"Are you threatening me?" Zod sneered, "With just you?"
"Yes," Alex Rivers replied calmly. "For a joker like you, I alone am enough."
Zod's eyes sharpened, his fists clenching tightly. He roared, "Do you know who you're dealing with? I am Zod, the strongest Kryptonian alive!"
"The strongest being?" Alex curled her lip. "What a joke. In my eyes, you're just a minor villain. And I, your enemy, am the true hero!"
Aware of the drones broadcasting live, Alex altered her speech to gain more reputation points and system rewards.
Near the battlefield, daring war correspondents took risks for explosive footage. Lena, broadcasting live, was close to the action. She controlled a drone, capturing the exchange between Alex and Zod with clear footage.
Despite the danger, she aimed to capture something extraordinary.
Zod noticed the drone but ignored it, dismissing anything non-threatening.
Lena was awestruck by the super showdown. Her drone showed Alex's confident smile, her heroic posture.
Globally, people saw Alex as the embodiment of justice—a woman in a red cape, with cloud-like hair and a face like jade, calmly facing Zod.
Her heroic spirit inspired worship worldwide. A goddess saving the world—Superwoman.
"Superwoman!..." Crowds cheered enthusiastically around the globe.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, reputation value +7."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, reputation value +88."
"..."
Ding-ding-dang, ding-ding-dang!
"You're also a Superwoman?" Zod was surprised. He had already defeated one Superwoman, and now another appeared, unexpected and annoying.
"What a Superwoman!" he sneered.
As he spoke, Zod's eyes shot heat vision at Alex. Undeterred, Alex's eyes also emitted red beams. The powerful lasers collided fiercely, sparking violently.
The heat vision's collision generated immense energy. The impact point erupted in sparks and light waves, illuminating the area like daylight. The air, heated to thousands of degrees, vibrated intensely, causing turbulence.
Zod exerted more force, pushing his lasers to the limit, yet he couldn't suppress Alex's offense.
Alex smiled coldly, increasing her power. Her heat vision grew a deeper red.
Zod's heat vision was gradually overwhelmed, retreating. His eyes, unable to compete, filled with rage. He struggled to resist Alex's strengthening attack, but her red light shone brighter. Zod realized in horror his heat vision was far inferior.
"No... impossible!" Zod hissed, struck by Alex's heat vision and crashing to the ground. He rose, eyes full of unwillingness.
Though Zod fell heavily, his body endured minimal damage. His defense was formidable.
With Kryptonian warrior genes, Zod's armor was penetrated, leaving scorch marks on his body—an ordinary Kryptonian would have been pierced, dying instantly.
Zod flew into the sky, Alex following. Red lights intertwined in the air, and Alex and Zod's figures appeared and vanished in high-speed movement, leaving dazzling arcs in the sky.
Zod suddenly attacked Alex with a heavy punch, but she reacted swiftly, dodging and countering with a fierce swing. Though Zod evaded, her punch grazed his abdomen.
"Still lacking combat experience; otherwise, I'd have taken him down already."
"I need to improve my combat skills."
As a Kryptonian warrior, Zod's combat experience surpassed Alex's, but she was improving rapidly. Taking him down was only a matter of time.
On the ground, the two Flashes, Barry, Supergirl Kara, and Batman Bruce fought together.
Kara sent Zod's female adjutant flying, rendering her combat ineffective.
"The situation is dire. Zod's world engine, one in the South Pacific, the other in Gotham City, must be dealt with immediately." Bruce urgently informed Barry and Kara through his earpiece.
The Flashes appeared beside Bruce in a Flash, asking,
"What is the world engine? What are its dangers?"
"They're planet-transforming spacecraft altering Earth's atmosphere and terrain. If successful, all humans will be annihilated."
Kara flew over, explaining.
Earth's countries, through scientific research, quickly reached this terrifying conclusion.
Numerous fighter jets attacked the world engines but failed to breach their shields.
Inside the US Military, chaos ensued.
"If this continues, Earth will be destroyed!"
"We must launch nuclear missiles. We can't watch Earth be destroyed!"
"Nuclear missiles? Are you crazy? Gotham City is full of people!"
"Better than humanity's extinction!"
"Nuclear weapons aren't the only way. We need other solutions!"
"What solutions? There's no time to develop new weapons before Earth is destroyed!"
"We can't sacrifice innocent lives!"
"To save Earth, sacrifices are inevitable!"
"..."
In the sky, Zod retreated steadily, making a feint before fleeing to a spacecraft.
Alex was about to pursue him when super hearing detected a call from the ground.
"Superwoman! We need you!" Young Barry shouted.
Alex flew down.
"What happened? I was about to take down Zod."
"The world engine is transforming Earth, affecting gravity..." Barry finished, anxious.
Alex recalled "Superman: Man of Steel," knowing the dire consequences.
If not stopped, regret would be too late, and her system points would dwindle.
"I understand. Leave this to me." Alex looked at the grim group. "Kara, get some Sun to recover your stamina. You all keep an eye on Zod."
With that, Alex vanished into the sky.
In Gotham City, the world engine rumbled, altering gravity. People in the ruined surroundings witnessed the apocalyptic scene.
Alex appeared above the world engine, observing the massive device altering Earth's gravity to suit Kryptonian survival.
She dove down, smashing a heavy punch onto the engine's energy shield. The shield shattered, its energy barrier dissipating.
Suddenly, the engine released a powerful energy pulse—it formed a giant energy beast, attempting to thwart Alex.
"Damn it, will this thing ever end?"
She wanted to resolve this quickly and chase Zod.
Alex puffed her cheeks, using Arctic Breath. Azure cold air blew from her mouth, freezing everything it touched.
The energy beast sensed the cold's power, trying to avoid it. But the cold air surrounded it, freezing its movements.
Alex continued blowing cold air. The energy beast roared, then froze in the sky, becoming an ice sculpture.
The cold air spread, icing the world engine's shell, expanding rapidly. The biting cold formed ice within, jamming its gears and core—it emitted a piercing noise, then slowed and stopped.
Her cold breath was incredibly powerful!
Alex shot lasers from her eyes, shattering the energy beast's frozen body. Then she sped towards the world engine, and with a "bang," her steel-like body pierced it. The engine exploded, scattering debris.
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