All noise seemed to cease at this moment.
In the distance, the sun rose, and its golden light sprinkled over the scorched earth, as if draping a soft veil over this desolate land. The mountains that once touched the clouds were long gone, the suburban area, spanning hundreds of kilometers, was now only a pockmarked surface, looking as barren as if it had been purged by a nuclear blast.
The remnants of Doomsday.
After the repeated spiritual corrosion by two "big shots," it had completely lost all signs of life. Its body fractured and disintegrated in the wind, turning into dust that scattered away.
As if it had never existed.
The world seemed to return to its former peace and tranquility. However, Clark Kent, standing amidst the ruins and looking at the scorched earth, felt no ease in his heart.
Beside him.
Injustice Superman stood quietly.
There was no struggle, no resistance.
The man merely raised his crossed hands, like a prisoner awaiting judgment. The sunlight passed through the hole in his chest, casting a crooked "S" on the ground.
It seemed to imply his life had gone astray long ago.
"Come on." Injustice Superman did not comment on Clark's earlier statement about the name of Superman. However, he appeared very composed about the reality of having lost most of his power.
"Where should I go? The Red Sun Prison?" He was also once a Superman with benevolence, so he knew how Clark would handle him if he didn't kill him.
"You'll have to worry about me escaping, so I suggest giving me a Kryptonite coffin to prevent me from rising from the dead." His tone was cold, not mocking, but genuinely offering advice to Clark.
This guy was attempting to make Superman do what he himself had once done: kill another Superman.
To this, Clark merely shook his head, his cape gently fluttering in the breeze. "You need atonement, but not here with us. It should be in the universes you have harmed."
Although Injustice Superman coveted Clark's wife and children.
And even almost killed Clark earlier.
Clark still genuinely felt that Injustice Superman might be redeemable.
He had no right to decide how this parallel universe's self should atone. After all, after Injustice Superman arrived in this universe, it seemed all his actions only resulted in the death of a tyrannical Aquaman teammate from the Supreme Alliance.
"Tsk tsk."
Injustice Superman sneered and shook his head upon hearing this.
"Excessive mercy is—"
He was immediately cut off by Clark.
"—pathetic stupidity." Clark directly supplied the latter half of the sentence, then sighed heavily. "Does it seem like every universe's Luthor loves to use that taunt?"
He felt Injustice Superman must have just overheard it.
However.
"Not at all."
Injustice Superman showed a cold smile.
"You know, I wasn't that strong in the beginning, but... I still beat many Supermen and carved that sentence on their gravestones."
"Clark, mercy only leaves hidden dangers, dangers that will make you regret it bitterly. Mother Mary in multiple universes also died because of her kindness and goodness."
Injustice Superman spoke with a detached voice.
He turned and looked at Jordan and Lois.
It was like he was advising Clark.
But also like he was lashing out at his own heart, uncovering the trauma he had once suffered.
"You should probably talk less about Jesus and the whole God family." Clark was also trying to advise him, speaking from the heart, and he immediately changed the subject.
"So, will you go to atone?"
Clark stared into the cold eyes of his other self.
His gaze was burning.
"That's not up to me." Injustice Superman did not avoid the stare. He just pulled his mouth into a slight twitch and pouted, his tone carrying a sense of casual indifference.
"There will only be one Superman in the Supreme Alliance—the strongest one. If a loser doesn't die, I think the ending they have to face will be more cruel than death."
He was only guessing, but his tone was very certain.
"Hmm? You'll face a more cruel fate... So, who is your leader?" Clark frowned, asking the key question he hadn't had time to ask before.
"Are you sure you want the answer to that question?" Injustice Superman looked directly into Clark's eyes. "If I tell you the answer, you will lose the right to deal with me."
He was clearly wary of something.
And also hinting.
Someone else had left a mark on him to prevent him from spreading certain information outside.
"I have to know who the enemy is, don't I?" Clark considered it, then nodded. "Besides, as I already expressed to you just now."
"The person who has the right to deal with you is not me." The DC world does indeed have a Mother Mary figure, and that is Superman, or rather, it is this extremely pure benevolence, considered "poison" in web novels, that built his popularity.
