I'm Superman's Brother, But I Got Thanos's Template

Chapter 144: Not the End, But the Beginning (4k3)

Wounded, Clark watched the two battling on the ground, his heart pounding with anxiety and sweat beading on his forehead.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that not just Metropolis, but the fate of the entire Earth hung in the balance of this fight.

Seeing David and Brainiac initially fighting on even terms, Clark was filled with worry. He knew David lacked Brainiac's formidable recovery abilities, and his injuries would only accumulate.

If this continued, the scales of victory would likely tip in Brainiac's favor.

But to his surprise, David grew stronger as the fight went on, completely overpowering Brainiac.

Blood rained down from the sky. Brainiac's chest caved in, his massive body sent flying backward. David, bathed in purple light, was like a god born from a star, his aura astonishing.

"A planet as technologically barren as this, to possess a being like you."

Coughing up blood, Brainiac was blasted backward by David's searing Heat Vision, the burning pain in his arms making his brow twitch.

"I despise the unexpected, but this is an exception."

His arms were burned to the bone, a smell of char filling the air.

David threw a punch, the compressed air beneath his fist forming a tangible wave of energy. Accompanied by a powerful gust of wind, it shattered Brainiac's arms as he tried to block.

Just as David was about to attack again.

Brainiac's eyes narrowed. A surge of mental power, as fierce as a tidal wave, crashed into David's mind. David felt struck by an unseen force, his head snapping back as his brain buzzed, his movements instantly halting.

Quickly retreating, Brainiac gained a moment to breathe. New skin covered his wounds, broken bones mended, his injuries healing as if time were reversing.

"An unassailable body," he gazed at David's physique with insatiable hunger.

Many physically powerful alien races were mentally fragile, but David had no such problem. His mind, like a raging sea, had crashed against an unyielding dam.

A few waves had breached the dam, but they caused no substantial damage.

"I truly wish I could learn from you.

How you maintain such an aloof demeanor even when you're at a disadvantage in a fight!"

Shaking his head, David sneered. He closed in like a comet, his fists, moving with the speed of light, piercing Brainiac's defenses. With earth-shattering force, they slammed into Brainiac's head, a crisp cracking sound echoing.

Brainiac, like an ordinary person hit hard by a baseball bat, had blood splatter across his face, his brain concussed.

However, he didn't lose consciousness.

His unique physiology allowed him to think and control his body via his spine even if his head was severed.

"You imbecilic creature!"

But as Brainiac wiped the blood from his face, he knew how pathetic he looked. He roared in fury.

"Do you think you can defeat me!

This is merely an insignificant biological shell of mine."

Ever since his birth, no one had ever made him look so pathetic. He was a terrifying nightmare to many cosmic civilizations, having destroyed countless worlds, and eliminated innumerable lives from this garden called the universe!

And now, some brute who only knew how to throw punches, whose mind contained no galactic knowledge, had beaten him bloody.

"An artificial intelligence losing its temper.

What a rare sight!"

David surged forward, his powerful punches dismantling Brainiac's attempts to defend himself, and he grabbed him by the neck.

"Fool, are you trying to suffocate me?"

A foolish assumption. David wasn't a primitive lifeform that needed to breathe. Brainiac's face contorted, and though he struggled to speak, he taunted David. Mustering his strength, he swung a fist towards David's chest, but it was caught.

Bang!

Their fists collided, exploding in rings of shockwaves.

"I did forget that."

David twisted hard.

Pain shot through Brainiac's body as his joints were twisted into an immobile, contorted position, temporarily incapacitating him.

"However, your body hasn't surpassed the scope of biological knowledge I learned in high school."

When Brainiac's consciousness first arrived above Earth, he must have absorbed everything on the Earth's network in an instant. David was sure he understood what "high school" meant.

"Everything you've done is futile."

Brainiac's face was etched with anger. Even now, pinned by David, he maintained the condescending posture of a higher being looking down on ants.

"I possess infinite knowledge. Power can never overcome wisdom."

"So what's happening now?"

David asked calmly, feigning confusion.

"Everything is still within my control. You have caught my attention.

After today, it is not an end, but a beginning!"

Brainiac's eyes flashed with greed and malice as he roared angrily.

