Chapter 194 Diana is a Supporting Character, the Main Show is Here
Superman had never thought he would lose.
He had also never imagined that a substance so capable of suppressing him existed in this world.
First, a Kryptonite smoke bomb, followed by a terrifying Kryptonite spear.
Superman lost, brutally beaten by the mortal Batman. He could feel the cells in his body dying on a massive scale under the influence of the Kryptonite.
If only it were daytime. Under the rays of the Sun, perhaps the regeneration of his cells could have outpaced the rate at which this stone was killing them. The thought that he was about to die surfaced in Superman's mind.
"You're nothing special. Humanity is greater than you."
Batman's eyes glinted menacingly. Clutching the Kryptonite spear, he was about to kill Superman.
As mentioned before, the Batman in the DCEU had no no-kill rule, at least not at this moment. His killing intent toward Superman was real.
"Martha..."
"What? Why did you say that name?!"
"You have to save Martha..."
"I asked you why you said that name!"
Du Wa watched this scene from afar and still found it a bit hard to take seriously.
Even in the entire DC Multiverse, this was a communication process that was nothing short of explosive.
Du Wa simply watched as these two, because of Martha, let go of their hatred and decided to deal with Lex Luthor together.
"Lex Luthor's side has already made a clear move. That guy has some great ideas, but unfortunately, my ideas are a level above his." Du Wa laced his fingers together, patiently waiting for Lex Luthor's spectacular performance.
Lex Luthor was indeed eager to show his work of art to the world.
This was also the product of pushing Krypton's biotechnology to its absolute limit.
"Lex Luthor, you will pay the price for your actions!"
As soon as Superman recovered a bit of his strength, he flew angrily to the top of the skyscraper, his eyes glowing red, Heat Vision ready to be unleashed at any moment.
Lex Luthor spread his hands, then placed them on his hips. "Why, Clark Kent? Because Batman, who nearly killed you a few minutes ago, has now found your mother's whereabouts and rescued her? That's great, but you probably never knew that I never pinned my hopes on a hostage."
Lex Luthor could accurately call out Superman's real name and even knew every detail of Superman's life.
Similarly, he also knew Batman's true identity.
This was the interesting part of the DCEU. It had a completely different set of rules compared to other universes, especially the numbered ones.
In this universe, the real identities of many superheroes were no secret. The heroes could also call each other by their real names instead of their aliases.
A situation like in a certain parallel universe, where Batman took the initiative to remove his cowl and announce his true identity as Bruce Wayne to gain the trust of other Justice League members, would simply not happen here.
Lex Luthor was still rambling on, "You're Superman. You could kill me in an instant, just like all those innocent people you caused the deaths of—but I know you won't. Because with your adoptive mother safe, you need to prove to Batman that you're a sincere superhero, not a Bushwacker."
Superman stared coldly at Lex Luthor. He was indeed in no hurry. His adoptive mother and girlfriend had both been rescued. All that was left was to capture this madman before him and throw him into prison.
But Lex Luthor obviously wouldn't be taken without a fight. Superman knew this too, so he immediately looked behind Lex Luthor at the giant, constantly squirming sphere.
"Beautiful, isn't it? Like an amniotic sac nurturing a newborn. With just a pop, a new life will be born from it, becoming the whole world's nightmare."
Lex Luthor first clenched his fist, then suddenly opened it, articulating a vision with an exaggerated posture.
Superman stared intently at the unknown creature about to be born. "It won't be the world's nightmare. It will only be your nightmare."
"No, no, no. Do you think that just because you have Super Vision and Super Hearing, you can always grasp everything? Have you forgotten how I successfully captured your adoptive mother without you noticing? In your moment of negligence, a brand new life form has appeared. In some respects, this life form is simply perfect..."
Before Lex Luthor could finish his words, the giant amniotic sac behind him trembled, and a tall, pitch-black monster burst out.
It was a thing that resembled a black, hairless gorilla, with an ugly face and a burly figure.