It wasn't just because of his formidable strength.
After all.
There are countless beings far more powerful than Superman in most stories.
God of the People.
The words "of the People" always come first.
"Will you still stick to your saintly principles?" Injustice Superman was silent for a long time, just quietly watching Clark, a hint of fear and helplessness showing in his eyes.
"You have proven that you are stronger than me. He will come looking for you when he needs you to become the Supreme Superman." This sentence felt more like a warning.
"Who is he?" Clark pressed.
Injustice Superman frowned and gritted his teeth, seemingly resisting some invisible force. He shook his head, as if something inside was tugging at his consciousness.
Just as Clark prepared to step forward to check his condition.
"Beware the Batman Who Laughs."
Injustice Superman suddenly warned in a serious voice.
No.
It should be called a warning.
Before the words were finished, the air began to ripple and twist, and black chains materialized out of thin air, wrapping around Injustice Superman's body.
"Buzz buzz buzz—"
Clark immediately unleashed his super-enhanced heat vision, trying to sever the chains. But the moment the heat vision touched the chains, it was directly swallowed and absorbed by them.
It didn't even spark.
"It's useless."
Injustice Superman spoke with difficulty, his voice sounding like it came from a great distance. "Though you have proven yourself... that person is too strong for both you and me."
"He is different from us... he didn't resist the invasion of an outer universe..." Injustice Superman's body began to be pulled by the chains, little by little, detaching from real space.
"That person, conversely, invaded and absorbed the outer universe that tried to manipulate him, the outer universe that had yet to be destroyed." Injustice Superman pointed to the distorted bat symbol on the chains.
Before the words were finished.
His figure completely vanished into the air.
Leaving behind only a few wisps of black energy residual slowly dissipating. Clark's heat vision gradually extinguished, the red light fading from his eyes, replaced by deep alarm.
"Bruce?"
He had of course realized what Injustice Superman was hinting at.
The leader of the Supreme Alliance.
Was a certain parallel universe's Batman.
It was reasonable.
But also incredibly hard to believe.
"The Batman Who Laughs..."
Clark was still pondering the information Injustice Superman had left behind. Space returned to calm, only the residual energy fluctuations in the air still recounted everything that had just transpired.
Just then.
"Is it over?"
Jordan, covered in mud, holding his mother, who had fainted from the ancient god's pressure, approached. Clark took Lois from him and turned to look in the direction where Injustice Superman had disappeared.
"Perhaps... it's just the beginning."
He whispered.
A strong sense of unease surged in his heart.
The Supreme Alliance.
Multiversal hunting.
Every single thing made him feel deeply worried.
"Huh?" Jordan was stunned, his face a picture of misery. He looked around at the horrific environment and felt exhausted. "But I just want to go home and sleep now."
The second brother was truly exhausted.
He hadn't slept all night.
And he had experienced the arrival of an ancient god, Supermen fighting, and brothers fighting each other... What? Why were the brothers fighting each other? Of course, after Mom fainted, everyone wanted to be the child Mom loved the most.
Jordan couldn't beat Ian, but Ian had other things to do. Plus, the second brother, who hadn't self-studied psychology, didn't realize that Mom would only love the child she saw most when she opened her eyes.
Ian played a small trick.
However.
It was completely normal.
The struggle between the 'crown princes' was always like this.
"A lot happened today, indeed. You look very tired... We'll go home first. Where is Ian?" Clark said, looking up at the sky.
There.
His youngest son was talking to a man who looked quite aloof.
Ian was giving a scientific explanation.
"Psoriasis, medically known as Silver Psoriasis, is a persistent and chronic skin disease that is difficult to shake off. It is very stubborn, and currently, there is no effective cure in the medical community."
"Although drugs and treatments can control the condition, they cannot completely eliminate the cause, and improper treatment may worsen the condition, further increasing the difficulty of a cure."
Ian was teaching Morpheus what psoriasis was.
In short.
He was the psoriasis.
