"There's no need, no need at all to keep fighting him!"
David's strength rose slowly but steadily. Each punch was like a seismic wave that threatened to shatter the rock, leaving half his body numb. H'el's eyes flickered rapidly.
The Arctic was shrouded in a blizzard, with ice fog filling the sky and refracting the sunlight. Fighting in this environment meant he couldn't receive much amplification from the yellow sun.
The unpredictable outcome of the battle caused H'el to suddenly disengage. He teleported again, this time not to close in and attack David, but to flash beside Kara.
"You remember someone saying just now that they wouldn't flee like a thief."
The person before him suddenly vanished. David lowered his fist and turned his gaze.
"I've wasted too much time on meaningless people and things."
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as H'el sneered.
"Don't think I didn't see you looking towards Kara's position several times during the fight. If you didn't know I had teleportation abilities, you would have tried to attack Kara long ago!"
That's right, the energy crystal was the key.
But with H'el's teleportation, it made no difference whether the crystal was on Kara or on him. David never found a suitable opportunity to make a move.
"Your energy isn't infinite. If we keep fighting, you'll eventually lose anyway!"
H'el, acting like a victor, seized the crystal that flew from Kara's hand.
"I don't want to waste any more time. If the plan to save Krypton fails, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Farewell!"
Looking at Clark and David, Kara opened her mouth, as if she had something to say, but ultimately said nothing.
The next moment, the two of them vanished from the frigid landscape.
Creak, creak.
"Where did they go?"
Using his super vision to search everywhere, Clark saw no sign of the two. Clutching his stomach, he trudged through the ice and snow.
"They're not on Earth, but they definitely haven't left the solar system."
David looked towards the sky.
"He can't escape!"
H'el's goal was to drain the sun's energy.
"Before I flew over, I think I heard him say something about traveling through time to save Krypton?"
H'el was the strongest opponent David had ever encountered, putting immense pressure on him, leaving no room for distraction. It was only now that Clark had a chance to ask what all this was about.
"He wants to drain the sun to gain energy for time travel."
David glanced at Clark, and his words startled him.
Although H'el hadn't revealed his objective from the beginning, and he wasn't foolish enough to state his plan to prevent others from stopping him, at a time like this, he wouldn't keep silent just because H'el hadn't spoken.
Clark wouldn't dwell on the minor issue of how David knew this.
At most, others would assume he had telepathic or precognitive abilities.
Moreover, as the strongest person on Earth so far, David didn't need to explain anything to anyone.
"Wh-what?"
Clark's expression was stunned, disbelieving. The person who had just punched him so hard he couldn't get up was actually a lunatic.
"Kara actually believed him, agreed with his actions?"
"She doesn't know H'el wants to drain the sun."
David shook his head and walked towards the interior of the spaceship.
"Kara thought that obtaining the energy crystal was enough. While that crystal does contain vast amounts of energy, she didn't consider how difficult time travel is. Her desire to save Krypton and see her parents again clouded her judgment."
"When you two were fighting earlier, I asked Kara why she and H'el wanted the crystal, but she never answered, as if she couldn't hear me."
Clark looked confused.
"Because H'el blocked her senses."
David didn't try to persuade Kara when the crystal was in her hands because he knew it would be useless. H'el's telepathy was strong enough to distort Kara's senses and memories.
"Are you alright? What happened here?"
As David prepared to enter the spaceship to inquire about Joe El's energy interference technology obtained from the Kalanorians, to see if it could interfere with H'el's energy-absorbing device, several voices suddenly came from the sky.
Cyborg and Green Lantern descended from the air, looking in surprise at the shattered icebergs in the distance. The Bat-plane was parked on the ground, and other League members emerged from the aircraft.
"Ahem, what are you guys doing here?"
Clark asked.
"Cyborg detected intense abnormal activity in the Arctic atmosphere. Thinking of how you and the Transcendent stored Zod's ship and Brainiac's ship here, he guessed something might have happened, so we hurried over."
Batman said.
Seeing the traces of blood on Superman's lips, everyone was startled. When they heard from Clark that the Kryptonian named H'el and David had fought to a standstill before teleporting away, they were even more shocked.
"Is that H'el really that powerful?
