The wind whistled loudly past his ears as Viktor floated high in the sky. Below him, a wide river separated two cities: one bustling like tropolis, and the other dark and mysterious like Gotham.
The wide river, shimring with light, splits the two very different cities perfectly apart.
Viktor’s original destination had been Gotham, with the mysterious gray-robed person’s file from Batman being his only current lead.
However, for so reason, Tom’s face appeared in his mind, rough like the sea breeze, along with the mory of a warm, delicious bowl of seafood soup.
The seven days he spent healing at that house had been the most peaceful ti since he arrived on Earth, with no harsh training, no suspicion about his identity, and no heavy mories of the past.
Tom’s kindness was like the gentle sunlight by the sea—soft yet warm enough to soothe.
"Just chat for a bit, relax, and then leave."
He murmured to himself, trying to convince himself.
Diana’s coldness felt like a mountain, and he desperately needed a place to escape from the suffocating tension.
He turned around, preparing to head toward the seaside suburbs of tropolis, but suddenly the air around him beca thick and sluggish.
There was no sound of the air breaking, no energy fluctuations. A figure dressed in red and blue seed to appear out of nowhere, silently floating a few ters away from him.
Viktor’s pupils suddenly shrank, and his muscles tensed up in an instant. This was the costu he seen countless tis on TV.
The tight blue suit showed off a strong, well-built body, with a red cape fluttering gently in the wind, and the "S" symbol on the chest glead brightly in the sunlight.
Unlike the black-armored Superman he saw in space that night, the person in front of him looked younger with a slight smile on his lips, and he stood with his hands on his hips, looking him up and down.
"Hello, you must be Viktor, right?"
Superman spoke first, his voice clear and bright, warm like the afternoon sun.
"I saw your file in the Justice League database a few days ago. You’re from the planet Viltrum, right?"
He stepped a little closer, his eyes filled with sincere curiosity.
"Co to think of it, our backgrounds are pretty similar. We’re both aliens from other planets."
Viktor’s expression instantly turned cold, and the aura around him grew sharp.
’Similar?’
He certainly didn’t think he had anything in common with the person standing in front of him who was revered as Earth’s protector.
He still rembered how kind and gentle Diana had been... right up until she learned about all the bloody, awful things from his past. Then that kindness turned into a cold wall that pushed him away.
He never wanted to go through that process again—going from being accepted to being rejected. It would be better to just set clear boundaries from the start.
"You and I are nothing alike."
Viktor coldly muttered the words, no longer looking at Superman, and turned to fly away.
"Wait!"
However, Superman quickly flashed in front of him, raising a hand to tap his ear, and a helpless smile appeared on his face.
"I know this might sound a bit intrusive, but I have super hearing. I can hear sounds from very far away. It used to bother a lot, but eventually, I learned to filter out most of the noise."
He paused for a mont, and his tone beca sincere.
"The sound of Diana tapping her bracelets earlier was really too sharp for . I couldn’t help but focus on what was going on in Salem... and that’s how I overheard your conversation."
Viktor froze in the air, his eyes instantly turning cold, and the murderous intent around him almost beca tangible.
"I’m sorry. I’ve never understood what guilt is. I know your power, and I also know I can’t defeat you right now..."
"Oh, but I wasn’t planning on fighting you. I don’t an any harm, I’m really sorry for eavesdropping on your secret."
Superman quickly raised both hands to show he ant no harm, and his smile beca a little more bitter and helpless.
"Funny thing is, I just had a fight with my girlfriend, and she kicked out of the apartnt. Now, I don’t even have a place to go."
Viktor was a bit confused, and his tense attitude slowly dissipated. He didn’t understand why Superman was telling him all this.
Superman sighed, not seeming to notice Viktor’s odd expression.
"You’re an alien who ran away from your past. I’m an alien who can’t even keep my girlfriend from getting mad at . Our situations are kind of the sa, and right now we both feel pretty down... How about we find a quiet spot and just talk for a while?"
Viktor was completely stunned, his mind unable to process the words.
He imagined that Superman would question him, would treat him with hostility like Doctor Fate had, or even imdiately restrain him, but he never expected this kind of response.
’This man actually compared his heavy past of killing millions of people to getting into an argunt with his girlfriend and being kicked out?’
As Viktor was still trying to process it, Superman had already stepped forward and gently placed a large hand on his shoulder.
A familiar warmth spread from his shoulder, almost the sa as the warmth he felt when black-suited Superman had embraced him in space, but the feeling was completely different.
This young Superman exuded warmth mixed with a sowhat clumsy sincerity, with no sense of pressure at all.
"Stop standing there, I know a great place."
Superman didn’t give him a chance to respond and suddenly lifted him into the air. The speed was so fast that Viktor couldn’t even react, and he was forced to fly along with him.
The city below quickly shrank, soon becoming a blurry silhouette, and then a vast blue ocean appeared in their view.
They flew over the turbulent sea and finally landed on a cliff on a deserted island. The waves crashed against the rocks, splashing white foam and creating a muffled rumbling sound.
The salty sea breeze carried moisture, brushing against their faces with a refreshing coolness.
Superman let go of his shoulder, walked over to the edge of the cliff, and sat down. He swung his feet in the air as he stared at the distant horizon.
Viktor remained silent for a mont, watching the ’blue boy scout’ with his back to him.
He also walked over, sat down not far from Superman, and stared at the swirling waves below. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and asked.
"Why would you compare my past with sothing as trivial as an argunt with your girlfriend?"
There was no comparison between the two to him.
One was a sin covered in blood, and the other was just a small quarrel between a couple. The forr was heavy enough to crush anyone raised in a peaceful environnt, and the latter was rely a small bump in life.
Superman turned his head, his smile fading, and his expression beca serious.
"Then tell , did you co to Earth to conquer?"
Viktor was frozen, instinctively shaking his head.
"Then that’s settled."
Superman shrugged and looked back at the horizon, speaking in a calm tone.
"You escaped from Viltrum, a civilization that takes pride in domination and conquest. Doesn’t that an you fundantally rejected their ideology? Even though you were part of those brutal massacres in the past, you chose to escape. That choice prevented even more, more horrific killings under Viltrum’s orders in the future. That’s enough to show that you’re different from those Viltrumites for ."
The waves continued to crash against the rocks, and the sea breeze howled past. Viktor sat on the edge of the cliff, staring at the Superman in front of him, his thoughts felt like a tangled ss.
This was the first ti he had looked at his past from this perspective without accusations, without hostility, and with only a simple and direct understanding.
"You..."
Viktor opened his mouth, feeling sowhat numb.
"You must have been called a freak by your classmates, right?"
Superman stopped for a second, nodding slowly with a hint of nostalgia.
"Yeah, I probably awakened my superpowers during puberty, and with everything that happened, I caused a lot of trouble."
Viktor rubbed his face, still stiff from the shock.
"You sure? It might also not be your superpowers causing the trouble."
Superman was silent for two seconds before bursting into laughter.
"You probably got beaten up on Viltrum too because of that mouth of yours, right?"
...
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