"Do not!!!"
Zod fell to his knees, as if the Terminator had appeared before him. It took a long time before he could react again.
"I am this, have I crossed again?"
Zod looked around in confusion, seeing a vast desert and, in the distance, a patch of green. It was a farm, with rows of corn stretching across the land, a large green area under the sun.
"Here, is this Earth?"
Zod's reaction was immediate when he saw the corn. Had he somehow arrived on Earth? But according to the timeline, Clark Kent—Superman—should already be grown up by now. Zod, a Kryptonian, had crossed over and remained a Kryptonian. The realization that he was still a Kryptonian filled him with an almost mad excitement.
This was the super race of Krypton, a species with unparalleled abilities! Kryptonians possess powers such as super strength, super endurance, super speed, heightened senses, flight, invulnerability, heat vision, freeze breath, and rapid healing. Their genetic structure is incredibly adaptable, with an upper limit so high that they are nearly invincible.
The lighter gravity of Earth and the yellow sun's radiation grant Kryptonians extraordinary powers. Solar radiation fills their cells with energy, enhancing their muscle strength and amplifying their senses. Their powers stem from the vast amounts of stored solar energy, which also grants them abilities like thermal vision, super hearing, and telescopic vision.
Although Zod shares his name with General Zod, they are not the same person. Zod's full name is Heath Zod, while General Zod's full name is Dru-Zod. The two look different as well. Heath Zod is tall and handsome among Kryptonians, standing at about 1.9 meters tall. His muscular physique is as perfect as an ancient Greek sculpture, though not as bulky as Henry Cavill's portrayal of Superman. Still, as a Kryptonian, his body is as strong as steel.
When Zod first crossed over and became a newborn on Krypton, he faced the imminent destruction of his home planet. Determined not to perish, he tried to break the rules multiple times, much like General Zod, but was suppressed. Fortunately, Zod had a powerful father who prevented him from being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. When Kal-El (Superman) was born, Zod risked stealing the central treasure of Krypton and injected it into his body. As Krypton exploded, Zod was caught in the blast and seemingly thrown into a wormhole, disappearing from existence.
"Now I need to figure out where I am. I hope it's not Gotham City or Metropolis."
Zod was confused about Earth's geography. He wasn't the type to get lost easily, but he wasn't familiar with foreign cities either. As he wandered into the farm, a middle-aged white man working in the cornfield spotted him.
"Wait, who are you!"
The man reached for his gun but froze when he saw Zod's appearance. Despite the strange black armor Zod wore, he looked like a tall, handsome white man, which made the farmer wary but not immediately hostile. After all, this was Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border, a region known for its lawlessness and frequent encounters with smugglers and gangs.
"Sir, I'm lost. May I ask where this is?"
Zod's armor was a high-tech Kryptonian battle suit, far superior to anything on Earth. In the original DC storyline, Kryptonians who arrived on Earth were able to match Clark Kent's strength, thanks to their advanced technology. Zod's armor, crafted by his father using super-strong alloys from cosmic minerals, was even more powerful than General Zod's.
"This is near the U.S.-Mexico border. If you're lost, I can call the police, but they might not come out here."
The middle-aged man, who introduced himself as Shelley King Judley, explained that he was a farmer from Washington who had moved to this remote area after losing his job. He took over his father's farm to support his daughter's education.
"Texas, is famous for its guns and chaos."
Zod knew Texas was a dangerous place, with high gun ownership and frequent crime. Houston's crime rate was among the highest in the U.S., and the U.S.-Mexico border was even more lawless. Fortunately, Zod's armor made him nearly invulnerable, so he wasn't worried about his safety. He removed his helmet once he felt secure.
At first, Zod experienced the same sensory overload that General Zod had when he arrived on Earth. The flood of information was overwhelming, like being submerged in an ocean. But Zod quickly adapted, though he never wanted to experience that discomfort again.
Judley initially objected to Zod staying on his farm, but after Zod punched a massive hole in the ground, the farmer quickly changed his mind. Zod also took control of Judley's only means of communication with the outside world.
Within three days, Zod had figured out the basics of this world. The remote location made information scarce, but he learned enough to understand where he was. To confirm he was in the Marvel universe, he only needed to look for Stark Industries. And sure enough, he found news of Tony Stark, the genius playboy who had recently been photographed with a pair of young models.
"Maddening genius, playboy, and now he's sleeping with models? Tony Stark is exactly as arrogant as I've heard."
Zod was surprised by the cover of a magazine featuring Stark, mainly because he hadn't seen such details in the movies. He also noted the existence of Oscorp Industries, another key player in the Marvel universe.
With this information, Zod realized he was in a world where both DC and Marvel elements coexisted. His journey was just beginning.