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Inside a movie theater, Roger sat alone in the back corner, watching a high-budget blockbuster filled with stunning special effects and polished production.
The film Roger was watching was a production created in just two months, with immense manpower and resources poured into its making.
The story revolved around an average man who gains superpowers and grows into a hero.
While the plot was nothing extraordinary—mediocre, at best—the director's skill, seamless editing, and top-notch special effects gave the movie a solid reputation.
Even though the film's box office performance so far didn't recover its production costs, the true purpose had already been achieved: using the film to propagate Roger's public persona.
As the persona gained traction, Roger would inherit the additional powers of the "Superman" depicted in the film.
According to Luna's setup, the new Superman's abilities mirrored those of Superman but included an extra—he could traverse and repair parallel timelines.
This specific ability was paramount.
With it, Roger could send the film characters who had entered this world back to their original worlds.
...
In the past two months, more movie characters had appeared, in addition to Spider-Man, Banner, and Magneto.
Some characters stayed hidden, evading Roger's detection. Others refused to cooperate, and a few outright villains had to be dealt with on the spot by Roger.
As of now, the team at Roger's base had only grown slightly. Alongside the original three members, it now included Wanda and Wonder Woman.
Wanda appeared in the third week after Magneto's arrival. Confused and lost, she met Roger and was brought to the base.
Wonder Woman showed up last month in the UK. When Roger arrived, she was waiting for him, seemingly aware of his arrival.
This Diana was the same one Roger knew from the DC universe. From their conversations, Roger learned that time in the DC world moved much slower.
While Roger felt he had been gone for over two months, Diana perceived it as only a few days.
Though Roger's teammates were concerned about his prolonged absence, they knew his strength and weren't overly worried.
Thor continued gaming as usual, Clarice trained her powers in the Batcave, and Jean Grey was glued to her phone, thoroughly captivated.
Everything was normal—no Darkseid, no over-the-top villains.
The only noteworthy event was Aquaman Arthur encountering some issues shortly after Roger left, seemingly related to Atlantis. However, since Arthur didn't ask for help, Diana hadn't delved into the matter.
Roger surmised that Aquaman was likely going through the events of Aquaman, so he wasn't too worried.
With Wonder Woman joining the base, Roger had gained another powerful ally. But after that, the world inexplicably quieted down.
There were no more major incidents or supervillains threatening the planet.
...
Everything went smoothly up to today—the day of the movie's release.
"Still, this calm can't last forever, can it?"
After watching the film, Roger tossed his empty soda cup into a trash can and muttered to himself.
The world wouldn't remain peaceful indefinitely, and Roger's instincts told him something big was on the horizon.
Since killing the Parademon during his fight with Spider-Man, Roger hadn't seen any others. He had a nagging suspicion that the issue lay there.
Perhaps the Parademons weren't gone but had appeared without Roger or his team noticing.
And if these hidden Parademons were summoning Darkseid…
...
...
Buzz, buzz—
Just as Roger had this thought, his phone vibrated.
Answering, Luna's urgent voice came through. "Roger! Something's happened!"
"What's wrong? Another character showed up?"
Roger's tone remained calm.
He had grown used to movie characters causing trouble over the past few months. Even if Luna told him Darkseid had arrived, Roger wouldn't flinch.
"It's Superman!"
"Oh, Clark? Is that really worth getting worked up over?"
Hearing it was Superman, Roger felt relieved.
Superman's strong moral compass and sense of responsibility meant he wouldn't easily turn into an Injustice version of himself.
As long as Lois Lane wasn't involved—or if she was, as long as nothing happened to her—Superman would be firmly on Roger's side.
Compared to other troublesome characters, dealing with Superman was relatively straightforward.
That's what Roger thought—until Luna added: "Not the Superman you know! Remember when you told me about crossing into the DC future and killing a future version of Superman?"
"…Yeah. Why?"
A bad feeling crept into Roger's mind.
Luna said, "Check your phone! The Superman you killed has been resurrected—!!"
"…What?"
"Watch the video!"
Luna emphasized again.
Roger quickly opened his phone and played the video she had sent.
The footage began with shaky camera work before the person filming steadied it and pointed their phone at the sky.
A black figure floated in the air. Zooming in, the video revealed a Superman clad in black.
The person filming shouted "Superman!" excitedly, but in the next moment, the so-called Superman unleashed devastating heat vision, obliterating a facility below.
Panicked screams followed as the person fled, and the screen went dark.
That was the first video.
Luna had also sent a second video, offering a clearer view of the black-clad Superman.
This footage began earlier, showing the destruction of the facility, Superman flying out, and him delivering another blast of heat vision to the base below.
The images were sharp, likely captured with a high-quality camera instead of a phone.
Other clips from different angles confirmed the events' authenticity.
"Athena… Damn it! So that's where it ended up!"
After watching the videos, Roger instantly connected the dots and sped out of the theater.
...
Athena and the dimensional gauntlet must have fallen into U.S. Government hands, likely mistaken for alien technology and studied.
Though Athena was a magically enhanced AI, if she had been damaged during dimensional travel and failed to reboot, it was possible for someone to access the gauntlet's contents.
Superman's corpse must have been extracted this way.
But Superman's corpse wasn't the real issue. The real danger was Doomsday.
If Doomsday's body was also taken and somehow revived, its evolutionary abilities could spell disaster. The world wouldn't need Darkseid—Doomsday alone could bring about the apocalypse!
"Shit!"
Roger cursed through clenched teeth.
Now wasn't the time for anger. With Superman Already wreaking havoc, a brainwashed and corrupted Superman would likely follow Darkseid's orders to make Earth his domain.
And to do that, he would first annihilate all life and resistance on the planet.
While Roger hesitated, he imagined a hellscape on Earth.
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