immediately struck his neck with a hand chop.
B-1 Z's eyes lost focus instantly, and his body went limp.
Marcus caught his body with both hands and tilted his head toward Kara and the others: "Let's go."
Kara didn't ask anything, directly picked up that six-legged monster, and flew to Marcus's side.
Lois asked: "Where are we going?"
Marcus said: "You guys must really want to know his background."
As his voice fell, he held B-1 Z and flew slowly in one direction.
Lois, Jimmy, and Clark hurried to follow.
Not long after, they came to a very U.S. place.
Sunlight spilled down through the tree canopy, a stream flowed between the stones, and wild flowers filled the hillside.
Lois and the others continued to walk forward following Marcus, discovering many children's toys and drawings made by children.
A faded red string was still tied to the rocking horse, and a small person and a big six-legged dog were crookedly drawn with chalk on a stone slab.
"Did someone raise a child here?" Lois asked while walking.
Clark looked at B-1 Z in Marcus's arms and said: "It should be him."
Suddenly, voices came from ahead.
Marcus reached out and pointed forward: "It's right ahead."
They looked in the direction Marcus pointed and found an old television placed on a stone platform.
A recording was playing on the television.
In the footage, a middle-aged man faced the camera and said in a gentle tone: "Some people might be afraid of you. Fear will make them make irrational and aggressive behaviors, which is very normal. But you must remember, Life Qi is definitely not a reason to hurt others. Everyone will have unhappy and sad times."
Kara held the big six-legged dog, her gaze falling on the smiling face of that man in the screen.
He squatted in the mud and taught B-1 Z hand-in-hand to bury seeds; he carried a Water bucket and stood side by side with B-1 Z in front of the vegetable garden; he bent down and held a small wooden airplane up in front of B-1 Z.
B-1 Z sat on his shoulder, smiling until his eyes narrowed into slits.
"He is a good father," Kara said softly, "at least better than my father."
For a moment, everyone didn't know how to respond.
Lois turned her head and looked at Marcus: "How did you know about this place?"
Jimmy, Clark, and Kara's gazes also fell on Marcustogether.
Facing everyone's gazes, Marcus looked at Lois: "Actually, when we first arrived here, I already heard the commotion over here."
Jimmy uttered an "oh" and suddenly realized: "So this is the reason why you've been so calm all along."
Lois put her hands on her hips, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone: "Why didn't you tell us earlier, making us search for so long."
Marcus looked at Kara and said in a natural tone: "Didn't Kara want to explore, so I didn't say anything."
After finishing, he looked at Clark again: "Besides, your boyfriend's hearing is no worse than mine, he should have discovered it long ago as well."
Everyone's gazes turned uniformly toward Clark.
Clark awkwardly scratched his face, his tone a bit guilty: "Except for certain specific rescue words, I usually suppress my hearing. You know Metropolis is noisy enough as it is, and if I don't control it, I'll be annoyed to death. So I didn't know there was such a place down here either."
Lois shifted her gaze to Kara again.
Kara hurriedly hugged the big six-legged dog in her arms tighter, and followed up with a fast-paced statement: "I am the same as Clark!"
Lois looked at this one, then looked at that one, and finally could only sigh.
Right at this moment, Clark's expression suddenly changed.
He abruptly turned his head to look in a certain direction, as if called by someone from a very far place.
He said: "There is a cry for help." Before his voice finished falling, his entire person had already rushed out, his red cloak flashing among the tree Shadows, disappearing to the other side of the hillside in the blink of an eye.
Chapter 134: Deadly Robot! Superman Takes in a Poor Cloned Teenager
Clark flew to the entrance of a warehouse. It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen clearly. However, the cry for help just now came from here. So he called out inside: "Is anyone there?"
"Help..." A faint cry for help came from deep within the warehouse.
Clark hesitated no longer and walked in. As soon as he stepped through the warehouse gates, the sound of metal scraping came from the ceiling. He raised his head, and a silver-white Robot fell straight down from the Shadow, crashing in front of him. The cry for help came from its body, exactly the same as before.
Seeing that it was a Robot, Clark still subconsciously asked: "Do you need help."
The Robot's body suddenly spun around, facing him, and made the same sound: "Help, help." Then it violently rushed toward Clark.
Clark immediately raised his hand to block. A massive force came, and his entire body was pushed backward by the Robot, flying out.
In mid-air, the Robot reached out and grabbed Clark's cape, giving it a fierce fling to throw him out. Clark's body heavily smashed into the ground, dragging out a long trench in the dirt.
The Robot glanced at him and ignored Clark, turning its direction and flying toward where Marcus and the others were located.
Clark crawled up from the ground, shook off the dirt on his shoulders, and hurriedly chased after it.
On the other side, Marcus and the others were hurrying toward Clark's direction. Before running far, they saw that silver-white Robot flying over at a low altitude from ahead, arms spread wide, with the cold light of lasers already lit up in its palms.
Kara hurriedly put the six-legged big dog in her arms on the ground and was about to rush forward when a red and blue figure slammed in from the side, fiercely crashing the Robot to the ground.
Bang!
The ground shattered, and dust rose high. Marcus handed B-1 Z in his arms to Jimmy and Lois beside him to support, and then clapped his hands fiercely.
Boom!
Impact burst from his palms, directly blowing away the dust filling the sky.
Only then did everyone see clearly that in the large crater, Clark was pressing one knee on the Robot's body, holding its head down with one hand. He raised his head, his tone relaxed: "It's fine."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Robot's pinned arms suddenly rotated in reverse. It threw a punch, striking Clarksquarely in the chest, sending his entire body flying and crashing into a rockery in the distance. Half of the rockery collapsed with a roar, and gravel fell like raindrops.
"Clark!" Lois cried out anxiously.
