8 PM, in the small forest behind Clark's villa, Clark was practicing various combat techniques under Diana's guidance.
Clark knew that his usual fighting style was always straightforward and reckless. Relying on his immense strength and speed, Clark had virtually no equal. However, he also knew that if he were to encounter someone with similar physical prowess in the future, he could be defeated.
Though Clark had long been aware of this shortcoming, just knowing it wasn't enough—he had trouble overcoming it. After all, he wasn't the Superman with all the Kryptonian knowledge in his head. With only two young men's worth of experience added together, totaling just over forty years, he really had no idea how to fix his flaws.
Currently, to make the most of his speed and power, all Clark could do was charge straight in. Any turns or curves would impact his velocity. After all, a straight line is the shortest distance between two points.
As a result, Clark's most powerful attack was simply to charge at his opponent and land a solid punch.
But Clark believed Diana might be able to help him. After all, the Amazons had thousands of years of martial tradition, including combat techniques from the gods. Even without her divine powers, Diana was still one of the top warriors among the Amazons.
From the movies alone, you could see that Wonder Woman and Superman had two completely different fighting styles. Superman didn't dodge attacks—he relied on endurance. Their fights were battles of attrition. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, excelled at showcasing her skills—especially those scenes where she used her bracelets to deflect bullets, even from machine guns.
So now that he had the free time, Clark turned to Diana for guidance. But when he asked her, he was also partly expecting to argue—they always ended up clashing in some way.
Just as Clark was sparring with Diana, he suddenly heard his phone ring. He picked it up and saw that it was Banner calling.
"Hey, Banner, what's going on?"
"Clark, Makimoto has gone missing." Once the call connected, Banner immediately shared the news he'd just received.
"Makimoto? Who went missing?" Clark was stunned when he heard the name.
"Yes, I just got word this afternoon. Makimoto has disappeared."
"Okay, wait—who is Makimoto?"
"The Japanese friend who sent us the sample. I must've forgotten to tell you his name." Banner realized only now that he'd never actually mentioned Makimoto's name before.
"Alright. Do you know how he disappeared?"
"No, but they said he vanished at sea. There were no signs of a struggle on the boat, and the Tokyo Bay port surveillance caught nothing. It's as if he and his two crew members just evaporated."
"Honestly, I think you should go to Fury. He's the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., after all," Clark replied. He didn't see how this had anything to do with him. He wasn't a detective and didn't even know what Makimoto looked like.
"I think Makimoto must've discovered something right before he was taken. And as for notifying Fury, I don't have any concrete evidence yet." Banner still believed that Makimoto must have found something incredible related to the massive underwater creature he'd described, which led to his disappearance.
After all, only humans could make someone vanish without a trace. A monster would've destroyed the boat or left remains. Having fought Leviathan before, Banner knew that the only way monsters made people disappear was by devouring them—but Makimoto's ship was untouched. So Banner concluded the disappearance had nothing to do with the giant lifeform.
And why didn't Banner contact Nick Fury first and instead called Clark?
Because he knew S.H.I.E.L.D. was swamped with major issues. They wouldn't go to war just for a missing Japanese researcher.
As for telling Fury about the giant creature—truthfully, Banner was still skeptical. He hadn't seen it with his own eyes. It was only because the sample Makimoto sent contained unknown blood components that Banner chose to believe the giant lifeform might actually exist.
"Alright. So what's your plan now?" Clark understood what Banner was getting at. Their discovery was still unofficial, and reporting it would mean involving national-level institutions. Banner didn't want to stir up that kind of response without solid proof. After all, his experiences with government forces weren't exactly pleasant—especially since he was being hunted by the military before the Battle of New York.
"I plan to head to Tokyo tonight. Clark, would you come with me?" Since the sample Makimoto sent contained blood, Banner didn't want to miss this opportunity. But he knew that if he went alone, there was no way he'd be able to capture whatever this mysterious creature was.
"Alright. Where are you now? I'll pack and come find you." Clark didn't understand why Banner was in such a rush, but since Banner was reaching out to him for help, he couldn't just turn him down. So after hesitating for a moment, he agreed.
"I'm at Tony's warehouse in northern New York. He moved all his research equipment here since Stark Tower is under renovation and unusable right now."
"Got it. Give me half an hour to pack and I'll be there."
"Okay. I'll have Jarvis book us tickets to Tokyo for tonight."
After hanging up, Clark turned to Diana. "Hey, do you want to take a trip to Tokyo?"
At the same time as Clark's call with Banner, Nick Fury—at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion base—received a report about Goro Makimoto's disappearance. However, unlike the vague intel Banner had received, Fury's files clearly identified the group responsible for abducting Makimoto: the Empire Organization.
"Looks like they've found something new." Staring at the documents in his hand, Nick Fury couldn't help but recall events from forty years ago. Back then, he was just a second lieutenant in the military, but due to a certain mission, he was exposed to a whole new world.
From that moment on, Fury transitioned from the military to S.H.I.E.L.D., eventually rising through the ranks to become its director.
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