It exuded a terrifying aura that made even Superman's expression turn grim. To be more precise, it was an extremely frenzied biological forcefield that directly put immense pressure on Superman's vital signs.
How could it be so strong right after being born?! What kind of monster is this?
Superman felt a faint sense of familiarity from this completely transformed creature, like facing a Kryptonian.
"Hahahaha, I spent so much effort on General Zod to modify his corpse to this extent. Surprised? Son of Krypton?"
Lex Luthor quickly dodged to the side.
Superman no longer had the mind to deal with him. Lex Luthor was just a mortal, after all; he could be captured whenever he pleased.
Dealing with the monster before him was the key.
"Zod... You used Krypton's biotechnology?"
Seeing Doomsday rushing towards him, Superman threw a punch, sending the massive creature flying over a hundred meters away.
If it were an ordinary enemy, they would have been instantly crippled by that punch.
But Doomsday was different. It had been brutally beaten right after its birth. With an angry roar, its injuries healed in an instant, and its skin became even thicker. When it took the second punch, it actually withstood it head-on without even its skin breaking, greatly astonishing Superman and sending his sense of crisis soaring.
"Adaptation. This thing is adapting to your attacks," Batman said as he flew over in his warplane, firing a volley of missiles that failed to inflict any damage on Doomsday.
Although Doomsday was a newborn, it was an upgraded version of General Zod, whose strength had been astonishing. With just a few days under the Sun, he could fight evenly with a Superman who had been basking in it for decades.
Doomsday shot a blast of Heat Vision from its eyes, destroying Batman's warplane.
Batman jumped out immediately, raising the Kryptonite spear and charging forward.
"Clark, if this is effective against you, then it must be effective against this monster that also has Kryptonian genes!" Batman shouted.
But unfortunately, Batman was too weak. The exoskeleton armor he wore had been severely damaged during his fight with Superman. He couldn't even withstand the energy wave erupting from Doomsday, let alone charge up with the Kryptonite spear and engage it in a thrilling melee.
But what if he gave the Kryptonite spear to Superman and had him stab Doomsday with it?
That wouldn't work either. Before Doomsday fell, Superman would likely have been killed by the Kryptonite spear.
Normally, what was needed now was a superhuman who was not afraid of Kryptonite and possessed combat capabilities far exceeding Batman's to intervene.
Such a person did exist, but seeing that the battle had not yet deteriorated to a certain point, she did not choose to act immediately. Instead, she was solemnly on guard against a dangerous individual she had discovered.
"Ma'am, the fight over there is so intense, you're clearly needed there more. Why are you staring at me?"
"Because compared to that Kryptonian monster, you are the more dangerous one... Don't think what you've been doing is so secret. I've already discovered what you and those weapons have been up to."
Diana drew her Godkiller Sword, its tip aimed at the mysterious, unknown figure before her.
"There are no traces of magic on those creatures, so they must be bio-weapons created through technological means. They reach maturity quickly by finding a host and using parasitism. And you are the mastermind controlling these bio-weapons," Diana said coldly. "Lex Luthor is only the obvious danger. You, hiding in the shadows with these even more dangerous weapons, waiting for an opportunity to strike, are the true disaster that needs to be dealt with first."
"So? You've decided to take care of me before Superman and Batman are killed by Doomsday?"
Du Wa had been sitting in the distance watching the show. He was looking forward to this rare performance.
But then Wonder Woman had jumped out, accusing him of being the greater evil.
However, on second thought, maybe she was right. The way the Xenomorphs grew and expanded their species was somewhat subversive to the superheroes' understanding.
"Clark, Thanoseid, which one of you plans on making a move?" Du Wa completely ignored Diana, instead speaking casually to the two figures behind him.
"Don't you have another highly capable Xenomorph? Send it," Thanoseid said, looking coldly at Du Wa.
"Clark?"
Diana stared uncertainly at the other burly man. Although his attire and equipment were slightly different, the contours of his face bore a resemblance.
"I don't want to go, but it seems I have no choice. Since you've already made your decision, don't hypocritically ask for our opinions!"
