"Who are you?" Rhodes asked cautiously as he slowly got up, eyeing Su Sheng with suspicion. The battle suit worn by Su Sheng exuded advanced technology, and from the earlier conversation, it was clear that he had made the Kryptonian woman fearful. But who exactly was this man?
Click!
The helmet of Su Sheng's battle suit suddenly opened, then quickly retracted into a bracelet on his wrist.
"My name is Su Sheng."
"A human?"
"Indeed," Su Sheng confirmed with a calm smile.
Rhodes frowned, scrutinizing Su Sheng. "I'm curious as to why you can make a Kryptonian so afraid, but since you made them leave my company, I suppose I should thank you." He walked over to a nearby wine cabinet, poured two glasses, and handed one to Su Sheng. "What is it you want from me?"
"You should be interested in studying Kryptonians and Kryptonite," Su Sheng replied with a knowing smile.
"Then here's to a happy collaboration?"
"Happy collaboration!"
Ding!
The crisp sound of clinking glasses echoed as Su Sheng and Rhodes toasted and drank. Su Sheng then donned his battle suit again and flew away.
Rhodes watched as Su Sheng left, a sly smile playing on his lips as he set aside the glass Su Sheng had used. After a short while, Su Sheng returned, bringing with him a Kryptonian corpse and a substantial amount of Kryptonite. By then, Rhodes had already dealt with the DEO's inquiries. With the materials in hand, Rhodes transferred them to his secret lab, eager to begin his research.
Su Sheng wasn't interested in playing the superhero. He wanted Rhodes to see if he could create a Bizarro—a distorted doppelgänger like the one Lex Luthor had created in the comics by combining Superman's DNA with that of a human. Bizarro had powers that were the inverse of Superman's, including freezing breath and heat vision. His chest bore a reversed "S," and Kryptonite only made him stronger. Bizarro, a classic foe of Superman, was a recurring character in many comics and animated series, far more intriguing than a mere evil Supergirl clone.
As for Red Kryptonite, it was a synthetic version of Kryptonite that could make Kryptonians irrational and aggressive. Besides green and red Kryptonite, the comics featured other variants, like Gold Kryptonite, which could permanently strip a Kryptonian of their powers; Blue Kryptonite, specifically harmful to Bizarro; Black Kryptonite, which could split personalities or even physical forms; and Silver Kryptonite, which caused hallucinations. Most parallel universes likely had only discovered Blue Kryptonite, but Su Sheng was keen to have Rhodes explore other colors just for fun.
In the secret lab at Rhodes Technologies, Su Sheng's phone rang.
After answering the call, Su Sheng smiled, hung up, and told Rhodes, "I'm leaving."
Rhodes nodded, focused on his work.
Leaving the lab, Su Sheng headed to Supergirl's apartment.
Bang bang bang!
He knocked on the door, and Kara Danvers opened it.
"Hi," Su Sheng greeted with a smile.
Kara forced a smile in return. "Sorry for making you come over suddenly. I... um..."
Before she could finish, Su Sheng wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately.
After the kiss, Su Sheng smiled and asked, "Is something bothering you?"
"A lot," Kara confessed, revealing her worries to her boyfriend. She had failed to reach her aunt Astra, the threats from Iron Man in National City seemed insurmountable, and Lois Lane's death had left Superman in a dark place. Kara had tried to talk sense into him, but he was beyond reasoning. To make matters worse, the DEO was in chaos, with the Martian Manhunter, the position of director, and a slew of unexpected challenges piling up. The pressure was overwhelming for Kara Danvers.
"I don't know what to do, I..." Kara's expression was one of despair, making her seem vulnerable and in need of comfort.
Su Sheng hugged her tightly, chuckling softly. "I know this might seem out of place, but you need to let off some steam."
"How?" Kara asked curiously.
"There's nothing that can't be solved with a good release. If one isn't enough, then two!" Su Sheng whispered mischievously in her ear.
"Ah..." Kara's face flushed with embarrassment.
"Shall we change the setting?" Su Sheng suggested.
"Uh..."
Kara hesitated, remembering the last time they'd nearly destroyed her bed and walls. Finally, she relented. "Give me a moment," she said, walking toward the bedroom.
She took longer than expected, making Su Sheng curious. Activating his X-ray vision, he looked through the wall to see what Kara was doing. To his surprise, he saw her lying on the bed with something black on her chest—a strange, black flower.
"This is the Black Mercy!" Su Sheng realized, recognizing the plant from the TV series that had trapped Kara Danvers in a dream world, rendering her unable to escape.
"What did Astra do?" he muttered to himself. The Black Mercy wasn't native to Earth, so it was clear that Astra had something to do with this.
Kara was now deep in a dream, and removing the Black Mercy forcibly would kill her. Even Astra couldn't remove it. But...
Of course, Su Sheng had a plan.
With a slight smirk, he activated the Speed Force.
Boom!
A time wormhole opened instantly, and Su Sheng entered time loop mode, going back ten minutes to when Kara was about to enter the bedroom.
"Wait!" Su Sheng called out, stopping Kara.
Kara turned around, puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Using his psychic abilities, Su Sheng knocked Kara unconscious. Although Kryptonians had super strength and invulnerability, they were highly susceptible to magic, making mind control easy. Su Sheng carried Kara to the sofa and gently laid her down, then entered the bedroom alone.
On the bed, the Black Mercy spore lay in plain sight, its black tendrils already beginning to spread.
Su Sheng reached out to touch it, but the plant suddenly accelerated its growth, its tendrils wrapping around his arm and lunging toward his chest!
At the same time, Su Sheng felt his replication ability kick in...