Heisenberg waved goodbye to Bruce and in a blink arrived high above Gotham City.
In the distance, he could see the narrow island and the abandoned docklands, where people were still dealing with the chemical plant blaze.
Maybe this city called Gotham had never truly known justice, but in the face of disaster, its people still pulled together.
From far off, Heisenberg could make out Commissioner Gordon barking orders into his radio, constantly redeploying his officers.
And the Penguin, commanding his own men to help fight the fire…
Gordon had the radio in his hand, his tone anything but pleasant.
"Every fire engine in Gotham is already here. Be careful of the transfer equipment near the chemical plant. Get more fire crews here, now!
I honestly don't get it. He goes off to fight all the way in Metropolis, so why does it always have to end back in Gotham? Does he love his city that much?!"
Right after he finished, a new wave of sympathetic detonations rumbled from the chemical plant. The area was uninhabited, though, so Gordon didn't feel that sinking jolt in his chest.
"The explosions might go on for a while longer. Make sure our people stay safe. For now, just keep the flames from spreading toward the city. Thank god this is a no man's land. A real blessing!"
No sooner had he spoken than, less than a hundred meters away, the Penguin was giving orders in a barely restrained low growl.
"Get your fat asses moving and put out this damn fire! Don't give me excuses. The only reason that matters is all three of our workshops are down there! If you want any cut of the second half of the year's profits, then put out the fire, put it out!!
For hell's sake, which genius was it who told me I should build my workshops under an abandoned district?"
"Hm?"
Gordon caught a snippet of that, so he turned to look at the Penguin.
At exactly that moment, the Penguin happened to be looking at Gordon…
Their eyes met in the chaotic noise, then they both hurriedly turned their heads away.
"What rotten luck, damn Gordon!"
The Penguin frowned irritably, then limped toward his car.
"I'm leaving this to you. Don't let me see a single flicker of flame when I wake up!"
As he watched the Penguin hobble away, Commissioner Gordon frowned as well.
He waved a hand, calling over the nearest officer.
"Tail Oswald's people. Looks like we might get another nice haul!"
"But sir, don't we get a haul like that every day? Couldn't we just walk into any building on the narrow island and find the same sort of stuff?"
The officer's question made Gordon twitch his mustache in exasperation.
"Just do it. At least this time the scale won't be small. Maybe I can finally put him back in Arkham!"
"Yes sir."
…
Listening to their exchange, Heisenberg smiled to himself. For some reason, his mood right now was absolutely splendid!
With his greatcoat draped over his shoulders, he drifted over to the chemical plant. Amid the astonished looks of everyone below, he gently exhaled a breath of freezing air.
In an instant, the chemical plant inferno silently died out, but immediately countless lights swung to shine on Heisenberg.
"Awesome, Superman's here! That's great news!"
"Wait, that doesn't look like Superman. His clothes…?!"
"And his face, I can see his face. It's definitely not Superman. Superman's face always looks like it's hidden behind fog."
"Then who is it?"
"That style is badass, he's got this mob-boss vibe!"
"Hell knows who he is. Watch out for the cops!"
"Don't fixate on the savior; keep your eyes on those gang members!"
A chaotic jumble of voices rose and fell, making Heisenberg smile with satisfaction. He gazed around carefully at everything—the place, the people.
A moment later, he murmured softly to himself.
"The DC vibe really is better!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he vanished abruptly into Gotham's night sky.
Once he was gone, Gordon and the Penguin almost simultaneously looked up.
Then, from their separate spots, they both said the same thing:
"This city's got one more monster now!"
The difference was, as Gordon said it, he was frowning deeply, while the Penguin laughed with particularly wicked amusement.
…
Elsewhere, Heisenberg flew across the narrow sea and arrived at Gotham's neighboring city, Metropolis.
As he streaked through the sky, Clark, who had just carried a little girl out of a burning building, glanced up in pleasant surprise.
Moments later, Heisenberg descended right beside Clark.
His sudden appearance made the little girl in Clark's arms let out a frightened little "ah."
"Don't be scared, he's an elder of mine."
Clark gently explained to the girl, then turned his head toward Heisenberg.
"The meeting's over?"
"It's over, so I figured I'd stop by to see you on the way."
"Thank you, Great-grandfather. But I've already rescued everyone who needed rescuing. Didn't leave you any chances, haha."
Clark let out a hearty laugh, and at the same time, he set the little girl down on the ground.
Who would have thought that the little girl, once her feet touched the ground, wouldn't leave, but instead stared up at Heisenberg with her big, adorable eyes and asked:
"Mister, you're actually Superman's grandpa? Superman's grandpa is so handsome!"
"Haha, what a sweet talker!"
Heisenberg laughed and crouched down, ruffling the little girl's hair.
"You're quite pretty yourself, little lady."
As he spoke, Heisenberg glanced at the fire scene behind him.
Unlike the abandoned district, a fire zone packed with residents couldn't be dealt with using freezing breath until all the people had been evacuated.
That was probably why Clark hadn't simply put the fire out right away.
Heisenberg extended his right hand toward the burning apartment building in Metropolis and said to the girl beside him:
"Little one, let me show you a magic trick!"
He turned his right hand. In a flash, his bio-field shifted, instantly altering something unknown in every wisp of air within the fire zone.
A moment later, the flames vanished completely. Even the smoke was shunted away into the sky by Heisenberg.
"Your abilities still have room for development, Kal-El!"
Heisenberg teased. He casually pulled a small bottle of yogurt drink from his pocket and placed it into the little girl's hands.