"You think you repaid my favor, but you didn't. I just explained the principle to you. While the favor appears repaid, it actually increased the debt you owe me."
Ian's frankness made Morpheus, the God of Dreams, silent.
"You're taking advantage of the fact that I only recovered my Ruby, and my memory is still incomplete, so my cognition isn't clear, right?" Morpheus held one of his three sacred objects of the Sandman in his hand.
The Sandman Ruby.
It was filled with the collected magic power of the God of Dreams.
It possessed powerful magic.
It could grant wishes.
And it could also display great power at critical moments—for instance, forcing the soon-to-awaken Kryptonian ancient god, the ancient sun god Rao, back into slumber. This was different from the sand in the Sandman's pouch, which induced peaceful sleep.
Forcing him back into slumber was the key.
He was indeed subconsciously taking revenge.
"No, actually, your cognition is very clear. You didn't believe me when I said this was my stolen Ruby just now." Ian's honesty still came from the heart.
"..."
Morpheus, who was already a man of few words, looked even more taciturn.
"Seriously, you've only repaid the interest on one favor at best. If you don't admit that, it proves you think your life isn't as valuable as the Kryptonian ancient god's life."
Ian increased the intensity.
He fiercely sucked on the golden-red soul curled up in his arms—wisp after wisp of soul dust drilled into his mouth. It was like jelly, tasting superb while also bringing experience points.
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +34]
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +48]
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +29]
...
Joy.
Pure joy.
Ian felt his life was full of light and hope.
"Truly worthy of being a sun god like me. Burning himself to illuminate me." He looked at the soul curled up and sleeping in his hand and spoke with heartfelt emotion.
"..."
Morpheus was still speechless at this time.
Staring at the boy in front of him, who was hard to describe but somehow felt a little familiar, he deliberated for a moment. Finally, he spoke with a somewhat pleading tone.
"My pouch has fallen into the hands of a certain demon hunter again, but this demon hunter has hidden the item." Morpheus was confused about why he used the word 'again.'
However.
He didn't think for too long. "If you can help me find the exact location, I will..."
Morpheus hadn't finished speaking.
"Will you call me Dad?"
Ian's eyes immediately lit up, and he seized the conversation—he was still thinking about his unfulfilled great work. There shouldn't be a goal that Lord Ian couldn't achieve in this world.
To be a good Evil God.
One must not rest until the goal is achieved.
If he didn't have this determination, he might as well become an orthodox god and be lazy.
"????????" Morpheus took a few deep breaths, managing to steady his emotions. "No, I will just admit to owing you another favor!"
His tone was full of emphasis.
"Ten favors."
Ian was a bit disappointed, so he demanded an exorbitant price. "You have no idea how deep the water is behind this matter, or how many difficulties and obstacles I'll have to overcome to investigate it for you."
This was like a furniture seller talking about the quality of his materials—a very common tactic to raise the price, which couldn't fool anyone—unfortunately, Morpheus was not a person.
"How deep is the water?"
Morpheus looked serious, immediately showing a worried expression. He must have imagined countless scenarios in his mind, wondering how many reasons there were to target him.
"Very deep, very deep."
Ian lowered his voice.
He didn't actually know where the Dream God's pouch was yet, but that didn't stop him from pretending to know. He couldn't help it, he had just claimed to be Ian the Omniscient.
"I feel like you're lying to me."
Morpheus was still cautious.
"You are the God of Dreams, the Lord of Dreams. If I dare to lie to you today, you'll make me have nightmares tomorrow. What would I gain?" Ian was well prepared for this situation.
Morpheus looked deeply at him.
"Two favors."
In the end.
The Lord of Dreams relented.
"Three."
Ian, however, pressed his advantage.
"Fine."
Morpheus did not hesitate.
His artifact was indeed very important to him. Compared to that, three favors were not that expensive—poor Morpheus did not know what Ian was thinking at this moment.
"One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things! This means the favors the God of Dreams owes me will never be repaid!" He always had a unique understanding and interpretation of the rationality of usury.
The soul of a perfectly good Kryptonian ancient god.
