What's wrong with Superman's brother wanting to be Homelander?

Chapter 96 The Justice Society's Counterattack

The lion's mane problem has clearly been solved.

But the unease and vigilance emanating from the eagle's intuition did not disappear; on the contrary, they intensified.

Under the cover of night, it seemed as if some unimaginable being was watching their every move.

"I'm sorry, Carter. If I lose control again in the future, promise me you won't hold back. I hate who I am now."

Having reverted to human form and regained his rationality, Ed Dawson was unaware of what had happened and could only speak with constant frustration.

As a well-known local archaeologist, he originally had a fairly good relationship with Hawkman.

But all of this was destroyed in an archaeological excavation.

He accidentally touched a strange alien meteorite and was transformed into a lion-shaped monster whose mind was dominated by the instinct to kill.

This left him with a profound inner conflict.

He longed for enough power to free himself from the meteorite's corrosive effects, yet he feared the consequences of the mutation, which would leave him completely out of control.

Hawkman remained silent, his sharp gaze sweeping rapidly around the manor as if facing a formidable enemy.

His eagle-like vision allowed him to ignore the darkness.

In the distance, the oak leaves rustled in the breeze.

The dim yellow light, with a hue unique to the last century, filtered through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled and fragmented shadows.

Everything seemed so quiet, you couldn't even hear the chirping of insects.

But the eagle's intuition told him that the more this was the case, the more abnormal it seemed.

Ed Dawson finally noticed something was off about the air.

He tugged hard at the ropes binding him, feeling a sense of powerlessness upon regaining his human form. He explained, "I'm all alone. That person isn't nearby."

As an archaeological colleague who had worked with him for many years, Ed knew about the curse on Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and was also aware of their grudge against Vandal Savage.

"It wasn't him!"

Hawkman looked at Lionmane, then finally spoke, shaking his head with a resolute tone.

As soon as he finished speaking, a soft clapping sound suddenly rang out from the night.

Deep within the manor.

With the rustling sound of fallen leaves being trampled.

A tall figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

The dark green and scarlet armor gleamed with a chilling, somber light under the lamplight, while two scarlet beams pierced the night around the eyes.

"Who are you?"

Hawkman frowned.

He searched his memory but couldn't recall the figure.

"Hand over the Ninth Metal, and I might let you go."

"That depends on whether you have the ability. Throughout history, all those who coveted the Ninth Metal have been buried in the yellow sand."

Hawkman said with a serious expression.

Behind it, giant steel wings forged from the Ninth Metal appeared with a "whoosh," the golden wings trembling slightly and emitting a piercing metallic hum.

next moment.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hawkman charged towards Lucas like an arrow released from a bow.

At the same time, the N metal in his hand quickly transformed into a spiked hammer.

Five thousand years of combat experience taught him a profound lesson: strike first and you'll prevail.

At the same time, Hawkgirl also moved.

The Ninth Metal glowed faintly, releasing an anti-gravity field that enveloped the Eagle Girl.

Instead of charging head-on, she rapidly vibrated her wings and spun around Lucas.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh————"

Several sleeve darts, entirely made of the Ninth Metal, were instantly launched from the interlayer between the forearm armor and the base of the wings.

Faced with the combined efforts of Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Lucas merely raised his head casually.

"Buzz!"

A pair of shadowy wings covered in bone spikes popped out, closing forward like two indestructible shields.

Hawkman's mace slammed heavily onto the wings.

The expected loud bang of metal shattering did not occur; only a dull thud was heard.

The impact force, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, was completely absorbed by the biological wings formed from shadow particles.

At the same time, Lucas casually waved his hand, slapping away the hidden arrow that was shining through the night.

However, he was not feeling well.

Although the shadow particles absorbed the vast majority of the impact force.

However, the alien power and cosmic energy inherent in Ninth Metal still managed to break through the armor's defenses.

It almost made him lose his balance, and a real, visceral pain from the impact surged through the shadow particles and his skin into his flesh and bones.

Fortunately, it's within an acceptable range.

It truly lives up to its reputation as the ninth top-tier metal in the universe, surpassing ordinary extraordinary metals!

This trip was worthwhile.

of course.

To Hawkman and Hawkgirl, this suddenly appearing monster effortlessly deflected all their attacks as if walking in a leisurely garden.

They had a feeling the other party would be difficult to deal with, but they didn't expect them to be this difficult.

Hawkman, in particular, had his pupils contract sharply, and his expression beneath the golden mask revealed obvious astonishment.

