"Hey, Uncle Adrian!"
Adrian had just begun walking away from the park with Rachel when a familiar voice called out behind them.
The two turned and saw Lyra hurrying toward them.
Dressed in a baseball jersey, the young woman wore an unhappy expression. Her short black hair framed a youthful and beautiful face, and her features had grown even more striking than Lois's.
She quickly reached Adrian and spoke anxiously.
"Those mechanical forces have already invaded Metropolis. Every satellite in orbit has been destroyed."
Lyra had only recently graduated from high school and had yet to enter college. She possessed a far more impulsive temperament than her mother. Unlike Clark and Lois, whose lives revolved around journalism, Lyra preferred the freedom that came with using her powers openly.
She enjoyed acting as a hero.
She enjoyed protecting people.
Her rebellious nature constantly worried Clark and Lois.
The mechanical army she spoke of was part of an artificial intelligence crisis that had recently erupted. Countless mechanical lifeforms, directed by hidden forces, had begun attacking Earth.
Lyra's strong sense of responsibility made it impossible for her to remain idle.
After driving back part of the invading forces, she had come seeking Adrian's assistance.
Clark was currently away from Metropolis, leaving Adrian as the only person she could turn to.
She knew that her uncle, like her father, possessed Kryptonian strength and an indestructible body.
Seeing the concern in her eyes, Adrian had no intention of refusing.
The girl standing before him was his eldest niece.
After allowing Lyra to leave first, Adrian turned toward Rachel.
"I'll return soon."
Rachel nodded quietly.
Although she felt reluctant, she could only watch him leave.
As for Lyra, Rachel never knew how to treat the girl.
She seemed too real.
Her emotions, her personality, and her dreams all felt genuine.
Rachel could no longer determine whether Lyra was simply a projection within Adrian's mind or an existence that had somehow become real.
Far above Earth, Lyra floated in space wearing a suit modeled after Superman's uniform.
In her arms she carried a burning satellite that was rapidly falling toward Earth.
The enormous wreckage trailed fire behind it as it plunged downward.
The tremendous force pressed against her body.
"Ugh!"
Lyra gritted her teeth.
The steel crashed against her shoulders as she summoned every ounce of her Kryptonian strength.
Her hands tightened around the satellite.
She forced herself to remain steady.
"If you need me, I'm here."
Adrian appeared behind her.
Watching her struggle against the enormous weight, he smiled faintly.
"But it looks like you're handling things pretty well."
Relief immediately appeared on Lyra's face.
"But I still need Uncle's help right now."
Her pleading expression made Adrian shake his head slightly.
She simply could not move the satellite back into orbit alone.
Reaching forward, Adrian grasped the debris beside her.
Together they carried the damaged satellite.
The blue planet stretched beneath them while the stars surrounded them in silence.
After safely returning the satellite to orbit, Lyra stared quietly at Earth.
The world below glowed blue beneath the sunlight.
"Uncle."
She suddenly closed her eyes.
"What is it, Lyra?"
Adrian looked at her.
Taking a slow breath, she opened her eyes again.
Their brilliant blue color seemed to shine like distant stars.
"I can see this world. I can see everything in it."
Her red cape fluttered behind her despite the absence of wind.
"I can see this world falling apart."
She looked toward Adrian.
"What should I do?"
Her expression carried confusion.
She was struggling to understand the endless conflicts of humanity.
"We possess power, Lyra," Adrian answered seriously. "We can stop people from harming themselves. We can prevent them from destroying the world. We can guide its future."
Lyra remained silent.
Then she smiled.
Raising one finger playfully, she said:
"Or we could try not sounding like supervillains."
She laughed softly.
To her, Adrian's words sounded dangerously close to those spoken by tyrants.
Looking back at Earth, she continued.
"We can't do everything ourselves. We can't fight every battle for them. You and Dad taught me that."
She had developed her own understanding of humanity.
"We cannot stop every storm. We cannot suppress every rising tide. We cannot defeat every machine."
Adrian felt a measure of relief.
Lyra possessed Clark's kindness.
That kindness comforted him.
Yet it also worried him.
People like Lyra were often the ones who suffered first.
