[Integrated/Crossover DC/Marvel] Why Did the World End Again? - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Essence of the Soul — Hatred

The world has become a dying land. Yellow sands sweep across the entire globe, and the people have begun to resist; the Resistance has been officially formed.

Gotham is already a dead zone. With the promulgation of new regulations, countless people have been sentenced for their “crimes.”

“God says you are guilty? Please, bow your head.”

Blood has soaked the Bat-Signal, casting away all beautiful memories of the past.

“Superman, what are you doing?”

Kal looked down at his old friend before him. Batman the most ordinary human in the world, possessing a broken body and a so-called unyielding will, staggering through the hardest years. A fool who would never bow his head.

“Goodbye, Bruce.”

Gotham has fallen.

The years Thea Weeks spent imprisoned in the Fortress of Solitude were not easy. He could feel the coordinates in the depths of his soul screaming, transmitting a distress signal a signal destined never to be received by anyone.

He gradually learned the truth of the world from the other’s mouth: the Justice League was finished, Darkseid had retreated, and Superman ruled the world. To this, Thea Weeks felt confused and unable to understand why things had turned out this way.

In all fairness, was there a problem with how Superman acted in the past? Not at all. He protected Metropolis, stopped crisis after crisis, and treated everyone with kindness. So why did he become like this?

“Are you mad?”

Thea looked at Superman. He had considered many things: a magic spell, or perhaps the other was bewitched by Darkseid, or some strange soul-snatching curse. But the other merely stated the cruel reality plainly: he was born this way.

“You all seem to love placing halos over others, then encircling them within that halo forever. As soon as someone breaks free, they are surely a heretic.”

Seeing the look of doubt on the other’s face, Kal felt in high spirits. Look, look, new questions have arisen. What a lovely little puppy. As he spoke, his hand stroked the other’s back his mark, his puppy. Kal had actually thought about using a collar or something similar, but felt such methods might be rejected by the other, so in the end, he only left the permanent tattoo.

Keeping a Kryptonian is, in fact, very easy and pleasant. You don’t have to fear them dying unexpectedly, nor do you have to fear them getting sick. You can leave them in a room for a long time and they will survive. But Kal didn’t like such crude handling; training a dog is a very happy thing, so naturally, one must occasionally give the dog some treats.

Thus, the other’s figure appeared again and again in the parades. To this, Thea Weeks remained cold. He didn’t find it interesting at all to sit in an open-top car and watch the numb crowds cheer for him.

But Superman loved this sick humor. Look, how miraculous: these people clearly loathe him, yet they can only raise their arms and cheer under his rule, not even daring to show a hint of unhappiness, because that would make him unpleasant and invite retaliation.

The world is just that strange. When you treat everyone with kindness, there will always be someone picking one, two, or more faults in you. But when you inexplicably become unwilling to do so and proceed to rule the world cruelly, people inexplicably bow their heads. Kal had recognized this world long ago.

When he was a child, he understood clearly: you cannot be too excellent, nor too plain, not even too mediocre. No matter what, you are in the wrong in this world. If you want to avoid being marginalized or hurt, you must blend in with the crowd.

What do others do? You must do the same, otherwise, you will surely be hurt. During his teenage years, Clark was the target of exclusion. Kal didn’t care at all; these vulgar people doing vulgar things, getting annoyed because you wouldn’t wallow in the mire with them humans, useless fools.

The only one who made him feel different was Batman. Look, among so many people, there was still one smart person. Though that one was also a bit of a fool; in Kal’s eyes, guarding Gotham was a thing with no cost-performance. The city had already become corrupt to the core, so what was the use of holding out? But every time he said so, Batman seemed to get angry.

The reputation of the World’s Finest gradually emerged, which made Superman feel very happy. Look, an inexplicable title, yet people began to praise it. Various voices on the internet began to appear, and Clark could even barely deal with Lex Luthor’s various targeted attacks.

What was a human with a lifespan of about a hundred years—no more than a few decades before total extinction—compared to him? The man seemed threatening on the surface, but his little inner schemes had long been seen through by Kal.

He feared Superman would one day rule this world; he feared Superman would one day turn bad; he feared Superman would one day become selfish and filled with humanity. Thinking of these, Kal felt it was another joke. Look, they wanted to have a god, but once they truly had one, they feared the god becoming human.

And they often hoped the god would perform the acts of a god while possessing human emotions, yet a god with human emotions became unbearable in their eyes. Unfortunately, Luthor died in that accident under Darkseid’s impact.

Kal had nothing to say about it. He didn’t want the man to die; after all, having a few more rivals in his long life, watching them jump around, was also a kind of fun.