Just as the Robot stood up from the pit, Marcus rushed forward. He instantly appeared in front of the Robot, his hand blade falling down, so fast that the motion couldn't be seen. Tens of thousands of slashes were completed in the same instant, the Robot's limbs were chopped to pieces, electric sparks crackled wildly at the severed ends, and silver-white parts scattered all over the floor.
B-1 Z, supported by Jimmy and Lois, happened to wake up. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the scene of Marcus shattering the Robot. He trembled all over, closed his eyes in fear, and turned his face away.
Feeling his movement, Jimmy hurriedly comforted him softly: "Don't be afraid, none of us are bad people. If you don't believe me, look at your dog, it's still alive."
B-1 Z slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of Jimmy's finger. His big dog was lying by Kara's feet, its chest still rising and falling slightly. He immediately broke free from Jimmy and Lois's hands, ran to the big dog's side, squatted down, and gently stroked its head.
At this time, Clark also flew back. He first landed in front of Lois, looked into her eyes, and squeezed her hand: "I'm fine."
Then his gaze turned to B-1 Z, who was squatting beside the dog.
At this moment, the Robot lying at Marcus's feet with only its torso remaining suddenly sounded with a countdown.
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight."
Jimmy was stunned for a moment, and then his entire face turned pale. He screamed out: "It's over! It's over! It's going to explode!"
Superman immediately picked up Lois and Jimmy. B-1 Z also picked up his big dog. Kara flew to Marcus's side, took his hand, and was about to take him away.
Marcus held Kara's hand and said to them: "Don't panic."
He raised his other hand, and Aether Particle flew out from his palm, instantly wrapping around the Robot's remains. The dark red light circulated for a few turns, and in just a short moment, the Robot that was still counting down shrank and deformed, turning into a palm-sized doll that gently fell to the ground.
Seeing that the explosion crisis was resolved, Clarkreleased his arms that were holding Jimmy and Lois.
"Gosh." Jimmy let go of his hands holding his head and gasped heavily. Lois also breathed a sigh of relief, her legs turning soft, almost sitting on the ground. Fortunately, Clark put his arm around her shoulder and let her lean against him.
Kara let go of Marcus's hand, squatted down, and picked up the doll, looking at it over and over again. The doll was soft, tilting its head, and completely unable to show the look just now of wanting to blow everyone up to the sky.
B-1 Z did not raise his head. He was still kneeling on the grass, holding the big dog tightly with both hands. The awakened big dog let out a low whimper and rubbed its nose against his face. B-1 Z buried his face into its fur, his shoulders trembling slightly.
Kara turned her head and saw him looking like this, flew over, squatted down beside B-1 Z, and asked softly: "Are you okay."
B-1 Z raised his head, his eyes still a little red. He shook his head, his voice very soft: "I'm fine." His gaze crossed Kara, fell on Marcus, his lips moved, and he added in a low voice: "Thank you."
Marcus looked at B-1 Z and asked: "Why are you thanking me."
B-1 Z's gaze fell on the doll in Kara's hand. He was silent for a while, as if organizing his words: "Because this guy always beats me. Father planned to let me go secretly. Then it killed my father."
Kara lowered her head to look at the soft doll in her hand, the expression on her face turning cold. She used force with both hands, with a rip, the doll was torn in half, and cotton fluff drifted out from the tear, scattering on the ground.
Jimmy opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but swallowed the words back to his mouth, and in the end said nothing.
Lois and Clark exchanged a glance. Lois walked to B-1 Z's side, squatted down, reached out to gently pat his shoulder, and spoke in a very soft voice: "It's alright, no one will casually hurt you anymore from now on."
B-1 Z lowered his head and did not reply. He just buried his face deeper into the big dog's fur, his shoulders no longer trembling, but his hands holding the dog never loosened.
Clark walked in front of B-1 Z, squatted down, and looked at him at eye level. He glanced at the big dog lying on the grass, rubbing its nose against Master's hand, and then looked at B-1 Z, with genuine care in his voice: "Would you like to live with me."
B-1 Z raised his head, his eyes still a bit red. He looked blankly at Clark, his lips moving as if he couldn't believe what he had heard.
Clark continued: "I can take you home to meet my parents. You will have your own room, and your dog can live in the barn. No one will hit you anymore in the future."
B-1 Z looked down at the big dog in his arms, then raised his head again, his voice very small: "Can I."
Clark nodded and revealed a gentle smile: "You can."
Chapter 135: Bid Farewell to the Dark Past, Mimicry, Accepting Bizarro!
Clark reached out, gently grabbed Bizarro's wrist, and helped him up from the ground.
Bizarro's legs were still a bit weak, and after standing straight, he kept his head down, his eyes fixed on the tips of his mud-stained shoes.
His large dog stood up along with him, pressing against his leg while its tail gently swept the ground.
Lois walked up to him, her gaze much softer than before.
She asked softly: "Do you have a name?"
Bizarro raised his head, looked at Lois, and then looked at Clark.
He opened his mouth, his voice very soft: "My name is Bizarro."
"Bizarro." Lois repeated the name, as if wanting to firmly commit those three words to memory.
Jimmy leaned in, scratched the back of his head, and tried to keep his tone light: "Bizarro, that's a pretty cool name."
Bizarro didn't reply, just let out a soft "Hm", his ears turning slightly red.
Clark looked at Bizarro and spoke in a gentle tone: "Do you have anything you need to bring? We can help you."
Bizarro shook his head.
He looked down at the six-legged large dog by his feet, which was tilting its head up to look at him, its three eyes reflecting his shadow.
His lips moved, and in the end, he only spat out two words: "Nothing."
Clark didn't ask any further.
He nodded and said in a still gentle tone: "Then let's hurry back."
Bizarro bent down, just about to pick up the large dog.
