Something has happened.
This was the first thought that surfaced in Soren's mind.
Despite Charlie and Renee repeatedly reminding him to take cover at the first sound of gunfire, he couldn't shake the worry for Billy. His legs instinctively propelled him forward.
The tide of fleeing people rushed toward him in the street, their faces marked with panic as they jostled against one another, running along the sidewalks and in the middle of the road.
Soren was drenched in sweat, struggling to navigate through the crowd like a fish swimming upstream, battling against the current toward the rocks at the stream's end.
As he drew nearer to the source of the gunfire, the crowd grew denser. Ahead was chaos; screams and cries intertwined in a cacophony. Through the gaps in the throng, he caught sight of a horrifying behemoth—
This monster was entirely purple, covered in amber-colored growths that appeared to be pus-filled blisters. The thin outer layer seemed ready to burst at any moment, threatening to splatter foul-smelling pus everywhere.
It had a gaping maw, and in each hand, it held a civilian. Its eyes resembled those of a fly, bulging and revolving continuously atop its head.
Surrounding this creature was a group of armed soldiers in black uniforms.
They wore oddly designed black outfits, complete with black helmets that had their visors painted red, and the sleeves bore a bizarre red emblem.
There were about a dozen soldiers, their backs turned to the monster, guns pointed outward as they warily watched the hovering figures of the homeland defenders and Shazam not far away.
The moment Soren recognized the appearance of these soldiers, he froze in place.
…A chilling dread surged from his back, piercing through to his very core.
These soldiers, these soldiers.
A wave of inexplicable fear surged from deep within him.
A man fleeing the scene collided with Soren's right arm, causing him to stagger backward several steps. His face turned as pale as paper as his gaze darted between the soldiers and the homeland defenders, Shazam, then fell to the ground, where he saw civilians gunned down.
Thick, congealing blood slowly pooled beneath them, creating round patches that nearly reached Soren's feet.
—These shot civilians were members of the protest he had seen not long ago.
"Oh God, what have you done?!"
The homeland defender shouted.
Hovering not far away, he clenched his fists tightly, his facial muscles contorted with what seemed like intense rage. "You dare to openly slaughter civilians! I will not let you get away with this!"
The black-clad soldiers stood back to the monster, continuously shrinking their perimeter. One soldier shouted, "This is divine punishment! They openly disrespected Superman and must bear the consequences! Superman is our god!"
—Just as his words hung in the air.
Clark, who had been busy evacuating the injured, moved with a speed so swift it was almost imperceptible, grasping the soldier's throat.
His red cape fell slowly behind him.
It formed a frozen banner.
Clark tightened his grip around the soldier's throat, lifting him higher inch by inch.
The soldier emitted desperate gasps, his legs flailing futilely in mid-air.
Clark locked eyes with the soldier, asking each word deliberately, "Who made you do this?"
The soldier's neck seemed to crack under the pressure of those iron-like hands as he convulsed, mumbling incoherently while flailing his arms. "Su, Superman... you…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the monstrous creature behind them let out a deafening roar, tilting its head back and howling before leaping toward Clark!
Simultaneously, Shazam, cloaked in white, sprang into action.
Like a bolt of red lightning, he snatched the black-clad soldier from Clark's grasp just before the monster could collide with him.
His movements were swift; he locked his arms around the soldier's neck, slamming him against the protruding curb, breaking the soldier's weapon in the process. His voice rumbled like thunder, "You want to support Superman?"
The black-clad soldiers immediately aimed their weapons at Shazam, unleashing a hail of bullets. He dodged with such speed that his figure was almost imperceptible, and in an instant, he had taken down all the soldiers!
These soldiers appeared to lack any superpowers; aside from firing their guns, their counterattacks against Shazam were almost nonexistent.
They were no match for him. Within seconds, Shazam had dismantled their weapons and grabbed a bloodied banner lying on the roadside. He glanced around and bound the soldiers to the base of a nearby statue.
As he dealt with these soldiers, the purple monster had already swung its massive fist at Clark.
Clark dodged the monster's punch, anger flaring in his eyes.
He hovered in the air, brow furrowed, gazing at the grotesque creature before him.
—Parasite.
Or rather, Rudy Jones.
Clark was not unfamiliar with this monster.
Back in the year he first became Superman, he had a direct confrontation with this creature.
