บท 247: Shadows of Power
A primal fear buried deep within his soul made his legs weak for a moment.
Then it hit him—the hands gripping his waist belonged to the very person he had been searching for all this time.
Superman.
Superman stood there in his iconic blue suit, with a velvet-like dark red cape billowing behind him. Yet, oddly, the background of the emblem on his chest—the famous 'S' shield—was now black instead of yellow.
His brows furrowed deeply as he stared down at Soren, forming a stern vertical crease that amplified the weight of his commanding presence.
His gaze was fierce and authoritative.
Soren, staring back at him, opened his mouth, but beneath the helmet, his face had gone pale with fear.
A wave of inexplicable dread washed over him, making him tremble uncontrollably.
His heart tightened painfully, as though he knew that something terrible was about to happen just from the look in those eyes.
Seeing Soren's sudden fear, the anger in Superman's pale blue eyes slowly dissipated.
Clark's expression softened, a trace of sorrow flashing across his face.
He turned his gaze away from Soren and toward the descending figure of Homelander, who was now gently landing nearby.
Homelander's stars-and-stripes cape fluttered gently as he landed, his eyes quickly locking onto Superman.
He studied him with a mildly surprised expression, wearing a rehearsed look of friendliness. "—Superman, huh? You look a little different than I imagined."
Meanwhile, the police cars had finally caught up. Officers jumped out of their vehicles, moving cautiously as they began to surround the area.
Clark fixed Homelander with a dark, steady gaze. "You almost killed him."
Homelander raised an eyebrow and shrugged casually. "—The cops were chasing them. I was just helping the police apprehend the suspects."
Clark clenched his fists, his eyes growing colder.
He fought to keep his emotions in check, not wanting Soren to see the terrifying side of him. In that brief moment, his x-ray vision activated, piercing through Homelander's body, as he examined this new "superhero" more closely for the first time.
Homelander noticed the faint blue glow in Clark's eyes and smirked, spreading his hands. "Are you scanning me, Superman?"
His grin quickly faded, his expression turning a little more sinister as he looked at Clark. "—That's not very polite."
"Don't move!"
The officers were closing in, hands hovering over their holstered guns, ready for any sudden action.
The lead officers also noticed the subtle changes in Superman's appearance.
They exchanged uncertain glances, one of them hesitantly calling out to Clark. "...Superman? Are you alright?"
Given Superman's long-standing positive relationship with the Metropolis Police Department, the officers instinctively assumed that his presence here was to assist in the apprehension of the suspects.
About twenty meters away, Red Hood sprang back to his feet.
Seeing Soren in Superman's arms and noticing that a large number of officers had surrounded him, Jason quickly tossed a smoke bomb.
The sudden billow of white smoke cloaked his movements as he skillfully took down one of the officers, creating a gap in the perimeter.
"Stop him! Don't let him get away!"
All the officers rushed to support the breach, leaving only a few to handle Soren. One of the officers spoke up, "Thank you both for assisting with our work, Superman, Homelander. Now, if you could hand over the suspect to us."
Soren, hearing this, finally realized something wasn't right. He looked confused and protested, "...Wait a second, how am I the 'suspect'? I didn't do anything! Weren't you after Red Hood?"
The officer responded, "As law enforcement, we have the right to detain and investigate anyone involved in illegal activities. You fled the scene, ignoring police warnings, and—"
"He's just a passenger," Clark interrupted in a firm tone.
Homelander stepped forward with a smile, adding, "But he still needs to be questioned by the police, Superman. You can't just take him away like that."
Clark turned his head and glanced at him.
…During those five years of ruling, Clark had given that same look to many people.
Back then, he had already established a global dictatorship, ruling the entire Earth with an iron fist. Over time, he had unknowingly developed the oppressive aura of a supreme ruler.
Even the most casual glance from him could terrify people, sending shivers down their spines.
Although the timeline had since been reset, the terrifying oppressive presence of that once godlike figure still clung to him, impossible to shake off.
When Homelander met his gaze, he instantly felt a cold chill run through his body.
A strange fear crawled up his spine from his heels, and it was all he could do to maintain his facial expression.
His face quickly darkened.
With a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes, Homelander said, "You wouldn't interfere with the officers doing their job, would you, Superman?"
Clark stared at him coldly, his gaze full of warning.
—If this had been the old Clark, he might have immediately explained everything to the police, patiently clearing up the misunderstanding.
But now, after realizing that had he arrived even a second later, Soren might have broken his neck on that guardrail, he couldn't remain calm.
—What if he hadn't been listening with Batman at that moment?
What if he had been just half a second too late?
Neither man backed down, and the tension between them instantly escalated.
The surrounding officers exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of whose side to take.
In fairness, they were obviously more familiar with Superman.
Ever since he first appeared in Metropolis more than a decade ago, this alien guardian of Earth had become a symbol of the city.
Every citizen of Metropolis proudly spoke of their "Man of Tomorrow," and people would often habitually glance up at the sky, looking for that red cape soaring across the horizon.
But the Superman standing before them now…
Not only did he seem to have aged suddenly, but the aura around him felt entirely unfamiliar and unsettling.
As the standoff dragged on, Soren suddenly spoke up, breaking the tension. "Oh, I didn't realize we were speeding just now, officer!"
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