Carol's head snapped backward from the rising uppercut.
Lucas twisted his waist again, driving his left elbow horizontally into her chest.
Before she could recover, he followed with a powerful kick that sent her flying—straight toward Mars.
Boom!
Carol crashed into the Martian surface like a falling meteor, the impact blasting a massive crater into the ground.
Enormous chunks of rock were hurled skyward, only to rain back down moments later.
Lucas flickered through space and appeared above Mars, hovering calmly as dust and smoke billowed from the crater below. He did not immediately attack.
"You—!"
The sandstorm suddenly churned as if stirred by an invisible hand, forming a violent vortex.
Within it, crackling arcs of energy spread outward. Wrapped in Binary energy, Carol rose slowly into the air.
Her disheveled hair and battered appearance made it obvious—Lucas's attacks had hit hard.
"You actually dared to do this to me!" Carol snarled, fury flooding her expression.
It had been a long, long time since anyone had beaten her down like this.
Years of overwhelming strength and uninterrupted victories had forged an unshakable arrogance—
and now Lucas had shattered it completely.
As her rage surged, Carol's Binary energy became unstable and violent.
Stones lifted from the ground, then shattered under bizarre energy distortions.
Cracks spread across the Martian surface, radiating outward from her feet.
But what Lucas noticed was something else entirely—
She was recklessly absorbing energy from the surrounding space, and the range was rapidly expanding.
"She's losing control," Lucas frowned slightly.
Yes, Carol's power was increasing—rapidly, even dangerously.
But her method was crude.
If she kept forcing energy into herself like this, the result would be inevitable:
Self-destruction.
"Tch… I still need to help Clark revive Lois. I don't have time to waste here."
Lucas surged forward.
At that moment, Carol's eyes flared with blinding light.
Her Binary energy had completely destabilized, forming raging energy storms that tore across the terrain.
The instant she saw Lucas, she swung her arm—
A massive energy whip lashed outward.
As it sliced across the Martian ground, solid rock melted like wax, carving a deep trench.
Lucas shook his head.
With a casual motion, he condensed energy into his right hand and swung.
In the next instant—
Carol's eyes widened in shock as the energy whip was cleanly split in two, dissolving into scattered particles that faded back into space.
The attack had looked terrifying—
But in reality, it was all flash and no substance.
Its energy density was far too low. Against Lucas's refined power, it was the difference between plastic and steel.
What happened next, however, completely caught Lucas off guard.
Carol suddenly stopped.
The violent Binary energy surrounding her rapidly stabilized, then withdrew back into her body.
The light in her eyes dimmed, returning to normal.
"This fight doesn't need to continue," Carol said calmly.
Lucas raised an eyebrow and powered down, exiting his Super Saiyan form.
"Giving up?" he asked.
Carol smiled faintly.
"No. I didn't lose. I just finally understood why I couldn't beat you."
"Oh?" Lucas sounded genuinely curious.
"Your control over energy is far beyond mine," Carol admitted honestly.
"So even though I have more total power—and even higher-quality energy—I still can't win."
Lucas nodded in mild surprise.
"Impressive. Not many people would realize that mid-fight."
"Now that I understand it," Carol continued, "there's no point humiliating myself further."
"And then?" Lucas prompted.
"We call a truce," Carol said without the slightest embarrassment.
"I'll improve my energy control. When I come back—then we fight again."
"So… you're admitting defeat?" Lucas shrugged.
"No!" Carol snapped.
"I didn't lose! This fight was unfair—we weren't on the same level!"
"That sounds like admitting you're weaker right now," Lucas replied casually.
"Which is basically the same thing."
"I never said that!" Carol growled.
"I'm postponing the battle to make it fair! Victory will be decided later!"
Lucas chuckled.
"Fine. Then what about the Space Stone?"
He raised his left hand, the Space Stone shimmering into view.
"Your strength is undeniable," Carol said after a pause.
"So you can keep it—for now."
"And Clark?" Lucas pressed.
Carol frowned, then replied,
"Have him publicly apologize to the people of Earth for the lives lost due to the Kryptonian conflict. Then I'll drop the issue."
"That's excessive," Lucas said evenly.
"Clark wasn't the root cause."
She hesitated.
"He still bears responsibility. At the very least, Earth deserves an apology."
"He's been protecting Earth nonstop," Lucas replied.
"In the time you were gone, he's saved countless lives."
Carol exhaled slowly.
"Then let him keep doing that—as compensation."
Lucas nodded and turned back toward Earth.
"Wait!" Carol suddenly called out.
Lucas glanced back.
"Another round?"
"No—catch."
She tossed something toward him.
Lucas caught it and opened his hand.
It was a thin, square metallic patch.
"This is a Kree bio-personal terminal," Carol explained.
"Stick it to your temple and you can operate it."
"…Meaning?" Lucas asked.
"If Earth is ever in danger, contact me directly," she said.
"It's real-time communication across vast interstellar distances."
"Why not give it to Nick Fury?" Lucas asked.
Carol smirked.
"Because our fight isn't over. I don't want to come back next time only to find you gone."
....
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