Marcus suddenly spoke up: "Wait."
Everyone looked at Marcus simultaneously.
Clark asked with puzzlement: "What's wrong?"
Marcus crossed his arms and said speechlessly: "Are you sure you want to take it back like this?"
Everyone's gaze fell together on the six-legged large dog.
Lois only then reacted: "That's right, if we just take it back like this, it'll definitely cause a panic."
Hearing Lois's words, Bizarro immediately hugged the large dog tightly into his arms, as if afraid someone would snatch it away.
Clark looked at Marcus and asked doubtfully: "Then what should we do?"
Marcus walked toward the large dog and raised his arm: "Leave it to me."
Seeing Marcus approach, the large dog let out a low whimper in its throat, curling its body up and shrinking even further into Bizarro's arms.
Jimmy whispered from the side: "Looks like it's been beaten into fear."
Bizarro watched Marcus vigilantly until Marcus's palm gently landed on the dog's head.
The Aether Particle surged from his palm, and a dark red glow flowed across the large dog's entire body like mercury.
When Marcus withdrew his hand, that six-legged, three-eyed large dog had already turned into an ordinary white large dog, its fur fluffy and soft, its four paws stepping neatly on the grass.
"So cute!" Kara and Lois cried out simultaneously.
The two of them rushed directly to the large dog's side, squatted down, and frantically petted it.
Being petted, the large dog narrowed its eyes, and its tail began to wag as well.
Bizarro, however, stared at the dog that had turned white, a hint of nervousness in his voice: "Can it change back?"
Marcus said calmly: "I haven't changed its form."
He squatted down and pressed the button on the collar around the dog's neck.
With a flash of white light, the large dog changed back into its six-legged, three-eyed appearance.
Bizarro breathed a sigh of relief.
Marcus stood up and continued: "I just gave it a mimicry device, so that it can continue following you."
Bizarro watched the large dog switch between the two forms, then looked up at Marcus, and said earnestly: "Thank you."
Lois was still squatting beside the dog.
After the mimicry device was turned off, the large dog resumed its six-legged, three-eyed appearance, its three eyes lazily half-closed, its four front paws pressing against the grass.
She stiffened for a few seconds, slowly stood up, and shuffled behind Clark.
Kara, on the other hand, wasn't afraid at all, her hand still stroking back and forth on the large dog's back.
She turned her head to look at Bizarro, her eyes sparkling, her tone full of anticipation: "Can I raise it together with you?"
Bizarro was stunned for a moment.
He looked at Kara, then looked at the large dog, whose tail was wagging left and right behind it, seemingly quite fond of Kara.
"You can." Bizarro nodded.
Kara happily threw her arms around the large dog's neck.
The large dog let out a whimper, its head nudging into her arms.
Marcus smiled looking at Kara's happy expression, then said to everyone: "It's getting dark. Let's go back."
Everyone nodded.
On the way back, Kara suggested giving the large dog a name.
Bizarro didn't speak, and Jimmy racked his brains to think of several, all of which were rejected by Kara.
In the end, it was Lois who clapped her hands and said that "Krypto" would be most appropriate.
The large dog was quite pleased with this name, its tail wagging noisily.
When pushing open the door to the Kent home, Jonathanand Samuel were sitting in the living room playing chess.
The two of them turned their heads simultaneously, their gazes landing on Bizarro behind Clark.
Jonathan's hand hung mid-air, completely forgetting to drop his chess piece.
Samuel's coffee cup stopped by his mouth, his brow furrowing.
Delta walked out from the kitchen, with Kumoko lying on top of her head, and Milong following behind her.
Seeing Marcus return, she walked over to his side in a few steps, her tail gently swaying behind her: "Boss, you're back."
Kumoko raised her front legs to wave at Marcus, her voice crisp: "Master, did you find what you were looking for?"
Marcus nodded and then shook his head.
Kumoko tilted her head, her multiple eyes blinking, obviously not understanding this answer.
Delta also looked at him quizzically, her tail halting mid-air.
At this moment, Martha also walked out from the kitchen, her apron still stained with flour.
Seeing Bizarro, and then looking at Clark, she was stunned for a few seconds before asking softly: "Is he your younger brother?"
Clark shook his head: "No."
He brought Bizarro into the living room, had him sit on the sofa, and then recounted the whole story of this trip out; halfway through, Martha put down the plate in her hands.
Jonathan listened in silence, and Samuel never chimed in, his brow just furrowing tighter and tighter.
Holding a freshly baked slice of pie, Martha walked over and sat down beside Bizarro.
She gently placed the plate into his hands, her voice carrying the fondness only a mother could have: "You must have suffered a lot."
Bizarro held that steaming slice of pie, not daring to raise his head, and only after a long while said softly: "Thank you."
Jonathan sat opposite, leaning his body slightly forward, looking at Bizarro.
His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried weight: "Starting today, you are a member of our Kent family. Clarkis your older brother, and he definitely won't let you get hurt again."
Clark smiled and patted Bizarro on the back: "Dad is right. From now on, this is your home."
Bizarro looked up at Martha, then looked at Jonathan, tears swirling in his eye sockets.
He lowered his head, his voice somewhat trembling: "I can sleep in the cellar, I won't disturb you all."
"What are you talking nonsense for." Martha interrupted him, her voice carrying a hint of blame, but even more heartache: "There are still empty rooms in the house. You don't need to hide anywhere, just stay obediently and eat well."
Chapter 136, a heartwarming daily routine, concludes with everyone checking in at the Superman Expo
Bizarro nodded, picked up the fork, and began to eat in big mouthfuls.
The pie crust was so flaky it crumbled everywhere, and he ate very quickly, as if he were afraid someone would snatch the plate out of his hands.
