Chapter 187: A Mere Squad of Kryptonians
"So... an omnipotent wishing stone?" In the HISHE Coffee Shop, Clark Kent looked at Diana strangely as he sipped his coffee. "Such a thing really exists?"
"Yes. Thirty years have passed, and I still find it incredible to think about," Diana said with a shrug.
She was sharing the thrilling adventure she had in 1984 with her new friends.
"So you wished for your pilot friend to come back, and the price was your superpowers?" Kara asked.
"That's about right," Diana nodded.
Clark took a sip of coffee and thought for a moment.
"I don't think that's so bad. I've thought more than once how great it would be if I didn't have superpowers and could be like other ordinary kids. If I could trade them to get someone important back, it would actually be pretty nice."
If anyone else had said this, it might have sounded like a humblebrag, but Superman truly meant it from the bottom of his heart. More than the ability to fly and smash through things, he just wanted to be an ordinary kid on the Kent Farm.
"I don't know, I think superpowers are pretty cool," Kara said, tilting her head. "It would be best if I could have my wish granted and keep my abilities."
The young Kryptonian had unknowingly adopted the "I want it all" mentality.
"And you stole a plane from a museum. That doesn't sound very good," Superman said. "It's really strange that a plane in a museum could actually fly, and that its fuel tank happened to be full…"
Orin Vale, who had just come out of the laboratory and was listening from the side, couldn't help but ask.
"...And you said you flew that plane to where, again?"
"To Egypt."
"And how far was that, roughly?"
"I don't remember clearly," Diana thought for a moment. "Maybe about six thousand miles."
"You're saying a plane you got from a museum in 1984 could fly six thousand miles on a single tank of fuel." Clark tilted his head, thinking. "Wow."
"I also used magic to make the plane invisible." Diana shrugged. "You don't need to get too caught up in the details of magic."
"Fair enough." Orin Vale accepted the premise.
"And that businessman you mentioned, his wish on the wishing stone was, 'I want to become you'," Kara added. "And he didn't turn into a stone himself? That seems pretty strange, too. I thought you were going to say that after he made his wish, he became another wishing stone, and then there were two identical stones. Oh, speaking of which, is that stone still around?"
"Of course not." Diana glanced at her and smiled. "Why? If it were still around, what would you wish for?"
"I'd want my family, I'd want Krypton back," the young girl said earnestly. She tilted her head as if thinking of something else, then looked at Orin Vale. "Ah, but I'd want Orin Vale to be with us, too. It would be great if we could all be on Krypton together."
She really was in the "I want it all.JPG" camp.
"What? Wouldn't you want something like that?"
"I think the way things are now is for the best." Clark adjusted his glasses, took a sip of coffee, and smiled. "I already have everything I want."
Titano, the little monkey hanging from the chandelier, chirped a few times. Only Orin Vale understood what it was saying: it wanted an endless supply of bananas and all the teddy bears in the world…
"What about you, Orin Vale?"
Kara's big eyes blinked, full of expectation.
Superman and Wonder Woman also turned their gazes to him, seemingly curious about what Orin Vale would wish for.
"Me? Nothing much... just world peace, and for everyone's hearts to turn toward the light."
This seemed to catch Kara by surprise, and she couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment.
"I'm serious," Orin Vale said with a straight face. "If you don't believe me, I can repeat it while holding Wonder Woman's lasso."
In fact, this wasn't just his wish, but the shared aspiration of everyone in the Land of Light, from top to bottom.
"Wow." A look of admiration appeared on Kara's face. "I knew you were a good person, but I never expected this…"
As she spoke, her expression turned a little ashamed.
"I was only thinking about myself…"
Clark also patted his shoulder with a look of admiration. "Me too. But I firmly believe we can achieve that without a stone. Sooner or later, we definitely will…"
*Click.*
The lights suddenly went out.
It wasn't just the lights. All electronic devices, including cellphones and computers, went dark, along with the streetlights outside the window. It was as if an invisible hand had suddenly stolen all the light, plunging the entire city into darkness.
"What's going on?" The group was stunned.
"A power outage?" Kara asked.
"No, the entire city is out." Clark quickly scanned the area with his X-ray vision, frowning. "Something of this scale is usually not a good sign."
"Sir, I've detected radio waves of extraterrestrial technology. A video is being transmitted to all electronic devices."
Pal, still online, quickly alerted Orin Vale.
Orin Vale casually took out a cellphone. As expected, a video was already playing automatically on its screen. A white background, a piercing sound of electric current, and a single sentence repeating over and over.
"You are not alone… you are not alone…"
A blurry figure appeared shortly after.
"My name is General Zod. I come from a distant place…"
"Your world is sheltering two of our people. One of them is already well-known. We believe you call him 'Superman'…"
"I demand that you return them to my custody. You have twenty-four hours, or this world will suffer the consequences…"
"…"
The message ended, and the screen flickered before returning to normal. The lights came back on, and the city returned to normal.
But everyone knew that something had changed.
A brief silence fell over the coffee shop.
All eyes focused on Superman and Supergirl, the two Kryptonians.
"...They're after us," Clark said after a moment of contemplation. "They're surviving compatriots from Krypton. I have to go meet them."
"Kara's spaceship database has a record," Orin Vale said. "General Zod is your planet's highest-level war criminal, imprisoned in the Phantom Zone."
"Like my aunt and uncle." Kara frowned slightly. "Could they be connected?"
"We can't rule out that possibility," Orin Vale nodded.
"But we have no choice, we have to step forward," Clark said. "He's likely not alone; he might have an army. That means a large number of Kryptonians, each as strong as we are."
"Don't worry."
Orin Vale patted his shoulder and smiled faintly.
General Zod's invasion was similar to the plot of *Superman: Man of Steel*. In the movie, it was a landmark battle in the DCEU. The fight between Superman and Zod nearly demolished half a city, killed millions, and triggered a series of chain reactions, including the subsequent death of Superman.
If this had happened a few months ago, what Orin Vale could have done would have been limited. He wasn't sure how much he could do against a fully armed squad of Kryptonians.
But now…
They were just a squad of Kryptonian prisoners. What chaos could they possibly wreak?
(end of chapter)