More powerful than Zod?"
Batman furrowed his brow.
Even the Transcendent couldn't deal with him.
"That energy interference technology is very detailed. I can print a finished product in a few minutes."
Entering the ship, David stated his requirements. Jor-El pondered and replied, "But if it's an energy extraction device of that caliber, it can only provide slight interference and delay."
"Any delay, even a second, is good."
David's gaze was intense.
Every extra second meant one more second to deal with that guy.
He glanced at Clark beside him, clenching his fist secretly.
"If H'el truly succeeds in draining the sun and returning to the past to save Krypton, the past history will change, and Clark will not descend to Earth."
David's growth rate might be delayed at most, which wasn't important.
But Jonathan and Martha would lose a son, and he would lose a family member.
"What?
That H'el wants to drain the sun?"
Clark recounted what he had just learned, causing everyone's expressions to change drastically.
"Without the sun, Earth will also be destroyed, and no one will survive. We must stop him!" Arthur tightly gripped his trident.
"While I sympathize with his plight, his entire planet's compatriots dying in an explosion, it's no reason for him to destroy the sun."
Flash also frowned.
"I'm going back to Gotham."
Batman thought for a moment, then quickly turned and flew away in his fighter jet.
"If we can't make it in time, we'll meet in space."
"What did he go to do?" Hal Jordan asked, puzzled. Didn't the Fenrir Mech belong in his fighter jet?
"If the sun disappears, not only humans, but my people too, cannot survive for long."
Diana clenched the Sword of Vulcan.
The sun represented almost everything: sunlight, air, vegetation, and food.
"Is time travel really possible?"
Cyborg couldn't help but ask.
"The final outcome is likely to be the creation of another timeline."
David said, based on his understanding of the DC universe.
Everyone couldn't help but look at him. Although David hadn't spoken definitively, they all felt that he seemed to know something.
However, they were used to it. David had always been mysterious and powerful, always knowing more than them.
"We absolutely cannot gamble with the lives of our family and friends, with the lives of six billion people, that if he succeeds in time travel to save Krypton, the end result will simply be that we have one less Superman."
Green Lantern's usual flippant demeanor was gone, and he gritted his teeth.
Everyone agreed with his words. Not to mention the innocent masses, they all had family living on this planet.
Destroying the sun would leave no place for anyone to survive. The group shared a common enemy.
"We must stop him no matter what!"
Before long, the energy interference device was manufactured. It was a lantern-shaped device emitting a faint blue light. David picked it up, and together with everyone, prepared to head into space.
He knew what Batman was going to do.
He doesn't trust anyone by nature. Even though he's in the same league as Clark, as teammates, he'd still prepare something specifically to counter Clark, just like in the original comics.
Kryptonite was gone, but its byproducts remained on Earth. With Bruce Wayne's wealth, he surely prepared a lot.
Exiting the ship, except for Clark who followed David, everyone else who couldn't survive in space, like Flash and the others, put on the residual Kryptonian armor from the ship. Everyone was fully armed and boarded the small spacecraft launched by the Kryptonian mothership.
Operated by Cyborg and Green Lantern, they broke through the Arctic atmosphere and flew into space.
"Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. H'el is likely there. Let's head there first to check it out."
David said through the communication channel. In mid-air, Clark looked towards the distance with hesitation. Batman hadn't arrived yet.
"Shouldn't we wait for him?"
He's likely gone to get Kryptonite solution."
"You figured that out, Clark?"
David seemed surprised.
"Kryptonite solution is the best weapon against Kryptonians. I doubt that's a secret on Earth."
From their interactions, Clark had a decent grasp of Batman's personality; he always planned for contingencies.
"Oh? Then do you know he carries a small vial of Kryptonite solution in his utility belt every day?"
David chuckled.
Before the big battle, he didn't seem overly nervous, appearing quite confident.
"Huh?"
Clark, influenced by David's demeanor, felt his own tension ease considerably. He blinked in surprise.
"That… I really didn't know."
Batman's entire utility belt was lined with lead, but while lead could block Kryptonian vision, it couldn't stop David's X-ray vision.
However, he understood Batman's personality, and this vial of Kryptonite solution might not have been solely for Clark's use.