Ian seemed to be treating it as a Kryptonian vape right now. This was a temporary necessity. Ian didn't like smoking, so he planned to brew this soul into tea when he got home.
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +23]
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +45]
[Entropy Extinction Lord Experience +33]
...
Ian continued to gain job experience.
At the same time.
"Please help me find my pouch as soon as possible. Such a thing falling into the hands of a mortal is not a blessing, but a disaster." Morpheus did not seem to fully understand what psoriasis was yet.
The dark cloak slightly fluttered in the morning breeze.
His gaze extended into the distance.
As if penetrating the boundary between reality and dream.
"Okay, okay, task guaranteed." Ian had the Universal Navigation Book, so this was not a difficult task for him, and he agreed readily.
Seeing the deal struck.
Morpheus also nodded.
He took one last look at the soul curled up and sleeping in Ian's hand.
He did not ask for it back.
"I still need to find another thing I've lost. You all also have a lot of mess to clean up. Farewell." Morpheus left without the slightest hesitation. In a second, his figure began to blur, like a bubble of nothingness blown away by the wind, gradually disappearing into the rising sun.
The god who suddenly appeared had come.
And then left.
The air was silent.
Ian slowly landed in front of his family.
He patted himself down, dusting off non-existent dirt.
"Who was that person?" Clark frowned, looking at the spot where Morpheus had disappeared. Just as he had told Injustice Superman earlier, he didn't know all the strange beings Ian was acquainted with.
The only thing Clark could be sure of was that the person was terrifying. Even though he was dozens of times stronger than before, he could still feel a terrifying pressure from Morpheus, the God of Dreams.
That was the being who had solved the new Doomsday crisis in a single move—under Clark's strange gaze, Ian kneaded the golden soul into a ball and tucked it into his pants pocket.
This was a treasure.
It needed careful storage.
If his underwear had a seam, he'd want to put it in the underwear seam.
"Just like Mistress Death... merely an old acquaintance. I burdened him with a favor he can never repay in his lifetime." Ian pretended to be profound, trying to elevate his prestige.
However.
"Oh."
Clark wasn't overly curious. He reached out and grabbed the back of Ian's neck. Then, he ignored Ian's protests and flew into the sky with his youngest son and his wife.
"I can fly myself! I fly faster than Jordan!" Ian flapped like a cat whose scruff had been grabbed, but Clark had no intention of letting go to let him fly behind with Jordan.
"I'm afraid you'll run off."
No one knows a son better than his father.
Clark was sure that the moment he let go, Ian would disappear on the horizon. Therefore, he had to personally take action, flying towards the city with this troublesome youngest son.
Jordan followed closely.
After the previous intense storm and air current training.
He flew very steadily.
Soon.
The four people returned to Metropolis.
The city was already scarred.
The destruction caused by the small Doomsday far exceeded expectations. Streets were broken, buildings had collapsed, traffic was paralyzed, and electricity was out. Many residents were homeless, curled up in the ruins, waiting for rescue.
But hope was not extinguished.
The members of the Justice League were organizing reconstruction efforts.
Cyborg commanded robots to clear the wreckage, the recovered Flash zipped around transporting supplies, and Aquaman and his wife were assisting with drainage and repairing the water supply system.
Wonder Woman, meanwhile, was calming the public's emotions.
"We should lend a hand too."
Superman slowly landed.
Just as he put Ian down.
He saw his youngest son put a garbage can over Lois's head.
Rigorous.
No need for words.
Jordan also silently put a Walmart plastic bag over his own head. Seeing their parents return, Jonathan, who emerged from the Hellcat car, also didn't want to look out of place as the eldest brother of the family.
"I'm glad you're all okay. Has the problem been solved?" Jonathan chose a mask for himself. He was indeed the most normal person in this family so far.
However.
The pile of deity statues hanging on his body made his father's eye twitch uncontrollably—Jonathan was completely unfazed by this. Only he understood his own situation.
His prayers.
Seemed to have always been useful.
"Clark, give me a hand. There are people trapped under the building here." Wonder Woman suddenly spoke, bringing Clark back from his family turmoil.
