Chapter 544: The Real and Fake Luthor
The Aftermath of the Storm
Lex Luthor sat dazed in the pilot seat. The thunder storm was right outside, striking for over ten minutes, and he watched for over ten minutes.
Each of these lightning bolts was enough to kill him. Death was right before his eyes, like a monstrous beast with bared fangs, yet it didn't attack. Instead, it watched with an expression full of mockery.
Luthor took a deep breath, pressing down on his constantly trembling arms, forcing himself to calm down.
"Luke Shaw, I will never surrender."
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of thunder finally vanished. Sunlight pierced through the clouds, forming a brilliant rainbow arch in the sky.
Beneath the rainbow, however, was a scene of utter ruin. The canyon was gone, replaced by a massive crater over a kilometer in diameter. The ground was pitted and scarred with large and small holes. Some spots were still smoking, and the soil was pitch black.
Barry swallowed.
"Is this the legendary 'Wrath of Nature'?"
J'onn asked curiously, "What is the Wrath of Nature?"
"The ultimate magic spell from the Warcraft game. You don't know it?"
J'onn was speechless.
He decided to keep his distance from Barry.
Linda muttered to herself, "Incredible destructive power. The topography has been completely changed."
Bruce narrowed his eyes, remaining silent.
This spectacular display changed his perception of Luke. The Asian youth was absolutely not as simple as the intelligence reports described. He had been concealing his strength all along. No one knew what his true trump cards were, and the thunder storm before them was only one of them.
"Let's go. We should check it out."
The group, bringing Clark and Mercy, headed toward the giant crater.
The final lightning bolts struck the Reach Spaceship, destroying the energy and propulsion systems, leaving Lex Luthor nowhere to run. He had no choice but to leave the ship and appear before the group.
The dark clouds dispersed, revealing a clean, clear sky. A figure descended from the air, stopping in front of Lex Luthor.
Seeing the young man before him, Luthor immediately pulled out a handgun.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
All seven bullets were aimed at Luke's head, but were snatched from the air by the quick-witted Linda.
Luke sighed slightly.
"Why resort to this? You weren't out of options. Why use such a cheap trick?"
Luthor threw the handgun to the ground and said arrogantly,
"If you want to kill me, kill me. No need for pointless talk."
Mercy struggled fiercely, her eyes filled with despair and pleading. She didn't want her boss to die just like that.
Luke glanced at her and shook his head, looking exasperated.
"You're truly impressive. To get away, you won't even spare the person who loves you."
The heroes looked confused, not understanding the meaning of this sentence. Barry hesitated.
"Boss, what are you talking about? How could he have escaped?"
Lex Luthor was just an ordinary human. Even with eight legs, he couldn't have evaded their pursuit.
Luke walked up to Mercy and peeled off the tape over her mouth.
"Didn't he tell you?"
Mercy snapped her head away, refusing to say a word.
Luke raised his hand, and a bolt of lightning flew from his fingertip, piercing Lex Luthor's chest. The man opened his mouth, full of indignation, and collapsed to the ground.
Bruce shouted angrily,
"What are you doing? Why did you kill him?"
Barry Allen also looked confused. They were supposed to interrogate him; why did Luke kill him?
Luke offered no explanation, turning instead to J'onn.
"You sensed it, didn't you?"
The Martian Manhunter nodded slightly, saying with a complex expression, "He is not Lex Luthor. He is just a clone."
This statement was like a thunderclap, stunning the group and filling them with an indescribable sense of absurdity.
A clone?
Cloning himself?
What kind of maniac would do such a thing!
Barry couldn't help but ask, "Did he have a brain parasite, too?"
"I didn't see a parasite."
Linda responded, then cast a confused look at Luke. Clones usually have no self-awareness. If the Lex Luthor before them was a clone, he should have had a brain parasite.
"That's what makes him terrifying."
Luke lowered his gaze, his expression exceptionally grave. "He used cloning technology to replicate himself, creating a body and injecting it with his memories. In a sense, the copy is Lex Luthor. Aside from a difference in soul, they are identical in every other way."
The air fell into an eerie silence.
The group exchanged glances. Cultivating clones was one thing, but transplanting memories? With memories, the clone was essentially another version of himself. This... this was simply incomprehensible.
Mercy screamed angrily, "You're lying! It's all a conspiracy! The boss wouldn't do this! Never!"
As she spoke, tears streamed out uncontrollably. The realization that the person she had been sleeping with all this time was a clone made her heart seize up.
She loved that man deeply, yet he created a clone and had the clone sleep with her.
How absurd!
Bruce was also speechless. The clone controlled everything, while the real man was nowhere to be found.
Lex Luthor, a terrifying lunatic!
Cleanup and Diana's Awakening
The battle was over. Next was cleaning up the battlefield. The clones and behemoths were pulverized into sludge by the lightning, dead beyond a doubt. The Reach Spaceship suffered minimal damage, a result of Luke's intentional control.
The Reach were a highly advanced insectoid civilization, particularly skilled in bio-tech. Their technology was something Luke had coveted for a long time.
Bruce had little interest in the technology, but he wanted to take Mercy Graves with him. Luke did not refuse. Batman had contributed significantly, so taking one or two trophies was acceptable.
Subsequently, the group went to the ruined missile base. The top two levels had been destroyed by lightning, leaving only the third level. This was the cultivation center. The huge room was filled with various culture tanks, each containing human tissues.
Hands, heads, thighs, livers, reproductive organs, etc.—every necessary part was present.
The sight made the heroes' scalps crawl. Even the usually composed J'onn frowned.
Barry raged, "Blow this place up! Don't leave a single thing behind!"
Bruce agreed with the suggestion.
"The pulse bomb is outside. We can detonate it anytime."
Luke thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Go ahead and bomb it!"
Ten minutes later, a mushroom cloud rose over Texas. The combination of the electromagnetic pulse and Kryptonite pulverized everything into dust.
This scene was photographed by a hitchhiker riding nearby. The photo was sent to a newspaper office in Eastern Europe. The newspaper owner was about thirty years old and had thick, black hair, making him an object of envy.
Time passed silently. Unknowingly, three days went by. With the help of the White House and the military, the canyon battle caused no public reaction. The military's explanation was that it was a test of a new weapon.
Although the local government was suspicious, there was nothing they could do. All truth was buried in the ruins.
Inside the Lake View Villa north of Metropolis.
Diana, who had been in a coma for several days, finally opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was circulating brown liquid. She immediately struggled, tore off the respirator, punched through the glass wall, and rushed out of the therapy tank.
"Ms. Prince, I understand your feelings, but..."
Luke shrugged, his expression helpless. "Could you please put some clothes on first? I really can't work like this."
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