Gazing at the pendant on the little girl's chest, Herman felt utterly absurd.
He had never imagined that one day, in the Marvel Universe of all places, he would see that familiar S-shaped emblem. On its own, the letter wouldn't have stirred his imagination. But combined with the way the girl appeared... who could blame him?
As everyone knew, in the DC Universe the "S" symbol represented Superman's family. For a long time, Herman had been plagued by nightmares where Superman pinned him down and beat him mercilessly. So the moment he saw the girl's pendant, his mind immediately leapt to the House of El.
That "S" wasn't just the crest of Superman's family. It was the symbol of hope for Krypton.
"Krypton?"
Herman's eyes flickered with uncertainty. He asked the girl for confirmation.
Just two simple words.
Those who understood didn't need more. Those who didn't, it wasn't worth explaining. And Herman wasn't worried about her understanding—this alien girl had already spoken to him earlier.
To be fair, his suspicion wasn't unfounded. The girl's arrival had been far from ordinary.
After all, she had fallen from outer space and, right away, called him cousin. The string of coincidences was too much to ignore. Naturally, Herman couldn't help but overthink.
And sure enough, the girl's response confirmed his guess.
"Yes! Cousin! Thank you for coming to get me!"
She exclaimed, thinking Herman was giving her some kind of code, admitting her origin without the slightest hesitation.
Of course! She was a Kryptonian from Krypton!
"Kara Zor-El..."
Herman instantly recognized her, his expression twisting with complexity. At that moment, it felt like the universe itself was playing a cruel joke—someone who should never exist in Marvel had appeared here of all places!
Kara Zor-El.
In the DC Universe, she was Clark's cousin... another Kryptonian with the same terrifying potential for growth.
When Krypton faced its end, Clark's parents had placed their infant son into a ship bound for Earth. He had been just a baby.
To ensure his survival and preserve their lineage, the House of El later sent thirteen-year-old Kara as well, intending for her to care for baby Clark on Earth.
Before Krypton's destruction, Clark and Kara were both sent away.
As countless Kryptonians perished in the explosion, the two of them became the last survivors of Krypton's new generation.
On Earth, they became godlike beings under the yellow sun. Of course, Krypton wasn't entirely without other survivors.
A Kryptonian army led by Dru-Zod had also endured, marking a pivotal moment in Superman's story.
However, since Zod's soldiers hadn't encountered the yellow sun before arriving on Earth, they hadn't been especially powerful.
And Herman didn't need to worry about Zod anyway. This was Marvel, not the DC Universe next door.
"Unless the entire planet Krypton crossed over..."
Herman found the thought ridiculous, not something that could ever happen.
"It's me! Kal! I know you must be shocked, but don't be—"
Kara, unaware of Herman's mutterings, mistook his dazed reaction for recognition, believing her long-lost cousin had identified her.
It was understandable. Her ship had been programmed to lock onto Kal-El's location, so naturally she assumed the first person she saw was her cousin.
"I'm not surprised... I'm horrified."
Herman's emotions churned so violently that he didn't even bother correcting her address.
Right now, his mind was in complete chaos.
Why would a character from the DC Universe show up in Marvel?
Granted, if the Marvel Universe was real, then the DC Universe could be real too. But the two worlds were never supposed to intersect.
Kara's appearance was nothing short of bewildering.
"Could this be related to me?"
Doubt began to creep into Herman's mind. He started wondering if Kara's strange appearance had anything to do with his [All-Seeing Eye].
In the normal Marvel Universe, characters from the DC Universe should never exist.
Unless some higher-level, higher-dimensional disturbance had occurred, the only thing Herman could think of that might cause such a phenomenon was the [All-Seeing Eye].
The [All-Seeing Eye] itself belonged to a higher tier of power, capable of altering reality. It wasn't far-fetched to think it could fabricate characters from the DC Universe out of thin air within Marvel.
[Prompt—Platinum-tier and higher identities may fundamentally alter the foundations of the world, causing irreversible effects on the entire reality.]