"Mm."
He immediately flew over.
With his super bio-force field, Superman didn't have to worry about people seeing his face.
With just a gentle lift.
The two-story broken building was raised into the air. Not even the steel bars on the verge of snapping bent, and not a speck of dust fell from the fractured building.
"Bio-force field."
Ian looked on with envy.
"I pulled the stars from the sky just to light your way,"
"Fought the demons alone while you slept all day."
...
Rock music blared from the Hellcat.
Clearly, it was trying to claim credit.
"I'll take you for a drink of something good." Ian seemed to have an idea and darted into his little car. By the time he disappeared around the street corner, Jordan had also joined the rescue work.
"It's Walmart Plastic Bag Superman!"
The school bully student he had saved earlier now seemed to be his little fanboy. Jonathan was also helping out, assisting injured citizens along with his gradually waking mother.
He even helped an old man find his lost child.
This was also very meaningful.
A hero never looks just one way.
There is never a big or small difference in the act of helping others—Lois encouraged the only child in the family without superpowers. She was still a bit weak and needed Jonathan's support to move around.
But that didn't stop her from helping everyone in her own way.
Journalists are masters of the art of language.
She knew exactly what kind of comfort people needed right now.
Not only were there the Superheroes, but there were also groups of ordinary people who spontaneously organized rescue efforts. The trauma of the disaster had not yet healed, but people had already begun to rebuild their homes.
The Justice League heroes were still busy.
And ordinary people certainly wouldn't just sit and wait for the heroes to do all the work.
Inside the collapsed houses.
People were constantly being rescued.
The sun was now fully up.
As if with the arrival of the morning.
Hope filled the world again.
After hours of relentless work, everyone worked together and finally managed to temporarily clear most of the wreckage, rescuing those who were trapped underground or pinned down.
Emergency rescue.
The casualty figures were not large.
Superman's enhanced bio-force field probably deserved the greatest credit.
"Where is Ian?" Lois had been busy for most of the day, walking several blocks, helping to distribute emergency food that the Wayne Group had urgently mobilized from various places.
When she rested, she finally realized why she kept feeling like something was missing. The old mother saw Walmart Superman, saw the kind mask man, but didn't see the tights-wearing Superman—Ian.
"Uh."
Superman had just cleared a large section of the street, holding up a collapsed eighteen-story building, preparing to discard it. He quickly looked around when he heard her question.
"Sure enough, he ran off again."
Clark's tone was filled with a hint of helplessness.
"He got ahead of the military, recovered the remaining clones, and ate all the remnants of Luthor's underground cloning base." He intentionally lowered his voice.
Fortunately, no one was around.
"Very rigorous."
Lois breathed a sigh of relief.
She even praised her youngest son.
At least Ian wasn't out causing trouble again.
"Rigorous? Maybe. He's currently adding transmission fluid to his little car, using the clones' blood, mumbling that his little car is becoming more like a member of the family."
Clark's super-hearing was working.
But he didn't want it to work.
The father was holding up a building with one hand, and frantically rubbing his temples with the other.
"That car protected Jonathan! It's already family!" Lois had clearly had a small drink to calm her nerves. Her words made Clark speechless.
"Indeed."
After thinking about it.
Clark still agreed with Lois's statement.
"Wait! He's set off again! Destination..." Just as he was about to get back to work, his eyes suddenly narrowed as if he saw something.
"Where is Ian?"
Wonder Woman happened to pass by at that moment.
She hadn't seen Ian's figure all day, so she had a bold and reasonable guess. "Did our immortal boy take advantage of your inattention to sneak out and feast on Doomsday?"
This was not a joke.
Wonder Woman was very seriously trying to figure out Ian's behavior pattern. She had been in the city rescuing people during the final phase, so she hadn't seen Doomsday's death.
"No, he sneaked into Luthor's new factory and is currently eating and drinking freely, taking what he wants."
Superman couldn't help but sigh. Even he didn't know how to judge Ian's action of using his incredibly strong digestive ability to destroy evil chemical agents.
