"What do you want to say, Rudy?" Clark asked as he leaned in closer.
The garbled sounds seemed to emanate from the body of this horrific, twisted monster, struggling to articulate, "Superman… you are… the highest… leader… kill, kill…"
Crack.
As those muddled words tumbled from the parasite's mouth, the journalists who had arrived on the scene quickly raised their cameras, capturing the moment.
The cameras whirred silently, accurately recording the conversation between Superman and the parasite.
The monster's two massive compound eyes remained fixed on Clark as it continued, "...Sh—"
Two beams of crimson heat rays shot in from the side, striking directly into the parasite's head.
Blood splattered.
In mere milliseconds, the monster's head exploded under the intensity of the heat rays, gore and slime bursting into the air like fireworks, showering Clark—who was closest to it—with a torrent of dark red blood across his face.
Clark shut his eyes.
A steady drip, drip, drip of blood trailed down from his chest.
A chunk of flesh mixed with brain matter slowly slid down from his shoulder.
He opened his eyes, his cold, piercing gaze locking onto the Hom!
In that instant, all the subtle signs he had overlooked surfaced, connecting in the void to form an obvious thread that reflected in the depths of his blue eyes.
The Homelander hovered nearby, shrugging at Clark. "I noticed you hadn't taken action against it, so I took care of it for you. Superman, I think we should unite to protect our people. You can't let it off the hook just because it harmed your protesting opponents."
Clark stared at him coldly.
He glanced again at those soldiers—those wearing the once-dominating military uniforms and the helmets of the ruling army.
And at Rudy, whose entire head had been blown off.
Then he charged at the Homelander like an arrow shot from a bow!
His speed surpassed that of the Homelander; if he wanted, he could even easily exceed the speed of light. To him, the Homelander appeared like an ordinary person with no superpowers, utterly vulnerable.
With a single punch, he struck the Homelander in the chest, driving him deep into the ground.
"I warned you," Clark stood before the Homelander, lowered his head, and lifted him with one hand. "Don't try to provoke me."
"Don't even think about plotting anything in front of me—because I will kill you directly."
In that moment, the once-dominating tyrant who had ruled the Earth for five years was resurrected within him.
The oppressive aura of authority and the terrifying pressure built upon countless bones terrified everyone present.
No one dared to step forward recklessly—everyone held their breath, watching in fear and shock as Superman delivered a one-sided beating to the Homelander.
The Homelander spat blood from a punch, his body convulsing in muscle spasms, his golden hair completely disheveled. His blue eyes looked at Superman, "Superman, what are you saying… you don't, I don't…"
Before he could finish, Clark fired heat vision from his eyes, blasting toward the Homelander's face!
The Homelander's instinct for survival kicked in, and at the same moment, he shot heat vision back at Superman.
The two exchanged heat rays, their beams as thick as pillars colliding in mid-air, exploding into massive fireballs.
Four heat rays continued to clash, but Clark's heat vision was much hotter and more powerful than the Homelander's. In less than three seconds, the Homelander was overwhelmed by Clark's heat rays and was sent crashing back to the ground once more.
The heat vision ignited the stars and stripes on the Homelander's body, turning him into a fireball as he screamed in agony, "Superman! You can't kill me! Do you want to silence me?"
Clark stepped closer, "Killing you is very simple for me."
"How many people have you let die today?" He paused in front of the rolling Homelander, his eyes glowing red. "You will have to pay the price."
He stood before the Homelander.
The Homelander began to wail pitifully, slamming his charred hands against the ground. "Superman!! You cannot! Kill me!"
Clark looked down at him.
Just as the heat vision was about to burst forth.
The kryptonite reactor implanted in his heart, developed jointly by Iron Man and Batman, emitted a series of "beep beep" alarms.
The reactor activated, and a chain nuclear fission reaction triggered a kryptonite element explosion, rapidly cutting off blood supply within Superman's heart chamber.
Even though Superman had become the most powerful being in the universe, a direct kryptonite attack to his heart could still effectively restrain him.
An unbearable pain shot through his chest, and Clark's face turned pale as he clutched his heart, slowly kneeling to the ground.
"No…"
Sweat dripped from his forehead as the pain intensified, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
No, Bruce, not now…
He still had many opportunities to face punishment. But it couldn't be now…
It shouldn't be the Homelander…
The Homelander was the real criminal.
He had to kill the Homelander; he had to kill him…
Soren, watching Clark fall from a distance, immediately clenched his fist in panic.