"If you think about it, this isn't the first time a Kryptonian has shown up to destroy Earth. H'el is the third."
David sneered and flew into outer space. Clark glanced in the direction of Gotham on Earth, hesitated, then followed.
"H'el's body has been exposed to so much stellar radiation, Kryptonite radiation can't subdue him like it does a Kryptonian in a suit."
As they flew, David explained.
"So the Kryptonite solution won't work?"
That was terrible news. Clark's expression soured, realizing the upcoming fight would be extremely difficult.
The closer they got to the sun, the stronger Kryptonians became. But David wasn't Kryptonian; even with an amplification of his strength, he couldn't match H'el.
"No."
Just as a shadow of doubt fell over Clark's heart, David shook his head.
"He does have extremely high resistance to Kryptonite, but it's not impossible to weaken him."
"Then we…?"
Clark was taken aback. Why not wait for Batman?
Although the current moment was critical, with H'el and Kara already teleporting to Mercury to activate a device and absorb solar energy, there might still be some time.
"The fatal aspect of Kryptonite for you Kryptonians is its radiation."
Having flown rapidly away from Earth, David glanced at the Green Lantern ring on his finger, smiled, and manipulated the gravitational field within the solar system, forming a gravitational slingshot to accelerate their flight.
"It's not necessary for Kryptonite radiation to come only from Kryptonite solution."
...
On the thin-atmosphere planet Mercury.
Beside a dilapidated spaceship stood a massive crystal pillar-like device, piercing the sky like a sword.
H'el and Kara suddenly appeared.
"This... this is Mercury?"
After some identification, Kara recognized their location on what seemed like a barren surface similar to the moon. A hint of worry and hesitation flickered in her eyes as she looked toward Earth.
"Soon, we'll be leaving this time of Krypton's destruction. Aren't you happy, Kara?"
H'el spread his palm, and crystals floated up to the center of the device, which was dozens of meters high, and were absorbed by an automatically opening energy bay.
Vroooom!
With energy supplied, the massive device instantly activated, its entire body shimmering with golden light. A beam of light, held back at its tip, emanated terrifying energy fluctuations.
The light shone on H'el's face, filled with ecstasy. He looked to the side.
But Kara remained silent.
"Forget them. Don't worry about Earth anymore. Everything is about to change. They shouldn't be our concern."
H'el excitedly urged.
"Several times, I drifted through the universe facing danger, doubting if I could survive. Back then, I never even dared to dream that a day like this would come.
I can return to Krypton and see my mentor."
He gazed at the device, his hands waving with excitement.
"If my mentor saw this, he would be proud of me. The universe wanted Krypton destroyed, but I'm going back to the past to pull Krypton back from the brink of destiny.
I will become the greatest person in Kryptonian history!"
H'el clenched his fists tightly, a fervent glow in his eyes.
"Is this why we're going back to the past?"
Kara suddenly asked.
"What?"
"You don't look lonely at all now. I didn't help you at all in obtaining the crystals.
If you really go back to the past, you will become a legend.
Am I the one who can personally tell your legend?"
Looking at H'el, who was so excited about the device that he almost forgot about her, Kara's eyes flickered with suspicion.
Traveling through time and space was a fantasy even on Krypton. Even if H'el had done it and saved the Kryptonians, who could prove that he was really from the future?
Helping someone up from the edge of a cliff and saving someone who had already fallen and been smashed to pieces by traveling through time and space were absolutely incomparable in terms of the gratitude received and the achievements represented.
"Why do you think of me this way?"
H'el was taken aback.
But Kara's suspicion had not been dispelled. She couldn't think of any other use for herself.
"Does the testimony of an unknown person carry more weight, or the testimony of a member of the Kal family, one of the three ancient noble families of Krypton?
And... and you can also borrow the power of the Kal family to prevent the rotten Kryptonian council from erasing his achievements and legend!"
Following her line of suspicion, the more Kara thought about it, the clearer it became, and she felt that things were not as simple as H'el had said.
"You've really made me a little sad, Kara."
Hearing these words, H'el's eyes gradually turned cold, and the light emanating from the tall device cast large, flickering shadows on his face.
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