"Rachel! We have money now!"
After suppressing every urge to complain about Oliver Queen, Viktor returned with a bank card and some cash for daily expenses.
As for why he wanted to complain about Oliver Queen... He seemed to have a persona similar to Batman's, but this man didn't seem to care much about hiding his identity.
He only wore a mask and a hood, but both of his identities had the same little golden mustache, and their pupils were exactly the same.
Viktor carefully followed Green Arrow's instructions.
In the conference room at Queen Industries, Viktor told Oliver that Green Arrow had sent him to collect a payment.
Oliver's face lit up with understanding.
"I see now, you're a friend of Green Arrow."
He clasped his hands behind his back, walked to the large window, and spent nearly half an hour talking about Green Arrow.
He spoke about how brave and noble the hero was, about their deep friendship, and the way he described him could rival Shakespeare himself.
Even with all his patience, Viktor almost lost control. He nearly walked over, grabbed Oliver by the collar, and pulled out every hair from his small golden mustache as it wiggled whenever his lips moved.
Initially, Rachel merely glanced at the stacks of cash he brought back and gave a cold snort.
It wasn't until Viktor pulled out two newly bought phonesand a bank card that Rachel realized something was different.
She took the phone from his hand and turned it over curiously. Rachel, who had grown up in an inter-dimensional realm, found this very new and exciting.
After fiddling with the phone for a few minutes and getting the hang of some of its functions, Rachel's gaze landed on the bank card.
"How much money is on this card?"
"The phones are linked to this card. You can check it yourself."
Five minutes later, Rachel's surprised shout came from the escape pod on the cliff.
Even though she still had that blank expression, Rachel's eyes were starting to shine with excitement.
He quietly watched as Rachel slowly typed on the phone's keyboard, already making plans.
"Tomorrow morning, we're going to Metropolis. We're going shopping."
Raven muttered with excitement in her voice.
"First, we'll buy two large beds, so we won't have to keep sleeping in sleeping bags. Then we'll get some clothes. I can use magic to keep us clean, but your clothes are too worn out. Apart from your battle outfit, I don't even feel like fixing the other clothes with magic. And we'll need a wardrobe for those. A fryer, a skillet, a stove, and some seasonings. This way we can make fish in different flavors..."
"This escape pod has a constant temperature feature so there's no need to buy temperature control equipment."
Then, she studied him for a moment.
"Can I buy a dryer as well? I don't want to keep using magic to dry things."
Viktor shrugged and spread his hands.
"Buy whatever you want. Get a washing machine too. I'm not totally useless, you know. I didn't spend much time in school in Viltrum, but I can handle basic mechanical work."
He looked around the escape pod.
"This escape pod could be modified to include a seawater purification system, and its energy conversion into electricity is quite efficient."
He wasn't sure how Bruce did it, but not only did he fix this escape pod, he also made sure to refill its energy.
After noticing Rachel drifting back into her planning, Viktor pointed at the ceiling.
"You can buy all those things, but the space inside won't be enough."
Rachel paused for a few seconds, then her eyes lit up, and she started typing on the phone with awkward fingers.
"Then we can buy some wood, steel, adhesives, and glass..."
He was a bit confused.
"Why do we need to buy all this?"
"What for?"
Rachel rolled her eyes, as if the answer was obvious.
"I have magic, you have superpowers, and you can do some handiwork too. There's an empty beach right next to us. We can just build our own house."
She then happily continued typing away on the phone, and as she became more familiar with this human technology, her speed increased.
It took her a full half-minute before she suddenly realized how quiet it had become around her.
She looked up curiously and saw him, who was staring blankly like a piece of wood.
"Why did you stop talking all of a sudden?"
Viktor stared at Rachel, who was holding her phone.
She was sitting on the ground with her long, pale legs crossed, her gray hood draped loosely over her back, and her cloak spread out across the floor behind her.
Raven's light blue eyes sparkled, with a few strands of silvery-gray short hair scattered across her forehead.
Suddenly, Viktor snapped out of his daze.
Standing up a little awkwardly, Viktor turned and opened the escape pod door.
"I'm going outside to stretch my legs. If it gets too late, remember to go to bed first."
He jumped outside, and she heard the sound of water splashing.
Even though Viktor had been acting a little strange, Rachel quickly forgot about it.
