Chapter 89: The Strongest Man in the Galaxy
"You'd better think carefully about what you're saying."
Lex Luthor sat in his office, facing the soldiers who had him surrounded at gunpoint.
"Do you know who I am? Do you know who runs this city!?"
"I don't know, Mr. Luthor."
The lead soldier aimed the dark muzzle of his gun at Luthor's bald head.
"But I do know that person definitely isn't you. You knew about the existence of that alien killing machine long ago, but you didn't warn anyone.
Not only that, but you also colluded with the aliens, giving it an opportunity to invade.
This is a crime against humanity, Mr. Luthor. So I regret to formally inform you that you are under arrest."
"I was protecting humanity, protecting this planet!" Luthor said in a deep voice. "I am the most intelligent person on this planet, the most brilliant scientific mind!
I could have had the situation completely under control. I was working for the well-being of humanity! If it weren't for those alien lunatics rushing into my laboratory and escalating the conflict...
Get General Lane to see me! He will understand."
"That won't be necessary."
A voice came from outside the office door. General Lane appeared at the doorway, his face ashen.
"You've crossed the line, Luthor. All your previous disrespect, your refusal to share information, your insistence on doing things your own way—I dismissed it all as the quirks of a genius. But now, you've crossed the bottom line.
I may hate Superman as much as you do, but before anything else, I am a soldier. My duty is to protect humanity. And you, you are now a despicable criminal, Luthor."
Hearing this, Luthor, sitting in his chair, laughed instead of getting angry.
"Burning the bridge after crossing it, are we? Right, you also need a scapegoat... Very good, General, you are thinking. But you should understand that Lex Luthor always has a way out."
As he spoke, his tone suddenly hardened. He pressed a hidden button under his desk, his expression turning vicious.
"Like this!"
Nothing happened.
Luthor froze for a moment.
"Impossible!"
He had long anticipated such a situation and had prepared for it. The moment he pressed this button, his alloy robot on standby on the lower floor should have burst through the floor to attack. It was equipped with an anti-AI personally coded by Luthor, and its weapons were already fully loaded, more than enough to help him fight his way out.
So his biggest question now was—
—Where's my robot?
CRASH!
The floor-to-ceiling window was shattered to pieces, and the already scrapped alloy robot was thrown through the broken glass into the office. Superman floated outside the shattered window, holding half of a broken robot arm in his hand. He smiled, "Looking for this, Mr. Luthor?"
Lex Luthor's expression was incredibly ugly.
"Good thing I listened to a friend's advice. He said you'd definitely have an escape plan." Superman chuckled. "So I made a special trip to take a look... Oh, right, the machine gun turrets and the escape shuttle you set up? I just destroyed all of them.
Looks like you can't escape this time, even if you had wings, Mr. Luthor."
"You... you... you... Arghhh!!"
Luthor, trembling with rage, snatched a lavish, solid gold trophy from his desk and hurled it at Superman.
Superman raised an arm and caught the trophy steadily in his hand. He smiled, "Looks like something slipped from your grasp, Mr. Luthor."
This provocation made Luthor even more furious. "And you caught it, didn't you? You think this is over? This is my world! These are my people! You think you can take them from me!?"
"No, I never said they belonged to me. Metropolis doesn't belong to anyone," Superman said sternly. "You don't own us, Luthor."
"'Us'? You really think of this place as your home?"
Superman shrugged. "This is my hometown. And whether you like it or not, Luthor, it has rejected you. So if I were you, I'd surrender quietly. If you behave well enough, maybe..."
Halfway through his sentence, Superman's expression suddenly changed. Seemingly realizing something was wrong, he immediately shouted, "Get back!"
General Lane frowned. "He's our criminal, Superman. We can... What are you doing!?"
Superman's speed suddenly erupted. He shot forward in a flash, grabbed Luthor without another word, and flew out the window, rushing into the sky before anyone could react.
Only a moment later, a deafening explosion ripped through the sky. A ball of dazzling, blazing flame erupted over Metropolis, its fiery light illuminating the heavens.
A few seconds later, Superman flew back.
"He self-destructed?" General Lane frowned.