Clark's condition was clearly off; was he injured?
Soren felt anxious, wanting to rush over and help Clark, but the New York police had already set up a perimeter around the scene. Several officers were dispersing the crowd, and he couldn't break through the barrier under the officers' guns to reach Clark.
He had to think of a way… Stay calm, Soren. Calm down; panicking won't help. Think of a solution.
Soren's gaze wandered between the officers and the barrier, quietly retreating to the back of the crowd.
Meanwhile, the fallen Clark was still struggling.
He pressed one forearm against the black asphalt, his muscular arm straining as he pushed against the ground, trying to lift his exhausted body.
He absolutely couldn't let the Homelander escape this dangerous situation…
For an ordinary person, the Homelander's superpowers were already lethal enough…
If he let him go, it would definitely lead to more severe consequences.
The Homelander noticed Clark's sudden change, cautiously observing his expression, his facial muscles twitching slightly, the corners of his mouth involuntarily lifting before quickly suppressing it again.
"Superman, what's wrong? Have your powers failed?"
The Homelander asked softly.
He struggled to suppress the twisted expression on his face as he stared at the struggling Clark, slowly rising from the ground.
His charred, burnt face was aimed at Superman: "Could it be that the death of your supporters has affected you negatively? Has the parasite been supplying you with energy all along?"
He muttered, his eyes filled with frenzied hostility.
"Look at what your supporters have done… They've harmed so many ordinary citizens today… Our people are under threat; you shouldn't—allow them to run rampant…"
He looked toward the reporters beyond the barrier and those dark cameras, raising his arms and shouting, "Don't panic, citizens! Superman has lost his fighting ability; he can no longer harm me! I am safe—"
In the next second, he was violently thrown into the corridor of Columbia University behind him by Clark.
Five or six Roman columns were smashed in half, the immense impact reducing those columns to dust in an instant, nearly collapsing half of the corridor, with stones and dust raining down like hail from above.
Clark stomped on the Homelander's chest, the heat vision in his eyes glowing a blood-red.
"You will not deceive everyone again."
Clark gritted his teeth against the excruciating pain of the kryptonite reactor, speaking in a deep voice.
Sensing his movement, the kryptonite reactor began nuclear fission once more.
The kryptonite elements swirled toward the center of the fission, about to explode within his heart.
He covered the reactor with his palm, but the Homelander had already sensed his weakness, raising an eyebrow at Clark and giving a sinister smile.
Thick blood trickled down from his forehead.
"You will not succeed… because I will ultimately replace you…"
He spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he suddenly lunged forward, landing a punch on Clark's chin! Clark was sent flying, crashing down again onto the square as the two exchanged heavy blows, the steps crumbling under them, and the sound of police sirens outside grew increasingly loud. The New York police were on high alert, even beginning to notify the Avengers.
Clark was seized by the Homelander around the neck and thrown to the ground.
The Homelander looked around at the officers and shouted, "Stop attacking me, Superman! I don't want to conflict with you! We should join forces to protect everyone!"
The kryptonite reactor beeped ominously.
The fission reaction was still ongoing.
Clark's hands hung limply, his fingers curling slightly toward his palm as he looked up at the sky—
The lead-gray clouds blocked the sun—it was overcast today.
He clenched his fingers tightly into a fist.
Once again, he unleashed heat vision at the Homelander!
The Homelander was blasted away by the heat vision, and Clark immediately got up, trying to follow, but was directly confronted by the guns of New York police officers.
"Superman, please do not make another move. To minimize casualties, please raise your hands and drop all weapons now!"
The leading officer was fully equipped in bulletproof gear, wearing a helmet and holding a riot shield, with his gun resting on the shield as he spoke to Clark through a loudspeaker.
To his left and right, a wall of black riot shields began to extend continuously.
One machine gun after another surrounded him in a circular formation, all aimed directly at him.
Clark looked at the officer who was speaking.
The terrifying pressure of a god among men made the officer's hand tremble slightly on his weapon.
Yet he maintained his duty, continuing to shout, "Please do not cause more casualties, Superman. This is Manhattan; you cannot publicly kill a superhero."
"Superhero?"
Clark slowly pronounced the word, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "No, he is not. He released the parasite from Striker Island, which led to today's tragedy; he is a criminal."
The officer exchanged a surprised glance with his colleague, and the dispatch center's instructions came through their earpieces: "Frontline personnel, please note that members of the Avengers are about to arrive on scene. Please evacuate nearby civilians promptly to reduce casualties among unrelated individuals."