Martha watched him wolfing down his food, reached out to gently pat his back, and said in a gentle tone: "Don't rush, eat slowly. There's still a big feast later."
Bizarro stuffed the last bite of the pie into his mouth, chewed it slowly, and swallowed.
He put down the fork, placed the empty plate on the table, and looked up at Martha.
He held back for a long time, and finally squeezed out two words: "Thank you."
Martha stood up and reached out her hand toward Bizarro.
Bizarro looked at that hand, hesitated for a moment, and still handed his own hand over.
Martha took his hand and walked upstairs, saying as they went: "You don't always need to thank each other. We are all family."
Bizarro nodded and didn't make a sound.
Martha looked him up and down, brushed aside the dust-covered hair on his forehead, and shook her head: "Look at you, all covered in dirt. Go take a bath first, we're going to have dinner soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, Martha took Bizarro by the hand and walked toward the bathroom.
Bizarro obediently followed behind her.
Martha pushed open the bathroom door, got him clean towels and a change of clothes, and then gently closed the door.
In the living room, Samuel turned his head to look at Clarkand Lois, and asked: "Did you guys not get anything else out of this trip besides Bizarro? For example, news about the mastermind?"
Lois shook her head: "No. When we found that place, besides Bizarro and Krypto, there was no one else."
She paused, looked at Krypto who was being held in Kara's arms, and continued: "And the relevant data was all destroyed."
After listening, Samuel frowned even tighter.
He leaned back against the back of the sofa, gently tapped his fingers twice on his knees, and said in a low voice: "The data has been destroyed, and the people are gone. The fact that the other party wrapped up things so cleanly shows that the mastermind had already prepared for evacuation long ago."
Jimmy walked half a circle in the living room holding his phone and chimed in softly: "Those guys are really sly, making us run a wasted trip for nothing."
"At least Bizarro and Krypto were brought back by us."
Clark walked from beside Lois to beside Jimmy, raised his hand to pat his shoulder, and said in a relaxed tone, "This is already the best result."
Samuel looked up at Clark, then turned to Lois, hesitated for a moment, and spoke: "This matter likely involves people inside the Department of Defense. You guys should stop meddling in this affair."
Lois frowned, staring directly at Samuel, with an obvious reluctance in her tone: "Dad, you're asking me to give up halfway. We've clearly investigated up to this point."
Meeting his daughter's gaze, Samuel slowly shook his head: "Continuing to investigate rashly now will only put you in danger."
Lois did not reply.
She crossed her arms, lifted her chin slightly, and stared straight at her father.
The air in the living room grew heavy, and no one spoke first.
Jimmy shrank his neck.
Clark stood beside Lois, wanting to say something, but after looking at Samuel's expression, he ultimately remained silent.
Right at this moment, Martha walked out of the kitchen.
She untied her apron, draped it casually over the back of a chair, and said to everyone: "Dinner is ready, time to eat."
Jonathan stood up, patted the non-existent wrinkles on his trouser legs: "Let's eat first. We can talk after finishing."
Everyone stood up and walked toward the dining room.
When passing by Samuel, Lois paused her steps.
She lowered her voice so that only the father and daughter could hear: "I can temporarily stop investigating. But if you get any news, you must tell me."
The expression on Samuel's face finally relaxed at this, and he nodded, his tone much softer than before: "Understood."
This meal was eaten very quietly.
Bizarro sat next to Clark, and Krypto lay under the table, occasionally brushing its tail against Bizarro's lower leg.
Martha picked food for Bizarro several times; each time he whispered thank you, but after being glanced at by Martha, he obediently stopped saying it.
A few days later, Metropolis Exhibition Center.
Kara led Krypto by the leash, walking in front.
Krypto's white hair was fluffy and soft, and the button on its collar had been replaced by Kara with a cartoon dog paw pattern.
Marcus followed behind, with Kumoko lying on top of his head, and Delta and Milong on his left and right sides.
Delta looked up at the statues of Superman and Supergirlat the entrance of the exhibition center, flicked her tail gently behind her, and her tone was full of grievance: "These people really have no vision, actually failing to erect a statue for the boss."
Kumoko lay on top of Marcus's head and nodded vigorously: "Exactly, Master is even more amazing than Superman!"
Walking ahead of Clark, Jimmy, and Bizarro, Lois heard their conversation, turned back to look at Kumoko, and said with a hint of teasing in her tone: "That's because Cosmic Superman strikes too heavily, always leaving criminals severely injured at every turn; the government wouldn't dare casually erect a statue for him."
Kumoko hurriedly raised her front legs to retort: "Those bad guys deserve a good lesson!"
Their argument attracted the attention of nearby passersby.
But those people took a few glances and withdrew their gaze, continuing to buy tickets, take photos, and chat.
After all, Metropolis's daily news always featured Superman and Supergirl solving various supercriminals, so the fact that a spider could speak wasn't a big deal.
At this time, Kumoko was still ready to continue arguing, but Marcus raised his hand and tapped it lightly on the body, signaling it to be quiet.
Lois turned back to make a funny face, pushed open the glass door, and walked in first.
Kumoko angrily stood up on top of Marcus's head, placed its two front legs on its waist, and its entire spider body bristled with fur: "What kind of expression was that! What I said is clearly the truth!"
Marcus raised his hand and gently tapped its head with his index finger: "Alright, stop being Life Qi."
Kumoko snorted, lay back down, its mouth still puffed out.
They walked into the exhibition center.
The lobby was filled with various Superman and Supergirlmerchandise, including life-sized statues, posters, badges, replica capes, and a simulated flight experience area.
Delta looked left and right, flicked her tail, and muttered softly: "It seems there are no fans of the boss."
Kara led Krypto walking ahead and suddenly stopped.