"Zero-dollar shopping?!"
Aquaman, who was moving a broken car, also passed by and his eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief. He was a super-rare subspecies, but even he had never experienced zero-dollar shopping.
Mera, the Queen of Atlantis, was also extremely envious.
Because she had to stay home with the children.
She hadn't even been to the supermarket many times.
Let alone experiencing this "surface people's special activity."
"Tsk tsk, what a worry-inducing fellow. I'm glad I don't have children." Wonder Woman felt somewhat fortunate upon hearing this, and then she saw the invincible Superman turn his head to look at her with a blank face.
"Ahem."
Wonder Woman was very awkward.
"I'll go find that little rascal for you."
She volunteered.
She leaped into the sky.
She unfolded her flight ability and flew towards the outskirts of the city.
About ten minutes later.
Or maybe fifteen minutes.
The final result was twenty minutes.
Wonder Woman finally returned, after the successive changing of speculation from the other heroes. She had indeed found Ian, but Ian was currently bound by her glowing Lasso of Truth.
The little car kept tailgating her, bumping her rear.
Of course.
This was not a big deal.
The thing that made Wonder Woman look most distressed was that her body, including her face, had traces of shoe prints. Clearly, she had just gone through a very intense tug-of-war with Ian.
"What happened?"
Lois stepped forward, completely confused.
"Damn it! Why is your son so much stronger than last night!! I couldn't drag him away at all! He almost kicked me with four legs! Good heavens! Those were Speed Force Undead legs!"
Diana was still shaken.
After landing with Ian, she was violently bumped on the waist by the little car again. The annoyed Wonder Woman turned to glare fiercely, only to see the little car charging towards her stomach again.
"Stop! Tell your car to stop!"
Diana shouted.
Dodging.
As if she were in combat.
"Ian is the MVP, Aunt Diana is not only a free-riding dog but also stopped Ian from looting the dungeon's treasure chest." Ian, who was bound, did not change his expression.
He mechanically spat out the sentence with no emotional fluctuation.
It wasn't until Lois spoke that Diana avoided being continuously rear-ended in public by a little car.
She certainly wouldn't be hurt.
But it was very humiliating.
"Ian is the MVP, Aunt Diana is not only a free-riding dog but also stopped Ian from looting the dungeon's treasure chest."
As he spoke.
Ian grew another mimicry spider leg and poured a bottle of potion into his mouth with it—he was being merciful. If he were to actually kick, he had collected more than four legs.
"Gulp gulp gulp gulp~"
Ian drank it all in one go.
[Savage Tyrant Experience +11]
[Savage Tyrant Experience +9]
[Savage Tyrant Experience +9]
...
The chemical drugs Luthor used for biological enhancement experiments were clearly inferior to those of the Gotham lunatic's.
The effect was diminishing.
It was normal.
After all, he had over a dozen military backpacks strapped to him.
Half of them were already empty.
[Savage Tyrant Lv10 (4145/5120)]
The gold content of Luthor's dozen factories was only so much. What annoyed Ian was that he still had over a dozen factories he hadn't investigated yet—the Justice League old fogeys actually finished the dungeon and didn't loot the treasure chest!
And they wouldn't let him loot it!
Was Wonder Woman, that old hag, even a normal person?
Unreasonable!
"Ian is the MVP, Aunt Diana is not only a free-riding dog but also stopped Ian from looting the dungeon's treasure chest." The more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and Ian once again became a repeater.
"Can you stop repeating that sentence! You've said it over three hundred times!"
Diana was frantic.
The response she received was still: "Ian is the MVP."
Diana was extremely frantic.
In the distance.
Lois was comforting the little car.
Wonder Woman looked left and right, unable to find Superman. She couldn't find anyone to help deal with Ian, and she was already regretting why she had volunteered to catch this kid.
"Ian is the MVP, Aunt Diana is not only a free-riding dog but also stopped Ian from looting the dungeon's treasure chest." Just as Ian repeated the sentence again, making Wonder Woman grab her hair in frustration.
