Bab 139: Luthor's Death & The Cosmic Signal
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A just-aired live television channel was cut off.
"What just happened? I think I saw Superman and the Beyonder questioning someone?
Lex Luthor?"
"It sounds like he detained the aliens who attacked Earth?"
People's faces were surprised, excited, or skeptical, and they were all busy sending messages on their phones.
"I didn't know that aliens aren't protected by the law. So, on Earth, aliens have no human rights?"
"On the other hand, Luthor is human and protected by human law. In a way, it seems Superman and the Beyonder might be breaking the law?" Someone said in a weird tone, unsure of what to make of the situation.
"The screen went black, did the Beyonder take action? He doesn't seem to have the same respect for the law as Superman does, he doesn't care about violating it at all."
The blackout of the live broadcast from the LuthorCorps' television station led to even more intense discussions and attention, with people eager to know the outcome.
…
The intense pressure shattered the camera.
Luthor was lifted into the air, feeling as if he was being crushed by several mountains, his bones creaking under the strain.
He glared at David, his voice barely squeezing out through gritted teeth.
"Do you think you can crush me just like squishing a bug? So what if you can manipulate gravity!"
With hundreds of superpowers at his disposal to improvise and use, Luthor's strength was more than just this. Electricity shot from his eyes, and he transformed rapidly into a powerful electric current figure, hovering in the air, and looking contemptuously at David.
"Can you control me now?"
David frowned, his gravitational field having weak effects.
Transforming into a live electrical form, Luthor easily resisted the gravity David imposed.
"Anything with mass has gravity, and electrical current is formed by the directed flow of electrons.
Although electrons have mass, it's negligible."
Luthor released an electric attack, powerful enough to melt steel like lightning, burning the air as it fiercely struck David.
"You want to influence me in this form and hinder my actions, wait until you have the strength to tear the Earth apart with a wave of your hand!"
"You're right."
A dazzling electric current, like the cawing of crows, surged toward him. David didn't even flinch; he allowed the current to strike him, which was instantly absorbed by him, and sighed in amazement.
"I haven't experienced such a weak attack for a long time."
After facing Ares, the God of War, Orm, the Ocean Master, and General Zod, such a weak attack made him reminisce about the feeling he had when encountering superhumans in Smallville.
He thought about how Luthor was particularly interested in the scientist who had once studied meteorites.
Hmph!
'Unsurprisingly, Luthor's many abilities should probably come from the people in Smallville who were mutated by Kryptonite radiation.'
Having guessed the source of Luthor's abilities, David raised his palm, and a blazing stream of purple cosmic energy erupted, piercing the sky and hitting Luthor forcefully.
The electrical current that made up Luthor's body was extinguished, and he screamed as if he were being tortured, thrown back by the impact.
In his electric current form, he had escaped from David's gravity power, but it also meant that many of his abilities were rendered useless, effectively disabling 99% of his powers.
But there was no other way, at least this way, he could still resist.
Stabilizing his body in the air, Luthor rushed into the underground bunker. He tore off a thick cable and absorbed the electricity stored in the bunker used for scientific experiments. His body continued to grow as he absorbed the current.
Three meters, ten meters, fifteen meters.
Luthor's body quickly reached a height of a hundred meters, towering like a giant hill, and he swung his massive fists toward Clark and David.
"You alien bugs, this is the world of humans."
But he was like a paper giant, Clark dodged his fist, and David's body pierced his chest like a bullet.
A large hole appeared in his chest, his back arched, and Luthor's eyes bulged as he angrily punched David.
David caught the fist, which was even larger than his own body, and held it tightly. His energy-absorbing ability activated, turning him into an energy black hole, rapidly sucking away Luthor's electrical current.
He shrunk rapidly, like a deflating balloon.
Buzz~
A powerful telekinetic force ripped a corner of the bunker off and levitated it. Under Luthor's control, the wreckage of dozens of tons of steel and concrete was hurled at David.
David shot energy beams from his eyes, cutting the bunker open.
The electricity Luthor had absorbed flowed into David, and his body quickly returned to normal size.
What was terrifying, though, was that David showed no intention of letting go.
