(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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Like a massive mountain charging from the front, a continuous stream of gravitational force bombarded the body, propelling David into space, and his own gravitational field couldn't counter it.
"It truly is a weapon capable of terraforming planets.
Using my current ability to manipulate gravity to resist the gravitational beams of the World Engine is still too much of a stretch."
Pushed thousands of miles away from the moon in a single breath, David clutched his chest, feeling that his internal organs were under heavy pressure, but his powerful physique had already begun to heal, and he swiftly flew back towards the moon.
"Kal-El, hand over the Central Codex, or you're next!"
Bang!
Seeing Clark charging in uncontrollable anger, Zod split the ground and threw a punch, and both were sent flying in opposite directions.
Zod got up, touched his cheekbone, which was slightly painful, and wondered if it was an illusion; Jor-El's son's power had surged by several percent during their fight.
Seeing a streak of purple light speeding back from the horizon, Clark secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his anger surging again as he charged at Zod.
"I don't know what the central codex is, but you've really pissed me off, Zod!"
"You will understand!"
Seeing David flying back with green energy in his hands, seemingly without much injury, Zod's heart sank.
"World Engine, target me, and fire the gravity beam!"
In this critical moment, he made a decision and shouted.
If he allowed David to get closer, his chances of rebuilding Krypton would surely fail.
'The Central Codex is far more important than the World Engine.
We can only rebuild Krypton by getting the Central Codex!"
The gravitational beam pierced the sky and struck, Zod gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with ferocity, and he was ready to receive it, and was blasted out of the moon for thousands of miles, down under the sun.
His armor helmet had long been shattered by Clark, and he was bathed in the yellow sunlight, and some abilities began to awaken.
Zap!
Zod's eyes lit up with a red glow, uncontrollably sweeping through space, but in just a few seconds, he learned to control it.
"I can feel it; it's easier than I imagined!"
After Krypton's destruction, Zod and his group had used filtered yellow sunlight to strengthen their bodies while searching for surviving Kryptonians in the universe. They had avoided receiving more different types of yellow or other sunlight in case some hard-to-control abilities caused unintended consequences.
Zod was born to be a General and trained his whole life to master his body and senses. In just a few seconds, he became familiar with his newly acquired powers: superhuman vision, superhuman hearing, heat vision, and the biofield that allowed him to fly. He left the World Engine behind and accelerated toward Earth.
"Kal-El, whether you know the location of the central codex or not, I will find it!"
The World Engine was not necessary. The example of Jor-El's son showed that Kryptonians could easily survive and thrive on Earth without environmental modifications.
But the central codex was crucial!
"He's likely headed to Metropolis, Clark!"
Seeing Zod speeding toward Earth, David immediately realized his intentions, called out to Clark, and transformed his body into a purple streak of light, quickly chasing after him.
Superman was known for his appearances in Metropolis, which made it easy to speculate whether he lived in Metropolis or even grew up there, due to which Zod was heading to Metropolis.
The Moon's gravitational field was much weaker than Earth's, less than a fraction of Earth's, and it also interfered with the Sun's gravitational field.
David's gravitational slingshot ability had reduced speed, but it was still faster than Zod's, albeit only slightly and Zod still had a head start.
"Metropolis!"
Clark's mind jolted, and he shot into space like a projectile, rapidly pursuing Zod.
As the three of them approached Earth one after the other, Zod flew while periodically turning back to attack with his heat vision.
Clark dodged and retaliated as he went.
David, on the other hand, did not bother to dodge and unleashed his purple energy beams, putting immense pressure on Zod.
In Earth's orbit, satellites circled the planet. Zod grabbed one and violently hurled it at David. David, with an expressionless face, became an arrow piercing through everything, never stopping, and the satellite was shattered as if it were made of paper in his path.
In a loud explosion, a satellite that Wayne Enterprises had spent millions of dollars to send into space was instantly rendered useless. David emerged from the flames and continued the pursuit.
Throughout their pursuit, the three engaged in constant combat.
In the Batcave beneath Wayne Manor in Gotham, Bruce Wayne's face darkened as the scene in front of him went dark.
He pressed a button and switched to the perspective of another nearby satellite.
After watching for a few seconds, Bruce Wayne stood up.
"Master Bruce, where are you going?"
Alfred glanced at the screen, which showed the three figures battling relentlessly after returning from space like gods, with a worried look on his face.
"Metropolis."
The landing point of the three of them, or more specifically, the landing point of the alien general named Zod, wasn't hard to guess. They were heading straight for Metropolis. Bruce Wayne donned his battle suit and headed into the inner part of the Batcave, where he had a new vehicle.