"I will descend upon this primitive, backward planet again one day. By then, flames will scorch this barren world, and you will accept your destiny, becoming material on my experimental table. The full mystery of your genes will be revealed to me!"

With that, his eyes rolled back, and a burnt smell emanated from his head and spine. He had destroyed his own body.

Brainiac had calculated his win rate. After David's potential was unleashed and his strength surged, his chances of winning were less than five percent.

He was a being of cold rationality. He wouldn't gamble on a slim chance of victory by risking further humiliation and disgrace. He simply abandoned this biological shell.

David frowned. He hadn't expected Brainiac to be so decisive. He loosened his grip, letting the corpse fall, directly into the Mechanical Superman's gaze.

The Mechanical Superman's mouth hung open, his eyes staring in shock at his Creator's corpse. It was as if a computer had encountered a problem it couldn't process and had frozen.

He knew this was merely a temporary shell for his Creator.

But his Creator had been defeated on this primitive, backward planet. This was simply impossible!

Bang!

The Mechanical Superman was knocked out. At Jor-El's signal, Clark acted, clutching his aching chest as he stumbled over. After enduring the yellow sun's light for a while, his injuries had recovered significantly.

"Will he return?"

Standing by Brainiac's corpse, Clark's expression was grim. In truth, he knew the answer to this question. Undoubtedly, he would.

But he hoped for some good news.

"Brainiac is unkillable," Jor-El said after a moment of silence.

"Countless beings throughout the universe have seen Brainiac's biological shells, but never the real him. No one knows where his true form is."

After speaking, he looked at David in the sky, his eyes filled with undisguised surprise.

Brainiac's robots, who destroyed worlds and collected civilizations for him, had encountered powerful enemies they couldn't handle, requiring Brainiac's personal intervention.

But no one had ever thwarted Brainiac's objective and killed one of his biological shells.

Like Brainiac, Jor-El also found it hard to believe that his son Clark's younger brother could be a life form nurtured by this weak planet.

He had originally sent Clark to Earth hoping he would be safe and become a god on Earth. He hadn't expected that the Earth family who adopted Clark would have an Earthling with even greater potential than Clark.

"There's no need to worry too much."

David, overhearing their conversation, landed beside them and comforted Clark, whose brow was furrowed with worry.

"Perhaps Brainiac's next biological shell will be more powerful than this one, but its strength will still be limited."

He admitted that Brainiac might be an eternal, unkillable cosmic nightmare.

Brainiac was like a cosmic version of Ultron from the Marvel universe. It was already difficult to kill an intelligent life form like Ultron on an internet-connected Earth, let alone Brainiac, who was connected to the entire cosmic network.

"That's almost impossible. But Brainiac's strength is roughly at this level."

David's eyes flickered.

He was slightly stronger than a normal Kryptonian son, but not much stronger. He looked up at the Earth and flew swiftly towards the spaceship.

"Right, Metropolis, the hour is almost up!"

Clark finally snapped out of his melancholy of defeating a world-destroying enemy only to learn they might return. Like waking from a dream, he hurriedly boarded the spaceship in Earth's orbit with David.

They arrived at the central control room.

Numerous cities from various destroyed alien civilizations, encased in glass domes, were displayed like collectibles on bright, clean counters.

The two found Metropolis. Under Jor-El's guidance, they utilized the ship's shrinking technology in reverse. As the one-hour permanent shrinking period was about to expire, they reversed the process and restored Metropolis to its original state.

Metropolis had been shrunk and then magnified. The power lines, drainage channels, and other facilities beneath the city were all damaged. Rebuilding them would require considerable effort and time.

"Thank you, Transcendent and Superman. Although their giant faces, like the titan Atlas, appeared before the glass domes, truly startling me, thank you for saving my family and me. Thank you for saving this city!"

However, compared to living permanently in a glass dome, smaller than mites, becoming alien collectibles and playthings, the people of Metropolis were filled with the excitement of surviving a disaster, grateful to feel the Earth's sunlight and air again!

Their gratitude towards David and Clark was immeasurable.

Mayor Max Minos delivered a passionate speech in the central city square where Metropolis citizens gathered, expressing profound thanks to the Transcendent and Superman.