She stretched her neck to peer into a corner for a few seconds, then turned and ran back, holding Krypto with one hand and grabbing Marcus's wrist with the other, pulling him toward that side, her voice full of excitement: "There is something about you over there!"
On the other side.
Lois put a duckbill cap on Clark, put one on herself as well, pulled down the brims of their hats, and kept glancing toward the exhibition area of Lex Luthor.
She turned sideways, hiding next to Clark, keeping her footsteps extremely light.
Watching her sneaky appearance, Clark couldn't help asking: "Lois, what are you doing."
Without turning her head, Lois lowered her voice and said: "I'm observing Luthor's booth. Who knows what trick he's pulling this time."
Clark looked in the direction of her gaze. A lot of people were crowded in front of LexCorp's exhibition area, and several staff members in suits were enthusiastically introducing the latest products to visitors.
Clark sighed, reached out to pull Lois closer to his side: "You look more like you came here to steal something."
Chapter 137 Sudden Crisis at the Exhibition! Luthor Launches a New Human Hero!
Clark watched Lois, who looked as if she desperately wanted to squeeze herself into the crowd, and said in a low voice, "We can just go visit like normal."
Lois did not even turn her head, her voice lowered and fast, "Normal visits will not fish out any useful news. We must find Luthor and then follow him."
Finishing her words, she left the side of Clark, lowered the brim of her hat, and squeezed toward the direction of LexCorp booth.
Clark watched her back, stood in place for two seconds, sighed, and still followed after her.
As he walked, he pulled his baseball cap down lower to ensure no one would recognize him from his chin contour.
On the other side, Marcus and the others finished looking at the booth hanging Cosmic Superman merchandise.
Kara already had a string of keychains printed with the face of Marcus in her hand, Delta also bought a few postcards, and even Milong picked a dark red small badge and pinned it on its collar.
Kumoko crawled back onto the head of Marcus, still holding a small pack of complimentary chocolate beans in her mouth.
They walked toward the next area.
When passing by a stall selling various toys, Kryptosuddenly stopped.
He lowered his body, letting out a low growl in his throat, his eyes staring dead at the rows of brightly colored plush toys on the stall.
Kara immediately squatted down and stroked his back, "Krypto, what is wrong?"
She looked along the gaze of Krypto, and a row of cute-shaped dolls were placed on the stall.
Marcus also stopped, opening up his hearing to listen for a moment.
A very slight ticking sound drilled into his ears.
His gaze swept across those dolls, finally landing on the stall owner.
The stall owner swallowed his saliva and stammered, "I-I am an upright businessman."
Marcus ignored him and reached out to pick up a doll.
His other hand reached into the body of the doll and took out a metal sphere.
He raised the sphere in front of the stall owner, "What is this?"
Kara stood up, swept her X-ray vision across the other toys on the stall, and her expression changed, "The inside is full of bombs."
The stall owner retreated a few steps and leaned against the wall.
He cursed in a low voice, "Damn stinking dog," then abruptly lifted the cover behind him, revealing the red button inside, and fiercely smashed down toward the button.
Then the entire stall instantly began to transform.
Metal plates flipped, spliced, and stretched, turning into a giant Robot in just a few seconds.
Surrounding parents screamed and dropped the toys in the hands of their children, holding their children and fleeing everywhere.
The noisy commotion made Clark and Lois on the other side raise their heads at the same time.
The two exchanged a glance and hurriedly rushed toward the direction the sound came from.
As soon as they ran nearby, they heard a distorted voice coming from inside the Robot.
"I originally planned to sell my bomb toys to the children! By then, even Superman would have to listen to me!"
The voice of the stall owner became sharp and loud through the amplification System of the Robot, "Now because of your stinking dog, you have forced me to make a move early and kill you all!"
As the words fell, the huge hands of the Robot smashed down toward Krypto and Kara.
Clark took off his glasses and was about to rush out.
A blue-and-red figure was even faster, sweeping past the tops of the heads of everyone, and punching the Robot in the chest.
The Robot shattered the wall and flew out to the street, its huge body plowing a deep pit on the asphalt road, with broken glass and exhibition piece debris scattered all the way.
Everyone chased outside, raising their heads to look in the direction where the smoke was rising.
The wind blew the dust away, and a figure wearing a Superman uniform appeared in the sky.
The red cape fluttered loudly behind him.
Clark was stunned for a moment, and said in a low voice, "What..."
"Friends!" A voice rang out from beside them.
Everyone turned their heads, Lex Luthor was standing on the steps at the entrance of the convention center, spreading his arms, with a standard speech-like smile on his face.
He turned to the crowd that had not run far on the street, his voice loud and clear, "You gathered here to cheer for the new hero."
He looked up at that "Superman" in the sky, the corners of his mouth curling deeper, "Rightly so."
Luthor walked to the front of the crowd, raised his hand to point at the figure suspended in mid-air, and said loudly, "Now, we have a native-born United States hero, and that is Colonel Hank Henshaw!"
Kara looked at Hank Henshaw, nudged Clark gently with her elbow, and whispered, "Clark, I seem to remember this person pointing at you before and telling you to get out of Earth."
Clark responded in a low voice, "He does not seem to have said that, right?"
Delta leaned into the ear of Marcus and said in a lowered voice, "Boss, that person harbors malice toward us, should we beat him up?"
Marcus shook his head, "Ignore him for now."
Hank Henshaw slowly descended from mid-air, the red cape gathering behind him.
Luthor stood beside him, spreading his arms, his voice growing higher, "Colonel Henshaw was severely injured to protect Metropolis during the alien invasion event a few months ago."
He turned his head to look at Hank Henshaw, his tone carrying just the right amount of respect, "However, through my human wisdom and his iron will, he has returned with an even more powerful posture."
As the words fell, Hank Henshaw smiled slightly.