It didn't take long for it to be completed, but its cost far exceeded that of his Batmobile and Batwing. It was known as the Fenrir Battle Armor.
In the streets of Metropolis,
The news reports indicated that the spacecraft had left Earth's orbit, and the city seemed to regain its former tranquility. However, people on the streets still cast anxious glances at the sky from time to time, fearing the sudden arrival of an alien terrorist attack.
"What is that?"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, pointing to the sky. A shadow, like a fiery meteor, grazed the atmosphere and came hurtling towards Earth with terrifying speed.
"Run!"
As the figure drew closer in an instant, the people in the city panicked, scrambling to escape.
Bang!
In the skies above the city,
Zod abruptly stopped his movement, and it was as though inertia disappeared from his body, instantly coming to a halt. However, the gusts of wind and shockwaves he generated shattered the glass of surrounding skyscrapers, raining down glass shards, and injuring many.
"Help!"
"Run, the aliens are attacking Earth!"
Screams and wails filled the streets below, but he paid them no mind, his gaze turning sharp as he looked in a particular direction.
Almost in the next second,
David and Clark were closing in from the sky.
"Stay right there!"
A few hundred meters away, Zod's eyes emitted a dangerous red glow, threatening the two. "If you don't want to see this city block destroyed in the next second!"
"Wait!"
Fully aware of the power of Kryptonian heat vision, Clark's pupils shrank as he hastily stopped and blocked David, and the two hovered in mid-air, facing off with Zod.
David surveyed the area below and locked eyes with Zod.
"War involving civilians.
Don't you think these tactics are despicable?"
"War is dirty by its very nature, young man," Zod laughed disdainfully.
"As long as it can help Krypton rise again in this world, I am willing to do anything for my people."
"On the contrary, you, Kal-El!
You, a Kryptonian, with the blood of Krypton flowing through your veins, are helping the people of Earth to go against me and my soldiers!"
He pointed directly at Clark, loudly accusing him with an angry tone.
"What are you trying to do, Zod?"
Trying to keep himself calm, Clark clenched his fists and asked.
"Bring the ship you arrived on to this planet to me, and also..."
Zod looked at David. "Get rid of what you have in your hands."
"Now, immediately!"
"Do you think I'll be threatened by you?"
David narrowed his eyes.
The liquid from the meteorite in his hands had returned from the Moon to Earth, passing through the explosion of the satellite, and he had protected it with his abilities, all with the intention of countering Zod. During that time, Zod had tried several times to use his heat vision against David, but David had not let him succeed.
"David!" Clark quickly persuaded David to follow Zod's orders first to keep him at bay and then figure out a way to deal with the situation. "Even with our speed, we won't have time to subdue him before he releases his heat vision."
David admitted that Clark was right.
His speed wasn't enough, and his ability to manipulate gravity hadn't reached the point of distorting laser yet.
"Do you think compromising will defeat the enemy?"
However, compromising would only lead to the enemy taking more liberties and if not getting a satisfactory outcome, the opponent would immediately turn hostile, making it pointless.
"Keep him occupied for now. The police in the city have started evacuating the people. Every second we delay Zod is another chance for someone to be saved."
Listening to the sounds of the surrounding neighborhoods, Clark gripped David's shoulder and spoke in a low voice with urgency.
David frowned.
In the original plot, Zod had activated the World Engine on Earth, beginning his plan to transform the planet, and the center of Metropolis had suffered heavy casualties. Out of anger, Clark had attempted to stop Zod from causing even more harm before engaging him in a desperate battle in the city.
Now, due to his interference, not a single person on Earth had died.
Clark wanted to protect as many people as possible from harm, but it had now become Zod's leverage.
Looking at Clark, who was eager for his cooperation, David generated cosmic energy in his hands, evaporating the Kryptonite solution he held.
'It seems Zod has only learned to activate and deactivate his extra abilities but hasn't fully mastered them.'
Seeing Zod's relaxed expression, David's eyes flickered, realizing while he still had a vial of Kryptonite solution behind his waist, Zod was unaware of it, and he didn't press the issue further.
'Even if the vial of Kryptonite solution behind my waist is discovered, it doesn't matter. It's just a few seconds' round trip from here to home.'
For now, as long as there was a suitable opportunity to get close, he could still take down Zod instantly.
Whoosh!
Clark disappeared and reappeared a mere two to three seconds later. He had retrieved the spacecraft from the basement without disturbing his parents and had placed it on the street where the panicked crowd was dispersing.
"What you want, Zod!"
"This way! Hurry, let's go!"