He could hardly believe that his full-force attack had only slightly destabilized his opponent!

At this moment, Hawkman's expression changed drastically.

A cold, invisible force field enveloped him, like an invisible hand that roughly held him in mid-air, causing Hawkman to instantly lose control of his body.

No matter how he tried to break free by activating the N-metal energy, he remained unable to move due to the vast difference in strength.

An overwhelming pressure swept in like a tidal wave.

This moment.

Hawkman felt a long-lost, predatory tremor.

It felt as if I was no longer an eagle soaring through the sky, but a lone feather in the eye of a storm, ready to be swallowed up at any moment.

"Let him go!"

The eagle girl charged forward, using her petite size and speed to change direction repeatedly in the air, attempting to break through the opponent's defenses with her speed.

But Lucas remained unmoved throughout.

Compared to Hawkman, Hawkgirl is undoubtedly less of a threat.

Sienna looked anxious; her most prized aerial combat skills were almost useless against overwhelming strength.

This made her feel a sense of powerlessness she had never experienced before.

"Bang!"

Just as Hawkgirl was distracted, a dull impact suddenly struck. Sienna felt as if she had crashed into a Great Wall of Steel. Before she could recover, she was sent flying sideways, leaving a deep, rolling mud trail on the grass before finally crashing into a rockery.

Lucas withdrew his gaze and slowly walked to Hawkman's side, under the man's almost fiery gaze.

An invisible force of thought removed the weapons and armor made of the ninth metal from the opponent's body, piece by piece.

Then, Lucas looked at the Hawkgirl who was struggling to get up from the ground, instantly moved in front of her, and grabbed her.

Hawkman's expression changed instantly: "Don't touch her!"

"If you want the Ninth Metal, I will give it to you, more than you have on you. You cannot obtain it without me."

You said you would let us go as long as we handed over the Ninth Metal.

He said with a dejected expression.

"Don't worry, I always keep my word," Lucas said calmly, tossing Hawkgirl to the ground.

Not long after Lucas left.

:

A dazzling mirrored portal suddenly appeared above Eagle Manor, with steps reflecting brilliant light extending to the ground.

The next moment, Doctor Fate walked out from inside.

"The Helmet of Fate has just sensed that something bad is going to happen to you tonight, so I came here specifically to check on you."

Fully armed Doctor Fate tapped his Fate Helmet before looking at the disheveled Hawkwoman, pausing slightly in his speech.

"Don't you think it's getting too late, Mr. Nelson?"

Even the usually serious Hawkman couldn't help but make a comment.

"My home has been emptied out. You can't imagine how greedy they are. They even stole my Hawk cruiser, which I spent a lot of time building."

"Oh? Could it be that the other party possesses some kind of magic similar to spatial attributes?" Doctor Fate couldn't help but ask.

"Mr. Nelson, I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. That's not what I'm emphasizing."

Hawkman spoke angrily.

"The helmet revealed subsequent fragments of time, indicating that the enemy's coveting of the Ninth Metal was not a spur-of-the-moment decision."

Doctor Fate changed the subject, pondering for a few seconds: "However, the other party seems to be a special branch of fate. The helmet cannot see everything; we need to actively reach out to them."

"Like you say, free will?" Hawkman countered.

"Yes. Fate encompasses everything, but chaos itself is part of existence; fate cannot touch everything."

"I think it's time to gather the others. I smell evil in the lingering aura, something more elusive than chaos itself."

The underground of Hawkman Manor.

The headquarters of the Justice Society and its high-tech operations base.

During World War II, Hawkman built this place.

Through five thousand years of reincarnation, the accumulation of fifty centuries has come.

Hawkman had long since amassed a fortune that rivaled that of a nation.

:

:

This amount of wealth is comparable to that of Batman later on.

In front of the metal tactical table in the very center.

Aside from Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Doctor Fate.

There's also the third-generation Cyclone Maxine Henkel, and the second-generation Atom Smasher Albert Rostan.

These are the only remaining members of the Justice Society, both old and new.

Once everyone was present, Hawkman spoke first: "Tonight, someone attacked me and Hawkgirl. The attacker was exceptionally powerful and of unknown origin. They stole all the Ninth Metal treasured here."

"As the most wondrous metal in the universe, the Ninth Metal possesses infinite possibilities —"

If it is modified and exploited by those with malicious intent, that is definitely not the scene we want to see.

While speaking.

Hawkman tapped the touchscreen on the left.

After a period of static, a blurry figure appeared on the giant LCD screen at the very front.