Seeing Metropolis reappear in its original location, Clark was also happy and greatly relieved. Brainiac was almost entirely his fault for attracting him, but fortunately, the city was protected in the end.

"Metropolis is going to present us with an award for saving the city. David, aren't you really going?"

After the events, in the barn, Clark, dressed in his blue and red suit, looked expectantly at David and asked.

"Actually, you're the hero who saved the city. You were the one who defeated Brainiac."

"No."

Through the house window, his parents watched the news report expressing gratitude to the two Metropolis superheroes for saving the city, their lips curved into smiles of relief and pride, just like when Clark and David first received scholarships at school.

David withdrew his gaze, crossed his arms, and looked into the distance.

"I didn't save them for their gratitude."

"Don't expect too much from the masses.

Right now, they're just swept up in the joy of being saved, lifting you high.

When you're questioned, you'll see the surging malice of people again."

He glanced at the excited Clark and reminded him.

"I know."

Clark nodded thoughtfully, a serious look of contemplation on his face.

"I just feel it's time.

The outside world and the citizens don't understand us, and a lot of suspicion and wariness will arise."

"I think this is an opportunity for them to see that we are ordinary people with emotions, just like them."

The outside world had too many questions about them, such as their alien origins, when they arrived on Earth, and whether they had ulterior motives for Earth. This was a good opportunity to provide answers and reassure everyone.

"And you're not like me; you're not an alien. Everyone misunderstands that."

"I remember the ceremony is at eight o'clock. If you don't leave soon, you might be late."

Hearing this, David smiled.

"It wouldn't be good to be late for your first interview in front of the public."

Clark's spirits lifted at David's words. He knew David's comment was indirect support for his decision. He clenched his fist and excitedly flew into the sky, breaking the sound barrier as he headed towards the center of Metropolis.

Not long after Clark left, the Lantern Ring on David's hand suddenly flashed twice.

He looked at the ring, which functioned as a replacement for mobile phones and other communication devices, and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Is Mera contacting me?"

He remembered telling Mera not to disturb him unless it was absolutely critical before he left Atlantis.

Just as David was about to answer the call to ask what was happening, "Could it be that someone in Atlantis has finally started a rebellion?"

At that moment, his ring lit up again.

It was an emergency communication from Themyscira…

…

At the awards ceremony.

As Clark descended in his red and blue suit, countless camera flashes lit up around him. Mayor Minot, who had been waiting for a long time, looked at the hero who had saved the city, his face flushed with emotion. He walked up and shook Clark's hand firmly.

"Superman, I know you're busy saving people in danger.

I'm very grateful that you took the time to come to the ceremony."

This was Superman's first public appearance for an interview. He maintained a perfect eight-tooth smile and, in the act of shaking hands with Clark, faced the barrage of cameras.

His name would likely spread throughout the world with Superman. Max Minot was thrilled at the thought.

It was a shame that the Transcendent, who had contributed the most to saving Metropolis, hadn't come along.

Otherwise, the news coverage would have been even more explosive.

"I didn't know this city had keys."

Clark received the key-shaped trophy from the mayor, his expression odd. He held two large, brass keys, each several dozen centimeters long, making him look a bit bewildered.

One was for him, and one was for David.

"Originally, Metropolis's highest honor for its citizens was 'Mr. Metropolis.'

But considering the outcome of the previous Mr. Metropolis…"

Facing the person who had personally sent the previous Mr. Metropolis and the mayor to prison, the newly appointed Max Minot gave an awkward smile.

"So, it was changed to the Key to the City. This represents the city's highest praise and infinite trust in your kindness, integrity, and bravery. It signifies that you can legally open the doors of any home."

Of course, this was just symbolic. Clark smiled and accepted the two trophies.

After the awards were presented, the mayor appropriately stepped down, leaving Clark alone on the interview stage. The media, who had been eagerly waiting, swarmed forward, bombarding him with questions.

"Superman, do you know why the Transcendent didn't come to this award ceremony?" "What material is your suit made of?"

"Are you and the Transcendent both aliens?"

"Some say the Transcendent is more powerful than you. Do you agree with that statement?"

"Can you tell us how you and the Transcendent met?"

"…"

Behind the podium, Clark paused and muttered, Why are almost all the questions about David?

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