The Super-Soldier stepped forward, his expression exceptionally grim. His body began to move on its own, and he immediately rushed towards Diana.
The two instantly began a great battle.
The moment they clashed, Diana was shocked, because she discovered that this man was identical to Superman in every ability!
"You even have Heat Vision? Your name is also Clark? What is going on? What is your relationship with Superman?!"
Diana suspected that Superman might have a long-lost half-brother.
Facing the Super-Soldier's powerful attacks, Diana was only able to defend passively.
Even with the Godkiller Sword in hand, she could only passively block Clark's heavy punches.
The clash between the two caused continuous compressions in the air, and one after another, craters appeared on the ground. The commotion was immense.
Finally, Diana saw an opportunity and managed to throw out her Lasso of Truth, wrapping it around the Super-Soldier's arm.
"Stranger, tell me your full name!" Diana shouted quickly.
"My name is... Clark Kent. Besides, even if you didn't use the Lasso of Truth, I would answer your questions normally. It's just my body that's not under my control, my mouth is still my own—for now," the Super-Soldier said.
"Where are you from?" Diana asked this question with extreme speed, but was immediately hit in the stomach by the Super-Soldier's punch. Even her Golden Armor couldn't perfectly negate the force.
The Super-Soldier didn't immediately pursue her, but instead focused on pulling at the Lasso of Truth on his arm. "I come from Universe 9602. One half of what makes me up is the Superman you know. Du Wa said before that I can't compare to the real Superman, but from my observations, I am a bit stronger than him. Perhaps the Superman of this parallel universe is too weak."
Diana stood up, abandoning the Lasso of Truth. Enduring the intense pain in her body—a terrible blow that felt as if her entire body had been split in two—she raised her Godkiller Sword high and slashed fiercely at the Super-Soldier.
But the Super-Soldier immediately threw out his Vibranium Shield, momentarily blocking the Godkiller Sword for an instant, then flew sideways and kicked Diana, sending her flying dozens of meters away.
He flew in front of Diana. "Is your next question going to be why I know you so well? I'm familiar with your divine artifacts, familiar with your combat skills, because in Universe 9602, I have a teammate who is very similar to you in every aspect."
"Since you're the Superman of a parallel universe, you should be on my side, not controlled like a puppet by that vicious demon! Remember who you are! If you are truly Clark Kent, you should have a benevolent mind..."
Diana shouted herself hoarse, trying to awaken the Super-Soldier's mental power to resist Du Wa's control.
For superheroes whose hearts leaned towards the light, this was an extremely effective method of awakening.
"It's useless. The methods you can think of in just a few seconds, I've already tried countless times. It's useless."
A red glow appeared in the Super-Soldier's eyes, and his heart was filled with immense grief. "I'm truly sorry, my body is not my own... but I am about to kill you."
*Puchi!*
Standing in the ruins, Diana struggled to raise her arms, using her Bracelets of Submission to block.
But this was merely delaying the moment of her death.
At this moment, Diana's heart was filled with utter despair. She had intended to quickly kill a bio-monster lurking with ill intentions, and then go help Superman and Batman deal with that other bio-monster.
But she never expected things to turn out like this. These people were from a parallel universe, and their leader was even controlling that parallel universe's Superman. He was a true monster through and through.
She had fought with all her might and couldn't even defeat a "Clark" whose body was not his own. How strong must the controller, who had remained impassive all this time, be?
"I should have tried to kill the controller first. Perhaps he's a sorcerer skilled in mental magic," Diana thought, feeling she was on the verge of death. Her heart filled with regret, she prepared to make a final, desperate struggle.
Du Wa moved.
"Alright, the game of playing house ends here. The real fun should appear now."
Diana was completely absent from Du Wa's eyes. He watched with great interest another battlefield in front of him.
Doomsday had grown stronger. Every time it erupted with a golden energy forcefield, it signified that it had completed another evolution.
Sustaining an attack, adapting to it, and then becoming immune—this was the evolutionary path for a bio-weapon like Doomsday.
(end of chapter)