Metropolis, the Kryptonian ship continuously released powerful energy beams, piercing through the Earth's core and interacting with the World Engine on the other side, steadily increasing the Earth's density.
With the increase in density, gravity also intensified. The area closest to the Kryptonian ship experienced the greatest increase, and vehicles caught in the gravity waves were instantly crushed.
The U.S. fighter jets fired missiles at the Kryptonian ship, but because of the immense gravity, they couldn't get close. Just as they were at a loss, they suddenly noticed the Kryptonian ship stopped functioning, its energy beams disappearing, and the surrounding gravity quickly returned to normal.
Seeing this, Colonel Hardy was overjoyed. He immediately piloted a C-17 aircraft towards the Kryptonian ship, intending to destroy it completely.
Boom!
A loud explosion suddenly erupted behind the C-17. It was General Zod, piloting another Kryptonian ship, shooting down the other fighter jets trailing the C-17. Zod had now locked onto the C-17, which carried another Kryptonian ship.
At that moment, Superman arrived, striking the Kryptonian ship and causing its laser to misfire. Inside the ship, despite General Zod's warnings, Superman, the traitor, resolutely destroyed the ship carrying Krypton's last reproduction system.
Elsewhere, several Kryptonians invaded the plane where Lois was. However, thanks to the efforts of many humans, they not only activated the ship that brought Clark to Earth but also piloted the C-17 to crash into the massive Kryptonian ship, hoping to use the Phantom Zone projector on both ships to create a black hole that would swallow all the Kryptonians.
Just as Colonel Hardy planned to sacrifice himself and his crew to take the Kryptonians down with them, a figure appeared in front of the C-17.
This figure spoke slowly in front of him: "This won't do. That ship is my property."
Alex had already arrived in Metropolis. He had infiltrated the Kryptonian ship and had just taken down all the Kryptonians inside, only to notice a plane speeding toward his ship.
How could he let that happen? That was his hard-earned prize!
With space distorted by gravity, Alex instantly appeared in front of the C-17, lightly touching it with his index finger.
With vector manipulation, he immediately reflected the C-17's kinetic energy, sending it flying back in the direction it came from at its original speed.
After protecting his ship, Alex once again flashed into the C-17, delivering a punch to the head of the Kryptonian inside, who was there to stop the C-17 from hitting the Kryptonian ship. With black and red lightning, the Kryptonian fell unconscious.
He then tossed the Kryptonian into his pocket dimension, suddenly pulling Colonel Hardy toward him and questioning: "Do you realize you almost destroyed my ship?"
Colonel Hardy was completely dumbfounded. He stammered:
"Isn't that the Kryptonians' ship?"
"Not anymore. It's mine. It's my prize!"
"Then... sorry?"
After tossing Colonel Hardy aside, Alex glanced at Clark, who had just arrived and was eyeing him warily. Alex flashed a bright smile:
"I'm not your enemy. General Zod is. And he's not dead."
Clark, still wary, asked:
"Who are you? I know Batman is in Metropolis, but you're not Batman!"
At first, the naïve Clark had believed Alex's lie, thinking he was Batman, but on his way back from the Indian Ocean to Metropolis, he had seen the real Batman rescuing people in the Batmobile.
Compared to this unpredictable stranger, Clark trusted the Batman who was consistently saving lives.
Knowing that Batman had come to Metropolis in full gear, Alex realized that his impersonation had caused a butterfly effect.
At this point, Batman must have come to investigate the fake Batman's identity.
Alex stroked the beard on his chin, coughed, and lowered his voice, speaking gravely to Superman:
"Ahem... you found me out. But I am Batman—just not from this universe. For certain reasons, I wander through parallel universes. You can call me the World Traveler, the Cosmic Wanderer, or the Homeless Stranger..."
As Alex spoke, he precisely controlled every muscle in his body, putting on a masterful performance of absolute sorrow. In that moment, he embodied a tragedy—a story that anyone could easily empathize with.
Seeing Alex in such a state, the simple-minded Clark immediately felt a wave of guilt. He fumbled, apologizing: "Sorry, sorry..."
"Parallel universes really exist?" Professor Emil Hamilton, who had emerged from the back of the plane, asked excitedly. These scholars, in their pursuit of truth, often became overly passionate. Luckily, DC wasn't a Lovecraftian world, or such intense curiosity might have driven Emil Hamilton mad.