He recalled that very warning the [All-Seeing Eye] had given him when he drew a Platinum identity. Could Kara's arrival be a result of such a shift in the world's foundation?
It was entirely possible.
Otherwise, how could everything line up so coincidentally?
He had barely drawn his new identity when Kara crashed to Earth from outer space, nearly landing on his head. Watching her tinker with the miniature "spaceship" before him, Herman's gaze flickered again. He had no idea how much the [All-Seeing Eye] had really changed.
Before, Herman had always thought the [All-Seeing Eye] simply fabricated facts.
But now, staring at the future Supergirl standing in front of him, he felt a different kind of unease stir in his chest.
What if... the [All-Seeing Eye] wasn't just making things up?
...
Kara, of course, knew nothing of Herman's inner turmoil. She fiddled with a control panel for quite a while.
"Damn it, the ship's damage is pretty bad... Forget it, I'll deal with it later."
Kara's face showed clear frustration.
Unable to restore the craft to normal, she was forced to manually shut down her small vessel. The pod-like device she had ridden in wasn't just a sleeping chamber—it was a personal-model mini spacecraft.
Advanced Kryptonian technology.
"Kal, I'm your cousin. You probably don't remember me. Let me explain everything slowly. Your parents sent me here to protect you... though looking at you now, healthy and strong, it seems you don't really need my help anymore."
"Don't be so shocked. I just had a little accident on my way here."
Kara crawled out of the pod-like spacecraft with a bright smile. Her steps wobbled, and she nearly toppled to the ground.
Fortunately, Herman caught her in time, saving her pale, delicate face from colliding with the jagged stones at their feet.
"Sorry... after spending so long in that unknown space, my body isn't responding properly," Kara admitted shyly, leaning on Herman for support.
She felt like a patient who had been bedridden for years, her body struggling to adjust. Even standing, her legs trembled.
Herman remembered Kara's story and understood what she meant by "unknown space." At the instant Krypton exploded, her ship had been struck by the blast and swept into the Phantom Zone, where she had slept for twenty-four long years.
The Phantom Zone was a dimension where time flowed differently from reality.
In the original history, by the time Kara reached Earth in the DC Universe, Clark had already grown into the invincible Man of Steel. She, instead, became the one who needed protection.
Well... pretty much the same as now.
"Time really is a strange thing. I never imagined you'd end up older than me!" Kara looked at Herman with wide-eyed amazement.
She had to tilt her head back to take him in—tall, striking, the kind of handsome that would win contests even on Krypton.
'Truly worthy of the House of El,' Kara thought to herself.
"You might need some sunlight," Herman said, noticing how pale she still looked. He immediately activated his Raven teleportation ability.
A flock of ravens swirled at their feet, and under Kara's astonished gaze, Herman guided her upward into the clouds.
He didn't even need to hold her. With his telekinesis, he formed a barrier beneath her feet, letting her stand as if on solid ground.
"Cool! Kal! Is this magic you learned on Earth?" Kara asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling. She basked in the warm sunlight pouring over her, the beauty of this world washing over her like a dream.
"The sunlight here... feels amazing."
Her complexion gradually grew rosy.
Herman watched quietly, sensing her strength steadily building. A heavy sigh escaped him.
Of course.
A Kryptonian.
Growing stronger just by sunbathing—what other race besides Kryptonians could possibly have such a broken ability?
He hadn't just brought Kara above the clouds to help her recover. He also wanted to confirm for himself that her power was real.
"Wait! You can actually fly? Wow! You can even take someone else with you?"
Only after her body and mind had recovered somewhat did Kara, in her usual scatterbrained way, realize that Herman was carrying her as they hovered high in the sky.
"Looks like my dad was right! The Yellow Sun really does give us incredible powers!" Kara muttered excitedly. "I can feel my body breathing again. Oh my gosh, this feels amazing!"
At that moment, the girl from Krypton had no idea she hadn't just crossed galaxies but had also crossed into an entirely different universe. This Earth wasn't her true destination.
And Herman... was certainly not her cousin.
"I am not Kal-El."