His legs exerted sudden force, the ground cracked open, and gravel splashed in all directions.
The powerful airflow pushed Luthor, making him stagger back a few steps.
Just as that Robot crawled up from the ground, HankHenshaw had already rushed in front of it.
His entire person slammed into the embrace of the Robotlike a cannonball, knocking it over onto the ground again.
He straddled the Robot, his fists falling alternately, smashing punch after punch onto its metal shell.
Every single hit smashed out a deafening loud noise, with metal fragments splashing and flying everywhere.
Luthor steadied his body and tidied up his suit collar blown messy by the airflow.
He noticed the complex gazes cast by the surrounding people, gave a dry cough, immediately adjusted his expression, and said loudly, "With Colonel Hank Henshaw by our side, we no longer need an alien Superman to protect us!"
The final heavy blow of Hank Henshaw smashed onto the chest of the Robot.
The metal shell collapsed inward, cracking open a large hole.
He reached his hand into it, lifted that shivering stall owner out from inside, and then flew back to the side of Luthor, throwing the person onto the ground.
Luthor lowered his head to look at the stall owner slumped on the ground, and raised his head again.
His gaze crossed over the crowded crowd, landing on the face of Clark, and he smiled meaningfully, "Does the Daily Planet need a report? The friend of Superman, Mr. Clark."
Chapter 138: Luthor's Ambition! An Artificial SupermanExclusive to Humanity
Clark did not avoid Luthor's gaze.
He took off his baseball cap and walked toward Hank Henshaw.
"Why, Hank? What is all of this for?"
Clark's voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.
Hank Henshaw raised his head, his eyes meeting Clark's gaze directly.
His voice carried a cold hardness: "This is all to take back humanity's future. We don't need an alien's protection."
The surrounding crowd had not completely dispersed yet; some people were holding up their phones, while others murmured in low voices.
While Clark and Hank were talking, Marcus walked over to Luthor's side.
Looking at the robotic wreckage not far away that Henshaw had torn apart into scrap metal, he spoke in a calm tone: "Your technology is improving pretty fast, you can even manufacture a Superman now."
Luthor smiled and raised a hand to tidy his cuffs: "It's all thanks to the technology Amanda Waller left behind when she ran off."
Marcus looked at him for a moment and asked: "Do you really not know where she is?"
Luthor shook his head, his expression calm and composed: "That's right. I really don't know."
Marcus didn't say anything more, turned around, and walked away.
After the exhibition ended, everyone walked slowly on their way home.
The sky had grown a bit darker, and the streetlights had just lit up.
Kara walked at the very back holding Krypto on a leash, Krypto's four paws stepping on the sidewalk and making a soft pattering sound.
Bizarro carried the snacks he had just bought, following beside Clark, his gaze occasionally sweeping over the shop windows by the roadside.
Jimmy and Lois were chatting ahead, while Delta and Milong were softly discussing that Hank from just now.
Kara was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke: "Clark, did Lex Luthor create a human Superman because of the bad things I used to do?"
Marcus looked at Kara, his tone calm: "No. The reason he wants to create a Superman is because he wants to grasp power. Even without you, he would go and make other weapons."
He paused, his voice softening a bit: "So you don't need to blame yourself. You just need to be yourself."
Kara was silent for a moment and nodded: "Thank you."
Ahead, Lois walked and said to Clark: "Why did you stop me and not let me follow Lex Luthor?"
Clark raised his hand to pull down the brim of his hat, a trace of helplessness in his tone: "Luthor has Hank Henshaw by his side right now. If you were to tail him, it'd be very easy to get exposed."
Lois crossed her arms, her voice rising a bit: "But right now I just want to know how Lex Luthor turned Hank Henshawinto his own personal Superman."
Jimmy poked his head out from the side, smoothing things over: "Don't rush, we can investigate slowly. Besides, even if things really do turn for the worse, we have Superman, Supergirl, Bizarro, and Cosmic Superman to stop him, right?"
Bizarro walked on the other side of Clark, hugging snacks in his arms, lowering his head to look at the road surface, his voice not loud but very earnest: "I won't let anyone hurt my friends."
Marcus didn't express anything, just waved at them, and then led Milong, Delta, and Kumoko to walk down another path.
Late at night, inside Lex Luthor's private laboratory.
Pale white light shone down from the ceiling, and various robotic arms moved slowly around the experimental table, emitting faint electric current sounds from time to time.
Luthor stood beside the experimental table, looking at Hank Henshaw lying on the table, a confident smile on the corner of his lips: "How do you feel, Hank?"
Hank Henshaw turned his head sideways, his robotic eyeballs rolling: "Today went even smoother than planned."
Luthor let out a light chuckle, a trace of smugness in his tone: "Who could have expected a supervillain to suddenly appear. But thanks to him, we were given such a perfect opportunity to showcase your abilities."
The robotic arms on the experimental table were repairing Henshaw's body, the sparks of welding flashing on and off, and the air was filled with the scent of burning metal.
Luthor spread his arms wide, as if he had already seen the future: "Hahaha, we are one step closer to our goal, to win the support and praise of the people of Metropolis."
A robotic arm removed the cheek on Hank Henshaw's lower jaw, revealing the silvery-white mechanical jaw inside.
An electronically distorted voice came out from his mouth: "And protecting the World from Superman."
Chapter 139: The Son of Superman from the Future, Suddenly...
A few days later.
Early in the morning, Kara dragged Marcus out of the Villa, saying she wanted to have that ice cream place again from when she first arrived.
Dragged along by her, Marcus wandered around the city for the better part of the day, walking from the lakeside to the commercial street, and then going to see a movie.
At dusk, they walked to a park.
The setting sun dyed the sky a brilliant orange-red.
Holding Marcus's hand, Kara was smilingly talking about the plot of the movie they had just watched.