"Of course. The multiverse is real. I've traveled through countless universes and faced many dangers.
Your universe is relatively peaceful—still 'alive.' Many universes have lost all signs of life, like the zombie universe where every living being has become a flesh-eating monster, or the dark universe where all the superheroes have been slaughtered, plunging the world into chaos.
I once encountered my counterpart in one universe—a Batman who had been driven mad by the Joker's schemes. He, along with other counterparts, destroyed universe after universe. But they aren't the only dangers. I've also been to a unique universe that merged with another, linking two multiverses. From there, I traveled to the Marvel multiverse, where I witnessed even more incredible beings."
Alex's words stunned everyone around him as they processed the overwhelming information.
Weren't they supposed to be fending off the Kryptonian invasion? How did this conversation suddenly jump to the multiverse?
Lois, the reporter, was the first to snap out of it. It made sense; she was a strong woman capable of keeping Superman in check. She quickly set aside her thoughts. The multiverse, no matter how dangerous, seemed far away. Right now, they needed to focus on the task at hand.
Compared to Clark, who was kind-hearted and easily trusting, Lois was harder to fool. She questioned:
"If you're Batman, then why did you stop us from destroying the Kryptonian ship? The Batman I know wouldn't do that."
Alex shrugged and replied helplessly:
"I need a large amount of energy to travel between parallel universes, to perform dimensional jumps. I still want to return to the universe where I was born and raised, so I need the energy source from the Kryptonian ship to make the next dimensional jump."
Alex's explanation was airtight, leaving no room for doubt.
Colonel Hardy also asked:
"And what about the Kryptonians? Why didn't you kill them?"
Alex looked at Clark, who, for some reason, felt a chill down his spine as Alex stared at him, sensing a thick malice. Alex smiled and answered:
"After all, under the radiation of a yellow sun, Kryptonians generate a massive amount of energy. They're like natural, harmless super-batteries."
Under Clark's stiff expression and the frozen gazes of the others, Alex gave a thumbs-up, flashing his teeth:
"Kryptonian batteries—everyone says they're great!"
Everyone: "..."
"No, we can't let you have the Kryptonian ship or their bodies," Colonel Hardy said seriously. This hero, who had sacrificed himself in the movie to take down the Kryptonians with him, thought carefully and decided this wasn't right: "Everything you're saying is just your word. There's no guarantee it's true. For all we know, you could ally with the Kryptonians and conquer Earth together. It's not impossible."
Hearing this, Alex smiled.
After his experience in the Marvel world, Alex had learned his lesson and planned to keep a low profile. But that didn't mean he was a saint, like Clark, who never fought back when bullied.
Using gravity, Alex pulled Colonel Hardy towards him, grabbing him by the neck with a kind smile:
"Do you think having Superman nearby gives you courage, or do you think I'm a pushover like him?"
"Do you really think Superman can stop me?"
"Let me make this clear: What I say is mine, is mine. This isn't up for negotiation."
Colonel Hardy suddenly realized that the Batman before him wasn't this world's Batman. He didn't have a no-kill rule.
He was a mysterious being who could traverse the multiverse, a traveler who had endured countless terrifying trials and survived—a being even more powerful than Superman!
Superman stood speechless nearby. Why was he suddenly dragged into this?
But what Alex said was true. Superman was a pushover, and he might not be a match for this Batman, something he had realized from their previous fight.
At that moment, a figure suddenly crashed through the ship, sending Superman flying. It was none other than General Zod.
Even though Alex had protected the Kryptonian ship, the ship carrying the last reproduction system had been destroyed by Clark. No matter what, Krypton could never be rebuilt.
Krypton was gone forever!
General Zod pushed Clark through one building after another, relentlessly punching his face. Amid the sonic booms and thunderous impacts, he cried out in anguish:
"You chose humanity over us! You destroyed my soul! You took away my purpose! The humans you saved—I will kill them one by one in front of you!"
Watching Clark fall into a disadvantage, continuously pummeled by Zod's enraged fists, Lois anxiously turned to Alex:
"Batman, please help Clark. It looks like he can't handle Zod."
However, her plea fell on deaf ears. She saw Alex's face, full of smiles, but his eyes were indifferent.
With a casual tone, he said:
"I've seen too many worlds destroyed and too many Supermen die, some of whom died in my hands. Why should I intervene in your Superman's affairs?"
"Supermen aren't unique; they're everywhere."
°°°
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