"Very good, Clark. You've found your family's crest. It seems you haven't forgotten the honor that belongs to Kryptonians! Excellent!" General Zod nodded with satisfaction as he recognized Clark, who was radiating sunlight.
Although Zod had come to conquer Earth and intended to take the Codex from Clark, and despite being an enemy who had walked a different path from Clark's father, Jor-El—even to the point of killing him—Zod didn't truly see Clark as his enemy.
The reason was simple: there were too few Kryptonians left. Even if Zod could extract the Codex from Clark, transform Earth into an environment more suitable for Kryptonian survival, and rebuild Kryptonian civilization, it would still take time.
Therefore, Clark was precious to Zod, especially since Zod believed that Clark would ultimately side with his own people. Earth was merely the place where Clark grew up, but his blood and genes would make him choose his kin because only they could offer him the feeling of companionship.
"What are you here for?" Clark frowned as he saw Zod's initial excitement turn into satisfaction. He didn't attack immediately but wanted to understand Zod's intentions.
How did Zod and his people get to Earth? Were there only these eleven Kryptonians? Did they harbor any secrets that could threaten Earth?
"You should already know your origin, right? You are a child of Krypton. We've come to find you to help rebuild Krypton's glory," Zod explained with a smile.
"Rebuild its glory? How?" Clark's expression remained unchanged as he continued to question Zod.
"Naturally, by using the Codex to transform this life-sustaining planet and recreate Kryptonian civilization..." Zod didn't bother hiding his ultimate goal. "I hear this planet is called Earth? It's rather unremarkable. The sooner it's transformed into Krypton, the better. That's the only purpose this planet serves."
"What are you talking about?!" Clark finally couldn't hold back his anger. To Zod and his fellow Kryptonians, Earth might just be an ordinary planet, but to Clark, it was the home he was sworn to protect.
This planet was where his family, his loved ones, his brothers and sisters, and those who admired him lived. Even though some people didn't like him, that didn't stop Clark from wanting to protect this world.
Especially after the Ancient One had mysteriously disappeared, leaving them to face extraordinary events on their own, Clark realized that many crises on Earth would have to be dealt with by people like him.
And now, with Zod standing before him, shamelessly claiming to want to turn Earth into another planet, Clark couldn't allow it, even if that planet was Krypton and Zod was his kin.
"What?" Zod was taken aback by Clark's reaction. Seeing the anger in Clark's eyes, he frowned and asked, "So, you're refusing to hand over the Codex?"
To Zod, it was inconceivable that Clark would be angry over this ordinary planet. If Earth didn't resemble Krypton and wasn't conveniently located within the solar system, Zod wouldn't have even considered it. Therefore, Zod assumed that Clark was upset because he didn't want to give up the vital Codex.
"Hmph!" Clark scoffed coldly. He knew that any further discussion was pointless, as Zod's thoughts were completely out of sync with his own. Now that he understood the Kryptonians' motives, the only thing left was to defeat them and see if they had any other schemes.
"How dare you speak to the General like that?!" Fiona's angry voice rang out as soon as Clark's cold laugh echoed. In an instant, she charged at Clark like a blur.
With a "bang!" Fiona was sent flying back the next moment, and Clark's figure vanished only to reappear beneath her, sending her crashing away with another punch.
Clark didn't want Fiona to crash into the Earth below, as they were in the high atmosphere. A fall from such a height could injure someone or damage the land below, so he aimed to fight the Kryptonians in space.
"You!" Seeing Fiona being battered like a ball, Zod's expression darkened. He rushed toward Clark, shouting, "Kal-El! You would strike your own kin just to protect the Codex?"
"Hmph, haven't you also attacked your kin, Zod? Did you really think no one knew what you did just because Krypton was destroyed?" Clark sneered at Zod as he sent Fiona flying again.
"Jor-El left a contingency?!" Zod's eyes widened, but this was no time to dwell on that. Fiona was being pummeled by Clark and needed rescuing.
"I'll help you!" At that moment, a voice rang out. Zod felt as if his mind had been struck by a heavy hammer, turning his thoughts to mush, and his body nearly fell from the sky.