Suddenly, she paused her steps, raised her hand, and pointed to the bench ahead: "Clark and the others are here too."
Marcus looked over in the direction she pointed.
Clark and Lois were walking over from the other end of the path.
Following beside them was a teenager, around sixteen or seventeen years old, with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a well-fitted Superman suit and a leather jacket.
With his hands in his pockets, he was talking to Clarkabout something, his eyes curving into two crescents when he smiled.
His facial features bore a resemblance to Clark, and also somewhat resembled Lois, as if the faces of the two had been kneaded together and then blended.
"Clark!" Kara waved at them.
Hearing the sound, Clark turned his head and smilingly waved back at her.
The teenager stopped talking and looked curiously at Karaand Marcus.
Holding Marcus's hand, Kara walked forward, her gaze falling upon the teenager, looking him up and down, and then looking at Clark and Lois, her eyes slowly widening.
Pointing at the teenager, she looked at Clark and the others, her tone carrying obvious surprise and confusion: "Could he be...?"
Jon instantly appeared between Clark and Lois, spreading his arms to hug their shoulders, a sunny smile on his face: "Just as you think, I'm the child of the two of them. My name is Jon Kent."
Kara's eyes widened even more as she looked at the teenager, then at Clark and Lois, her voice filled with disbelief: "How is this possible, you're so... big."
"Because I come from the future." Jon's voice lowered a bit.
He looked at Kara, a trace of faint sadness flashing through his eyes, yet his tone tried hard to remain relaxed: "And you are my Aunt Kara."
Kara was stunned for a moment, then abruptly raised the hand she was holding with Marcus, shaking it excitedly: "That's wonderful! The Krypton Bloodline has been passed down so well!"
Watching Kara's happy expression, Jon raised his smile again, his gaze falling onto Marcus.
Noticing their joined hands, he raised his brows slightly, his tone carrying curiosity: "Who is this uncle?"
Lois suddenly broke free from Jon's arm, ran a few steps to the side, let out an exaggerated "Aha", and pointed her hand at Jon: "You've given yourself away! Not even knowing who Marcus is, how could you possibly be my child!"
Kara and Clark's gazes snapped unanimously toward Jon, and Marcus also raised an eyebrow.
Facing everyone's suspicious gazes, Jon's expression remained unchanged.
He cleared his throat and began talking about things from Clark and Lois's childhood.
Just after a couple of sentences, Lois's face suddenly flushed red.
She pounced forward, covered Jon's mouth, and repeatedly said: "Alright, alright, I believe you!"
Kara's face had originally carried excitement, but upon hearing Jon ask about Marcus, her smile slowly faded away.
She looked at Marcus, then turned to Jon, her brows furrowing bit by bit: "If you really are Clark's child, you shouldn't have never heard Marcus's name."
She paused for a moment, her mind already spinning rapidly.
She thought of herself arguing loudly with Marcus in the kitchen, thought of herself throwing punches at him, thought of Marcus turning around and flying out of Earth, thought of herself standing on the empty balcony and shouting at everyone that no one was allowed to mention Marcus's name ever again.
Kara hugged her head, her voice even trembling: "Could it be that in the future, after Marcus and I get married, we'll have a huge fight, and then Marcus will leave Earth... In the end, I won't let anyone mention Marcus's matters, which is why you don't know him..."
Marcus raised his hand, a light chop gently landing on Kara's head.
Kara let out an "ah", cradled her head with both hands, and looked up at him.
Marcus withdrew his hand, his tone carrying speechlessness: "Even if we argue in the future, I will never hit you, and even less will I leave you. So, stop letting your imagination run wild!"
Hearing this, Kara slowly released her hands holding her head.
She reached her hand into her pocket, pulled out a small box, and snapped it open, inside which lay a shiny ring.
Holding up the box, she looked at Marcus, her eyes bright to an astonishing degree: "Then would you be willing to marry me?"
Marcus looked down at the ring, then looked at Kara.
He raised an eyebrow, his tone unusually carrying a hint of surprise: "This is the first time someone has ever proposed to me."
Kara leaned in a bit closer, a bit of eagerness in her tone: "Are you unwilling?"
Marcus reached out and took the ring, answering decisively: "I am willing."
Clark and Jon exchanged a glance and simultaneously raised their hands to applaud.
Marcus slipped the ring onto his left ring finger.
The silver-white band fit right at the base of his finger, and he flexed his fingers slightly, looking at Kara: "Though how did you ever think of proposing to me?"
Just as Kara was about to open her mouth, Lois stepped between the two of them, raising both hands to interrupt them: "Hold on, hold on! Shouldn't we be discussing why Jon doesn't know you!"
Jon scratched the back of his head, his tone carrying a bit of embarrassment: "I really haven't heard of Uncle Marcus. Because in my memories, the person Aunt Kara likes is Uncle Jimmy."
Kara's eyes widened abruptly, her voice pitching up by a notch: "Jimmy? How is that possible!"
Just as her words fell, at the other end of Metropolis, inside a construction site, Jimmy wrapped his coat tighter around himself and suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose and muttered: "Who is talking about me."
Then he lowered his head to glance at his phone, muttering softly to himself: "This really is the place we agreed on. Where are people?"
The construction site was dead silent, steel frames creaking softly in the wind.
Just as Jimmy was about to send another message, the ground beneath his feet suddenly split open into a pitch-black fissure.
A large grayish-white hand suddenly reached out from within, grabbing Jimmy tightly by the ankle.
"Ah——!"
Jimmy only had time to cry out half a sound before his whole body was dragged into the Earth fissure by that hand. The fissure rapidly closed after he vanished, leaving behind only a few shallow cracks and a phone dropped among the rubble.
