Lucas's retinal personal terminal had already been destroyed on the Hell Planet.
At this point, searching for a phone would only waste time—it was far more efficient to return home as quickly as possible.
With his speed continuously increasing, Lucas reached the small town where he lived in less than two minutes.
Seeing that the town showed no signs of having been attacked, he finally let out a breath of relief.
When he arrived at his front door—
"Welcome home, Master."
A female voice sounded, and the door opened automatically.
"?"
Lucas was momentarily confused.
He had been gone for less than three months—since when did his house have an intelligent recognition system?
Not bothering to dwell on it, he walked into the living room and called out:
"Carrie? Elaine?"
"Master," the voice replied calmly.
"Miss Carrie and Miss Elaine have already left together with Miss Kara."
"They left on May 4th, 2004, and recorded a voice message before departing. Would you like it played?"
Lucas froze for a moment, then immediately said,
"Play it!"
The ceiling opened, and a beam projector extended downward.
Several rays of light intersected, and Kara's figure appeared before him.
"Lucas, if you've returned, please head to Metropolis as soon as possible to help Clark."
Kara's expression was tense.
"General Zod of Krypton has already arrived on Earth. He has taken control of Clark's ice fortress in the Arctic."
"Inside the ship is the incubation chamber Uncle Jor-El left behind. As long as they obtain the Codex within Clark's body, they can begin recreating Kryptonians."
"I've already sent Carrie and Elaine to an underground facility arranged by S.H.I.E.L.D. They are absolutely safe for now. I'll have Elizabeth give you the coordinates."
"Clark and I will continue fighting, but to be honest… our chances don't look good."
"I hope you can come back quickly."
The projection faded.
"Master," Elizabeth's voice followed,
"I have transmitted all relevant coordinates to your new personal terminal."
The ceiling opened again, and a mechanical arm placed a black case in front of Lucas.
He opened it, put on the retinal terminal, and a virtual map immediately appeared before his eyes.
Lucas turned and left the living room.
With Fenrir, he shot straight into the sky.
His gaze sharpened as he locked onto the coordinates Kara had sent and flew toward them at full speed.
At the same time, he used the terminal to call Kara.
The call connected instantly.
"Lucas—you're back!" Kara's voice was filled with relief.
"Tell me exactly what's going on," Lucas said, wasting no words.
"We're hiding in a mountain valley," Kara replied quickly.
"Clark and I are recovering from our injuries."
The moment Lucas heard this, anger surged violently in his chest.
Suppressing it, he asked,
"How bad is it?"
"Clark was surrounded and severely injured. I was hurt trying to save him," Kara said.
"I've almost fully recovered thanks to the sunlight, but Clark will need more time."
"Zod has already taken control of all of Metropolis. Even the newly rebuilt Gotham next door has fallen."
"America's mechanized forces were completely crushed. Even missiles were easily intercepted."
Lucas frowned.
That didn't match the original film at all.
Zod's forces shouldn't have been this overwhelming.
Sensing his confusion, Kara explained,
"There are simply too many of them. Clark and I can handle at most two at once. We were ambushed."
"I understand," Lucas said coldly. "Leave it to me."
"Wait—no!"
Kara suddenly cried out.
"What happened?" Lucas's heart skipped a beat.
"I stepped away to take your call—and Clark is gone!" Kara exclaimed.
Lucas exhaled sharply—but forced himself to stay calm.
As long as Kara was safe, that was what mattered.
"Don't panic," Lucas said firmly.
"I'm heading straight for Zod. Clark will be fine."
"Stay where you are. Recover fully. Do nothing else."
Clark was the kind of man who could survive a nuclear blast—
there was no chance he would die that easily.
Lucas arrived above Metropolis.
Looking down, he saw devastation everywhere.
Once-towering skyscrapers were shattered, cleaved in half, or ripped open like broken shells.
Columns of thick black smoke continued to rise, as though the city had been through a full-scale war.
With a sweep of his senses, Lucas confirmed that most civilians had either fled—or were already buried beneath the ruins.
At that moment, two figures streaked out from the city center and stopped about ten meters in front of him.
They wore black bodysuits similar to Clark's, but instead of the El family's "S" crest, their chests bore the military insignia of Krypton.
Zod's soldiers.
Lucas didn't waste time.
"Where is Zod?"
"Who are you?"
One of the two—tall and powerfully built—stepped forward and questioned him.
Lucas was wearing Asgardian armor, clearly different from Earth attire.
And since no human they knew could fly, assuming he was extraterrestrial was only natural.
"Tell me where Zod is," Lucas said coldly,
"or die."
The two Kryptonians exchanged a glance, then attacked without hesitation.
A sonic boom erupted as the heavyset Elrix and Lias struck simultaneously, their fists smashing toward Lucas.
From their perspective, the outcome seemed inevitable.
Yet when their punches landed—
Shock spread across their faces.
The man they had struck hadn't moved at all.
It was as though they had punched cotton.
"Is that all the strength you have?" Lucas asked calmly.
Their expressions changed instantly.
They tried to retreat—but before they could activate their force fields and fly away, both felt their necks tighten.
Instinctively, they struggled.
Useless.
Lucas's hands were like clamps forged from the hardest metal in the universe.
Originally, Lucas had intended to restrain them with energy,
but Kryptonian force fields slowed his control just enough to prevent instant suppression.
So he chose the simplest method.
"I'll give only one of you a chance," Lucas said coldly.
"The one who speaks first lives. The other dies."
___
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