Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 24 The Tip of the Iceberg

Kansas, where it all began.

The sound of the sound barrier breaking drew ever closer; this was the first time Joey had returned to this place since that night.

The land remained scorched and parched, unchanged. This land, burned by hellfire, will likely remain barren for many years to come.

Joey didn't know why he came back here. Was it the psychological pressure from his first murder?

Joey almost instantly dismissed the possibility. Looking at Storm, all Joey felt was a sense of relief. Someone like her shouldn't exist in this world.

So what is it that is causing you distress?

Joey didn't want to think about this anymore. Maybe he should really listen to some of Raven's advice, such as erecting a monument for his adoptive parents.

Under Joey's thermal vision and hands, the soil on the ground skipped through geological changes that took tens of thousands of years and was reshaped into stone. Joey used his thermal vision to divide the stone and cut out a tombstone that was neither too big nor too small.

The graves of Jonathan Kent and Martha Kent.

Joey initially intended to place it on the ground, but after much deliberation, he took to the air, wrapped the tombstone in his biological field, broke through the constraints of the atmosphere and planetary gravity, evaded the relay satellite's observation, and placed it on a slope on the dark side of the moon, sheltered by a crater.

After doing all this, Joey returned to his home, floating in mid-air and looking down at the scorched earth, but a strange sense of fear arose in his heart.

Can I really rival the [Sangoku Demon]?

Joey's brain almost immediately gave a negative answer. This was a being beyond dimensions. To defeat it, he would have to be as powerful as that "Clark Kent".

Clark Kent's power comes not only from his Kryptonian identity, but also from the saintly love and justice within him, and Joey doesn't think he deserves these two accolades.

Raven's failed escape not only left him penniless, but also tolled the death knell for the universe.

The worries that Joey used to have about the Kryptonians visiting were no longer important now that [Sangokuma] could be watching this world at any time.

This world has no Speed ​​Force, no Batman, no Atlantis, no Paradise Island, no Martian remnants, no Justice League, and no superheroes.

There is only a group of seemingly powerful but actually charismatic humans, most of whom are engaged in deceitful and fraudulent activities, and a "superman" like himself.

Perhaps we should also add a raven.

It would be impossible for Joey not to feel any resentment towards Raven, but he also knew that pushing Raven too hard would do him no good.

In his view, the raven could simply leave and then jump to another universe.

Just as Raven's father, Sangu, saw countless universes and planes to conquer, Raven saw countless parallel universes to hide in.

Once the [Sangu Demon] retrieves the [Wrath], it will be impossible to find the Raven again without expending a great deal of effort. However, she did not flee, but chose to stay in this universe and face the [Sangu Demon]'s arrival together with the people of this planet.

Almost everyone in the world makes mistakes, and when these mistakes hurt others, what we often receive in the end is not a sincere forgiveness.

Instead, it's better to just forget about it.

Having lived a second life, it's hard for Joey not to stay rational. He still wants to continue his life, seek the power to take revenge, and fulfill the wishes he gave up before, instead of being crushed by the [Trigon Demon] who appeared out of nowhere in the fight with the Raven.

So let's just forget about it. Ravens can see into people's hearts, and perhaps it's because they've realized this that they've achieved such a delicate balance with themselves on this planet.

"I heard the same sound as that night, so I came to check, and it really was you."

The sound of car brakes came from afar. Old Arthur kicked open the somewhat deformed car door and jumped out of his beat-up jeep.

"Laurie said that the person she saw on TV that day was you, but I thought you died that night too. It seems my daughter was right."

Old Arthur stopped far away, lit a match and lit a cigarette, gazing up at the red and blue figure floating in the air amidst the swirling smoke.

"Where's Laurie?"

Joey slowly descended from the sky and approached his neighbor, but the other person subconsciously took two steps back. Even without a raven's talent, Joey could sense the fear and dread emanating from the other person.

Almost everyone assumed that Joey's own superpowers went out of control, leading to his parents' deaths. No matter how Joey explained, even if he frankly said that he was an alien visitor like the Homelanders, it was to no avail.

It's as if awakening superpowers and killing one's own parents is a common occurrence.

"Kid, your parents' deaths weren't entirely your fault. I told you that that night."

Arthur took a deep drag, and the cigarette in his mouth instantly dwindled by a third.

"If I told you that every superhuman in this world, every child with superpowers, was born because their greedy parents sold their children's future to the devil Walter, including you and your parents, would that make you feel any better?"

"If you want to tell me something, keep it short. Also, don't bring my parents into this. I'm not like those people."

Joey gently blew, turning the cigarette in old Arthur's mouth into an ice pop:

"There's one more thing, old man, smoking is bad for your health."

Old Arthur sighed, turned around and patted the car door to signal Joey to get in. He had more than just this one thing to tell him.

Vought International monopolized the superhero market in North America, and these "superheroes" were all approached by Vought International when they were still babies or even embryos, who persuaded parents to inject themselves or their babies with "Compound Five" by offering money and promises of the future.

The Arthurs, who live in Iowa, are among them. Arthur's wife voluntarily injected the embryo with drugs during her pregnancy, but Laurie did not show any signs of having superpowers for five or six years after her birth.

After regaining his senses, Arthur accessed more information through his own channels and realized that the awakening of superpowers is not a gentle process.

Arthur's wife, Laurie's mother, still fantasizes about the glory of having a daughter with superpowers, which makes her attitude towards her daughter, who has no superpowers, increasingly worse.

Arthur had no choice. To protect his ex-wife and, more importantly, his daughter, he had to leave with her, abandoning everything he had before, and become a farmer in Kansas.

Did you tell Laurie about this?

After listening to Arthur's account, Joey immediately recognized the "compound" he had seen in Vought's internal email system. No wonder Vought could be so domineering towards most superheroes.

These superheroes are not heroes at all; they are not even human beings. They are merely commodities objectified by capitalist behemoths like Vought.

"Not yet." Old Arthur stepped on the brake and, ignoring Joey's protesting gaze, struck another match and lit a cigarette.

To avoid inhaling secondhand smoke, Joey decisively opened the car door and got out. Then he saw the Catahoula herding dog that had crawled into the enclosure barking at him after hearing the noise.

Joey was used to it; this black and white spotted stupid dog did this almost every time, and Laurie would immediately come out and give it two big slaps and it would quiet down.

But Joey waited for a long time, but Laurie never came out.

Arthur walked over and patted Joey on the shoulder:

"This is the second thing I wanted to tell you..."

~~~~

Starlight used all the willpower she had ever mustered to finally get out of bed.

The investigation over the past few days has left her feeling uneasy. These cases of missing children are all too clean; the fact that not a single clue can be found is a clue in itself.

Overall, it was a case of gaining nothing but also receiving something.

After hitting numerous walls, she finally began to ponder Stan Edgar's purpose in entrusting the case to a complete novice like herself.

But after thinking about it, I realized that this was something I couldn't figure out, and I didn't have any other good options for the sake of my position in the Super Seven.

She was thinking about making a map when she went to sleep yesterday, listing the locations of the missing persons cases, and seeing if she could observe any patterns.

Starlight stumbled into the bathroom, groping sleepily for the toothbrush on the vanity, thinking that she would go buy a map of the New York area and some thumbtacks when she was more awake.

Through her blurry vision, Xingguang saw that her once-proud golden hair in the mirror seemed to have turned white. She lowered her head, spat out the toothpaste foam, and prepared to rub her eyes again.

Even if I overwork myself these past two days, it's impossible for my hair to turn white overnight, right?

Before Xingguang could make a move, the white figure in the mirror reached out and grabbed Xingguang's neck.

Now Starlight was fully awake.