dmims Chapter 342 The Evil Kryptonians
Chapter 342 The Evil Kryptonians
Chapter 342 The Evil Kryptonians
"To be honest, I really didn't expect that Superman, who was unwilling to help us before, would actually be of help in a place like this!"
While taking a hot bath at his arranged accommodation, Thunderbolt actually rolled over in the tub, completely disregarding the fact that his buttocks were being exposed to his brother-in-law and the Stone Man.
Jor El's sudden change of attitude made the Human Torch and his crew feel right at home. They not only had hot water for bathing, but also received as much Earth food as possible.
However, this also made him, who had been clever since childhood, subconsciously feel that something was wrong:
"But why do I always feel like something's wrong?"
Although Mr. Fantastic and the Thing were exhausted, they simply didn't have the heart of a human like the Human Torch. They forced themselves to stay awake, waiting for the Kryptonians to prepare the items needed to repair the spaceship.
As for whether there's anything wrong with Jor-El, who claims to be Superman's father, Mr. Fantastic Reed's opinion is this: "Don't talk nonsense, Johnny."
So what if the other person's identity is fake?
Reed and his two companions were now surrounded by a bunch of Kryptonians, each of whom could kill them with a single spit—this wasn't even a metaphor, but a stark reality.
In other words, they had no leverage to expose the enemy's scheme, and since they could rest and take hot showers, they figured they might as well wait and see. "Doesn't anyone want to discuss the fact that our spaceship exploded?"
Ben Grimm, the Stone Man, still remembered how he and his companions had ended up there:
"Why did this damn spaceship suddenly explode in the middle? We were outside of space, inside the flow of time; no one should have been able to attack us! And where is Susan at the stern now? Is she safe?"
Upon hearing this, even the dim-witted Thunderbolt couldn't help but worry about his sister's safety. He looked at his brother-in-law, who had a blank expression:
"Say something, Reed! Why aren't you worried at all? She's carrying your child!"
"I know." When talking about his pregnant wife, Mr. Fantastic seemed lost in thought, clearly indicating that this wasn't the only thing troubling him:
"Don't worry, I saw Susan use her force field to protect herself when the explosion happened. The most important thing right now is to repair the spaceship so that our family can have a chance to reunite."
Reed did not answer why the spaceship exploded from the inside.
The Stone Man, bewildered by the events leading up to this, spoke in a muffled voice, his emotions readily apparent. He wished he could launch his spaceship the very next second to find the Invisible Woman, Susan.
"Maybe we should ask these Kryptonians for help; they seem advanced enough."
"It's best not to," Reed said in a low voice. "You and I both know these Kryptonians are definitely suspicious."
Before the trio was salvaged, they saw the Kryptonian fleet stretching as far as the eye could see, arrayed along the outer edge of the Korpy Belt.
With such a large amount of weaponry, are they here for a tour of the solar system?
"Alas!" The three of them had walked into the lion's den, and the situation was becoming increasingly unpredictable. Suddenly, Thunderbolt became interested, and a brilliant idea struck him:
"If we could sneak around and investigate—.—"
"Don't make any rash moves. This is a warship; you'll get us killed! Besides, Susan isn't even here yet."
The Fantastic Four had infiltrated enemy lines before under the cover of invisibility fields, but now that they no longer had Invisible Woman to provide cover, Reed quickly extinguished the Human Torch's Spectre.
"What's more, when we encountered Superman, he saw through Susan's invisibility field very easily."
Other Kryptonians possess biological characteristics similar to Superman, and even if Susan were with the four of them right now, Reed wouldn't adopt such an aggressive strategy.
"We can only take it one step at a time."
The three could only sigh helplessly after discussing it for a while. There was no other reason than that the four of them hadn't even been able to handle a single Superman before, and now there were probably tens of thousands of Supermen in this spaceship and the surrounding fleet. Any outrageous action would be irresponsible to their own lives.
drop drop~
The intercom in the room where the three were staying rang.
Thunderbolt jumped out of the bathtub with a whoosh, heading straight for the communicator naked, forcing Reed to turn away in embarrassment.
He pressed the pager button and shouted into the other end, "Thanks, my Kryptonian friend! Just leave the Coke I ordered at the door!"
"Are you serious?" Thunderbolt's ability to become overly enthusiastic when given a little encouragement left his brother-in-law and the Stone Man speechless, and even broke out in a cold sweat.
The Stone Man, disregarding the fact that the Human Torch's face was so distorted it couldn't be shown to children without being censored, immediately rushed over and slapped him across the face.
"Seriously, Johnny! We're right here plotting how to deal with them, and you're having these Kryptonians order Coke for you?"
Anyone could see that this Kryptonian fleet had ill intentions toward Earth in this universe, and the three of them might be in danger right now, but the Human Torch seemed to take it all for granted!
Where did Johnny think they were? The Marriott Hotel?
"You're such a stupid rock!" The Human Torch, slapped against the wall, was now furious, wishing he could fight the stone man right then and there.
"The communicator isn't disconnected yet!"
"Huh?!" Now it was the stone man's turn to be shocked: "What did you say?!"
"I mean, now they know everything!"
"I know they know! Johnny, you idiot!"
"So you know they know, yet you still ask me what I said?!"
"I'll kill you right now!"
"Stop!"
Just as the Human Torch and the Thing were arguing endlessly over a few dozen cans of cola, a weary female voice came from the other end of the communicator:
"You don't need to worry, I'm not a Kryptonian, I'm just temporarily using their channel—listen carefully, do you really know Superman?"
The sudden turn of events roused the previously dejected Mr. Fantastic, who realized this might be the turning point he had been waiting for: "Who are you?"
"Someone just like you, trapped in this spaceship."