"True to their Kryptonian nature! Their minds are strong, even if they haven't developed psychic powers. If it were General Ross, he'd be out cold by now..." The Martian Manhunter muttered to himself as he intervened. Seeing that Clark had figured out Zod's intentions and had started fighting, the Martian Manhunter couldn't just stand by.
He, too, had come to see Earth as his new home, and Zod's plan to turn Earth into Krypton was not something he could tolerate. He hadn't even tried to turn Earth into Mars, and he'd allowed Earth to send probes to Mars without interference. Now someone wanted to transform Earth into another planet?
"Who is that?!" Zod started to regain his senses but was hit again, his thoughts turning to mush once more.
With a "bang!" the Martian Manhunter seized the opportunity to send Zod flying toward the other Kryptonians.
The Martian Manhunter had been keeping an eye on these Kryptonians and had noticed how the noise had incapacitated them. Being weaker than Zod and Fiona, these Kryptonians had yet to shake off the effects of the noise, and Zod's body crashing into them sent them flying like billiard balls.
This was exactly what the Martian Manhunter intended. The Avengers didn't have enough fighters to take on all the Kryptonians at once. Hancock and Mary had their restrictions, and though Robert and Tony Stark had found ways to help, they couldn't fight together. The Martian Manhunter wanted to spread the Kryptonians out, so Hancock and Mary could join the fight.
However, the Martian Manhunter didn't expect that after being knocked away, the Kryptonians would break free from the noise's influence. In the face of a life-threatening situation, their genes had instinctively reacted, making them aware of the dire circumstances.
"Get Carter Hall involved! Try to keep the fight in the air. If that's not possible, at least keep it in unpopulated areas!" The Martian Manhunter's face changed as he saw the Kryptonians recover. He scattered his psychic power to hinder their movements and quickly contacted Tony Stark.
The Martian Manhunter was holding off Zod, and Clark had knocked Fiona out of Earth's atmosphere. That left nine Kryptonians able to fight. Even with Hancock, Mary, and Carter Hall, the Kryptonians still had an advantage. If not for Carter Hall's Nth Metal and flight, the Martian Manhunter wouldn't have wanted him in this fight.
"I'll handle one!" Tony Stark's voice came over the comms as he joined the battle in his new armor, taking on one of the Kryptonians.
"I can handle one too!" Peter Parker, now bonded with Venom, leaped into the air, zigzagged through the sky, and tackled another Kryptonian, slamming him to the ground.
"Hey! Look here!" A burst of flame shot up, hitting a Kryptonian and knocking him away. But Johnny Storm was also left a bit dazed from the impact. "Man, these guys are tough!"
Clearly, Johnny Storm wasn't quite up to fighting a Kryptonian on his own yet, but he gritted his teeth and charged at the Kryptonian he'd knocked away.
Even so, there were still three Kryptonians without opponents, and who knew what damage they could cause if left unchecked?
At that moment, two beams of psychic energy struck two of the Kryptonians, slowing them down. But as soon as the Kryptonians recovered and began to struggle, Susan Storm and Lorna started to feel the strain. Their powers weren't strong enough to control a Kryptonian on their own.
"You two handle one Kryptonian!" Morbius narrowed his eyes and charged at one of the Kryptonians. "Quicksilver, Flash, you two help me with this one! The last one will have to be dealt with by Blade and the others!"
"Are you trying to get us killed?!" Blade grumbled with a wry smile as he and Moon Knight approached the battlefield.
"No worries, die once or twice and you get used to it," Moon Knight replied calmly. "Death isn't as mysterious or frightening as it seems..."
"Man, this is getting me all fired up! If it weren't daytime, I'd be howling!" Darkwolf joked as he led a charge, flanked by werewolves and vampires, who swooped down on the last Kryptonian, pinning him to the ground.
"Get off me!" The Kryptonian roared in frustration as he punched and kicked, sending vampires and werewolves flying. But no matter how many he knocked away, they kept coming back, undeterred by their injuries.
"Damn it! I don't believe he can kill me with one punch!" Bruce Banner, seeing the fierce battle, gritted his teeth, transformed into the Hulk, and charged at the Kryptonian, using his massive body and the werewolves and vampires' cover to finally send the Kryptonian flying...
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