Chapter 445: The Battle of the Kryptonians (3)
A Visit to the Fortress of Zod
The next morning, a spaceship bearing the Kryptonian crest landed outside the military base.
The hatch opened, and Faora, Edwin, and four other Kryptonian soldiers emerged.
Clark glanced at his girlfriend, stepped out of the military's defensive formation, and walked up to Faora.
"Take me to see Zod."
Faora nodded. The group boarded the ship and headed for outer space.
This moment was deliberately filmed and released to the media, creating an uproar in public opinion. However, in the face of the impending catastrophe, everything seemed irrelevant.
On a distant hillside, Linda (Kara) couldn't help but growl.
"I still can't understand why Kal is so foolish."
"Foolish?"
Luke Shaw shrugged, offering a different view. "I think what he's doing is quite smart."
"Handing himself over to his father's killer? You call that smart?"
Luke Shaw smiled and shook his head. "Linda, don't project your feelings onto others. You and he are different. Before you were thirteen, you lived entirely on Krypton and were exposed to Kryptonian education. Clark, however, is a child raised on Earth, who never met his birth parents but felt intense affection from his adoptive parents."
"Twenty years of nurturing grace cannot be denied by blood relation. You might not like it, but that's the reality: affection is stronger than blood, especially with the kind of people his adoptive parents are."
Linda sneered. "You're actually making excuses for him?"
"Just telling the truth."
Hmph!
The girl angrily turned her head away. "No matter what you say, I can't accept his approach. Begging for surrender from a sworn enemy is the act of a coward."
Luke Shaw was noncommittal. Clark wouldn't die. Even if Zod tried to kill him, he wouldn't get past H'el.
An Unwelcome Reunion
The spaceship exited the Moon's orbit and approached a giant warship. The hatch opened, and the ship entered. Faora and the others removed their armor, revealing their faces.
Clark looked around at the black walls, dark floors, ancient decorations, and oppressive atmosphere—typical Kryptonian style, like the Fortress of Solitude.
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his chest.
He clutched his mouth and began coughing violently, his face turning an unhealthy mix of red and blue, like a patient suffering from altitude sickness.
"My body—why is it doing this?"
Faora said coldly, "You adapted to the Earth's atmosphere, but you can't adapt to the Kryptonian environment. Pathetic."
"Take him."
Two Kryptonian soldiers escorted Clark toward the main control room.
The heavy door slowly opened, and a bright light poured in. A tall, sturdy, middle-aged man with a full beard and intensely sharp eyes stood beneath the fan-shaped moon-window. His silhouette overlapped with the bright light, making him hard for Clark to see clearly.
"You... you are Zod?"
"Welcome home, Kal-El!"
Zod stepped forward. Seeing the blood at the corner of Clark's mouth, he turned his head.
"What happened? Who injured him?"
Faora scoffed. "No one touched him. He simply can't adapt to the ship's atmospheric structure."
Right as she finished speaking, Clark spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed, unconscious.
The group fell silent. As a Kryptonian, he couldn't even adapt to the Kryptonian environment. The General was right; he was no longer Kryptonian.
Captive on the Ship
The unconscious Clark was dragged into a cell. Next to him was the infamous Lex Luthor.
This first close-quarters encounter between these destined enemies took place on the Kryptonian spaceship. Lex Luthor scrutinized him.
Superman?
The hero of Metropolis.
Why is he here? Was he also kidnapped?
There wasn't enough information for a deduction. Still, encountering a fellow Earthling on an alien spaceship was undoubtedly something to celebrate.
After the Kryptonian soldiers left, Lex Luthor walked up to the energy barrier and pounded on it several times.
"Hey, wake up."
"Are you dead? If not, make a noise."
He called out for five minutes without any response, forcing Lex to give up.
Time passed minute by minute. After an unknown duration, Clark opened his eyes. Feeling the exhaustion in his body, he gave a wry smile. On Earth, he was an all-powerful god. But aboard the Kryptonian ship, all his superpowers vanished, leaving him with only a mortal body.
"You're finally awake. I thought you died."
The unfamiliar voice startled Clark. He turned and, seeing the iconic bald head, blurted out.
"Lex Luthor?"
"You know me?"
Clark leaned against the barrier and climbed to his feet. "The media reported that you were abducted by aliens. It's hard for anyone not to know."
"What about you?"
Lex Luthor asked curiously. "How were they brought you here? Were you captured too?"
"I came by myself."
Clark forcefully knocked on the barrier. Soon, two Kryptonian soldiers came over. After a brief exchange, they escorted him away. Witnessing this, Lex Luthor instantly reacted, shouting after them.
"You're an alien!"
Clark paused for a moment but didn't respond. The three left the prison and headed for the main control room.
After all that time, he had slightly adapted to the ship's atmosphere, no longer throwing up blood or passing out as he had initially. Seeing Zod again, he remembered what Luke Shaw had said.
"You didn't come to Earth for me, did you?"
"Mind your tone when you speak," Faora snapped. Zod raised a hand to stop her.
"Don't worry about it," Zod said, stepping forward and clapping Clark on the shoulder. "Krypton was destroyed. Due to certain events, a few of us survived the crisis and became the last hope."
"Kal, whatever you experienced on Earth, it doesn't change your bloodline. You are Kryptonian, Jor's son. Krypton is your destiny, not Earth."
Clark said coldly, "Two years ago, you kidnapped Kara and attempted to seize control of the Fortress of Solitude?"
"That was a misunderstanding."
"My father, Jor, died by your hand."
The smile vanished from Zod's face, replaced by a grave seriousness.
"You speak of the most painful memory in my heart. Yes, I did kill my best friend. If time were reversed, I would do it again. Jor's ideas were too conservative. Krypton had reached a stage where it had to change, yet he clung fiercely to the corrupt and incompetent Council."
"If he hadn't stopped me, Krypton would have found new life through me."
Clark scoffed internally. Kara was right; Zod was a madman.
Clark had investigated Krypton's situation in the Fortress of Solitude. According to the records, Krypton was nearing energy depletion, plagued by internal rebellion and external threats—like a terminal patient waiting for the drip to be pulled. A heavy punch at that time wouldn't revive it; it would only hasten its death.
Everything Zod did was merely the action of a bitter man refusing to accept reality.
The conversation was destined to end on bad terms. Clark returned to the cell and saw Lex Luthor again. The bald man stared at him, asking word by word,
"Who exactly are you?"
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