The thought of going on a shopping spree tomorrow and fully experiencing the human world quickly pushed everything else out of her mind.
She looked back down at the phone and kept typing away.
The door of the escape pod stayed open, and the lights inside shone out, reflecting off the shimmering waves of the sea.
Viktor moved quickly yet aimlessly through the pitch-black ocean.
In fact, Viktor, who barely been in the water in both his lives, still relied primarily on his flight ability to move underwater.
The only difference was the heavy resistance of the sea.
As he continued to dive in a trance, Viktor's speed increased, and he was heading deeper and deeper into the ocean without realizing it.
A strong current swirled around him, and some innocent fish got tossed around, drifting in all directions by the flow.
'Dang it… I was single for sixteen years in my past life, and now I'm suddenly thinking about starting a family.'
'This is so wrong, it might be the hormones talking!'
Suddenly, a brilliant burst of color appeared ahead of him, snapping him back to reality.
After moving a few hundred meters more, an incredibly beautiful and glowing underwater city appeared in front of Viktor's eyes.
"Is this… Atlantis? How did I end up swimming all the way here?"
He glanced upward, but the depth of the water was so deep that not even a trace of starlight from the surface could be seen.
The powerful current he had created didn't go unnoticed.
Atlanteans were extremely sensitive to changes in the water, and the disturbance quickly drew attention.
Two guards armed with silver spears burst out of the transparent barrier surrounding Atlantis. Their expressions were tense as they swam straight toward him.
He squinted his eyes and suddenly remembered the two pearls that Aquaman gave him earlier.
After a few moments, everything happened very quickly.
Viktor grabbed the two guards by the backs of their collars. They let out startled shouts as he carried them straight through Atlantis's water barrier.
After feeling the salty, dense air fill his nose again, Viktor casually tossed the two guards aside.
He casually set the two shaken guards on the ground.
"Where's Aquaman? Tell him to come out. I need to talk to him."
By the time Viktor was pushing the small spacecraft back up to speed near Jupiter's orbital path, Cyborg's electronic eyes flickered to life again.
"Viktor's transmitter signal has synchronized with the frequency emitted by the ship. It looks like it's not an enemy."
The Justice League members all sighed in relief for a moment.
Then, Cyborg instinctively compared the negative space frequency coming from the spaceship against every known signal signature in the database.
Five minutes later, Viktor felt like his earpiece was buzzing with noise.
Since signals lose over such a huge distance in space, the sound in his earpiece was distorted by static and frequency interference.
"Damn! That's from Krypton—"
"Krypton?—Did he run into a bunch of Superman?"
"What if he's already been captured—"
"Contact Superman quickly!"
Batman frowned as he watched the noise in front of him.
Since Viktor flew toward the edge of the solar system for about four hours, a few members who had finished their tasks had arrived at the Watchtower.
This caused a bit of chaos.
They knew how powerful Superman was, but Superman's personality didn't decide whether Krypton was good or bad.
They still clearly remembered General Zod's arrival.
Batman approached Cyborg and quietly instructed him to activate the quantum communication signal.
"Viktor, are you okay? Answer me."
He slowed his flight speed slightly, removing one hand from the ship to activate the communicator hanging from his waist.
"What's going on? I still need about half an hour to get back. The spaceship's material is heavy, but judging by the scratches on the exterior, the internal structure might be damaged. I don't want to go too fast and risk it breaking apart."
Viktor's clear voice seemed to reassure the Justice League members.
After Batman asked him some questions, Viktor briefly described the appearance of the ship and the unconscious girl inside.
"I'm starting to really believe there are more alien refugees on Earth. This frequency is so high that it's like Earth is constantly emitting signals that attract other races. I heard someone mention Krypton. Is Superman still busy?"
As Viktor asked, Cyborg quickly brought up a live news broadcast on the screen showing Superman suppressing the volcanic eruption.
Superman, who had previously appeared calm and in control, now looked visibly anxious after receiving Cyborg's message.
Superman took a deep breath, his cheeks puffing up, then released a long stream of freezing air without worrying about the environment, leaving a massive artificial ice mountain in Hawaii, then shot off into space with a loud crash.
He didn't even glance at the Watchtower as he passed by.
Before reaching Mars' orbit, Viktor felt a flash in front of him, and then a large, familiar hand rested on his shoulder.
