With the appearance of that crack, the Zod ice sculpture lost all support.
His powerful Kryptonian consciousness, amid extreme terror and disbelief, fell into complete unconsciousness.
The entire ice sculpture, like a robot that had lost power, tumbled helplessly from mid-air toward the ground.
Superman instinctively flew over and caught him.
Cloud, meanwhile, dusted off his hands as if he'd just done something utterly insignificant.
He turned to look at the thoroughly stupefied Superman and smiled.
"See that, Smallville?"
"This is what protecting people looks like."
"Solving all problems in the simplest, most efficient, most environmentally friendly way."
"Oh, and preserving that steakhouse I hadn't gotten a chance to try yet."
With that, under the countless gazes of awe, shock, and fervent admiration from all of Metropolis, he once again walked up invisible stairs and vanished into the sky.
He left behind only a Superman cradling the "Zod Ice Sculpture," hovering in mid-air, beginning to seriously question his understanding of life and physics.
...
Ever since using a "Divine Finger Flick" in Metropolis to turn the mighty General Zod into a refrigerated "performance art piece," Cloud discovered his reputation in this DC Universe had reached entirely new heights.
If on Themyscira he had merely been a powerful scoundrel whom the Amazon princess loved and hated in equal measure...
Then now, in Metropolis, he had become a living myth.
After transferring the unconscious General Zod (along with that "Absolute Zero" ice block that would never melt) to the military, Superman Clark Kent specifically sought out Cloud.
This Kansas farm boy with a pure heart looked at the man lounging on the sofa, being fed chips from both sides by Natasha and Wanda, his expression a mixture of gratitude, awe, and confusion.
"Thank you... for saving Metropolis," he said sincerely.
"You're welcome." Cloud replied without looking up, his words muffled. "It was nothing. Mainly, I was worried he'd demolish your Daily Planet building. Then where would I get my gossip news?"
Clark: "..."
He took a deep breath and asked the question that had been plaguing him.
"Who... who exactly are you? What is your power?"
Cloud looked up.
"Want to know?"
"Yes!" Clark nodded emphatically.
"Sure." Cloud snapped his fingers. "Go buy me ten family buckets from Old Wang's Fried Chicken on the east side of town. Make sure they're fresh out of the fryer, extra spicy."
"Once I'm done eating and in a good mood, maybe I'll consider teaching you a trick or two—like how to focus your heat vision into a lightsaber."
The mighty guardian Superman ultimately turned and flew toward the east side of the city.
Watching his departing figure, radiating an air of "heavy responsibility," Natasha rubbed her temples in exasperation.
She had a feeling that the superheroes of this universe were also destined to be thoroughly "corrupted" by this man.
...
After dealing with the "minor inconvenience" that was Zod, Cloud spent a few more days living his "dissolute and idle" life in Metropolis.
But he hadn't forgotten his actual purpose.
—Finding a way back to the Marvel Universe.
After conducting some preliminary research into this world's spatial laws, he discovered that the rift opened by the "experimental accident" was slowly self-repairing.
If he couldn't locate and stabilize that "temporary passage" before it completely closed, the three of them might truly be stuck in this "boring world without Marvel heroes."
Can't have that. I haven't had my fill of watching Tony's reactions when I wind him up.
Cloud felt a twinge of urgency.
Based on his analysis, the best way to precisely locate a "healing" spatial rift in the vast multiverse was to find this world's most illogical, most chaotic energy source.
Because only chaos could maximally interfere with spatial laws' "self-repair," causing that rift to reveal itself.
So he once again picked up his "God-Tier Firewall" smartphone, connected to this world's internet, and entered his search keywords:
"Chaos," "Madness," "Defies Logic," "Frequent Psychiatric Patient."
This time, a name darker than Hell's Kitchen and brimming with Gothic charm appeared highlighted on his screen.
—"Gotham City."
Along with several legendary "local specialties" inseparably linked to that city.
"Joker," "Batman," "Arkham Asylum"...
"Oh ho?"
Cloud's face broke into a smile more excited than discovering a new game update.
"A madman whose faith is chaos?"
"A vigilante whose weapon is fear?"
"An asylum gathering the most interesting souls in the universe?"
"This place... I like it!"
He made an instant decision, giving a heads-up to Wanda—who was researching how to use chaos magic to automatically peel grapes—and Natasha—who was studying how to use spy techniques to cut apples into bunny shapes.
"I'm heading out for a bit. Looking for some inspiration on getting home."
"Don't wait up for dinner. I might grab some local delicacies while I'm out."
With that, he vanished in a ripple of strange spatial distortion.
...
Gotham City's nights were always drizzling with light rain.
The cold rain washed over the city's ancient Gothic architecture, and also over the evil lurking in every shadowy corner.
The air was thick with the smell of dampness, decay, and madness.
...
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