"Follow me, don't push!"
The police on the streets received orders to rapidly evacuate people from the streets and the surrounding buildings, but the chaos was impeding the speed of the evacuation.
Surveying his surroundings, Clark grew increasingly anxious.
"Faster."
Zod landed, keeping a watchful eye on the two, and swiftly dismantled the spacecraft into countless pieces, even parts the size of his fist.
"Nothing, nothing at all!
Where did you hide the Central Codex?"
Having not found what he was looking for, he bellowed in anger, and the uncontrollable rage vented through his heat vision, piercing several nearby buildings, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.
"No!"
Clark shouted loudly, struggling to rush over to support one of the buildings, but he couldn't reach the others. His biofield couldn't extend through the air.
[The Template has been fused to 50%]
Seeing several buildings about to collapse, David waved his hand, using his gravity field to stabilize the buildings.
As the template fusion percentage increased, he gained new abilities. Now, he could alter the weight of objects for extended periods. Islands could become as light as feathers, or feathers could become as heavy as mountains. Although this ability wasn't particularly useful in combat for the time being, it could be used for rescue operations.
He altered the gravity in several parts of the buildings, allowing the fractured structures to stand firmly once again.
However, when Zod's heat vision sliced through a few floors, over a hundred people who hadn't had time to evacuate from the buildings were instantly killed and couldn't be resurrected.
"Give me the Central Codex, Kal-El.
Otherwise, I will turn this city into ruins!"
Zod roared crazily, shooting like a cannonball, sending Clark flying and piercing through several buildings while holding his head.
"You must have people you care about here.
If you don't want them to die, just give me the Codex!"
"Enough!"
With his X-ray vision, Clark could clearly see the hundreds of more corpses in the city within the blink of an eye. Frustrated and angry, his eyes turned red, and he with the intent to kill, landed a fierce punch on Zod's face and engaged him in battle.
"I won't let you kill another person, Zod!"
He didn't even know what the Central Codex was! Zod asked him for it, but how could he get it? Hundreds of people had been killed just now!
In fact, the Central Codex had indeed been placed on the spacecraft by Jor-El, but Clark was unaware. The Codex, which contained the genetic information of billions of Kryptonians, had been injected into his body by his father, making him the living Central Codex.
David tried to join in and help subdue Zod, but in the blink of an eye, a meteor streaked across the sky, crashing into him and sending him hurtling toward the ground.
Several blocks shook, and a long, deep trench tore through the earth, spanning across the streets.
"Faora!"
David waved his hand, sending the person who had he been pinned under flying. He floated up into the air, squinting his eyes.
"Anyone who stands in the way of General Zod, and the rebirth of Krypton will be destroyed!"
Inside a brand-new suit of armor, Fiora, her face covered in grey ash, blazed with fiery anger in her eyes, and she swung her fist with tremendous force, compressing the air as if it were a tangible substance, and sent it hurtling toward her enemies!
Among all the Kryptonians, except for Zod, only Fiora was qualified to activate the World Engine and rapidly master new abilities. She wiped the Kryptonite solution from her face with lunar dust, changed into a new suit of armor, and launched herself into space, closely following the three.
Boom!
A shockwave resounded, but David effortlessly caught her punch.
However, due to the isolation provided by her state-of-the-art armor, the Kryptonite solution couldn't affect her. He frowned, and with cosmic energy, he launched Fiora away, aiming to fly towards Zod.
Unlike Fiora, Zod's armor helmet had long been shattered, and now he could easily subdue him.
In the meantime, Fiora performed a mid-air spin and attacked again, tenaciously clinging to him. On the other side, Clark and Zod's battle was drawing further away from the city, as Clark tried to lead Zod away from the city.
"Need any help?"
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice echoed from the top of a high-rise building. Atop the rooftop stood a large, Bat-themed battle suit, almost three meters tall, with powerful limbs and a body crafted from unknown metals, radiating an aura of great strength.
"Batman?"
The design of the suit resembled a wingless bat, appearing fierce and monstrous, reminiscent of a monster rather than a hero. David recognized the style at a glance.
"No need, this guy is not someone ordinary people can deal with."
Catching Fiora's attack, he countered with even heavier punches, sending her flying backward for tens of meters, and politely declined Batman's offer.
"How would you know if I don't give it a try?"
Controlling the battle suit, Batman fired a Bat-grapple hook, latching onto one of Fiora's legs as she lunged toward David once more. With a powerful yank, he used his immense strength to pull the Kryptonian Fiora toward him on the rooftop.
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power-stones!~(˘▾˘~)