Hal walked over and patted Ron on the shoulder, then said, "It's okay. No matter what, they really resemble your wife and daughter. Just consider it a beautiful dream."
"No." Ron gritted his teeth and said, "Precisely because they resemble them, I can never allow anyone to do this. Using them against me is not only a desecration and defilement, but also an insult to me."
"They think that my wife and daughter are weaknesses that will hold me back. But they're not. They have always supported me. No matter what I wanted to do, they always loved me. Their love is unconditional, not contingent on me doing what they say. I absolutely refuse to accept anyone portraying them as such vile manipulators!"
"They also believe that I'm someone who would be lost in tenderness, ultimately confused about right and wrong, and turning against allies. But I'm not. Even if they really came back, and now Earth or Mars is in disaster, I must move forward without hesitation because I am the Martian Manhunter and also a member of the Justice League. That's my duty. I won't shirk for any excuse."
Ron stood up and said, "No matter who the behind-the-scenes manipulator is, daring to humiliate me in this way, I will make them pay!"
"Both of you encountered such things, this must not be a coincidence," Arthur said, "I need to return to Atlantis first to see if my mother has also been revived. And you, Hal. I remember your father has also passed away. Are you..."
"If they really are revived, what should we do?" Hal asked, "Although I already know it's a conspiracy, we can't exactly kill them directly. If they get desperate, what if they go on a killing spree in the city?"
"Then control them first," Arthur said, "After all, your father is an ordinary person, it shouldn't be harder than dealing with me. If the Queen has really been revived, the Seven Ocean Tribes will certainly be restless again. I must hurry back to deal with it."
"It's not safe to leave these two imposters here. I need to send them to the Mars prison. That's a prison specifically for Mars people; they're unlikely to escape. Barry, come with me. After we're done, I need to return to Earth immediately."
"What's wrong?" Barry looked at him and asked.
"I have a bad feeling." Ron said, "The important people I've lost are not just the two of them. I'm afraid Dr. Erdel might also..."
Without further delay, they each went on their way. Ron went upstairs first, carrying his "wife and daughter" down and then sending them to the Mars prison. Although there were no more prisoners here, all the facilities were still operational. Or rather, the materials here are the greatest protective system, capable of isolating spiritual links of Mars people and not being destroyed by the strength of Mars people.
Ron placed them in the same cell. After giving them one last look, he turned and walked out of the cell. Then, Barry used Divine Speed to take him to Colorado State—Dr. Erdel's former laboratory.
Entering the laboratory, Ron looked it over carefully. He confirmed there was no one here, but there were traces of recent human activity. This proved that Dr. Erdel was very likely revived.
"We must find him immediately," Ron said, "The doctor has a lot of research on Mars and knows about the extinction of Mars people. I'm afraid he'll disrupt Bruce's plan."
Hearing this, Barry also became nervous. But soon, he thought of the incident involving his impostor parents and said, "Impossible. No matter what, he's someone who came back from the dead. If he comes forward claiming Mars people's invasion is fake, then people will just think he's Mars people misleading the human race to lower their guard."
Ron shook his head and said, "Scientists like him mostly live incognito. Life or death wouldn't be shown to the public eye. The doctor didn't have any friends. It wouldn't be impossible if he spent these years researching in this lab."
"More importantly, he must have conclusive evidence, including various Mars research data and my bodily data. Those opposition factions unwilling to give up won't easily let go. They might use the data he has to turn the current situation around."
"What do we do now? Go find Bruce?"
"No, we must inform Mr. President first. Not stopping Dr. Erdel was my fault. I need to find a way to make up for this mistake. Let's go to the Presidential Palace first."
Clark Kent had just finished a party speech. Speaking of which party it was, we must mention the former president and the opposition leader sitting below. That's right, after so many years, the Democratic Republican Party finally merged again. The current Federation is a one-party system.
And the reason for this situation is mainly because whichever party Clark wanted to join, the other side would certainly disagree; but if he joined both, then merging the two didn't make much difference. Hence, after some negotiation, the two parties decided that temporary merging could work to maximize benefits.
Thus, this internal party inquiry wasn't as smooth as imagined. Although these politicians unified on removing "thorns," the exact method would lead to numerous disagreements, such as whether to cooperate with other countries, prioritize developing diving technology or space technology, or maintain what level of military power... In short, there was still much to argue about.
During the inquiry, Clark solved most problems, but some remained. For instance, how to deal with the "Mars people" already infiltrating among civilians.
Originally, Clark knew the Mars people situation was fictional. But unexpectedly, Central City actually captured a pair of fake human fathers—Barry's fake parents. Clark was stunned when he received the news; could the fake become real?
