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Chapter 569: Rift
Earth, New York.
Clark cracked his neck and silently walked out of the sealed medical bay, gazing wordlessly at the azure sky.
It was a true azure, pure and flawless, the kind that made one's heart soar. He wanted nothing more than to spread his arms and embrace this beautiful world.
It was no longer the dim, apocalyptic color brought by Apokolips, but the color that belonged to Earth.
Tony took off his glasses and let out a long sigh. "Hey, pal. It's a good thing you woke up. Do you have any idea how dangerous your situation was? I almost called for backup."
"Sorry for making you worry," Clark said, his voice incredibly hoarse, as if his throat had been seared by flames.
"Don't worry, your body is adapting to all this rapidly. I really have no idea what the hell Tony injected you with. It's too strange."
Tony gave a big stretch, but it pulled at a freshly healed wound, causing him to grimace.
Clark looked down at his own two-meter-tall frame. His shoulders had widened by a third, and his "bloated" body had nearly doubled in thickness.
His fair skin had turned ashen. Clark couldn't resist reaching out with a finger, now noticeably thicker, to touch the gray skin on his other arm.
It was smooth, but surprisingly tough. Clark estimated that he was now at least three times stronger than before.
It was a comprehensive evolution of his muscles, skin, nerve reflexes, and cellular vitality.
But it had come at a price. His appearance had become grotesque.
"Your body is changing, pal. It just needs some time to shift in a better direction. It seems Tony injected you with some kind of all-encompassing evolution drug, forcing all your genes to upgrade. If you hadn't been able to endure it, you would have died." Tony quietly commanded Jarvis to deactivate the armor, which had been on standby.
To be honest, Clark's drastic changes had been terrifying to watch. While Clark was unconscious, his genes had undergone frantic mutations. His body had constantly expanded, and horrifying bone spurs and thick layers of keratin had even erupted from his skin.
Even more terrifying was Clark's power. It was as if his latent abilities had been unlocked; every unconscious tremor of his body could have easily leveled a skyscraper.
"I should thank Tony. If he hadn't injected me with that stuff, I wouldn't have survived until now. At least I'm still Superman. I can still protect Earth, right?"
Clark managed a stiff grin.
"Yes, yes, you're still you. Besides, the war is in its final stages. Tony took care of the most troublesome one, and the rest of the minions are being mopped up," Tony said.
Clark nodded gently, basking in the sunlight. From the moment Tony had appeared, he knew the war would soon be over. Although he didn't approve of some of Tony's ruthless methods, he never doubted his capabilities.
With every movement, every breath, Clark did his utmost to contain his surging power. He was terrified that the slightest lapse in concentration would cause massive destruction.
He even had to be careful with a deep breath; otherwise, not only would the glass in front of him shatter, but the powerful suction would also pulverize several adjacent buildings.
Clark slowly walked out and opened the main doors, but his immense strength accidentally tore the massive steel door right off its hinges.
A jarring metallic screech echoed as Clark innocently scratched his head. He then crumpled the metal door into a ball as if it were clay and tossed it aside.
"Lois..." Clark said dejectedly, looking at his girlfriend.
Lois Lane, dressed in a business suit, rose to her feet in disbelief. Staring at her drastically changed lover, she asked, "How did you... turn into this?"
"There were some complications. I had to become this way to survive," Clark said, forcing the words out.
The others were also startled, but they quickly composed themselves.
The competent Diana stated authoritatively, "It's nothing. It's just a change in appearance. As long as you're still Superman, it doesn't matter."
Clark shot Diana a grateful glance.
Lois couldn't help but take two steps back, staring in horror at the monster-like Clark. She couldn't accept that the man she loved had become such a grotesque creature.
"Sorry, I... I need a moment to think," Lois said, looking down, before hastily walking away in her high heels.
The incessant clicking of her heels felt like each step was trampling on Clark's heart.
Diana said disapprovingly, "How could she do that?"
"She's just having a hard time accepting it. Women..." Tony sighed, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes as he walked out.
"Are you asking for a beating?" Diana asked, cracking her knuckles.
