Chapter 160: [159] : Facing Superman!
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Roger flew toward Superman, who immediately noticed him approaching. Seeing Roger heading his way, Superman slowed his pace slightly, and then, without any warning, twin crimson beams shot from his eyes—high-energy rays as sharp as swords streaking toward Roger.
"!!"
Superman's unannounced attack startled Roger, who quickly dodged out of Superman's line of sight, weaving through the air to close the distance between them. Yet, Superman didn't pause for conversation, keeping the red-hot beams of his heat vision locked on Roger.
Roger frowned at the relentless pursuit. Increasing his flight speed, he evaded the beams while simultaneously firing his own heat vision back at Superman.
The red energy beams mirrored Superman's, cutting through the air and narrowly missing their target. Just as Roger could dodge Superman's attacks, Superman easily evaded Roger's return fire.
Roger's counterattack, however, made Superman pause mid-air. With a scrutinizing gaze, Superman asked, "Are you Kryptonian?"
"Why does everyone ask me that? Just because I can fly and shoot lasers from my eyes doesn't make me Kryptonian. Thanks, but no."
Roger sighed in exasperation. Thanks to Superman's reputation, anyone with remotely similar abilities was automatically assumed to be from Krypton. Couldn't they entertain the idea of parallel worlds or artificial experimentation for once?
"Not Kryptonian, huh? Then it doesn't matter."
Superman's tone turned dismissive, his figure vanishing like a phantom.
Boom!
A deafening sonic boom erupted as Superman surged forward at supersonic speed.
Roger's pupils contracted, but thanks to his super senses and heightened reflexes, he traced Superman's trajectory with precision. The Man of Steel was closing in at breakneck speed.
Reacting instantly, Roger matched Superman's speed, dodging the incoming attack. In a blink, their figures vanished from the sky, leaving only the sound of repeated collisions ringing through the atmosphere.
The furious exchange of blows, moving faster than the human eye could track, caused a series of explosive shockwaves.
Superman's tendency to attack first and ask questions later irked Roger, but he remembered his main goal: to buy time. With that in mind, Roger directed their battle upward, toward the upper atmosphere.
Boom!
Twin streaks of white vapor trails stretched toward the edge of the atmosphere, remnants of their high-speed ascent.
After just a few seconds of combat, Superman realized his opponent—while not Kryptonian—was at least as powerful. Taking Roger down wouldn't be easy.
"Who are you, really?" Superman demanded, halting his attack. Unable to gain the upper hand or shake Roger off to pursue Batman, he chose to pause and interrogate.
"I'm Roger." Flashing what he hoped was a friendly smile, Roger continued, "Believe it or not, we're friends in a parallel world."
"Friends?" Superman sneered, his smile twisted with malice. "I don't have friends anymore!"
Boom!
Roger's words seemed to strike a nerve. Superman disappeared in a blur, launching another furious attack at Roger.
This time, Roger didn't dodge. He met Superman's punch head-on, blocking the blow and countering, "I know... I know losing Lois hurt. But not all of this is Batman's fault—"
"Shut up!!"
Superman's icy demeanor shattered, replaced by a blind rage.
In this dark DC universe, Superman had lost his fiancée, Lois Lane. They had been engaged, and she was even pregnant with his child. But due to Lex Luthor's twisted schemes, Lois died in the Batcave, taking her unborn child with her. The tragedy allowed Darkseid's Anti-Life Equation to take hold of Superman, turning him into the Black Superman of today.
Even without the Anti-Life Equation, Lois' death alone would have broken Superman. In alternate storylines, it was often the catalyst for his descent into tyranny.
As these thoughts raced through Roger's mind, he pressed on, trying to reason with the enraged Man of Steel.
"Superman! Lois' death is a tragedy, but do you think she would want to see you like this? Your mother, Martha—do you think she'd want this for you?"
"Shut! Up!"
Boom!
Roger's words hit every raw nerve. Superman's rage boiled over, unleashing a surge of immense power. The bio-electric field surrounding Superman erupted with a force that sent Roger hurtling backward.