Chapter 140: From a Parallel World, Dinosaur Men Appear at the Explosion Scene
Jon looked at Clark, Lois, and Kara's surprised expressions and anxiously explained, "Aunt Kara, you told me that yourself in the future. You said you liked Uncle Jimmy."
Kara still had an incredulous look on her face, opened her mouth, and couldn't say a word for a long time.
"Is there a possibility that you didn't transmigrate over from our future?" Marcus suddenly spoke up.
Hearing this, Jon became even more agitated, "How is that possible!"
Marcus raised his hand to signal him not to be anxious yet and continued, "My meaning is, it's possible you transmigrated from the future of a parallel Universe to the present of our Universe."
Jon was stunned. Clark and Lois were also frozen in place, unable to speak for a moment.
Marcus looked at Jon and continued to ask in a steady tone, "How long has your time machine been built? How many times has it been tested? And how many times is this that you have traveled through time?"
Jon came back to his senses, his voice still carrying a bit of disbelief, "The time machine hasn't been built for long. And the situation was urgent at the time, so there was no time to experiment at all. So this is my first time traveling through time."
Marcus looked at Jon in a flat tone, "Then that explains it. The time machine wasn't calibrated, you performed a completely untested time jump under an emergency, and ultimately came to our World."
Jon's gaze fell on Clark and Lois's faces, his voice growing heavier, "Does that mean even if I defeat Hank Henshawhere, my World won't be restored?"
Clark stepped forward, placing both hands on Jon's shoulders. He looked at Jon and said in a gentle yet serious voice, "What do you mean by that?"
Jon fell silent for a moment, then slowly raised his head, meeting everyone's puzzled gazes, and explained, "In that future of mine, Dad died."
"What!" Kara cried out in shock. She subconsciously looked at Clark, her eyes wide open.
Marcus stood to the side without much surprise on his face. With countless parallel Universes, there was bound to be a future where such a thing happened.
Lois rushed in front of Jon, grabbing his arms with both hands, her voice urgent and panicked, "What is going on? How could Clark possibly die!"
Jon's gaze moved away from Lois's face, looking at the ground as if he didn't dare make eye contact with her. He took a deep breath, "In the future, Hank Henshaw and his unmanned Robot destroyed the World."
He paused, his voice so low it was almost inaudible, "They killed you when I was three years old."
Lois's face turned completely pale. She opened her mouth, her throat feeling as if it was blocked by something, leaving her unable to say anything.
Jon's voice grew heavier, "So Dr. Lex Luthor spent more than a decade creating a time machine, wanting to send me back. But I didn't expect that I would arrive in a parallel Universe instead."
"Wait, you mean Dr. Lex Luthor?" Lois's voice suddenly heightened, as if she had heard something unacceptable.
Jon nodded, "That's right. It was he who sent me back to save you all."
Lois's expression completely collapsed. She stepped forward and stared straight at Jon, "That Lex Luthor who modified Hank Henshaw into Superman?"
Jon nodded again.
At this time, Clark shook his head. He looked at Jon, his tone carrying obvious hesitation, "Hank doesn't look like someone who would destroy the World."
Jon's voice suddenly raised several degrees, "He is a ruthless lunatic! We can't wait for him to make a move, we must go kill him right now!"
Kara stepped forward, standing by Jon's side with a firm tone, "No time to lose, we'll leave right now."
Jon nodded heavily, his feet already off the ground. Karaalso rose into the air, the clothes on her body instantly switching to her battle suit.
"Wait!" Clark flew up to block in front of them, spreading his arms. He first looked at Jon, then turned to Kara, his voice sinking, "We cannot forcefully project something that hasn't happened onto Hank."
Jon hovered in mid-air, looking at Clark blocking his way, his eyes turning red bit by bit. He clenched his fists, his voice carrying an unsuppressable grief and indignation, "Mom said that precisely because you always think of saving everyone and always trust others so much, you ended up dying!"
Clark was stunned, as if struck in the chest by something. Kara looked at Jon's drooping shoulders, then turned back to look at Clark. She opened her mouth and ultimately said nothing.
At this time, Marcus floated up. He glanced at Jon, then looked at Clark, and said in a calm tone, "Instead of rushing to kill someone, it's better to take Jon to confirm first. Whether the Hank of this World will really become that lunatic in his memory."
As soon as his voice fell, a loud crash came from afar. Flames soared into the sky, and black smoke rolled in the night sky. Everyone turned their heads to look at the same time.
Jon clenched his teeth, his eyes turning red instantly, "It must be Hank Henshaw making a move!" Before his voice finished, he had already rushed out like a cannonball. Karaand Marcus exchanged glances and closely followed behind.
Clark turned back to look at Lois, speaking at a fast pace, "It's dangerous over there. Stay here." After saying that, he also flew out. His red cape traced an arc in the night, quickly disappearing under the fire-lit canopy of heaven.
Lois opened her mouth, her hand still raised in mid-air. She gritted her teeth and began running towards the direction of the explosion.
When Marcus and the others arrived at the explosion scene, the street was already in chaos. Several cars were overturned on the roadside, and the glass of the shops along the street was shattered everywhere. Flames emerged from a half-collapsed building, rolling with black smoke. In the center of the ruins, a dozen green Dinosaur Men covered in scales were frantically attacking Hank Henshaw. Some of them waved their claws, some whipped their tails, and others spat acid from their mouths. Hank stood in the middle of the encirclement, his battle suit already bearing several scratches, but he didn't take a single step back.
A larger Dinosaur Man with dark red scales suddenly lunged from the side. It circled behind Hank, opened its huge mouth, and bit directly at Hank's head.
Crunch!
The red Dinosaur Man only felt as if its teeth had bitten into a piece of solid steel. Its upper and lower jaws were numbed by the shock, and several sharp teeth shattered and flew out on the spot.