"Haha, my friend, cute or not, shouldn't you start by getting off this... this... this thing?
Whatever it is, shouldn't you at least get off it first!"
Clark laughed as he flew over to Bruce's side, taking Bruce's hand and pulling him back to the ground.
The sight of two brawny men holding hands made Heisenberg's eyes flicker wildly.
Of course, his gaze was nowhere near as bright as Lois's on the sofa!
Watching Bruce hurriedly pull his hand out of Clark's palm, Lois couldn't help the corners of her mouth twitching.
She suppressed her shock and curiosity, turning her head away, intending to continue chatting with Mama Martha.
But she hadn't expected that Martha was even more curious than she was at this moment.
Martha pulled Lois close and couldn't help asking.
"Weren't those two still fighting just a few days ago? How did they get so... close now?"
"Ahem, maybe they've grown close through fighting..."
Lois replied helplessly, and her words made Martha chuckle softly.
"I've always worried that Clark didn't have any friends, but now it seems my worries were completely unnecessary.
Not only has he found a wonderful girl like you, he's also made plenty of friends who serve the cause of heroism!"
Martha nodded with emotion, then could no longer hold back her smile.
As long as Clark was no longer treated like a freak, as long as he no longer saw himself as an outsider.
As long as she could see Clark smile, Martha was content.
A child living happily—wasn't that a mother's greatest pride?
...
Meanwhile, Bruce stood a little farther away from Clark, then looked at Heisenberg and explained in a low voice.
"This planet... I mean Mogo, she's very enthusiastic!"
"That's because you didn't detonate the bomb. Otherwise, she'd be even more enthusiastic."
Heisenberg teased, then walked over to Bruce, freeing up a hand to pat his shoulder as he smiled and reminded him.
"Don't let it happen again."
"I'll try..."
Bruce fell silent at once. Of course he knew Heisenberg had seen everything.
So Heisenberg had also seen him get swallowed by that big creature at sea, and then get licked all over by its tongue?
The moment he thought about how ticklish he'd been, how he'd been tickled by a giant dog's tongue until he couldn't control his explosive laughter...
The moment he thought of that, Bruce immediately wanted to go home.
But he also knew that right now, there was absolutely no chance of him going home!
Clark rushed over to Heisenberg's side, mimicking Heisenberg's usual gesture as he gently draped an arm around Bruce's shoulders.
At the same time, he walked with Bruce toward the distant training grounds.
As they walked, he kept thanking Bruce.
"Sometimes I really think you're a prophet, Bruce!
Just like you once said, I actually do have many relatives still alive out there!"
As he spoke, he pulled Bruce into the training grounds and pointed at Kara, who was currently getting beaten up.
"That's my cousin, Kara Zor-El!
The one training with her is my cousin's aunt—how should I introduce her?
And there's the aunt's lover, and my distant great-aunt!"
When it came to the great-aunt, Clark pointed at Tiff, who was getting used to her new powers, and smiled wryly.
"Even though she looks younger than me, she's really over sixty.
Her name is Tiff, and she's my grandmother's younger sister!
And that's not even all of it.
Right now, somewhere in this universe, in the hands of an evil city collector, there's actually an entire Kryptonian city from our planet!
At the peak of that city's population, there were a full three million of my people living there!
Bruce, just like you said back then, my uncles and aunts, so many of my relatives might still be alive in that city!
Soon, I'm going to bring them back too.
Isn't that amazing?!!"
"That really is a big surprise...!!!"
Hearing Clark's words, already overflowing with excitement, Bruce frowned, his face full of pure despair.
So that ominous feeling he'd had before really wasn't just a feeling—it was a sixth sense that saw straight into the future?
Three million Kryptonians?!!
Hearing such a terrifying number, Bruce nearly bit his own tongue clean off!
Just two Kryptonians on Earth were terrifying enough.
And now two were only the beginning, and three million might not even be the end?
Watching the Kryptonians darting and flipping all around him, Bruce's eyes were practically turning green with envy and dread.
Just how much kryptonite would he need to prepare to give himself a trump card against a massive wave of Kryptonians?
Just thinking about that number made Bruce's whole body go numb.
Clark didn't seem to notice Bruce's misery. He simply pulled Bruce into the training group.
He greeted the clansmen charging toward him, then briefly introduced Bruce to everyone.
Hearing that Bruce was a hero of Earth, the Kryptonians were more or less curious.
Aside from Astra and Kara, who were still training nonstop, the others crowded around Bruce, listening to Clark tell all sorts of stories about himself and Bruce.
When the Kryptonians learned that Bruce had actually beaten Clark up, they instantly erupted!
Clark was their current instructor—who among them hadn't been thrashed by Clark?
And so...
After finally letting loose with Mogo, Bruce once again found himself at the mercy of countless Kryptonian iron fists...
Without any prior preparation, he couldn't even withstand a single breath from any one of those Kryptonians!!!
These Kryptonians weren't like Clark, who slowed his movements to a crawl the moment he faced Bruce and never went for the kill.
These Kryptonians, they really hit hard!!!
