Batman: "?"
Batman was clearly enraged that the ear of his helmet had been broken off.
His other hand balled into a fist, striking fiercely at Clark's cheek.
After breaking off Batman's "little ear," Clark released his grip and took a step back.
Batman also took a step back, and a grappling gun instantly appeared in his hand, firing at Clark.
Bang!
Dense ropes wrapped around Clark's body.
Clark ignored these ropes, which caused him no harm, and continued to walk forward.
In his opinion, this "Batman" was just an ordinary human with some decent skills, completely unable to cause him any harm.
An ordinary mortal, no matter what, could not bridge the gap between him and himself!
But the next second, a burst of electricity shot out from the dense ropes!
Powerful currents flickered with silvery-white electric light, instantly striking him.
Clark felt his body enveloped by a slight numbness, and his movements paused for a moment.
But after a second's pause, he continued to walk forward, casually tearing off the ropes that were emitting silvery-white electric light.
"If these are just useless little gadgets, you won't last long, Batman with one less ear."
Clark mocked Batman as he approached him.
But after only two steps, he heard a "crack" sound.
Clark looked down and found that he had crushed something encased in metal.
Before he could react, the crushed object emitted an invisible sound wave.
Clark, whose hearing was far beyond that of ordinary people, immediately felt this powerful ultrasonic wave sweep over him.
His head instantly felt an uncontrollable pain, as the ultrasonic wave attacked his auditory system and brain, as if a needle was piercing his mind.
"Ugh!"
Clark let out a painful groan and stumbled back two steps, covering his head, trying to avoid this powerful sonic attack.
Fortunately, the sound wave did not continue to attack, and completely stopped working after half a minute.
Clark, with the dizziness and discomfort gone, gasped for breath, lifted his head, and looked around, finding that gray smoke and dust had gathered all around, and Batman had already vanished into the dark alley, using the smoke as cover.
Whoosh!
Using a grappling hook to latch onto the wall of a skyscraper, Batman swung his body across.
He removed the filter mouthpiece that had been in his mouth, which filtered out poisonous gas, and looked cautiously at the distant city high-rises.
Possessing a body of steel and superhuman strength and speed, no attack or toxic assault could harm him in the slightest.
Compared to Eric Kent, Clark Kent both possessed seemingly unbeatable, god-like bodies!
However, the consequence of having hearing different from ordinary people was that he couldn't cope well with sounds like ultrasonic waves that ordinary people couldn't hear.
So, the weakness is ultrasonic waves?
Touching the broken ear on his head, Batman's gaze became serious.
Even if he is the invincible "Superman," I will find a way to punish him!
Batman, being petty, completely held a grudge against Clark for breaking his Bat-ear.
...
In the morning, Eric attended Lex Luthor's funeral with his parents.
For Eric, experiencing both a wedding and a funeral for the same person within a short period was a novel experience, a first for him.
Although he didn't quite believe that Lex would just kick the bucket like that.
At the funeral, Eric met a few acquaintances.
Ms. Aikins, Lana, and the priest who had officiated Lex's wedding and was now officiating Lex's funeral.
"Hey, Eric."
Lana, with slightly red eyes, greeted Eric.
Lex was also her friend, and the salon club that Aunt Neil ran was invested in by Lex. If it weren't for Lex, for Lana, this coffee shop, which held all her emotions, would have turned into a parking lot, or simply disappeared.
Eric, whose chest was adorned with white chrysanthemums instead of roses, nodded to Lana.
He wasn't good at comforting people, so he couldn't offer her any solace.
"Lex was a hero; he gave his last chance to live to others."
Lana took the initiative to approach Eric and talk.
She felt the current environment was making her a bit suffocated, even breathless, so she wanted to talk to Eric.
"Perhaps, but the later story is just what others have recounted, the truth they wish to be seen."
Eric replied casually to her.
As the two were speaking, Dr. Helen, dressed in black as a widow, arrived at the funeral.
But she was immediately stopped by Lex's father, Lionel.
"I don't want to see you at the funeral."
Lionel glared at her with an unfriendly expression, "Now your conspiracy has succeeded, you killed my son, and now you're here pretending to be a philanthropist to gain sympathy. Do you think I can't expose you?!"
"Mr. Lionel, I've told you many times, I'm a victim, and I'm also very saddened by Lex's passing."
Dr. Helen frowned and said to the man in front of her.
"Don't give me that, who can your flimsy lies fool? Now that you've inherited Lex's fortune, you can act like a socialite? I'm telling you, never try to underestimate the resolve and vengeful will of a father who has lost his son. I will always watch you and expose your true colors!"
Lionel's eyes stared at Helen like a beast.
"I'll be waiting!"
Helen was not intimidated by his presence; she walked expressionlessly to the pulpit prepared by the pastor and began her speech.
Eric sat next to his parents, his eyes fixed on Helen on the stage.
He had overheard their conversation just now.
"Black Widow's venom, or a father-son conflict unfolding?"
A smile appeared at the corner of Eric's mouth; such dramatic developments were his favorite as a spectator.
As for Lex's life or death, that was the least of his concerns at the moment.
He withdrew his gaze from Helen, and his eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of a shadow appearing behind a stone pillar not far away.
The person was wearing sunglasses, dressed head to toe in designer brands, leaning one hand on the stone pillar, watching the funeral with a complex expression.
Such a fashionably dressed person was naturally Clark, who hadn't been seen in Smallville for a long time.
Lana, sitting not far from Eric, also inadvertently caught sight of Clark.
When she blinked, trying to confirm again, she found that he had already disappeared.
Lana didn't believe she had imagined it; she was 100% sure that the person standing there just now was Clark!