At that time, Rudy was just a janitor at Star Labs and had formed a personal friendship with Clark because he often came to Star Labs to pick up Soren.
However, after accidentally triggering a radioactive device at Star Labs, Rudy transformed into a grotesque parasite, needing to constantly absorb various forms of energy to quell his insatiable hunger for it.
After draining the life energy of several staff members at Star Labs, he fled into the city, causing chaos in Metropolis: power plant explosions, traffic gridlocks, and several deaths...
The parasite was not an easy foe to handle.
It possessed the ability to absorb all life forces it came into contact with, and during their battle, Clark found his own powers continually sapped away. Being nighttime, he couldn't replenish his strength through the yellow sun, leaving him vulnerable as the parasite knocked him down repeatedly, ultimately weakening him to the point where he couldn't lift a finger.
It was only with the help of the Shazam, who rushed in from New York, that he managed to defeat the parasite and imprison it on Striker Island.
Clark swiftly dodged another attack from the parasite, the heat vision in his eyes faintly glowing red.
He watched as the creature grew increasingly furious with each of his evasions, starting to scream in rage.
—Striker Island, isolated from the world and equipped with the most formidable police force, had already detained over a hundred super-powered criminals. Who could possibly have the capability to free the parasite from Striker Island?
He lowered his gaze, lost in thought. At that moment, Captain America, who had been waiting for an opportunity not far away, charged in and delivered a punch that pierced through the parasite's abdomen!
The parasite let out a howl of pain, striking Captain America with a palm that disheveled his meticulously styled golden hair.
Captain America leaned back, flashed a cold smile at the parasite, and then, in an instant, shot out from in front of it, flying away like a projectile.
To an observer, it looked as if he had been weakened after having his powers drained by the parasite, only to be sent flying and crashing heavily to the ground.
He kicked up a cloud of dust upon impact, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
Captain America lifted his head, wiping the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, and said in a voice that, while light, was loud enough for everyone present to hear, "It can absorb my powers... Superman, why aren't you making your move?"
"Is it because it's your admirer that you want to go easy on it?" he looked at Clark, questioning him.
Clark ignored Captain America's accusation, dodging another attack from the parasite.
He observed the raging creature and suddenly noticed it quietly changing direction, aiming to dash toward Soren's position when he was not paying attention.
Furrowing his brow, Clark flew forward before the parasite could move, grabbing it and slamming it hard into the ground!
The flat asphalt cracked like a spider web from the impact, and at the center of the web, Clark pressed one hand against the parasite's chest while the other was poised above its head, ready to deliver a punch that could shatter its skull at any moment.
"...Rudy," Clark lowered his voice, glancing quickly at the few onlookers still present and the reporters rushing in from a distance. He leaned down to communicate with the parasite, "Tell me, who let you out of Striker Island? How did you come to ally with those... Dominion soldiers?"
The parasite roared in his grip, clawing at Superman's arms, believing it could once again drain massive energy from him. To its shock, it realized that the energy flowing into its veins was like a flood pouring into a reservoir, endlessly surging without any signs of depletion!
Superman, the power within him was like an endless ocean, vast and deep—deeper than any sea. The parasite could not absorb such an immense quantity of energy; the force pouring into its body exceeded its capacity, threatening to burst every cell within!
"Ahhh—!!" The swelling energy caused the parasite to scream in agony, its body continuously warping. Clark watched as it struggled in its dying throes and repeated, "Rudy, I can control my energy output, but you need to tell me who brought you here?"
The parasite emitted strange cries, refusing to cooperate with Clark's inquiries. It seemed unable to communicate with humanity anymore, but Clark understood it—when he had defeated the parasite last time, he had known that even in this altered state, the parasite's brain still retained human thought.
It absolutely understood what he was saying, yet it would rather choose to die from having its body overloaded with energy than answer his questions.
Why?
Clark's Kryptonian brain raced quickly. He slightly adjusted the energy output, reducing the flow into the parasite's body and said, "I don't want you to do anything foolish, Rudy. Think of your wife and daughter... Your daughter, her name is Sarah, right? She should be starting college this year—"
"Super…"
As the input of energy diminished, the bulging tumors on the parasite's surface finally stopped bursting. It struggled for a moment, turning its head toward Clark, its mouth forming indistinct sounds: "...hu...man...Superman…"