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*****
"Let us out!"
"Bastards!"
"You sons of bitches!"
"Please, I'll do anything you want!"
"Sob… I don't want to die yet!"
"Damn it, this is your conspiracy!"
The dozen or so remaining so-called superheroes clung desperately to the spatial barrier. Some shouted in rage, some pleaded, others broke down in tears.
To their eyes, there was nothing there. Yet the invisible wall was indestructible, utterly unyielding to their combined strength.
"As superheroes, you should have long been prepared for sacrifice. Now… the time has come."
Mr. Zero spoke indifferently, like a judge handing down a death sentence.
Watching their expressions, his disdain grew stronger.
Then he shifted his gaze away from this garbage, turning instead to the ongoing battle.
Clark, the Star-Killer, and the clones.
These cloned warriors knew no fear, like machines pre-programmed with a mission. Until they completed it, they would not stop.
They were the perfect weapons.
And yet, those very weapons were now being destroyed swiftly by just two people.
Pressing a finger to his earpiece, Mr. Zero said calmly, "Beautiful lady, get ready. These tools are about to be wiped out."
"No need for your reminder."
Fiora's cold voice came through before the line cut.
Mr. Zero shrugged, muttered something else into the comm, and behind him a shimmering blue portal silently opened.
Seeing it, he exhaled in relief.
Iron Maiden was one lock. The figure behind this portal was another.
Meanwhile, the Star-Killer's trio—Peter, Luke, and Harry—had already withdrawn, standing before the warship.
The battle no longer required them.
Though they had anticipated it, watching Clark and Gwen's massacre still made their scalps prickle.
"So this is the Kent family?" Luke muttered.
Peter and Harry exchanged uneasy glances.
If the other three members of the Kent family were also here, what would the scene look like now?
They couldn't help imagining it, before sighing heavily.
Unfortunately, they would never get the chance to see it.
Just as that thought faded, they looked up—eyes widening, breath catching.
On the battlefield, aside from the dozen still hammering uselessly at the barrier, every clone had already been annihilated by Clark and Gwen.
"Tsk, tsk. A friendly reminder—look behind you."
Mr. Zero gave the dozen a cruel smile.
They turned their heads—then froze stiff.
Inside the spatial barrier, only they remained.
Broken corpses. Scattered ash.
They stared in horror at Clark and Gwen, as if seeing an emotionless god floating in the air, alongside a demon blazing with fire.
"Dad… what about them?"
Gwen glanced at the dozen, unable to stop herself from asking.
Clark drifted forward slowly. His voice was utterly flat, stripped of all emotion, carrying only endless coldness.
"Leave them to me."
He didn't give them a chance to beg.
Boom. Boom.
One by one…
With sickening cracks, Clark slammed heads into the barrier. Skulls exploded instantly, foul matter sliding slowly down the invisible wall.
Seeing this, the Star-Killer's men sighed inwardly.
Pitiful as they looked, these so-called heroes had once falsely branded others as criminals, had harmed or even killed innocent civilians.
They were nothing but trash—shaped like humans, yet unworthy of the title "superhero." A disgrace to the word itself.
Clark shook his hand clean, not a drop of blood on him, as if he'd just washed up.
From within the barrier, his eyes locked with Mr. Zero's beyond it.
Mr. Zero's pupils tightened—an almost irresistible urge to retreat seized him.
Cold. Merciless.
That killing intent chilled even him, master of frost as he was.
Though the weapon beyond the portal should be enough to deal with Clark, Mr. Zero instinctively activated his ability, encasing himself in ice.
Then Clark drew back a fist and slammed it into the barrier.
Boom!
The impact thundered like a cannon against an unseen wall.
Relieved, Mr. Zero waved mockingly and slashed his throat with a gesture.
Clark's expression didn't change.
He bent low, drawing his fist to his side—then launched it forward.
The blow ripped through the air like a shell, glowing red-hot, smashing against the barrier.
Crack!
Fractures spiderwebbed instantly. Shockwaves ripped the ground layer by layer, hurling dust outward.
Mr. Zero's heart jolted, but when the barrier quickly healed, he sighed in relief.
The last thing he wanted was to be beaten bloody right after striking a pose.
Still… this had to end soon.
Maintaining the barrier drained immense strength.
He pressed his comm again. "Release the weapon. Let's finish this fast—I've still got a date with Iron Maiden."
Silence.
Three seconds later, a figure stepped through.
