Inside the Helicarrier, the heavy doors of the control room finally opened under the combined efforts of Dick and Tony.
Pierce, who had initiated the bombardment, lay collapsed on the floor, his body battered and broken. Nearby, Dick frantically operated the control console, his expression tense, but it was useless.
Neither the Helicarrier's cannons nor the self-destruct program could be stopped.
"Tony, do you have any way to stop this?"
* * *
At this time, Tony was racing toward Los Angeles, his face equally grim.
"I have to admit, I underestimated Hydra's technology. The control system for the Helicarrier has been almost completely rewritten. I can't fully crack it in the short time that we have left."
For something small like the control room doors before, he was confident he could break through it with Dick's help. But this was the self-destruct program of the Helicarrier and its main weapons control.
Both systems were critical to every aspect of the ship. There was no way he could disable them before the explosion sequence finished.
"Can the two of you stop it?"
Tony turned to the people at his side, Pietro and Wanda. Or more precisely, he looked at the latter.
Pietro's speed, if pushed to the limit, could easily get the siblings to the Helicarrier before it exploded. But whether Wanda's strange powers could actually stop the blast, that was something he couldn't be sure of.
"I..." Wanda fell silent for a moment before shaking her head. "In the past, when I lost control, there were times when I unleashed great power, but without bending space or time, I can't affect something this massive."
The Maximoff siblings had not come close to unlocking their full potential yet. If it were only about bringing the Helicarrier down, Wanda could manage that. But to stop the explosion and keep it from crashing into the center of Los Angeles? That was something she simply couldn't do.
"I see." Tony nodded, not pressing the matter further.
* * *
On the other side, Dick had also learned about the situation from Tony, and his expression grew even darker. He could no longer keep calm.
He hadn't been summoned by Reid through the system. He came here as a person tied to Gotham itself, and every skill he had was earned step by step under Batman's guidance. He wasn't as composed as the real Batman, or even the mature Nightwing from the DC world.
"Give it up. No matter what tricks LexCorp has left, you can't stop the Helicarrier from destroying Los Angeles! Everyone will condemn you. People will never trust your company again!"
Pierce, though lying helpless on the ground, kept shouting defiantly. Dick didn't refute him.
He knew there was someone who could stop this: Reid, LexCorp's mysterious figure. But whether the man would act was something he couldn't predict. Even as one of LexCorp's own, Dick's understanding of him was like chasing a mirage, completely out of reach.
"The Helicarrier's self-destruct program and its full-scale fire coverage were designed to counter a Kree invasion. These weapons were meant for aliens. You will never stop it!"
Pierce roared again, but a deafening boom suddenly shook his ears. Simultaneously, the display screen on the control console showed something unbelievable: the Helicarrier's entire weapons system had been destroyed in an instant.
"What? How is this possible?!"
Pierce's eyes widened in disbelief. Then, Dick heard his earpiece crackle with a transmission from his team.
"Nightwing, prepare for extraction. Superman is on his way to get you!"
"Superman?"
Dick didn't know what that meant, but when he turned his head toward Pierce, a tall man stood in front of him.
"Who are you?" Both Dick and Pierce spoke at the same time.
Superman crouched slightly, looking down at the latter, who had no strength to resist, and said, "Sorry, but I think I'm the alien you were talking about."
The next second, his figure vanished and reappeared beneath the Helicarrier.
Dick snapped back to his senses. From start to finish, he had never spoken a word to Superman, but he could sense one thing, the Helicarrier wouldn't stay in the sky any longer.
He grabbed Pierce by the collar and leaped through a shattered window. In midair, Susan's force-field barrier caught them gently and lowered them to safety.
After he finally regrouped with his teammates, Dick realized Pierce was dead, killed by poison. The man hadn't hesitated to bite down on the toxin capsule implanted under his skin the moment he understood capture was inevitable.
No one paid attention to his corpse. All eyes were on the man in the sky, holding the Helicarrier aloft with one hand.
"Who... is he?" Dick asked, unable to hide his awe.
"Superman."
The answer came from behind.
Reid and Luthor walked forward, standing beside the team. The former's calm tone carried weight as he spoke once more. "He will replace the disgraced Steve Rogers and become the one and only, greatest superhero."
Above them, Superman moved into action.
With sunlight pouring over him, the Kryptonian's strength surged. His body radiated a special energy known as a bioelectric field. He extended it around the entire Helicarrier, wrapping it completely, then shot upward like a rocket.
There were less than ten seconds left before detonation. Yet in that tiny window of time, Superman didn't just carry the Helicarrier away from Earth. He sent it all the way to Jupiter's orbit.
Not a single fragment fell back. Not a sonic boom. Nothing that could harm anyone on Earth.
He saved Los Angeles from total annihilation with ease, showing the world what a god among men truly looked like.
* * *
It was over.
Hydra had launched a sweeping wave of terrorist attacks across the United States, and in the end, the chaos ended quietly, without the climax anyone expected.
But everyone learned one undeniable truth: Superman was powerful beyond imagination. Through this abrupt ending, his overwhelming might was burned into every mind.
"Looks like it's time for us to show up," Reid said lightly. "Time to represent humanity and welcome our alien friend."
He and Luthor rose slowly into the air, then descended to the central square in the heart of the city.
"Those two… they look like LexCorp's Luthor and his assistant, Reid, right?"
"Don't just say 'look like.' That's them!"
The crowd recognized them immediately, but complaints soon followed.
"Where were they when everything was falling apart?"
"Yeah. Luthor I can understand; he's just an ordinary guy without powers. But Reid? If I'm not mistaken, he's supposed to be the strongest human superpowered individual. And during all of this, he was nowhere to be seen?"
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