"No... it wasn't him."
Superman shook his head and held out his right hand, which held a bald head. It was Lex Luthor's head, but half of it was disfigured, revealing circuits underneath that crackled and popped with electric sparks.
"A robot?"
General Lane stepped forward, looking at the mechanical head.
"Where are you hiding, Luthor?"
"Somewhere safe, General."
The robot head's eyes flickered, and Lex Luthor's voice came intermittently from within.
"And Superman... I'll let you have this win for now. But don't get too smug. I'll be back, and I will take back what is mine."
"I'll be waiting, Luthor."
Superman shrugged, and with a squeeze of his fingers, the remaining mechanical head was crushed into a ball of scrap metal.
"So, afterward, even though Luthor got away, General Lane promised he wouldn't give me any more trouble."
The young reporter Clark Kent sat in a diner, adjusted his glasses, and said happily.
Although Orin Vale wasn't there, he could roughly imagine how pissed off Lex Luthor was. The thought of Baldy furiously yelling, "I donated buildings to Metropolis! I sold guns to the US military!" was quite amusing.
"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Kara said. "The atmosphere at our shop is really great. There's also a very kind old grandpa..."
Clark smiled and shook his head.
"I'll definitely check it out another day—but not today. I've been in Metropolis for a while, but it's only today that I've started to feel like I belong here.
And I have you to thank for that, Mr. Orin."
"It's nothing. If there are thanks to be given, it's mutual."
This wasn't just him being polite. Orin Vale truly felt that Superman was his golden partner. The video of his speech on the streets of Metropolis yesterday had already been posted online and had gone viral.
Just as he'd guessed, Superman was a walking power source of light energy. His words, his actions, his every move—even his very existence—were charging up Ultraman.
It had reached a point where the more he looked at Superman, the more he liked what he saw.
"But seriously, I think we should get together more often," Clark said. "Even if it's just to grab a meal or have some coffee."
"Come to my shop. It's in Gotham. The name is 'HISHE'. My treat."
Orin Vale smiled.
"I have a feeling you're going to absolutely love our coffee."
Metropolis. Nightfall.
An unknown aircraft descended silently, hovering over the suburban area. A fleeting glow illuminated its streamlined form in the darkness.
The hatch slowly opened, and a caped figure appeared. It was a tall woman with a stunning figure and long, fire-like hair. Her graceful form descended slowly from the ship, her hair like a brilliant flame against the starlit sky.
Following closely behind was a tall, burly man with a brutish face and a body like a small mountain. His rugged appearance next to the woman naturally brought to mind the phrase used to describe a certain classic duo.
Beauty and the Beast.
Following them was another, smaller woman, also dressed strangely, who remained silent.
The three of them walked out of the hatch, which immediately closed. The ship emitted a faint hum, and then its hull became illusory, disappearing like a ghost.
The Red-haired Woman walked in front, with the Strong Man following behind. After just a few steps, she suddenly seemed to remember something and stopped abruptly. The man couldn't stop in time and bumped right into her back.
The man hurriedly bowed his head. "Sorry, Your Highness, I didn't..."
"Didn't I tell you not to call me Your Highness now that we're on Earth?"
"Yes! Your Highness!"
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Say that again. What am I to you?"
"My... my..." The Strong Man's eyes darted around. "...my big brother!"
Rage flared on the woman's face. "I might as well be your grandpa then."
"Huh?"
The Strong Man looked completely baffled and quickly lowered his voice to ask quietly.
"Did we change the script?"
The woman was so angry she laughed.
"Oh, gods... I knew I shouldn't have brought you."
"That's not an option!" the Strong Man said seriously. "Protecting Your Highness... ah, no, protecting Grandpa is my duty! Even if I have to give my life, I must protect Grandpa..."
"Alright, alright. Just keep your mouth shut for a while." The woman waved her hand impatiently. "At least you remember why we came here, right?"
"Yes, I remember." The Strong Man nodded obediently. "To find a man."
"Not just any man, but the strongest man in the galaxy."
The corners of the woman's mouth curved up in a smile.
"...Superman."
(end of chapter)