"If it gets me a dinner invitation with a beautiful lady such as yourself, then a beating would be well worth it," Tony said with a straight face.
And then he really got beaten up.
Diana was a straightforward person. If Tony asked for a beating, she would oblige. As for dinner? Not a chance.
Clark looked forlornly at his new self. He could feel his body changing slowly, but no one knew when, or if, he would ever change back.
He might never change back.
"Where's Batman?" Clark asked, looking around.
"He's in Gotham City, fighting the remaining Parademons. The situation over there is a bit more complicated. On another note, The Flash made it back successfully. He said he went back six months and met the Tony from that time, but Tony refused to help because it would alter the timeline and lead to uncontrollable consequences," Diana said.
"So where is he now?"
"He's in the middle of a frantic dance with a skeleton called a Time Wraith. The bigger problem is, I haven't found a weakness for this skeleton yet," Tony shrugged.
Clark looked at him, bewildered.
...
Meanwhile, over the Pacific Ocean, The Flash was still running for his life.
A red blur zipped past, crackling with yellow arcs of electricity like a bolt of lightning on the move.
The Flash's face was grim as he glanced back at the creature behind him. Helpless, he just put his head down and kept running.
"Guys, what am I supposed to do?" The Flash yelled into his comms.
"Listen, the one thing you have to do is not let that thing catch you. We're running an analysis... Dammit, more Parademons just broke in! Cisco, send this thing to the other side of the Earth!"
Harrison ordered.
Cisco immediately put on his glasses and quickly left. His ability was to generate shockwaves, capable of creating a portal to traverse space.
"Did Tony say anything to you?" Harrison asked, pushing up his glasses. With his back to Caitlin, he concealed the cold glint in his eyes.
"Uh, he told me not to change history..."
"Honest, but utterly useless."
Harrison frowned, rapidly weighing the pros and cons in his mind. To be honest, the moment he first saw the Time Wraith, an immense fear had welled up inside him as well.
He was afraid the Time Wraith was coming for him.
(end of chapter)
Earth, New York.
Clark cracked his neck and silently walked out of the sealed medical bay, gazing wordlessly at the azure sky.
It was a true azure, pure and flawless, the kind that made one's heart soar. He wanted nothing more than to spread his arms and embrace this beautiful world.
It was no longer the dim, apocalyptic color brought by Apokolips, but the color that belonged to Earth.
Tony took off his glasses and let out a long sigh. "Hey, pal. It's a good thing you woke up. Do you have any idea how dangerous your situation was? I almost called for backup."
"Sorry for making you worry," Clark said, his voice incredibly hoarse, as if his throat had been seared by flames.
"Don't worry, your body is adapting to all this rapidly. I really have no idea what the hell Tony injected you with. It's too strange."
Tony gave a big stretch, but it pulled at a freshly healed wound, causing him to grimace.
Clark looked down at his own two-meter-tall frame. His shoulders had widened by a third, and his "bloated" body had nearly doubled in thickness.
His fair skin had turned ashen. Clark couldn't resist reaching out with a finger, now noticeably thicker, to touch the gray skin on his other arm.
It was smooth, but surprisingly tough. Clark estimated that he was now at least three times stronger than before.
It was a comprehensive evolution of his muscles, skin, nerve reflexes, and cellular vitality.
But it had come at a price. His appearance had become grotesque.
"Your body is changing, pal. It just needs some time to shift in a better direction. It seems Tony injected you with some kind of all-encompassing evolution drug, forcing all your genes to upgrade. If you hadn't been able to endure it, you would have died." Tony quietly commanded Jarvis to deactivate the armor, which had been on standby.
To be honest, Clark's drastic changes had been terrifying to watch. While Clark was unconscious, his genes had undergone frantic mutations. His body had constantly expanded, and horrifying bone spurs and thick layers of keratin had even erupted from his skin.
Even more terrifying was Clark's power. It was as if his latent abilities had been unlocked; every unconscious tremor of his body could have easily leveled a skyscraper.