"Haven't you already tried?" Adrian asked. "Didn't you fight them?"
"I did."
Lyra proudly raised her fist.
"I punched that guy called Super Storm right in the face."
Super Storm was one of the leading figures behind the artificial intelligence crisis, an ordinary human who claimed to represent humanity's struggle against superpowered beings.
Adrian looked at his niece.
"What will you do next?"
"I think..."
She grew quiet.
Looking directly at him, she spoke sincerely.
"I think I want to talk to them."
"I am not one of them, Lyra," Adrian replied. "No matter what happens, I remain an outsider."
"But I am one of them."
Her voice carried conviction.
"Can I tell them what I've seen? We can live beside ordinary people. Why does it have to become a war? We all love this Earth."
She looked into Adrian's eyes.
"I want to become a bridge between ordinary people and superheroes. I want this world to become better for everyone."
"Lyra..."
Adrian softly repeated her name.
"I'm here, Uncle."
She reached forward and held his hands.
Throughout her childhood, Clark's work as a journalist often kept him busy.
Many of Lyra's most important experiences had happened beside Adrian.
He taught her how to fly.
He helped her control her heat vision.
He guided her first steps as a hero.
Their bond had become something closer to that of a father and daughter.
"I want dialogue."
Lyra finally expressed her deepest wish.
She wanted peace.
She wanted understanding.
After a long silence, Adrian spoke.
"You've grown up, Lyra."
She smiled.
"I'll probably never grow up in Uncle Adrian's eyes."
The United Nations assembly hall was filled with representatives from around the world.
Rachel sat beside Adrian, feeling increasingly strange.
In reality, Adrian had already dominated the United Nations.
Yet here, within this mental world, she found herself attending a peaceful international assembly.
Looking at Lyra standing upon the podium, the sense of unreality only deepened.
She was supposedly a projection.
Yet she stood before the world as a voice of reason.
Behind Rachel, Clark and Lois sat together.
Both applauded proudly.
Their daughter stood beneath the lights.
"I am a child of two worlds," Lyra declared.
"I was born on Earth, but my father and my uncle came from another world. Their home was destroyed because its leaders rejected truth and embraced fear."
Her voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"We cannot allow Earth to repeat those mistakes."
She paused.
"People tell me that time is limited."
She looked across the assembly.
"And when I look at this planet, I can already see that our time is running out."
Her gaze moved across the audience.
She smiled briefly toward Adrian.
She looked toward her parents.
Her eyes then passed over Batman, Bart Allen, Midnighter, Big Barda, and Red Tornado.
Rachel studied the heroes sitting nearby.
In reality, many of them had opposed Adrian.
Here, they sat peacefully as allies.
She remembered their fates.
Midnighter had died beneath Adrian's heat vision.
Big Barda had vanished during the conflict against Adrian's forces.
Red Tornado had fallen in battle.
Yet all of them now listened to Lyra.
"We no longer have time for greed, cruelty, or selfishness," Lyra said.
"We do not have time to fight one another while our future disappears."
She took a breath.
"There is a greater struggle before us, the struggle for survival itself."
"I cannot save this world alone."
Her eyes swept across the hall.
"But together, all of us can."
Thunderous applause erupted.
The entire chamber stood.
Rachel watched in silence.
Everything felt surreal.
Lyra stood as Adrian's opposite.
Adrian solved problems through force.
Lyra sought understanding.
Adrian imposed order.
Lyra inspired cooperation.
Perhaps this was the future Adrian had always wanted.
A world where kindness alone was enough.
A world where sincerity could overcome fear.
After leaving the assembly hall beside Adrian, crowds immediately surrounded them.
Rachel followed quietly.
Suddenly, a large dog wearing a red cape rushed toward Adrian.
The Kryptonian dog barked happily.
It had grown up alongside Adrian and Clark and had become part of the Kent family long before Lyra was born.
Rachel stared at the animal.
Even now, she could not understand why such a dog existed within Adrian's mental world.
In reality, she had never heard of it.
Yet here, it was as real as every other member of the Kent family.
And once again, Rachel found herself unable to distinguish fantasy from truth.
===
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