The blast cleared a temporary hole in the clouds as Roger rocketed toward the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Glancing back at the furious Superman, Roger couldn't help but smile awkwardly.
Irritating Superman had been his plan all along, to keep the Kryptonian's focus on him. But now, Roger couldn't help but wonder if he had gone too far.
"Roger... Roger... can you hear me…"
Oliver's voice crackled in Roger's earpiece.
Before parting ways, Roger had crafted a pair of communication devices using technology from the Marvel universe. These high-tech gadgets were so advanced that even as Roger neared outer space, he could still maintain intermittent contact with Oliver.
Hearing Oliver's voice confirmed their safety. "Loud and clear! How are things on your end?"
Roger shifted his trajectory, flying in wide circles to keep Superman on his tail while responding.
"We're safe... Bruce and the others are heading to the underground base... It's shielded from Superman's senses. I'll let you know once we're secure. What about you?"
Roger chuckled, "Well, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"
After a pause, Oliver replied, "Good news?"
"Good news is, Superman's so mad he's completely focused on me. He won't be coming after you."
"And the bad news?"
"...Superman's so mad he's completely focused on me. He's trying to kill me, and I might not get away."
"What the hell did you do?"
Oliver's voice was filled with disbelief.
Roger scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Oh, nothing much. Just mentioned his late fiancée…"
"…"
"And, uh, his mom, Martha. She's gone, right?"
The line went silent, as if everyone on the other end had collectively facepalmed.
Bringing up Lois' death and Martha's fate in front of Superman wasn't just reckless—it was outright suicidal. It was less like Roger was dancing in a minefield and more like he had strapped explosives all over himself.
Even Oliver, who had spent days with Roger, couldn't believe his recklessness.
"Well, anyway, don't worry about Superman for now. I'll keep him busy—"
Bang!
Roger's sentence was abruptly cut off by a thunderous impact. Superman had closed the distance, landing a devastating punch squarely on Roger's face.
The blow not only silenced Roger but also destroyed his earpiece, severing his connection to Oliver.
Roger's body hurtled toward the ocean like a meteor, trailing white vapor across the sky before crashing into the water with a massive splash.
Hovering above the waves, Superman scanned the area, his expression dark. He doubted that punch had incapacitated Roger but waited a few seconds nonetheless.
No sign of Roger surfaced.
"Hmm?"
Realizing something was amiss, Superman dove beneath the waves to search, activating his super hearing and vision. Yet, Roger's trail vanished completely, as if he had melted into the water.
"Damn it! Agh!!!"
Superman's roar of frustration echoed across the ocean, creating massive waves as his anger boiled over. But no amount of fury could undo the fact that Roger had escaped.
Far away, using the Space Stone to make a series of jumps, Roger smirked as he heard Superman's distant howl.
"Gotcha, Superman. That's my escape plan!"
While Superman's punch hadn't been part of the plan, it gave Roger the opening he needed. By diving into the ocean to obscure his movements and using his bio-electric field to hide his presence, Roger had successfully evaded Superman.
But he knew better than to face Superman again. By now, his actions had likely earned him a spot on Superman's personal hit list, second only to Batman.
"Time to regroup," Roger muttered, teleporting to the coordinates he had marked for Oliver and the others.
When Roger arrived, he found them holed up in an underground base. Built by Batman to evade Superman's senses and withstand Apokoliptian forces, the base was one of many such refuges.
"Why were you discovered?" Roger asked Batman.
After a brief silence, Batman admitted, "...I was deceived."
"Huh?"
Cyborg elaborated, "We met with local resistance fighters, hoping they had kryptonite. But... we didn't realize they'd already sided with Darkseid…"
"I see. So, your location was leaked?"
Roger nodded, the scenario eerily reminiscent of a nightmare vision Batman had once experienced—a trap baited with fake kryptonite.
"So, what's the plan now? Still searching for kryptonite?"
Batman paused, then looked directly at Roger.
"No. We're going to Gotham. But first, I need to know… who are you?"
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