"Uh... Diana." Aquaman's wife, Mera, who had been observing for a long time, couldn't help but speak up. "It's clearly not normal for this Superman boy to keep saying the same thing."
"Could it be because of your lasso?" As someone who valued appearances, she felt that this handsome young man must have a hidden reason. Moreover, she knew Ian had saved her and Aquaman once.
"Yes, that's exactly the reason," Ian's expression suddenly changed, and he flashed a brilliant smile at Mera. "Aunt Mera, you are so kind, you look very understanding."
"I apologize for maliciously speculating about you before."
The boy's words made the Sea Queen slightly stunned.
"Malicious speculation?"
She looked bewildered, her expression utterly confused.
"You guys don't actually believe his nonsense, do you? His statement just now that 'that's exactly the reason' was a lie!" Diana was so angry she felt she had demigod high blood pressure.
"The Lasso of Truth doesn't work on him at all! When I first tied him up, he even said I was his favorite in the Justice League! When I said I was taking him away, he changed his expression! He flips out faster than any villain I've ever met!"
Speaking of villains.
Diana seemed to recall something.
"Could you be Zeus in disguise? Intentionally messing with my head?" Wonder Woman was clearly agitated and indeed suffering from high blood pressure. She tried to grab Ian's face, but Ian dodged.
"Hmm? If I were Zeus, would you dare to tie me up with this thing? That would be utterly impious! Wait, I guess I could also be Zeus." Ian backstepped and jumped back, immediately leaping eight hundred meters away with the Lasso of Truth still wrapped around him.
"..."
Wonder Woman stood with her hands on her hips.
Gritting her teeth.
"Clark!"
She yelled.
In the distance.
Jordan and Jonathan watched the scene in silence.
Jonathan was marveling at Ian's jumping ability.
Jordan, however, was deep in thought.
"The stuff Ian is drinking... seems to be enhancement potions..."
Jordan stared at the military backpacks on his younger brother Ian's back. They jingled, and he knew Ian must have snagged some technology and powerful stuff from some lab again.
"Dad said normal people can't drink it, they'd die instantly."
Jonathan turned to look at Jordan.
He didn't quite understand what Jordan was thinking.
"You want to drink it?"
He was worried that his second brother was sinking into the pursuit of power.
However.
The elder brother was overthinking it a bit.
"Say... can Kryptonian blood also enhance ordinary people? If I were to sell blood, shouldn't it sell for more than normal people's blood?"
The second brother always had his own unique perspective.
"????"
Jonathan was completely dumbfounded.
"You're going to sell blood?"
His brow furrowed immediately after he snapped back to reality.
"No, no, no." Jordan waved his hands. "I want to sell something else, something similar to blood, but more expensive... Mm, the market price I know is much higher than blood, and I just want to grab a little and run."
He stammered.
His words were vague.
They were family.
Jonathan knew exactly what Jordan was planning to sell.
"Are you crazy?"
He widened his eyes.
He genuinely felt that Jordan's way of thinking was sometimes more bizarre than Ian's.
"No... Sigh, you wouldn't understand. I'm broke." Jordan truly looked like he was impoverished to the point of desperation. Jonathan kindly advised him and offered to provide some financial assistance.
Only then did Jordan give up the idea of selling his "sons and grandsons."
Just then.
"What are you two talking about?"
Clark landed with a dark expression.
This was the most severely damaged wreckage, and there were no residents left here.
The survivors had all been properly settled.
Thanks to the Wayne Group.
And the belated, more high-profile rescue efforts of the Queen Group. The two corporations were competing in charitable acts, so the disaster victims were all settled into the cleared areas immediately.
There were many temporary tents there.
"Talking about what? We weren't talking about anything? Absolutely nothing at all." Jordan immediately adopted an "I didn't do anything" expression when he saw his father approaching.
He tried to change the subject.
"I just saw Ian's situation and was a bit curious... If ordinary people drink your blood, or anything else, can they get stronger too?"
Jordan and Jonathan both looked at Clark.
Clark was momentarily stunned.
His brow slightly furrowed.
His gaze swept back and forth between his two sons.
"No."
He answered very definitively.