The sound from the other end of the communicator was somewhat distorted, but she still managed to transmit the crucial information:
"Don't trust Jor-El. He's Superman's father, but also his enemy! Do your best to contact Superman as soon as possible! Tell him you're trapped here, along with Zera—Corey from Tamaran!"
After a burst of static, the communication was abruptly cut off, leaving the three members of the Fantastic Four completely bewildered.
There was a knock on the cabin door from the outside, and the voice of the Kryptonian Johnny knew came through:
"Sir, I have purchased the Coke you requested."
"Shh!"
Johnny used a flame transformation to evaporate the dirt and moisture off his body. The three of them hurriedly tidied themselves up, deleted all suspicious traces, and then opened the door.
This is a very young Nitrogen Star kid, so young that he's not even as tall as Thunderbolt's chest.
At this moment, he showed no sign of annoyance at being made to run errands by Thunderbolt just to buy a dozen cans of soda; his face was full of joy and excitement.
"Here you go, sir, and thank you too. Not everyone gets a chance to take a trip around Earth!"
Looking at the lively child in front of him, clad in a suit of active metallic armor, Mr. Fantastic's expression was complex.
The fact that such a young child is dressed in military uniform makes one wonder what kind of army Joe Al is leading.
"Please don't misunderstand! This tall, thin gentleman..."
Seemingly noticing the doubt in Reed's expression, the child, who was several heads shorter than the three men, explained with a grin:
"We Kryptonians think and develop relatively quickly. We're adults at twelve years old. I'm only short because of an accident that caused delayed development!"
The short Kryptonian shook hands with each of the Fantastic Three in a friendly manner, introducing his name to Reed and Ben, who were still unfamiliar with him:
"I am Lor Zod, the Zod of House Zod!"
When the surname 'Zod' was mentioned, Lorne couldn't help but emphasize his words, and he even put his hands on his hips:
"I'm the future Grand General of the Kryptonian Empire!"
The Human Torch popped open a can of Coke with a snap, and even had the audacity to reach over and ask Lor Zod to blow on it to chill it.
He didn't believe that a short, errand boy like Lor Zod could be an Imperial general, but that didn't stop him from teasing the child:
"Ha, so your family has already decided on you, and they're just waiting for you to grow to 1.9 meters tall?"
"Of course not! Times have changed. A general's son can't always be a general, and scientists can go to the battlefield too."
When Jor-El was mentioned, Lor Zod's eyes were filled with longing, not only because the other party was the first ruler of Krypton, but also because, apart from the nominal High Council, he was truly above all others.
Rather, it was because Joe Al brought a completely new Nitrogen Star to these young people:
"Jor-El has long since changed Krypton's ways—the self-worth and social status of a Hydrogen being cannot be determined by birth or family, and vice versa. Therefore, I am starting as a second-class marshal, preparing to climb step by step to the position of general!"
"No offense intended." Even if Thunderbolt knew nothing about military ranks, he knew the difference in rank between a common soldier and a general:
"But I think the distance you need to climb is probably as high as the Himalayas!"
"It's not that difficult! We're about to head to Earth, once I find that crucial item for the Kryptonians..."
Lor's eyes sparkled; he was already imagining how he would go back and give his old man, Deng, a hard time after becoming a general.
"With such a tremendous achievement, I'm sure I'll be promoted three ranks in a row. Then, I only need to advance a dozen more ranks to become a general!"
Upon hearing this, Thunderbolt Bilor himself chuckled, "Then good luck, kid!"
In his view, this was the ultimate fantasy of a young man like Lor who worked part-time as a errand boy and tidied up the deck in the army. But who would want to directly crush a vibrant little kid?
"Oh, right!" Lor suddenly remembered something as he turned to leave.
He turned his head and handed a communicator with the number "4" printed on it to the three men:
"This is your stuff, isn't it? You really should keep your things safe. If I hadn't been on duty at the emergency response center today, this thing would probably have been thrown into the incinerator and shredded as garbage by someone else!"
This is a device used by the Fantastic Four to communicate with each other. After Jor-El placed it there, none of the three of them bothered to retrieve it, leaving it in its place.
Fortunately, Lor happened to be in charge of cleaning that area today, and when he saw this thing, he picked it up for the three of them.
Reed took the communicator and thanked him repeatedly, "Thank you, Lor! This is very important to us!"
After seeing off that brat Lor Zod, Reed's brow suddenly furrowed:
"The Kryptonians are going to invade Earth."
These Kryptonians in this universe are definitely not good people.
"Why?" Thunderbolt was happily drinking his iced cola. If it weren't for the current situation and the need to avoid losing consciousness, he would have switched the cola for alcohol long ago.
He had a good impression of Lor, this lively kid: "Didn't he say the Kryptonians went to Earth to find some kind of treasure?"
"I told you to read more books."
The Human Torch wasn't entirely uncultured, but in the eyes of the genius Reed, his brother-in-law was clearly the kind of person whose cultural attainments were so profound they could be written down as if they were cultural paper.
"Columbus and Pizarro went to the Americas simply to find gold and diamonds."
Adding to what the woman who claimed to be "Kolianda from the planet Tamaran" had just said, the three of them were now almost certain that they were in deep trouble.
The Kryptonian Empire that Little Lor just mentioned is definitely not a so-called universal empire.
But here's the problem: how do you contact Superman?
Reed's gaze fell on the communicator.
Maybe..
As Lor Zod gradually moved away into the distance, he changed from his earlier childlike liveliness to a serious and cold demeanor.
As he said before, he was already an adult, but his body was developing more slowly than other Kryptonians.
He pressed the communicator to report to his direct superior, Joe Al:
"Yes, it's all taken care of. He's got the communicator."