Superman's other hand carefully touched the outer shell of the ship, staring blankly at the girl inside the cabin, her face stained with tears.
This time, she wasn't an enemy, and it was one of his own people. The loneliness he had hidden deep in his heart for decades burst out.
"Thank you, Viktor."
Superma's suppressed emotion echoed in Viktor's ears.
"Oh, it was nothing..."
Before Vikto could finish, the same stars in front of him blurred just like last time.
In the blink of an eye, Superman gently set both him and the little spacecraft down on the bridge just outside the Watchtower.
The acceleration and deceleration were so intense, but as someone being flown, Viktor didn't feel the slightest bit dizzy.
Viktor had never been so envious of Superman's bio-field before.
"That ability is unbelievably useful."
The Watchtower was protected by an energy shield that kept the air breathable, and everyone simply stepped outside and gathered around Superman.
They crowded behind him with a mix of curiosity and concern on their faces, whispering to each other and guessing who the girl in the ship might be.
Diana placed a hand on Superman's arm.
Even Batman, rarely distracted, completely ignored Viktor and went over to the spaceship, pulling out his tools to carefully examine the ship with Cyborg and the young girl's condition inside.
Superman seemed to notice a symbol inside the spaceship through his x-ray vision.
"It's the same family crest. She… she's part of my family?"
The Flash was the first to react, quietly offering his congratulations to Superman, then quickly adding a long explanation, assuring everyone that the girl was harmless if she was really from Krypton.
Green Arrow suddenly looked up from the crowd and spotted Viktor.
Viktor stood quietly with his face showing no expression.
Green Arrow silently slipped away from the group and walked up to him.
"If this turns out to be as important as it looks, I'd like to personally add another two million dollars to your payment."
Viktor stayed silent for a moment.
He rubbed his chin and looked at Batman's back as he carefully checked the girl's vital signs. A slow smile appeared on his face.
"There's no need for the extra... If I completely refuse this payment, wouldn't that mean Superman owes me a huge favor? And wouldn't that make him more likely to support me when Batman decides to make things difficult?"
Green Arrow paused for a moment.
Even though he didn't fully understand the conflict between him and Batman, Green Arrow seemed interested in how things would play out.
He also glanced at Batman, who was focused more than when the Justice League had faced previous powerful enemies.
Then Green Arrow smirked mischievously.
"You don't need to worry about it. Knowing Superman's personality, whether you accept this payment or not, he'll always remember that you safely brought his 'family' back from the edge of the solar system. That's just who he is."
"Alright, deal. How do we settle the five million?"
"You're really that broke...?"
"Do you know how I've been surviving on Earth? The source of getting food was diving into the ocean and catching fish with my bare hands."
Green Arrow almost wanted to slap himself in the face.
Even though money wasn't a problem for him, why did he have to add that extra comment earlier?
"I won't go back on my word. When you get the time, go to Queen Industries in Star City and find Oliver Queen. He's a very wealthy, handsome guy, just mention my name and call him 'handsome', and you'll get the seven million from him."
Viktor n actually looked startled for a moment.
"If I mention you more, will it go up to ten million?"
Green Arrow didn't answer.
He leaned his head back and looked at the stars beyond the Watchtower's energy shield, with a hint of nostalgia on his face as he patted Viktor's shoulder.
"I've also eaten fish from the sea for a few years, and life was tough back then. After that time, I couldn't even get a date for a while. The women hated how my mouth always smelled like fish."
"Really?"
Viktor found it hard to relate.
It was true that after escaping to Earth, Vikttor hadn't lived the rich and comfortable life he once imagined.
Sometimes, when he thought about it, he did feel a small sense of disappointment, but living by the sea and catching fish had felt like paradise to him.
The psychological degradation on Viltrum had been far worse.
However, Viktor genuinely didn't care much about the money.
The reason he'd brought up payment with the League at all was mainly that Rachel had been looking strangely at him lately.
She kept muttering that he was a liar who had tricked her into coming here only to live a harder life than being a petty thief in Gotham.
If he didn't find a way to make some money, Viktor's dignity as a man was not going to survive much longer.
...
1400 POWER STONES = 1 BONUS CHAPTER
60 REVIEWS = 1 BONUS CHAPTER
[email protected]/Sothisq
You can find up to 15 advanced chapters on my Patreon.