Jordan was persistent. "How do you know?"
This time, Clark's expression clearly stiffened. His eyes drifted slightly, and the corner of his mouth twitched. After a few seconds of silence, he displayed his authority as a stern father.
"Hurry up and get back to work!"
Clark was trying to cover up the fact that he had also gone through such a phase.
And also.
He was covering up the experiments he and Lois had conducted.
"..."
Jordan and Jonathan were not as smart as Ian and didn't realize the implication. They were intimidated by Clark's raised voice and quickly turned around to resume clearing the wreckage.
In the end.
Wonder Woman still failed to catch Ian, but she retrieved her Lasso of Truth. Ian also finished his important business and threw himself into family charity work.
"I heard you saved my wife and me earlier. Thank you." Aquaman Arthur was shoveling wreckage with Ian. He felt the atmosphere was a bit awkward, so he initiated a conversation.
"You're welcome, Uncle Arthur. Just remember that you owe me over a thousand favors. I saved you and Aunt Mera, which means your children and grandchildren were able to be born and thrive because of me."
Ian was also working hard.
He maintained his politeness.
However.
His response clearly had the feel of a conversation-ender.
"Uh..."
Aquaman Arthur's personality clearly couldn't handle a kid like this. He awkwardly cleared his throat twice. "Actually, my wife and I already have a beautiful son."
"He's in school today... Maybe you two can play together sometime in the future?" Aquaman Arthur still held a good impression of the boy who saved his and Mera's life.
He also really wanted to improve his relationship with Superman's family.
"Hahaha, Arthur, that's the way to do it. Yes, let him take your son out to play for a few days." Wonder Woman passed by and overheard Aquaman Arthur's words.
So.
The demigoddess stopped carrying the abandoned bus, put it down, and gave Aquaman a thumbs-up before resuming her cleanup work.
Ian threw a stone at her.
He missed.
He was so angry that he stomped his foot.
"Doesn't that mean Arthur's son is all set for life?"
The Flash zipped past.
"???????"
Arthur was completely confused.
He hadn't had much contact with Ian yet.
So he couldn't grasp the meaning of the Flash's statement. Since the atmosphere was getting awkwardly silent again, Arthur cleared his throat again, wanting to break the deadlock.
"You know, I'm a fish man, I can talk to fish." He wasn't very skilled at communicating with children, so he brought up his most impressive ability.
Ian looked up at the burly man.
"I can, too."
He continued happily digging the ground.
"Really?"
Aquaman was a bit stunned, his expression gradually becoming shocked.
"Mm-hmm."
Ian nodded.
He was clearly talking to fish right now, so how could he not have this kind of special ability? Even if he didn't, he had to have it. Lord Evil God couldn't admit to any shortcomings.
"Then we can exchange experiences."
Arthur was interested.
Arthur spoke.
Ian made things up.
Arthur spoke again.
Ian again exercised his writer's skill.
Aquaman and Ian got along quite well.
This rescue effort.
Continued until nightfall.
The entire city hadn't been fully restored in a single day, but the Superheroes had done everything they could. The remaining post-disaster reconstruction work was the responsibility of the government and the Wayne Group.
The Wayne Group would bear the full financial cost of the reconstruction.
This time, Green Arrow's Queen Group didn't dare to compete. They only stated that they would aid with building materials and ensure that Metropolis had sufficient food and supplies during this time.
The Kent family could finally go home.
The others as well.
Wonder Woman finished her exhausting day and returned to her city. She took a bath, preparing for a good rest. However, her phone rang at that moment.
"Hello~ Hello~ Can you hear me?"
It was Batman's deep voice.
Diana thought it was an emergency and sat up.
However.
All she could hear was.
"Diana, I figured it out. Ian is indeed the MVP, and you really are a free-rider... I won't include that other word after it. As Batman, I always have good manners."
Batman's voice, as always, carried an extremely low, bassy effect.
His tone inexplicably made Diana's blood pressure spike again.
She didn't understand.
Why was he calling her on Bruce's phone number?
Had he eaten Bruce too?
***
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