"No!!!"
Zod fell to his knees, looking as if he had seen the Terminator. It took him a while to regain his senses.
"Have I… transmigrated again?"
Zod glanced around, bewildered. He saw nothing but desert and, in the distance, a patch of green. A farm, with rows of corn stretching across the landscape, forming a large green area.
"Is this... Earth?"
His eyes locked onto the cornfield, and Zod quickly understood. Judging by the timeline, Clark Kent should have already grown up on Earth by now.
Zod was a Kryptonian, and he had been reincarnated as one. Upon realizing this, his excitement nearly drove him mad.
The Kryptonian race is the ultimate super race!
Kryptonians possess incredible powers: super strength, endurance, speed, enhanced senses, the ability to fly, a nearly indestructible body, heat vision, freezing breath, rapid healing...
Their genes are remarkably adaptive, and their potential is almost limitless. On Earth, thanks to its lighter gravity and the yellow sun's radiation, Kryptonians gain extraordinary abilities. Solar energy fills their cells, enhancing muscle strength and amplifying their senses.
This solar radiation is the source of their powers, allowing them to develop abilities like heat vision, super hearing, and telescopic sight.
Though Zod shared the same name as General Zod, they were not related. Zod's full name was Heath Zod, while the general's was Dru-Zod.
They didn't look alike either. Heath Zod stood out among Kryptonians for his tall, handsome appearance. Standing at about 1.9 meters, with muscles sculpted like those of ancient Greek statues, he wasn't quite as built as Henry Cavill, but his Kryptonian physique was more than impressive.
When Zod first reincarnated as a newborn on Krypton, he faced the planet's imminent destruction. Not wanting to perish, he rebelled multiple times, much like General Zod, and was suppressed for his defiance. Fortunately, Heath Zod had a good father who spared him from imprisonment in the Phantom Zone. Later, with the birth of Kal-El, Zod took a huge risk—he stole the Central Codex and infused its genetic material into his own body. As Krypton exploded, Zod was caught in the blast. Despite his efforts to resist, he was sucked into a wormhole and disappeared.
"I need to figure out where I am… I just hope it's not Gotham or Metropolis," Zod muttered.
Geography had never been his strong suit, and he often got lost, even in his hometown. Still, after walking a few times, he could usually remember his way.
Zod entered the farm, where a middle-aged man working among the corn quickly noticed him.
"Wait, who are you?" the man called out.
The farmer seemed ready to grab a gun but hesitated upon seeing Zod. Despite the strange black armor he wore, Zod looked human, so the man remained cautious rather than hostile.
After all, this was Texas. Just south of here lay the US-Mexico border, where smugglers, drug gangs, and other dangers lurked. The sparse population and lack of police presence made this area lawless.
"Sir, I'm lost. Could you tell me where I am?" Zod asked.
His armor, a high-tech Kryptonian battle suit, was naturally far superior to Earth's technology. In the original story, even newly arrived Kryptonians could hold their own against Clark Kent, who had been absorbing Earth's sun for years, thanks to this suit. Zod's own armor, created by his father, was made from super-strength alloys synthesized from various cosmic minerals. It could crush the armor worn by General Zod and his forces.
"This is the U.S.-Mexico border. If you're lost, I could call the police for you, though they might not bother to show up," the man replied, his voice gruff. His chest and abs were visible beneath his shirt, suggesting a life of hard work.
Zod frowned. He'd been away from Earth—or rather, Krypton—for too long and didn't recognize the area, but at least he understood English.
Through further conversation, Zod learned that the man's name was Shelley King Judley. A native of Washington, Judley had taken over his father's farm after losing his job to support his daughter's education.
"Texas, huh? Famous for… being Texas," Zod mused, his expression complicated. He had heard of this state. It was known for its high gun ownership rates and numerous gun stores. Houston, in particular, had its share of crime, with incidents of armed robberies being common.
Fortunately, Zod had his armor, so he wasn't too worried about safety. He deactivated his helmet after confirming that there was no immediate danger.
At first, he experienced the same sensory overload that General Zod had when arriving on Earth. Information flooded his brain, almost drowning him. It felt like he was on the verge of suffocation, but he quickly adapted.
It was a sensation he hoped to avoid in the future.
Judley didn't seem too keen on letting Zod stay, but after receiving a single punch that created a large crater in the ground, he changed his mind.
Zod took advantage of the situation to seize Judley's only means of communication with the outside world. Over the course of three days, he pieced together the basics of this world.
Had he been in a more urban area, Zod could have learned faster, but this remote location slowed things down.
It became clear that Zod wasn't in the DC Universe.
Anyone familiar with Marvel would recognize Stark Industries. Zod did, too. He also learned of Osborne Industries and others.
Tony Stark, the maddening genius and playboy, had recently made headlines for his latest escapades with models—twin sisters, no less. Seeing Stark's face plastered on magazine covers surprised Zod, as these weren't details he remembered from the movies.