"A little present for you. I'm off!"
The delighted girl hugged the bottle of AD calcium milk Heisenberg had given her and watched him depart with excitement.
Even though she could no longer see his figure, a new Superman was etched deeply into her memory.
This Superman was just as handsome, but his style was so dark!
Nearby, Clark looked thoughtfully in the direction Heisenberg had gone. He could see Heisenberg heading to the Kryptonian ship.
As far as Clark was concerned, his great-grandfather was probably going to clash with the humans over the Kryptonian ship.
When the Kryptonian ship had crashed in Metropolis, humanity had immediately taken control of it.
Clark could have moved the ship away anytime, but knowing his personality, he wouldn't stoop to wresting it by force from those so-called federal investigators.
So for months, he'd ignored the matter of the ship entirely.
But now Great-grandfather was going over there…
Clark couldn't help shaking his head. Great-grandfather had been sleeping in that ship all along; the place was practically his home!
He had no reason to stop his elder from going home, right?
He just hoped the humans wouldn't make things too tense with Great-grandfather!
…
While Clark was lost in thought, Heisenberg had already reached the Kryptonian ship.
He flew straight through the hole Doomsday had punched, entering the ship's Genesis Chamber.
The moment he landed, he saw dozens of special forces soldiers using chains to drag the ship's intelligent drone—the hovering mechanical creature from the movies.
Heisenberg couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"Hey, stop that. Even when you beat a dog, you check who its owner is. The owner of this ship is back!"
He called out lazily, and then, under all their stunned gazes, he gave the floor a light stomp.
An invisible force field instantly activated. Before the special forces soldiers could even react, they were all expelled from the Kryptonian ship.
As they sprawled onto the lawn like a bunch of tripped goons, they still hadn't figured out what had happened.
But the next second, the Kryptonian ship in the distance gradually lighting up gave them the answer they were looking for.
This vessel, which had sat idle in Metropolis for over three months, had finally welcomed back its true master!
Now, inside the ship, after Heisenberg's arrival, the intelligent system was nothing like its previously lifeless state, when it had allowed itself to be dragged by humans.
It slowly floated up and approached Heisenberg's side.
"Appearance identification, serial number HZ0014, convicted of treason, Elder Heisenberg has escaped confinement!
Behavioral determination: initiate physical suppression!
Information recheck: previous conclusion withdrawn. Genetic data does not match criminal file.
Detailed analysis: Krypton… Krypton… Krypton…"
The little mechanical drone actually started glitching out mid-sentence.
Watching the small machine beside his ear, its particle form continuously shifting, Heisenberg wordlessly reached out and smacked it hard.
As the particles rapidly dispersed and reassembled, the AI reorganized its speech.
"Genetic identification: ancient Kryptonian, direct bloodline of the gods, blood kin of Rao. Inference: you possess supreme command authority!
Greetings, revered new god of Krypton. Krypton is overjoyed to have you back. By right of bloodline, you regain eligibility for the highest ruling authority of Krypton. I will formally send a report to the Council of Elders!"
A moment later, the drone buzzed around in confusion a couple of times.
"Report transmission failed. Reason: no recipient. Specific information detected: host system determined to have vanished.
Revered new god of Krypton, greetings. As Exile Ship 0014, I am compelled to inform you: your nation has ceased to exist!"
With that, the drone began circling Heisenberg nonstop.
"Your nation has ceased to exist! Your nation has ceased to exist! Your nation has ceased to exist!!!
Kryptonian criminal Heisenberg status: expunged. Exile mission revised to colonization mission. Planetary modification protocols now listed. Please, new god of Krypton, prepare materials at once, complete the protocols, and rebuild Krypton.
Genetic sequence of new god of Krypton extracted, designated serial 0005. Ship command authority permissions updated.
Please enter your name, new god of Krypton!"
Listening to the drone's prompts, Heisenberg answered, exasperated.
"Heisenberg."
"Name matches that of the treasonous elder with serial number 0014. Please confirm if this name is confirmed."
"Confirmed."
"Heisenberg, Colonial Ship 0005 welcomes you. The ship's hull has sustained damage. Please verify your current environment to ensure your safety.
Activate energy field? Activate weapons systems? Activate communication systems? Activate environmental management mode?"
"Activate all of them."
"Received!"
In mere moments, countless systems that neither Zod nor Kal-El had ever been able to activate sprung to life aboard the vessel whose mission parameters had now been rewritten.
Over three hundred storage compartments inside the ship hissed open, and hundreds of mechanical defense drones poured out.
At the same time, as the ship's energy surged, a pale blue energy shield expanded outward from the hull, instantly enveloping all the ground within thirty meters of the ship.
Simultaneously, the ship's full-coverage defense systems extended from the hull.
Dark gun barrels first locked onto the special forces personnel identified as carrying weapons, then swiftly fixed on Clark, several kilometers away.
That chilling sensation made Clark's heart give a powerful jolt, and he stared toward the ship in utter disbelief!
"This… this ship could do all this?!"
Clark murmured to himself in shock. He then gently patted the little girl's arm.
"Quick, head home. Uncle has something important to do!"
"But Uncle Superman, you still haven't told me the name of that big brother Superman in the black clothes!"
The little girl looked nervously at Clark, truly worried he might just fly off.
Meeting the girl's hopeful expression, Clark said softly:
"That person is my elder, not a 'big brother' like you said. As for his name… I can only tell you if he allows it. But I can tell you his title. He is a Sun God!"
/-\
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