Tall, handsome, eyes like shimmering lakes.
Seeing him, everyone inside the barrier froze.
Harry, Peter, Luke—and Mira at the warship's hatch—all turned worried eyes toward Gwen, who whispered sorrowfully, "Brother Charles…"
The newcomer wore Charles' face—another clone.
Boom!
A thunderous crash drew all eyes back.
Gwen looked at Clark—silent, yet seething like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Control him."
Mr. Zero's eyes narrowed, giving the order.
The clone Charles unleashed his psychic might, streaming through the barrier into Clark's mind.
But the Professor X card vanished silently, Clark resisting the attack as his fists hammered again and again at one spot on the barrier.
Cracks spread relentlessly.
"Hold it!"
Mr. Zero barked, and the four clones sustaining the barrier strained with all their strength.
But the fractures kept growing.
"Damn it, why isn't he under control?"
Snarling, Mr. Zero blasted frost to reinforce the wall. But—
Crack. Crack!
The barrier shattered with a roar, his ice splintering apart.
"Ahhh!"
With a furious shout, Clark burst forth in a storm of ice shards, sunlight scattering rainbow-like across his blood-red aura.
"Quick—!"
Terror filled Mr. Zero's eyes as Clark slew the four clone sustainers in an instant. The frost-user raised a wall in panic—only to have Clark punch straight through his chest, sending him flying.
Though psychic force still gnawed at him, Clark staggered forward, grasped the clone Charles by the throat, and squeezed.
Pain twisted his face, hand trembling against the familiar features.
He knew it wasn't really Charles. But still, he hesitated.
Zero rose, Fiora approached—
Crack!
Something broke within Clark.
Zero's eyes lit up—Clark had fallen prey to the clone's final psychic strike!
In that moment, Fiora descended, driving a spear glowing green straight through Clark's chest. It burst from his back, spraying blood.
Zero nearly cheered aloud.
What weapon could pierce a Kryptonian?
Confusion flickered through his mind.
"Urgh!"
Clark groaned, seizing Fiora, shouting hoarsely to Gwen's group: "Go!"
Startled, they rushed aboard the warship and fled.
Zero blinked. "Frightened off?"
He rose, his chest wound already healed. So long as he wasn't fully destroyed, his icy form regenerated.
Boom. Boom.
Fiora's blows hammered Clark until he collapsed.
Cautiously, Zero approached. "Is it over?"
Fiora gave a cold nod.
"This spear, what—"
"Do I need to explain to you?" she snapped.
Then her comm chimed—Boss Jason Stryker's curious voice.
"I'd like to know as well."
Fiora hesitated, then answered: "It's from my homeland. It restrains our powers—can kill us. I found it in Superman's home and kept it hidden. I never thought it would prove so useful."
"I see."
Jason's calm voice came back. "Confirm that he's truly dead."
Zero nodded, checked, and reported, "Yes. He's dead."
Jason exhaled. "Bring the body back. It will make excellent research material."
A Kryptonian with spatial and psychic abilities—what a prize. The Master would surely be pleased.
A portal opened. As cleanup crews arrived, Zero carried Clark's corpse through, Fiora about to follow—
"Zero goes alone. You pursue the Star-Killer's group," Jason's voice ordered.
She nodded and soared away.
Zero stepped into a hidden base, laying the corpse upon a lab table.
Several researchers entered, confirming Clark's death—
And then another portal opened. Jason Stryker himself emerged, glasses glinting, mismatched blue-green eyes cold.
He examined the body. "Well done."
Zero bowed respectfully.
Jason frowned slightly, sensing something off—
Suddenly, frost blasted from Zero's hand, freezing the researchers into statues as he lunged at Jason.
Startled, Jason invoked his own ability.
Illusion Manipulation.
But then—a surge of psychic force crashed into his mind.
Him!?
Eyes wide, Jason turned toward Clark's body—now stirring.
Illusions tangled with Zero's mind, forcing the frost wielder to sever his own head.
At that moment, Clark sat upright, his wounds and blood vanishing in a shimmer of light.
Name: Loki
Profile: Asgardian, Son of Odin, God of Mischief, a master sorcerer.
Note: Taste my blade!
An illusion?
Jason's heterochromatic eyes gleamed, strange light swirling as his illusions surged back, infiltrating Clark's mind, blurring judgment.
But Clark's fingers flicked—another card appeared.
Name: Professor X
Profile: A formidable psychic.
(End of Chapter)