No one could have imagined that Su Sheng, after removing his battle suit, would be so overwhelmingly powerful. This exceeded everyone's expectations. One punch—just one—had split the earth. How could anyone believe that?
"Mad, you're a lunatic!" Astra shouted, feeling the ground tremble beneath her feet, the ominous tearing of the earth signaling its impending destruction. The sense of doom overwhelmed her; she no longer cared about destroying the DEO or ruling Central City. If Earth exploded, all their long-laid plans would be in vain.
"You over there! If you don't want to die, if you don't want the Earth destroyed, you better start figuring out a solution!" Astra yelled at Alex and Lucy Lane.
Alex and Lucy snapped out of their daze. A solution? To stop the Earth from breaking apart? How could they possibly do that? Lucy, who could handle a legal battle, and Alex, who could fight alien threats, were both utterly lost. Their minds went blank.
"Su Sheng, you..." Alex stared at Su Sheng, words failing her. How could she even process the fact that he had split the Earth with a single punch? It seemed utterly absurd.
Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other cataclysmic events began occurring simultaneously across Earth-070, causing immeasurable damage within minutes. Heads of state across the world received reports of the disaster almost immediately and began investigating the cause.
"Aren't you going to continue?" Su Sheng asked, noticing that Astra and her forces had hesitated. He smirked before suddenly moving again.
The hundredfold amplification of his steel-like strength surprised even Su Sheng. The Earth cracked? No matter—he needed to finish the job first. With a swift motion, Su Sheng charged at the Kryptonians, using both hands and feet, occasionally firing laser beams. This time, he controlled his strength to only five times its usual power—enough to defeat his foes without causing more collateral damage.
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight Kryptonians had fallen at Su Sheng's hands.
Seeing this, Astra hesitated, wanting to rally her forces and flee. This man was a lunatic.
The Earth was on the verge of destruction, and yet he was still fighting them.
"Stop fighting!" A figure suddenly emerged from the ground, blocking Su Sheng's path.
The Martian Manhunter said gravely, "The Earth is about to crack. Everything else can wait—we need to save the Earth first."
"I have a plan," he continued. "I can dive underground and use my laser vision to fuse the planet back together, but I need someone strong enough to push the Earth to stop it from splitting further!"
"We can!" Astra responded. Despite having lived in hiding on Earth for so many years, she couldn't bear to see it destroyed.
Boom!
A sonic boom echoed in the distance as Superman flew in, his face ashen with worry. "I can help too!" he said, his voice filled with urgency. "Lois is in danger, but I rushed back here as fast as I could."
"Is Lois okay?" Lucy Lane asked, concern evident in her voice.
Superman nodded, but his expression remained grim. "She will be, but we need to act now."
"Then let's move!" Martian Manhunter commanded. "There's no time to waste. If the Earth is destroyed, everything else is meaningless."
Without further delay, the Martian Manhunter dove back into the ground, using his phasing ability to reach deep into the Earth's core. Superman shot into the sky, intending to push the Earth from the outside. Astra and the other Kryptonians prepared to help, but before they could move, Su Sheng struck again!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a few swift punches, Su Sheng knocked Astra and the others to the ground.
"What are you doing?" Astra roared, furious and confused.
"I said five minutes," Su Sheng replied coldly. "For the next five minutes, you all stay down. Anyone who stands up will regret it."
"Are you insane?" Lucy Lane shouted, rushing over to Su Sheng, her voice trembling with desperation. "The Earth is about to be destroyed, and you still care about winning or losing? In five minutes, the Earth might not even exist!"
Su Sheng turned to look at Lucy, his expression indifferent. "What does that have to do with me? I made a promise, and I'm going to keep it."
"You're... you're completely unreasonable!" Lucy was at a loss for words, her frustration evident. Alex stepped forward, trying to reason with Su Sheng, pleading with him to help save the Earth and to let Astra and the others go, at least temporarily. But Su Sheng remained unmoved.
Astra, lying on the ground, felt a wave of regret. If she had known that Su Sheng was so powerful without his battle suit, she would never have provoked him into removing it. It was as if she had unleashed a demon by doing so.
"Is winning or losing really more important to you than the fate of the Earth?" Alex asked, her voice low but firm.
Su Sheng shrugged. "I keep my word. When I say something, I do it."
"What if you lose?" Alex pressed, her gaze unwavering.
"I'm willing to admit defeat," Su Sheng replied, his tone nonchalant.
"Fine!" Alex took a deep breath, glancing briefly at the unconscious Supergirl in the distance before making a bold decision. She stepped up to Su Sheng, standing on tiptoe to hook her arm around his neck and kissed him passionately.
The kiss was intense, full of heat and desperation, catching everyone off guard. Su Sheng was momentarily stunned, his stance faltering just enough for him to take a small step back.
"Back off! He stepped back!" Lucy Lane shouted, realizing what Alex had done.
Hearing Lucy's shout, Su Sheng and Alex separated slightly. He looked at her with a mix of surprise and amusement.
"I have to say, that was pretty clever," Su Sheng said with a chuckle, still holding Alex by the waist.
Alex breathed a sigh of relief. She had taken a gamble, guessing that Su Sheng had a soft spot for her, and it had paid off. She hadn't expected him to go along with it so easily, though.
"What are you waiting for?" Alex shouted to Astra and the others.
Tentatively, Astra and her fellow Kryptonians got to their feet. When Su Sheng made no move to stop them, they quickly flew off to assist Superman, each using their incredible strength to help push the Earth from different angles and prevent it from splitting further.
As the Kryptonians and Superman worked together, the Martian Manhunter focused on his task underground. Using his laser vision, he began fusing the Earth's core back together, while Superman and the others pushed the planet back into alignment.
The combined effort of these powerful beings slowly but surely began to stabilize the Earth. The tremors that had been shaking the planet started to subside, the volcanic eruptions calmed, and the cracks in the ground began to close.
After what felt like an eternity, the Earth stopped shaking. The immediate danger had passed.
The heroes, exhausted but relieved, regrouped on the surface. Superman landed beside them, his expression still serious but relieved.
"We did it," he said, looking around at the others. "But this was too close. We can't let something like this happen again."
Astra and her Kryptonians exchanged uneasy glances, knowing that their original plan was in shambles. They had planned to conquer the Earth, but now they were forced to help save it from destruction. The irony was not lost on them.
Su Sheng, watching the scene unfold, smiled to himself. He had stayed true to his word, and now he had witnessed just how desperate these people could become when pushed to the brink.
As the dust settled, Alex looked at Su Sheng, a mix of emotions in her eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Su Sheng shrugged. "Don't mention it. But remember, I never lose."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the others to contemplate the chaotic events that had just transpired and the uncertain future that lay ahead.