"Mr. Hall, I need to remind you, is the infrared night mode not enabled on the camera?"

The atom crusher raised his hand.

Can anyone identify what that dark, shadowy shape is?

As the nephew of the original Atom, after successfully inheriting Al Pratt's mantle, Albert immediately changed his nuclear bomb title to Atom Smasher.

However, unlike Al Pratt, Albert has always been more unconventional.

"Mr. Rosstein, it turns out you can think for yourself. But that's exactly what I wanted to say: do you think I, with my wealth, would install those cheap cameras on the estate?"

Hawkman said dejectedly, "In fact, the other party has a special force field around them that can not only interfere with living beings, but also block all electronic signals, rendering the monitoring equipment ineffective."

The fact that it left a shadow is only because I installed the most advanced electronic surveillance equipment available.

"But how can we find the culprit using this?" the whirlwind girl asked, frowning.

"Kent." Hawkman stepped aside and looked at Doctor Fate.

"Just now, the Helmet of Destiny gave me a final hint."

Doctor Fate walked up to a map and placed his finger on a place called Metropolis.

"This will be their destination."

"Shall we set off now?"

The Atom Crusher stood up from his chair.

He looked around, then asked with some confusion, "Mr. Hall, where is your patrol airship?"

In the abyss world.

Crimson lightning struck down from the gathering dark clouds overhead, and countless Ninth Metals floated in the air.

At Lucas's command, a dense mass of shadow particles surged forward.

Attempt to break it down and uncover the core secrets of the ninth cosmic metal.

This will undoubtedly take a lot of time.

But it was all absolutely worth it.

Red Kryptonite and Green Kryptonite gave Shadow Particles an unprecedented mutation.

After further investigation, it is possible that the Shadow Particles may possess the properties of the Ninth Metal.

Look back.

Lucas shifted his gaze to the massive Eagle-type patrol ship moored on the reddish-yellow ground.

The sleek, wing-like curved design and sharply angled wings exude a sense of speed and explosiveness.

This is a restored version of the Tanaga spaceship that crashed on Earth.

Driven by the high-level Ninth Metal Core.

After leaving the planet's atmosphere, the spaceship can rely on its built-in Tannaga Star jump propulsion technology to conduct faster-than-light short-distance interstellar travel, easily traversing the solar system at high speed.

In other words, having this is equivalent to having a means of transportation to Tannaga.

In particular, it comes with built-in positioning coordinates, which can greatly reduce the probability of getting lost in the universe.

This trip not only yielded the Ninth Metal.

They also acquired equally important means of transportation.

It can be said that the harvest was plentiful.

However, Hawkman represents the Justice Society, which, although no longer as glorious as it once was, is certainly not to be ignored as the predecessor and mentor of the Justice League.

Especially Dr. Fate.

The opponent possesses the Naboo Helmet, a symbol of order, which allows them to glimpse the future.

The good news is that Naboo has many hosts, not just Doctor Fate.

Moreover, the god of fate is actively expanding its territory, seeking more people with affinity to spread its blessings and conduct reasonable exchanges.

This results in Doctor Fate's strength being extremely unstable under normal circumstances.

.. *

Kent Farm.

Clark was incredibly excited, as if he'd been injected with adrenaline.

He swore that today was definitely his lucky day.

Not only did he go to see a movie with Lana, but they even kissed halfway through.

"It's obvious that it's not spring now, so please stop drooling by the window."

Lucas took a quick shower and, seeing Clark's expression that suggested it was almost mating season, said with a wicked grin.

"Lucas, there's something I've been wanting to ask you." Clark scratched his head sheepishly, then remembered something and immediately spoke up.

Having just received a windfall, Lucas was in a good mood: "What's the problem?"

"Do you remember the first rugby club assessment? You said we weren't a good fit, why?"

This question had been on Clark's mind for a long time.

He had kept it all bottled up because he wasn't with Lana before, but now he felt that they were on the right track and wanted to hear his older brother's opinion.

"If you think you're a good match, you can ignore this. Or perhaps you're not really sure you two can go the distance? Hmm, my dear brother."

Lucas answered casually.

"I----"

Clark opened his mouth, but found himself at a loss for words to refute his older brother.

Lana's idea was simple: love must be unreserved. But he had too many secrets to tell her, and she didn't know where to begin.

Moreover, he recently discovered that Lana and Lex were seeing each other frequently in private.

But Lana never told him.

Although Clark felt he should trust the other person, it made him very uncomfortable.