Kara's trust moved Malrick more than he expected.
He realized rescuing her from that lead-lined cell and helping her seek revenge had been the right choice. After everything they'd gone through, Kara's defenses had begun to fall.
He had thought she might refuse him—after all, the Life Codex wasn't just an artifact. For the Kryptonians, it represented the hope of their species' survival. For scientists, it was the kind of treasure that could reshape civilizations—or rule them.
And for Kara, it was the one thing tied to her very existence.
Malrick put himself in her place. If he were her, he wouldn't lend the Codex to anyone either. Not even Superman, the symbol of compassion, would easily agree to such a thing.
So, in a strange way, his arrival in this world felt right. The Flash's universe suited him better than the one ruled by gods and symbols like the Man of Steel.
"Just thanking you isn't enough," Kara said suddenly, gripping Malrick's hand tighter.
Malrick raised a brow. "You have another condition?"
"Since you want to take the Life Codex back to your world for research," she said steadily, "then I'm coming with you. If you use it for anything like Lex Luthor did, I'll stop you."
Her tone was calm, but she avoided his eyes.
"Oh, I see." Malrick studied her for a few seconds before saying lightly, "So what you're really saying is—you don't like this Earth, you don't know where else to go, and since I'm the only one you know, you've decided to tag along?"
Kara froze, her usually calm expression cracking. Her grip tightened sharply—hard enough to dent steel.
"No, that's not it," she said after a pause, her tone still level.
But Malrick noticed her ears turning pink.
"Alright then, let's go find Lex," he said with a faint smile.
He couldn't help but think this Kara wasn't just serious and stoic—she had a bit of tsundere in her. In his mind, he pictured a chart: eighty percent emotionless, ten percent tsundere, ten percent adorably awkward.
Kara, oblivious to his thoughts, simply nodded and turned away. Her hair fell over her flushed ears as she muttered, "Let's go."
She flew toward Earth in silence, but Malrick easily caught up and gently took her arm.
"I'll take you back," he said. "We're too close to the Sun—over a hundred million kilometers from Earth. You're fast, but not that fast yet. Once you've absorbed more sunlight, you can handle it yourself."
He enveloped them both in a bio-field and accelerated toward Earth, sunlight flowing around them in golden waves.
Kara's decision to trust him with the Codex deserved respect, and Malrick intended to return that trust.
Their first destination on Earth was Lex Luthor.
Luthor, once a charming man with a full head of hair, had shaved it clean after becoming President. Every day, with that polished head, he played political chess with the world's leaders—his brain always working, his patience thinning.
Now, he sat in his office, perfectly calm despite knowing Kara had escaped. He didn't even seem worried about the Kryptonians preparing to invade Earth.
A faint smile curved his lips as he lounged behind his desk, looking less like a president and more like an unhinged genius who had been born into too much power.
Malrick scanned the room, noticing the hundreds of hidden light sources—special emitters tuned to red sunlight. A perfect trap. If any Kryptonian entered this office, those lights would activate instantly, stripping them of their powers.
It was the kind of paranoid brilliance only Luthor possessed. He knew the Kryptonians' weaknesses and even planned to use their invasion to break his enemies—the Red Alliance, Atlantis, and beyond.
He'd once manipulated Batman himself into nearly killing Superman. The man's ego had no ceiling.
But even the smartest schemer couldn't outplay fate.
When Malrick and Kara appeared unannounced in the dimly lit room, Luthor didn't flinch. He stood, smiling pleasantly, and gestured toward the chairs across from his desk.
"Kara," he said smoothly, "please, sit. It's been too long."
He spoke as though Kara weren't the very woman he had imprisoned for years, but rather an old friend stopping by for tea.
That illusion shattered when Kara grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground.
Still, Luthor didn't panic. His voice remained calm, almost paternal.
"Number 001," he said, "those Kryptonians outside are looking for you. You need to go back to your room. It's the only place where I can protect you."
The name "Number 001" made Kara's jaw tighten. It was the label scientists had given her in the facility—first just "1," then "01," and finally "001," like an experiment instead of a person.
Luthor's tone was gentle, almost pitying. "You're upset, I understand. You're still young. One day you'll see that everything I did was for your own good."
Malrick almost laughed. If he didn't already know who Lex really was, he might have believed him.
The man's manipulation was an art form, as polished as his lies. He reminded Malrick of Herzog, a twisted villain from a novel he'd read—smooth words masking a monstrous heart.
To Kara, Luthor was exactly that—a monster in a human mask.
Her eyes blazed red with fury. "Lex Luthor!" she snapped. "Do you really think that a liar and manipulator like you can fool me again? That I'd forgive you for what you did just because you act like you care?"
Luthor's smile faltered slightly, then returned with unsettling calm.
"You've grown, Number 001," he said. "Imprisoned all these years in a red-lit cell, isolated from everyone, drained of your blood for experiments—and yet, you didn't break. You became even stronger. Remarkable."
He began to laugh, his voice echoing through the room, sharp and deranged.
"What a magnificent species! Not just your body—but even your spirit—is unbreakable. Truly… beautiful."
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