After frantically dodging a beam of heat vision, Bruce dropped to one knee on the training ground, panting heavily.
He was utterly done.
These Kryptonians fired heat vision at him from ten thousand miles away. Can you believe it?
Mighty Kryptonians, sneak-attacking a poor Earth hero like me, who can't even fight off a Kryptonian chicken!
That was completely lacking in sportsmanship!
...
Meanwhile, outside the training grounds, Heisenberg led his sun-soaked clansmen in preparing for the banquet.
Kryptonians darted up and down, bringing back all kinds of fruit from Mogo to use as dessert ingredients for the feast.
The speedy little Eva, along with robots of the same model, flew in and out of Metropolis.
The various drinks they transported alone had already piled up into small mountains on the beach.
Some Kryptonians, more curious about fine food, heated the ingredients while greedily inhaling the delicious aromas.
As they breathed in deeply, they couldn't help but sigh.
"Heat vision really is so convenient for cooking!"
"Don't say that. The commander will get angry."
"Right, who's cooking? No respectable person cooks! We're practicing our heat vision techniques!"
"Yes, my heat vision is visibly getting more skilled!"
The Kryptonians chattered back and forth, thoroughly enjoying their new life starting today.
In such a joyful atmosphere, Heisenberg sat with the little broken ball, chatting with Martha and Alfred and the others.
That was when Heisenberg heard Diana's call.
He turned his gaze toward Diana and immediately saw Wonder Woman raising her sword to the sky and shouting.
"My Lord, please take away all my clansmen standing within the arena with me. They and my mother all wish to pay their respects to you!"
As soon as her words fell, Heisenberg responded to her call immediately. While listening to Martha tell embarrassing stories about Clark's childhood, he pointed a finger toward the beach.
With the pause of his fingertip, the magnificent Bifrost descended in an instant.
After the light faded, the Amazon delegation led by the Justice League members officially appeared!
The moment they landed, Hippolyta looked around at her surroundings.
"This place is heavier than Paradise Island, the air is more active, and divine power is everywhere."
As soon as she finished speaking, Hippolyta grabbed Diana's wrist and closed her eyes at the same time.
She silently felt the world beneath her feet, then took a deep breath.
"Ssss..."
Her breathing stretched on endlessly. That one greedy breath was dozens of times the lung capacity of an ordinary person.
Amazon women—truly terrifying!
"Hah..."
She exhaled the stale air in a long breath and opened her eyes.
In an instant, she made a decision and asked Diana in a low voice.
"What price would we need to pay to move our entire tribe to this planet?"
"What?"
Diana was instantly stunned by her mother's wild idea.
"Why would you even think that?!!"
She stared at Hippolyta in disbelief, but the queen only gave her a look that seemed to say "are you stupid?"
"Even with the divine power Zeus left behind reinforcing it, the frail Earth cannot withstand the ever-growing bodies of our people.
Only this stronger land beneath our feet can bring out our people's full potential!
If it were only about strength, that wouldn't matter much, but the divine-power-rich air and the naturally high oxygen environment here are enough to more than triple our people's average lifespan!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hippolyta smiled deeply.
"If we remain on Earth, then unless I obtain the blessings of other gods, I'm afraid I will never live to see the day your father returns.
I once watched him leave, but I long even more to see him come back.
I... am already very old, my daughter!"
"Mother..."
Diana was frightened by Hippolyta's words. She grabbed her mother's hand in shock.
"The blessing on you...?"
"It has already been twenty thousand years, child. My blessing was bound to fade with time long ago.
Amazon women live for less than three thousand years. That is fate.
Only in a place more abundant with divine power can we live longer, and become stronger!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Hippolyta smiled confidently and patted Diana's shoulder.
"Never mind, child. Go and be a good elder of the Justice League.
I and our people don't want to cause you trouble.
Don't worry. I have a way to make Lord Heisenberg agree to my request.
Because I have brought the best gift we can offer!"
With those words, Hippolyta turned around and led more than three thousand Amazon warriors as they walked respectfully before Heisenberg, who had risen to wait for them.
As she half-knelt on the beach, the three thousand female warriors also half-knelt in unison.
At the same time, the Kryptonians who had been attending to their own tasks also knelt respectfully toward Heisenberg along with the Amazon women.
Seeing the atmosphere stirred up by the Paradise Island visitors, Martha and Alfred and the others beside Heisenberg couldn't hide their nervousness.
They exchanged glances, then stood up, intending to half-kneel and bow to Heisenberg as well.
But they quickly realized they couldn't kneel at all.
When they looked at Heisenberg in confusion, they found him shaking his head at them.
"This is the courtesy of my subjects toward me, while you are guests."
As he spoke, Heisenberg stepped past them and strolled to the front, before the queen.
He extended his right hand and gently pressed it atop the queen's head.
"Have you made your decision?"
"From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I already made my decision."
The queen spoke with her head lowered, reaching out to her right.
Immediately, a guard beside her brought over a cube wrapped heavily in chains.
The queen took the cube and respectfully placed it into Heisenberg's hands.
Looking at the Mother Box in his hand, Heisenberg nodded indifferently.
"I accept."
/-\
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