— — — — — —
"General! We've detected two targets heading toward the fleet! Scans confirm—they're both Kryptonians! One of them is our primary objective: Kal-El!"
Faora reported immediately after spotting Renzo and Clark.
"Oh?"
Zod looked surprised. "There are two Kryptonians on Earth? And they noticed us before we even made a move? Hah... I clearly underestimated them."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Could this be one of Jor-El's contingencies?"
He definitely didn't think humans were capable of this.
Even though they were still a fair distance away, the ship's advanced scanners had already analyzed Earth's current level of civilization—barely beyond primitive. They hadn't even fully left their home planet yet. No way such a planet could've spotted them coming.
"But wait... you said they're flying here? By themselves?"
That snapped Zod out of his thoughts. He waved his hand, pulling up a holographic display. The real-time feed showed Renzo and Clark soaring straight through space, unaided.
Zod's eyes widened. "They're actually propelling themselves through space at high speed... with just their bodies? Is this star system's sun—yellow?"
"Yes, General," Faora confirmed with a nod.
"Hahaha!"
Zod suddenly burst into laughter. "Well, well! Aren't we lucky!"
"No—this is all part of Jor-El's plan, isn't it? So that's why he sent his son to Earth... because of the sun here?"
"Heh..."
Zod sneered coldly. "What a clever little scheme. But now? It's all mine."
"I'll extract the Codex from his son, then reshape this planet into the new Krypton. Kryptonians will rise again!"
"I bet if you knew that, Jor-El, you'd be thrilled too—ha!"
For a moment, Zod didn't feel quite so bitter toward Jor-El. The man was dead—Zod had seen to that—but even in death, he'd left Zod with not one, but two wonderful gifts.
Not bad at all.
"What are your orders, General? Should we open fire?" Faora asked.
Zod shook his head with a smile. "No need. Let them come to us. I'll deal with them myself. What can the two of them even do?"
Since Zod was confident, Faora had no objections.
...
Meanwhile, Renzo, who was flying toward the ship with Clark, had already picked up on their conversation thanks to his spatial and telepathic abilities. He chuckled softly.
"What is it?" Clark asked, confused. His voice echoed telepathically.
"Nothing," Renzo replied with a grin. "Just didn't expect Zod to be this arrogant. Let's go—they're waiting for us."
He picked up speed, heading straight for the Kryptonian ship. Clark, doing his flashy pose, followed closely behind.
...
In less than thirty minutes, the two arrived near the vessel. The hatch had already opened, waiting for them.
Without hesitation, Renzo flew in first. Clark hesitated for a second, then followed.
Whoosh!
As soon as they entered, the hatch sealed shut behind them. A second door opened ahead—and suddenly, a rush of unfamiliar air filled the space.
Cough! Cough!
Clark instantly doubled over, coughing violently while his laser eyes were about to activate. He was struggling to breathe. His strength faded rapidly, and his body ached all over.
"A trap...?" he gasped, clutching his throat and scanning the area. His heightened senses were quickly fading. "Renzo! The air... something's wrong... cough!"
"It's not the air," Renzo said calmly, completely unaffected. He stepped up and placed a hand on Clark's shoulder, channeling some Ki into his body, helping him adapt almost instantly to the Kryptonian-style atmosphere inside the ship.
Clark blinked as the discomfort vanished. His breathing evened out, and he felt normal again—as if he'd always been used to this air.
Still confused, he turned to Renzo and asked, "What just happened? Why was I struggling, and you weren't?"
"This place is simulating Krypton's atmosphere," Renzo explained with a shrug. "You grew up on Earth, so of course you couldn't handle it right away. If a Kryptonian who'd never been to Earth tried to breathe our air? They'd be just like you were."
Clark nodded slowly in realization. "So that's what it was… I thought…"
"You thought I poisoned you?" a mocking voice interrupted.
Zod strolled in, flanked by Faora and several Kryptonian soldiers. He smirked arrogantly at Clark.
"You're not even worth poisoning. But since you're Jor-El's son, hand over the Codex."
"Do that, and I might spare your life—for old time's sake."
His tone made it sound like he was tossing scraps to a beggar, and Clark found it utterly revolting.
As for Renzo? Zod didn't even acknowledge him. He hadn't seen this Kryptonian back on Krypton, so he figured Renzo was just some no-name outcast. Probably some illegitimate stray—hardly worth his attention.
Clark, ignoring the insult, stared Zod down and asked, "If I give you the Codex, will you leave Earth? Will you leave the solar system?"
Clearly, he still held out a sliver of hope.
Zod chuckled darkly. "Leave? Absolutely not. Jor-El practically rolled out the red carpet for me. Why would I leave? I'm going to remake this planet into Krypton! This yellow sun is far too valuable—you don't get it at all."
"In that case, there's nothing more to talk about." Clark became serious. "You're not getting the Codex. And you're not touching Earth. Leave the solar system now, and maybe—maybe—I'll let you live."
His tone was sharp, full of righteous anger. If Zod really did go through with transforming Earth, that would mean the death of his wife, his parents, and everyone he cared about.
Clark was done playing nice.
He finally understood what both Renzo and his father had warned him about—these people couldn't be reasoned with.
"Hah?" Zod sneered, eyeing Clark with disdain. "You think you can stop me?"
"I can."
Clark's fists clenched. "And I will."
He was about to lunge forward—
—but Renzo moved faster.
In a blur, he appeared right in front of Zod and reached for his face.
"General, watch out!" Faora shouted and leapt forward to intercept.
But to Renzo, they were both moving in slow motion.
Zod realized something was wrong and tried to dodge—but his eyes widened in horror when he saw he couldn't.
In the next instant, Renzo's hands clamped down on both Zod and Faora's faces—then slammed them down.
CRACK!
Both of them were driven face-first into the alloy-plated floor, hard enough to leave two deep craters.
Zod and Faora saw stars. Their heads rang, vision blurred, and they couldn't think straight. Blood seeped from their mouths as they struggled to stay conscious.
"Stop!" two Kryptonian guards behind them yelled, rushing in to help.
But before they could act—
BAM! BAM!
Clark blurred into motion, appearing in front of each of them in a flash. With two clean punches, he sent both guards flying backward.
They smashed into the ship's inner walls with enough force to leave human-shaped dents, groaning in pain as they crumpled to the floor, seriously injured.
"Renzo, you could've let me handle that…" Clark muttered, clearly feeling robbed of his moment.
Renzo gave him a look. "Clark, you've got a condition, man. You're an aura farming addict."
He'd seen it too many times—Clark purposely holding back his speed just to look cool, striking poses like some invincible hero from a comic book.
"No wonder Batman's worried about you. Honestly, if I were him, I'd be nervous too," Renzo said, half-joking, half-serious.
"Huh? Aura farming? That's not true… I just… react slower sometimes," Clark replied, trying to sound dignified. But his voice got so quiet by the end that even Renzo had to strain to hear it.
"It's fine, Clark," Renzo said with a teasing grin. "You are a farmer, after all. Farming aura suits you. Just maybe tone down the dramatic flair, alright? If you acted more like me, people on Earth wouldn't have called you Superboy."
Clark shot him a glare. "That's only because you played the hero and claimed the name 'Superman' first."
"Not my problem, boy," Renzo said, brushing it off, "Now, let's focus on Zod and the others."
.
.
.