She stood up, preparing to tell Eric, only to find that Eric, who had been sitting not far to her left, was also gone!
After Clark used Super Speed to leave Lex Luthor's funeral, he moved to a secluded, deserted section of road.
Although he wore a red kryptonite ring, it didn't mean that it would extinguish all his emotions.
Lex was a good friend of his during his lifetime, so upon learning that today was his funeral, he rushed to the scene to pay his respects.
"Clark."
Taking a deep breath of fresh air from the woods, Clark was about to leave when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.
He turned around and saw his younger brother—Eric—standing behind him, watching him.
The straight-line distance between them was less than twenty meters!
Clark immediately held his breath nervously, ready to run.
He knew that Eric could move over in an instant within that short distance.
Although he had great confidence in his speed, he couldn't guarantee that he would escape unscathed from Eric's pursuit.
"Hey, Eric, how's the farm?"
"Not bad. I heard you're doing pretty well in Metropolis."
Eric had no immediate intention of acting, asking his older brother in a calm tone, "Robbing banks, fighting the police, spending lavishly—those certainly sound like enviable days."
Clark saw that Eric had no intention of acting, and let out a sigh of relief, "You know all about it?"
"Yes, but not from my Super Vision. Your astonishing actions have been fully reported by the media; I estimate the entire Metropolis knows about it."
Eric took a step closer to Clark, "Of course, that includes our father and mother. Even if you wear a hood, your physique and abilities would instantly identify you, wouldn't they?"
"What do you want to say, Eric?"
Clark, wearing the red kryptonite ring, felt his highest alert rise within him. "If you want to persuade me to go back, my answer is never! Didn't Jonathan often tell us to let go of burdens to start anew? I'm now embarking on a new journey in life."
Clark said with a resolute tone, "Even you cannot change my life choices."
"Is that so?"
Eric was not surprised by Clark's answer. "If you really think that, Clark, I think it's not bad."
"What?"
"The Earth won't stop spinning because of one person, just as this world will never revolve around one person's will. In fact, Clark, your departure hasn't caused much of a problem. Occasionally, two or three people might pay attention to your departure, and then it settles down. Other than that, there's no impact."
Eric calmly spoke words that made Clark feel a bit disheartened.
"I..."
After a moment of silence, Clark looked up and smiled at Eric.
"That's truly wonderful! That's truly the scene I've hoped for. Jonathan is not my father, Martha is no longer my mother, and you, Eric, you are no longer my brother. Not now, and not in the future. We both walk our own paths, without interfering with each other."
The negative emotions in Clark's personality completely dispelled the guilt and unease that had just emerged, and instead, he mocked Eric.
"And you, Eric, continue to guard your farm for the rest of your life!"
Facing such a scoundrel Clark, Eric had no intention of acting, and asked him with a calm expression, "What about Lana then? Don't you like her? Although I haven't paid much attention to your romantic life, did you just abandon your only first love?"
"My first love..."
Hearing this phrase, Clark paused for a moment, but quickly composed himself.
"I have many female friends now, so my first love has to take a backseat. As for Lana, I once invited her to come to Metropolis with me, but she refused. This shows that she's just a passerby in my life, so for a passerby, I don't need to invest too much energy and emotion."
"Uh-huh, sounds very much like a scumbag."
Eric nodded.
At the same time, he became intensely interested in the red kryptonite ring Clark was wearing.
Speaking of which, a part of his body had already been transformed into a Kryptonian, possessing some Kryptonian characteristics.
Such as enhanced biomagnetic fields, the strengthening of body cells by the yellow sun, and a slight repulsion and discomfort towards green kryptonite.
What effect would it have if he wore a red kryptonite ring?
Would he become more of a scumbag than Clark, or would it fully enhance the characteristics of Homelander?
Such as developing a giant baby mentality, liking women with mature maternal aura, liking lactating beings, or having the urge to perform "Getsuga Tenshou" on a skyscraper rooftop?!
Shaking these chaotic thoughts out of his mind, Eric decided he would never wear such a red kryptonite ring in the future.
Otherwise, he might do something crazy and be socially ruined!
"This isn't being a scumbag, but rather acting without being bound by any emotions."
Clark smiled at Eric and put on his sunglasses.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew, and his figure instantly vanished.
Watching his disappearing back, Eric did not pursue him.
He had already used the Cosmic Staff to mark his body.
As long as he tracked this energy, he could find Clark at any time.
After standing in the woods for a moment, Eric left the place and walked towards Lex's funeral.
"Hey, Eric, I just saw Clark over there."
Seeing Eric return to the funeral, Lana immediately walked up to him and told him what she had discovered, "I saw him right behind the pillar. Although he disappeared in the blink of an eye, I'm sure it was him."
Perhaps thinking Eric wouldn't believe her, Lana continued to explain, "He and Lex were good friends, so it's not strange for him to be here."
"Yes, it was him indeed."
Eric did not hide it from her and directly admitted it.
"But he's already gone. When facing someone who always wants to escape, unless you can show him the consequences of escaping, he won't give up until he hits a wall."
Saying this, he turned and walked towards where Jonathan and Martha were.
"Eric?"
After taking two steps, he encountered an uninvited guest.
Lex's father—Lionel—walked up to Eric and extended his right hand, "You must be Eric, right?"
Eric glanced at his parents, who had been watching him, and had no intention of shaking hands with the other party.
"I am. This should be the first time I've spoken with you. Have we met before?"
"Probably not."
Lionel smiled and withdrew his right hand, "But I often heard Lex talk about you. He said you—are a genius!"
---Outside the story---
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