Herman let out a sigh and finally explained, "I'm just an Earthling with a bit of power. But you were right about one thing—the Yellow Sun really does grant Kryptonians tremendous strength. One day, you'll master flight yourself."
Pretending to be someone else? Herman wasn't that shameless. Besides, lying to a thirteen-year-old girl would only make him feel guilty.
"Huh?"
Kara clearly hadn't expected that answer. Wait... he knew about Krypton and about her identity.
She thought Herman was joking. "Hahaha, I get it! You're teasing me. Just like your mom, always joking around. If you're not Kal-El, then how would you know my name, or that I came here looking for you?"
Her reasoning wasn't without merit.
For a moment, Herman was at a loss. He obviously couldn't tell her, "You and Superman are just characters from comics and movies, and I'm a traveler from another universe."
"As I said before, I have some unusual abilities. Reading people's memories is one of them."
Herman quickly came up with a reasonable explanation. And it wasn't even a lie—probing memories was second nature to him.
"What!?"
Kara was stunned by his reply. After all, she was still just a thirteen-year-old girl.
"But... but my ship was supposed to take me straight to Kal! If you're not Kal, then who's my cousin?"
Her expression grew dazed. She stared hard at Herman for a long time before finally realizing he wasn't joking.
"I found the wrong person!?"
Kara didn't even think about her memories being read. The fact that she hadn't found who she was looking for left her panicked and shaken.
"Yes, you found the wrong person."
Herman nodded. He didn't know how to comfort the flustered girl, so he chose not to reveal the cruelest truth.
It wasn't just the wrong person.
It was the wrong universe.
This was truly disastrous. Kara's face grew pale once more as she looked at Herman with a glimmer of desperate hope.
"Then could you help me find my cousin? I can pay you for it!"
Kryptonian children seemed to mature early. They already understood that hiring someone meant offering something in return.
"Sure."
Herman agreed to Kara's request without hesitation.
As for payment, he didn't believe a refugee alien girl could give him anything worth desiring. That little one-person spacecraft of hers certainly didn't interest him.
"Thank you! Earthling!"
Kara's face brightened with joy. Experiencing the miracle of Herman's powers firsthand, she felt certain that someone with such abilities could help her find her real cousin.
"No problem. For now, you can stay at my place... My house is big, and I've got plenty of spare rooms."
Herman, of course, had his own reasons for agreeing so readily.
It wasn't just that he considered their meeting a matter of fate—he also recognized Kara's potential. She was someone who could grow into an extraordinarily powerful being. The ability to grow stronger simply by basking in sunlight was unbeatable. Kara arguably had more potential than most superhumans on Earth.
After all, she was a Kryptonian.
In some versions of the DC Universe, Kara had even grown powerful enough to surpass Superman himself.
With such an extraordinary force of nature before him, Herman naturally wanted to secure her allegiance.
The establishment of a pantheon worked on simple logic: the stronger the gods beneath its banner, the greater the benefits flowing to its ruling god-king. And Herman hadn't forgotten his goal of climbing toward that throne.
He didn't think Kara would be returning to the DC Universe anytime soon, which meant he had a chance to use her potential to raise the prestige of his own god-kinghood.
And it wasn't as though he was offering nothing in return.
With the [All-Seeing Eye] in his possession, who knew? Perhaps one day he would gain a status that allowed him to travel between universes. When that time came, he could take Kara to find the real Kal-El.
Besides, at the moment Kara was just a defenseless alien girl. Without Herman's protection, she could easily be exploited before she had a chance to grow—someone might even trick her into being dissected.
After all, she had fallen right under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nose. Who knew how many mad scientists in there would love the chance to study an alien?
By giving Kara protection and time to grow, Herman would one day gain a powerful ally in return. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Of course, there was another, deeper reason he wanted to keep her by his side.
Looking at the girl before him, Herman's heart was anything but calm.
Flashes of his recurring dreams kept surfacing in his mind—the ones where Superman had appeared.
Herman needed to know.
Was there a connection between those dreams and what was happening now?
...
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