"I should thank Tony. If he hadn't injected me with that stuff, I wouldn't have survived until now. At least I'm still Superman. I can still protect Earth, right?"
Clark managed a stiff grin.
"Yes, yes, you're still you. Besides, the war is in its final stages. Tony took care of the most troublesome one, and the rest of the minions are being mopped up," Tony said.
Clark nodded gently, basking in the sunlight. From the moment Tony had appeared, he knew the war would soon be over. Although he didn't approve of some of Tony's ruthless methods, he never doubted his capabilities.
With every movement, every breath, Clark did his utmost to contain his surging power. He was terrified that the slightest lapse in concentration would cause massive destruction.
He even had to be careful with a deep breath; otherwise, not only would the glass in front of him shatter, but the powerful suction would also pulverize several adjacent buildings.
Clark slowly walked out and opened the main doors, but his immense strength accidentally tore the massive steel door right off its hinges.
A jarring metallic screech echoed as Clark innocently scratched his head. He then crumpled the metal door into a ball as if it were clay and tossed it aside.
"Lois..." Clark said dejectedly, looking at his girlfriend.
Lois Lane, dressed in a business suit, rose to her feet in disbelief. Staring at her drastically changed lover, she asked, "How did you... turn into this?"
"There were some complications. I had to become this way to survive," Clark said, forcing the words out.
The others were also startled, but they quickly composed themselves.
The competent Diana stated authoritatively, "It's nothing. It's just a change in appearance. As long as you're still Superman, it doesn't matter."
Clark shot Diana a grateful glance.
Lois couldn't help but take two steps back, staring in horror at the monster-like Clark. She couldn't accept that the man she loved had become such a grotesque creature.
"Sorry, I... I need a moment to think," Lois said, looking down, before hastily walking away in her high heels.
The incessant clicking of her heels felt like each step was trampling on Clark's heart.
Diana said disapprovingly, "How could she do that?"
"She's just having a hard time accepting it. Women..." Tony sighed, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes as he walked out.
"Are you asking for a beating?" Diana asked, cracking her knuckles.
"If it gets me a dinner invitation with a beautiful lady such as yourself, then a beating would be well worth it," Tony said with a straight face.
And then he really got beaten up.
Diana was a straightforward person. If Tony asked for a beating, she would oblige. As for dinner? Not a chance.
Clark looked forlornly at his new self. He could feel his body changing slowly, but no one knew when, or if, he would ever change back.
He might never change back.
"Where's Batman?" Clark asked, looking around.
"He's in Gotham City, fighting the remaining Parademons. The situation over there is a bit more complicated. On another note, The Flash made it back successfully. He said he went back six months and met the Tony from that time, but Tony refused to help because it would alter the timeline and lead to uncontrollable consequences," Diana said.
"So where is he now?"
"He's in the middle of a frantic dance with a skeleton called a Time Wraith. The bigger problem is, I haven't found a weakness for this skeleton yet," Tony shrugged.
Clark looked at him, bewildered.
...
Meanwhile, over the Pacific Ocean, The Flash was still running for his life.
A red blur zipped past, crackling with yellow arcs of electricity like a bolt of lightning on the move.
The Flash's face was grim as he glanced back at the creature behind him. Helpless, he just put his head down and kept running.
"Guys, what am I supposed to do?" The Flash yelled into his comms.
"Listen, the one thing you have to do is not let that thing catch you. We're running an analysis... Dammit, more Parademons just broke in! Cisco, send this thing to the other side of the Earth!"
Harrison ordered.
Cisco immediately put on his glasses and quickly left. His ability was to generate shockwaves, capable of creating a portal to traverse space.
"Did Tony say anything to you?" Harrison asked, pushing up his glasses. With his back to Caitlin, he concealed the cold glint in his eyes.
"Uh, he told me not to change history..."
"Honest, but utterly useless."
Harrison frowned, rapidly weighing the pros and cons in his mind. To be honest, the moment he first saw the Time Wraith, an immense fear had welled up inside him as well.
He was afraid the Time Wraith was coming for him.
(end of chapter)
