"How can you say I don't understand him at all?"
Soren's voice trembled with confusion and urgency. "What I'm seeing is also the truth. The Superman I know is this one right here. I understand him. I trust my eyes, and I trust him. I believe he wouldn't do anything wrong."
"—You're really trying to drive me crazy, kid."
Tony took a deep breath, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists. "I said step aside. Did you hear me? Whatever's going on between you two, we can discuss it with your parents later. Right now, I'm telling you—move!"
"...I don't want anyone to hurt him, Uncle Tony." Soren lowered his head, holding Clark even tighter, sadness in his voice.
On the other side, Homelander was already being placed on a stretcher and loaded into another ambulance.
As he lay back on the specially designed medical stretcher, his eyes flicked toward the commotion on the other side. A subtle, satisfied smile crept across his lips.
"Soren…" Clark struggled to raise one arm, trying to reach out and touch Soren's hair, but the moment he moved, all the surrounding guns were immediately trained on him.
Soren, panicked, clung to Clark even more tightly.
He glanced around at the riot shields encircling them, feeling a flicker of confidence as he whispered to Clark, "It's okay, I know they won't shoot. I'm a legal citizen; they can't scare me."
Tony laughed bitterly, "Hah. So, you really won't listen to me, will you?"
"I just don't want you to hurt him." Soren couldn't even bring himself to look at Tony.
Tony nodded, frustration evident. "One day, kid, you're going to be the death of me!"
Clark's eyes were locked on the emergency vehicle doors, closing over Homelander's stretcher in front of him. He tried to stand, intent on chasing after him, but Soren quickly held him down. "You're not moving either, Clark! Why do you have to go after him right now?"
Clark's voice was hoarse. "He's too dangerous, Soren. I need to deal with him immediately—"
"And how are you going to stop him when you're this weak?" Soren asked.
He glanced nervously at Tony and the surrounding guns before leaning in close to whisper in Clark's ear, "Just wait a couple of days, and we can secretly deal with him."
Though Soren was deeply shaken by Clark's weakened state, he remained resolute, firmly holding onto him, stubbornly placing his body between Clark and the others.
Clark closed his eyes.
As the ambulance carrying Homelander moved farther away, the speed of the kryptonite reactor's operation began to slow. Even though the sun was hidden behind clouds, Clark's strength was gradually returning.
At that moment, Steve Rogers, who had been talking with Shazam at a distance to assess the situation, finally finished his conversation and approached them, walking side by side with Shazam.
"Tony, wait a second!" Steve called out, his expression serious as he made his way over, carrying a rifle that Shazam had confiscated from the soldiers of the ruling army.
The rifle had been twisted into a lump of scrap metal, barely recognizable as a weapon anymore. Steve held up the mangled black remains of the gun and said, "We've discovered something."
Shazam appeared somewhat uncomfortable. He pulled up the white hood of his suit and gave Soren an awkward nod of acknowledgment.
Like Clark, Shazam had already guessed who was really behind this entire incident.
However, while Clark had deduced the truth based on his knowledge of the Parasite, Shazam had been aware for many days of a hidden force both online and offline, quietly stirring up anti-Superman sentiment.
A large volume of negative opinions seemed to appear all at once during specific periods, triggering heated discussions. Some even took advantage of the situation to promote today's protest and advertise joint forums discussing similar issues—
All of this looked like the result of deliberate manipulation.
And when Shazam saw the soldiers of the ruling army, his suspicions became even more certain.
There had to be someone targeting Superman—someone who orchestrated this whole incident.
And who would benefit the most from Superman losing public trust?
For ordinary people, such situations usually involve rivals, enemies, or competitors. In Superman's case, aside from Lex Luthor—who had recently shifted focus after making a fortune from the film <
But Shazam hadn't stepped in to help Superman. Yes, he had noticed Superman's sudden weakness—but no matter what, he couldn't forget what Superman had done to him in the Arctic.
The searing pain of heat vision piercing his brain was something that still haunted his nervous system like a ghost.
He should have helped… but he just couldn't bring himself to move.
The weight of death was too heavy for a young boy like Billy Batson to carry.
Superman would forever be the one who killed Billy Batson.
He would never forget that.
So, he had only stood at a distance, silently watching the battle between Superman and Homelander until Steve Rogers spotted him.
Meanwhile, Tony still had his repulsor aimed at Clark. He turned his head and asked, "What is it?"
"These guns," Steve explained, holding up the twisted remains, "were never sold domestically. They could have been smuggled in, or those soldiers might have come from outside the country."
Steve looked thoughtfully toward the ambulance, now disappearing from view.
"From outside the country? Mercenaries?" Tony questioned.
Shazam, standing nearby, added, "Or maybe they were brought in through some illegal means—like high-speed flight."
"Isn't it that bastard?" Tony pointed at Clark.
Clark lowered his gaze as his wounds slowly healed, his strength gradually returning. He whispered something quietly into Soren's ear, then stood up from the ground. "It wasn't me."
Shazam chimed in, "If Superman needed followers, would he really have to go through the trouble of bringing people in from abroad? I think we all know his followers can be found worldwide, at any moment."