"No, no!"
Luthor widened his eyes, and his psychic shockwave, which could instantly turn tens of thousands of people into fools, struck David's head. However, it was like surging tides crashing against an immovable dam, having no effect at all.
David's cold eyes didn't even show a trace of emotion.
"Superman, are you just going to watch him kill me?"
As his body shrank, Luthor cunningly yelled out, seeking help from Superman, whom he had always wanted to eliminate or capture.
He wanted to exploit Clark's kindness and become his ultimate lifeline.
In mid-air, Clark clenched his fist, his face showing a struggle, and he moved forward.
"Think about what Luthor almost did last time in Metropolis."
Seeing Clark about to rush over to separate him from Luthor, David spoke slowly.
Last time?
Clark paused in his movement, his expression changing.
Last time, Luthor had exploited Clark's character and abilities, using a high-speed train carrying thousands of passengers and concealing a bomb. He had designed it to make Clark lose his strength and consciousness, nearly becoming an experiment subject for the military and Luthor.
But what concerned Clark was not those aspects; it was the thousands of innocent citizens used as bait by Luthor. Just as he had reached a certain distance, he struggled to stay in place.
Last time, he had luckily stopped the train, but what about next time?
"Allowing Lex Luthor, this unscrupulous guy, to continue living, who knows what he might do," David said.
"Don't forget, you owe this city."
Because of David's reminder, Clark recalled the recent disaster in Metropolis caused by Zod, and Batman's words echoed in his mind. He clenched his teeth, turned away, and refused to look at the scene of his brother killing.
"Superman, your principles have been twisted!"
With the final absorption of the electric current, Luthor's cheeks hollowed, and he stared in despair.
"No...!"
"Is this your final testament?"
In the comics, Lex Luthor tried many different methods to preserve his life, but this time they failed for the first time, David was still expressionless.
Luthor had exploited Clark's kindness to manipulate him. Clark wasn't deeply affected by it, but he was angry about the situation.
However, his desire to kill wasn't particularly strong; otherwise, he would have come for Luthor much sooner.
'It's just that Lex Luthor is too cunning and despicable, willing to do anything. Allowing him to stay alive is a potential threat.'
He wasn't afraid of Luthor's tricks and schemes.
'But I'm afraid that Luthor, as he continues to oppose us, will come into contact with both me and Clark more frequently and uncover our true identities.'
Smallville was just an inconspicuous town near Metropolis, but after several unsuccessful attempts to deal with David and Clark, Luthor would sooner or later target the small town, which was the impact site of the meteor, to unearth their real identities and find their weaknesses.
Those so-called weaknesses are Jonathan and Martha.
David wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. He grabbed Luthor's vulnerable neck like a vice, coldly absorbing his final electric current.
"Life, that is the sultry day; Death, that is the cooling night."
Luthor was almost turned into a mummy. With his last breath, he showed a strange serenity on his face and recited a line from Heinrich Heine's poem. He had an eerie, weak smile on his lips.
"Alexander has been remembered by the world for thousands of years.
I wonder if the world will remember me, Lex Luthor, a thousand years from now."
He stared at David and Clark, and after saying his last words, he lowered his head.
"I'm about to enter the night, but the name Lex Luthor will never fade away!"
David's eyes shifted, and he released purple cosmic energy from his hand to completely destroy Lex Luthor's body.
He didn't want Luthor's body to remain and become sensational headlines in the newspapers, and for his parents to be horrified when they saw it.
Additionally, he wanted to prevent the shrewd Luthor from faking his own death.
Nobody knew how many abilities he had gained through biotechnology.
Making sure that not a single cell of Luthor's body remained in the world, David reflected on his earlier words.
"What did he mean?"
Clark flew over, his expression a complex mix of emotions, with a hint of confusion.
Just moments ago, he, the superhero everyone looked up to, the symbol of hope for the future, had allowed his brother to commit murder right in front of him and just sat back and watched.
Luthor's final words obviously had a hidden meaning, but he couldn't figure out the specifics.
"Could he have left behind a plan to create a major news event, making humanity remember him forever through an unforgettable disaster?"
