Chapter 539: Anti-Kryptonian Armor
Locating Clark
A ball of Green Flame suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The fire vanished, leaving behind only a cluster of energy glowing with a faint green light.
Although the fire was gone, the aura of soul-consumption had not dissipated.
J'onn J'onzz took a deep breath, fighting his innate Martian fear.
"Are you sure you can find Clark?"
"As long as he's still alive, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Then do it!"
J'onn relaxed his body, speaking casually. "After the Battle of Metropolis, I always wanted to ask for your help, to use the Green Flame to overcome the Martian fear of fire. Then you died and came back to life. Maybe this is a good thing for me."
Luke shook his head, looking exasperated. "I advise you not to think like that. This stuff isn't as simple as you imagine."
"Be careful. I'm starting now!"
The Martian Manhunter closed his eyes, concentrating all his psychic power. Luke placed his hand on J'onn's shoulder, and the green energy overflowed from his palm, fusing into the Martian's body.
In the past six months of cultivation, the Green Flame had constantly devoured divinity, leading to a qualitative change. With repeated use, it acquired divine characteristics, becoming easier to manipulate and possessing unique abilities.
Luke could now suppress the soul-devouring power, retaining only the pure soul energy, though controlling it was difficult and far less effortless than the Green Flame itself.
As the green energy integrated, J'onn felt like a thirsty desert caught in a torrential storm. His psychic abilities multiplied exponentially. His senses grew clearer, and the range of coverage expanded dramatically, nearly blanketing the entire Earth.
The thoughts of every living creature echoed in his mind. Their voices materialized into countless figures. In an instant, billions of voices exploded in his head simultaneously.
Puff!
Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth. His cheeks twitched in agony.
Luke said sternly, "Don't think about anything else! Find Superman now, or you will die."
J'onn focused his mind, ignoring the pleas and shouts, and concentrated on the target. Soon, a figure appeared in his mind—faint, weak, and exhausted. It was Clark Kent's psychic signature.
"I found him."
Luke quickly released his right hand. J'onn vomited blood and collapsed onto the floor.
Diana and Lois, waiting outside, rushed in at the sound.
"What happened to him?"
"I'm fine."
J'onn waved his hand. "Clark is alive. He's beneath a canyon in Southern Texas. Besides him, I sensed many chaotic and violent psychic signatures there. They must be the Parasite Clones Lex Luthor created."
Hearing this, smiles finally broke out on everyone's faces. Lois was overwhelmed with joy.
Luke waved his hand, and a geographic map of Texas appeared in the air. Filtering out mountains, rivers, and plains, only the canyon areas remained. The ultimate target was one of two locations—easy to pinpoint.
The location was confirmed, but the question was, how to rescue him?
Lex Luthor had many clones, the Parasite-Superman, and Reach technology. All three were formidable weapons. Luke had limited knowledge of Reach technology, having only heard of the Blue Beetle; he was ignorant of the rest.
Lois suddenly suggested,
"Perhaps we can use Kryptonite as a weapon."
Luke raised an eyebrow, his expression subtly odd. Lois ignored it and continued,
"Kryptonite weakens Clark's power and is effective against other Kryptonians. We must use it against the clones and the Parasite-Superman. Only then do we stand a chance of winning."
"Luke, you have Kryptonite, right?"
At her words, all eyes turned to him. Luke shrugged.
"I have some, yes."
"Can you turn it into a weapon?"
"Weapons are too crude. They don't meet my aesthetic standards. How about Anti-Kryptonian Armor? I wonder if you'd be interested."
The Fortress of Technology
Five hours later, on an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
A water-blue warship, over a kilometer long and wide like a compass, burst from the sea and appeared before them. Blue light emanated from the main hatch. The seawater automatically parted, and a staircase formed from pure energy appeared in the air.
Luke made a welcoming gesture.
"Welcome aboard my private yacht."
Barry Allen's mouth hung open. He asked, dumbfounded,
"Th-this is a yacht? Boss, are you kidding me?"
"Anything that can cruise the deep sea is naturally a yacht. What else would you call it?"
Luke smiled and was the first to step onto the stairs. "Come on. I've prepared some things for you inside."
The yacht's interior was exceptionally luxurious. The furniture, sculptures, and decorations were all high-end. Virtual-energy deep-sea creatures floated in the air, looking real. Even more astonishingly, when you looked up, you could see the clear blue sky; the entire yacht roof was transparent.
The heroes were dazzled. Even the well-traveled Linda muttered under her breath, When did he build this? I didn't hear a thing.
The yacht had three levels: the top was the lounge, and the lower levels were the warehouse and testing facilities.
Deep inside the warehouse was where the powered armor was kept. Rows of uniquely styled powered armor were breathtaking. Judging by the appearance, there were at least five models, each with different functionality.
Luke walked to the last row of armor, pointing to a suit with green stripes.
"I specifically manufactured this to counter the Parasite-Superman. The plating uses composite biological material, which not only has incredibly high resistance but can also isolate the Parasite's powers. Wearing this, you won't have to worry about the Parasite stealing your strength. The green stripes contain Kryptonite components." With that, he glanced at Linda, who snorted and stopped a short distance away.
"Diana, J'onn, you will use this armor. As for Barry..."
Barry Allen, whose name was called, immediately straightened his back.
"Your goal is to rescue Clark and capture Lex Luthor. A stealth suit containing Kryptonite will be enough."
Barry was deeply disappointed. He had been hoping for a tactical suit with all sorts of flashy abilities, not a stealth suit.
"Prepare yourselves!"
Luke took Linda and left the warehouse.
Diana looked the armor up and down. She shook her head. "I don't like this thing."
Despite her words, she hoisted the armor and walked into a changing room.
Barry darted around like a child, eager to try on every suit.
A few minutes later, Luke returned to the warehouse. He glanced at the three heroes' gear and nodded slightly.
"Ava, proceed to the destination."
The yacht lifted off the surface of the sea, rose into the sky, and transformed into a streak of light, rapidly speeding toward the southwest. The thousands of kilometers passed in a flash, and they soon arrived over the canyon in Southern Texas.
Linda activated her X-ray vision and immediately found the missile testing base hidden underground.
"It's right there."
Before she finished speaking, a distinctively designed black fighter jet entered their view.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!