He called Bruce, who just told him they weren't Mars people but didn't specify who or what they were. Clark assumed it was another type of invading organism.
The research on them found nothing abnormal, which further confirmed that human technology couldn't determine Mars people, causing a panic in Congress. Many congress members demanded Clark deploy his Personal Guard for a mass capture of Mars people and also called for dealing with these two individuals.
After all, the activation tower is still operational, and these two are a male and a female. If they produce a little Martian, what will happen to them?
But Clark doesn't want to kill them, because he knows they aren't Martians. Since they are unknown beings, they should be researched further. Additionally, his super intuition is telling him this is not the end, but only a beginning.
He stepped out of the Capitol Building and hadn't even gotten into the car when he heard that two Martians had been captured again. He turned to his assistant and asked, "Where are they this time?"
"Right in Metropolis. Also, these two are very skilled; they injured several of ours and then ran away. But for some reason, they stopped and said they wanted to see the President. But I think it's best if you don't go."
Clark frowned. Where did these two come from? Clearly, there are no Martians; how are these aliens popping up one after another?
"I'm going to take a look." Clark said, "Where are they two now?"
"They are currently in the jail of the Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. President, you must be careful, these two have superpowers. Not only can they fly, but they also have great strength, and their eyes can shoot lasers…"
The more Clark listened, the more familiar it sounded. He decided not to take the car and flew directly towards Metropolis. After landing at the entrance of the Metropolitan Police Department, the police welcomed him with cautious reminders to be careful.
Clark went inside. Upon seeing the two, he paused—they looked familiar. He carefully searched through his super memory; well, weren't they those two unlucky fellows who worked black labor at the restaurant back then?
"Mr. President! Mr. President!" Their English had become much more standard, not with that Spanish accent anymore. The taller one shouted, "It's us! Have you forgotten us?"
Clark helplessly covered his head. The police frequently glanced at him, and Clark waved them away, saying, "They are my former subordinates. Go out first, I'll talk to them."
After the police left, Clark went to the cell and said, "You two are Kryptonians. Where did you come from?"
The two seemed somewhat embarrassed. He said, "At that time, Zod went crazy, and we were afraid of being killed, so we defected. We were living well on Earth until a warehouse caught on fire. We used our superpowers to rescue people, and ended up being reported."
Clark sighed and said, "Just you two? I remember there were quite a few people on that spaceship."
"They should all be on Earth now, just hiding. If it weren't for the three or four people in that warehouse, we wouldn't have wanted to expose ourselves." The shorter one said, "When we worked there, they helped us a lot. We couldn't bear to watch them burn to death. Who knew…"
"Alright, from today on, you are my old subordinates. Remember, you are Martians, and you are Martians loyal to Earth. Just like me, understand?"
"I was just going to ask what this is all about, Superman." The taller one said again, "When the spaceship entered the Solar System, we landed on Mars, but the city was already empty…"
Clark quickly glared at him to shut up. After the tall one covered his mouth, the shorter one continued, "That's fine. But the two of us are soldiers and only know how to fight. If you want us to do something for you, especially to deal with those annoying politicians, we definitely can't."
"That's unnecessary. There's a very important task I need you to do." Clark said, "I will give you an agent identity, and you need to find other Kryptonians globally. I need their strength, and it must be fast."
The two exchanged a glance and then nodded. They both knew that reviving Kryptonian civilization was no longer possible, and it was better to live well on Earth. After Clark became President, these black laborers' living conditions improved significantly, much better than before. So, even though they didn't have voting rights, they supported Clark.
Exiting the jail, Clark said to the police, "It's a misunderstanding. These two are loyal to me. I'm taking them away now."
Of course, the police didn't dare say anything and released them straight away. Clark first took them to the Presidential Palace, then to the President's secretariat office. Shiller looked up at him, then glanced at the two behind him.
"Why is it you?!" The two looked at Shiller and said, "Aren't you the representative of the pharmaceutical company?"
"In the world, who doesn't have a few identities?"
"To describe 'deceiver' so uniquely is not easy." This was Clark speaking, "Alright, let's not talk about that. An unplanned situation has occurred. I need people to investigate. I want them to help me find Kryptonians. You give them a suitable identity."
"Unplanned situation?" Shiller asked.
"Problems occurred!" The喊声came from outside the office door. Ron and Barry pushed the door open and said, "Dr. Erdel may have revived. He researched Mars so deeply that he has sufficient evidence. We can't let him ruin Bruce's plan!"