He speculated from the worst possible angle.
"Lex Luthor is a vain and ambitious man.
He wouldn't want that kind of reputation."
David shook his head and muttered softly, drawing a faint possibility from his memory.
"A clone?"
In the comics, Luthor was known for his cunning mind and advanced technology, constantly opposing Superman.
Among the technologies he possessed, cloning was one of his sharpest weapons.
Luthor's technology even reached a point where he could create a perfect clone of a Kryptonian after a period of time.
The Anti-Superman, Bizarro, who gained strength from consuming Kryptonite, was one of his experimental results.
'In a certain world, Batman once stole Luthor's cloning technology and mass-produced his own clones. He wanted Batman to become an everlasting symbol, maintaining the peak of his strength at twenty-seven, to intimidate all evildoers.
Luthor even transferred his consciousness into the body of his clone several times to escape death.'
Information about Luthor's cloning technology floated through David's mind.
However, based on Luthor's tone just now, it didn't seem like consciousness transfer.
'Now, he probably hasn't mastered that advanced technology.'
Most likely, he had left an opportunity for his clone to create a name for Lex Luthor in human history.
"A ridiculous aspiration..."
David couldn't comprehend Luthor's intense obsession with leaving a mark on human history.
'Even if you leave a duplicate, you won't be able to stir up any more trouble.'
Most likely, Luthor had left behind a contingency plan, so that once he died, some underground facility would automatically start cloning.
However, with Jor-El's ability to monitor the world, unless Lex Luthor's clone avoids all human technology capable of eavesdropping and surveillance, he will be immediately apprehended.
'At that time, it's just a matter of taking action and killing him again.'
...
After dealing with Luthor's situation, rescuing the two Kryptonians, and going to the Arctic to incarcerate them in the Fortress of Solitude, David and Clark returned home to rest for a few days.
The day for the start of university was approaching.
For most families, this should have been a nervous and exciting day when their children embarked on their university journey, symbolizing their transition to adulthood.
However, in the Kent family farmhouse at this moment...
"What did you say, you want to drop out of school?"
Martha had just finished feeding the chickens on the farm, returned to the house, and took two sips(heh) of freshly brewed coffee. She couldn't believe what she had heard and almost spat out the coffee in shock.
"Martha, calm down a bit, let them explain first."
Jonathan quickly reassured his agitated wife, fell silent, and looked at his two sons, vaguely supporting their decision.
"How did you come up with this? Are you serious?"
"Dad, you don't seem surprised at all," David said with a hint of confusion.
For most parents, when their sons who have grown up with great difficulty suddenly decide to drop out of university, they would undoubtedly be extremely anxious.
"Well, who can blame me when both my sons have not only saved the world multiple times but also repeatedly tested my heart," Jonathan smiled and joked with a humorous tone.
In the living room, Clark scratched his head and expressed his thoughts seriously.
"I don't think university can help me much, and it would take up too much of my time."
He could learn all the knowledge taught in university in less than an hour.
If the goal was merely to obtain a diploma that could lead to a good job and a good income, he could have become America's most sought-after football star earning millions before the age of eighteen.
He needed more time to have Superman soar over the skies of Metropolis, guarding the city that had suffered because of him!
A tinge of guilt flashed in Clark's eyes.
"I'm in a similar situation."
David spread his hands.
He didn't really care about university life.
He couldn't be honest with his parents either. He had two ancient civilizations to rule, which often tied up some of his mental energy, requiring him to maintain stability and extract emotional points from time to time.
He had no spare time for a leisurely university life.
"Alright..."
Seeing their determination and considering their special circumstances, their parents, Jonathan and Martha, weren't narrow-minded.
Although their relatives, friends, and neighbors might have some opinions, but they didn't care much about that.
Without the need to attend university, their tight schedule suddenly became more relaxed.
David and Clark had just prepared to spend a leisurely and relaxing afternoon when they received a message from the Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic, a reminder from Jor-El.
"You might need to come to the Fortress.
Zod seems to have attracted the attention of some individuals.
Someone in the universe is using advanced technology to search for the signal of the Kryptonian ship and is heading towards Earth."
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