This is truly boring. Thinking of this, Superman leaned disappointedly against the car, looking at these familiar people. The game of ruling the world seemed to have become uninteresting too. He should play something else. Looking at the silent Thea beside him, he found a bit of fun again. Look, such a flat face what if it could have more expressions?

Kal wanted to make the other smile, after all, a smile seemed to be a very difficult thing to achieve. Pain and tears were much more common. If he wanted the other to cry or be in pain, Kal had a thousand methods, but that was too easy and lacked challenge. So, he wanted to try a new method.

He was quite curious about the puppy’s endurance and patience, or rather, at what step the puppy would completely break down. As for the other’s mental health, Kal didn’t care at all.

Possessing super-regeneration and a super-lifespan determined the puppy’s tragic life. It was better for it to be a dazed, silly fool; otherwise, it could only live a life of pain.

Watching the car pass by, Alice pursed her lips, feeling a bit shell-shocked. She turned back to Aurora, Thea Weeks, and the Flash.

“I really think their relationship is… complicated. What do you think?”

Seeing this, the young Thea lowered his head and frowned.

“He called me a ‘puppy’.”

The Flash gasped. It’s over. It’s completely over. The Big Blue Guy not only rules the world but has even taken up “twisted literature.”

Alice also fell silent. What kind of weird relationship involves being called a puppy?

Thea’s intuition told him that their relationship wasn’t like lovers or any strange couple, but more like a master and a pet he kept. Furthermore, he could feel something “off” about the other person.

He seemed to smile and treat people very gently, but there was always a threat in his words. To this, Thea observed the other carefully. He knew his own personality well; he didn’t believe he would just sit obediently in a car. After scanning himself, he clenched his fists in anger and almost rushed out, which was why Aurora had to stop him.

“There is something inside my body.”

Hearing this, Alice was a bit dazed. She didn’t know why he suddenly interjected with this sentence. Then he said that through X-ray vision, he saw two things in the lumbar spine of the “self” sitting next to Superman. He could see they were blue, but didn’t know what they were. Perhaps these strange things suppressed his energy, which was why he sat so obediently next to Superman.

Alice fell silent at these words. She didn’t know what the blue things were, she only knew Superman feared green. Hearing this, the Flash showed understanding. He knew; as for Superman’s weaknesses, it could be said the entire League knew.

“That should be Blue Kryptonite.”

Then the Flash began to explain to the two. Thea listened intently. To be honest, before meeting the two of them, he didn’t even know he was a Kryptonian. After all, in his world, he had always felt he was a metahuman or a strange mutant, and there were no so-called Kryptonians in Aurora’s world either.

“You mean he can do anything in heaven and on earth, but in the end, he’s afraid of a rock? A rock that came from his own home? All things have their nemesis???”

To this, what could the Flash say? He actually felt very speechless. Who would have thought that the omnipotent and invincible Superman would ultimately fall before a tiny rock.

Alice could only nod in agreement.

“We have to find a way to get over there. How can we get close to Superman?”

Aurora fell into silence, then looked back at Thea seriously. Is there a faster way?

“I have a great idea.”

Alice raised her hands.

Have the young Thea replace the Thea of this world and infiltrate Superman’s side, then give the other a “clobbering” at a critical moment. Wouldn’t the problem be solved then? Thinking this way, Alice felt she was a genius. As for the difference in appearance between youth and adulthood, Aurora said she could cover it up with magic.

Furthermore, hearing this world’s Flash mention that Superman’s magic resistance was practically zero… though she said so, Aurora still needed to test it for the sake of the plan. So, she decided to quietly toss a spell onto Superman to see how his immunity was.

Everyone expressed high approval. Then Aurora tossed a subtle little marking spell. If it were someone with high magic resistance, they wouldn’t be marked. The magical light ball was tossed out; sure enough, looking at the brilliant, glowing marker on Superman’s head, Aurora felt this round was secure. Not only was the other’s magic resistance poor, it was unfathomably bad.

Watching the figures gradually disappear, the group followed closely, subsequently using Aurora’s magic to sneak to the other’s side.

After the parade ended, Thea returned to his current residence a high tower. He had now lost the ability to fly, so he was imprisoned here and couldn’t leave for the time being. Superman would occasionally come here for “interactions” between master and pet. To this, Thea only felt annoyance; he was used to the other’s neurosis.

And Superman, to prevent him from suffering from mental illness, also gave him many books. Although the other’s behavior was sometimes very malicious only providing the first volume and not the second.

Thea had to agree to various demands before he would be given the second volume. Gradually, Thea Weeks also learned other things for example, looking at the first volume and inventing the second volume himself. Since then, he no longer needed the second volume. After discovering this thing couldn’t control the other, Superman simply stopped doing such meaningless things, though he still liked to tease him.

Thea gazed at the scenery outside the window.

“Does he miss the past?”

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