Ego gave an affirmative answer without any hesitation.
"All of Krypton's scientific technology and genetic bank data have now been fully extracted into my brain. I can rebuild it anywhere."
"It's just... this radioactive element unique to Krypton. In my long cosmic travels across countless Planets, I have never seen an isotope with similar properties. It seems to exist only under this specific set of universal rules."
Homelander understood.
Kryptonite was a specialty of the DC Universe; the Marvel Universe didn't have it at all.
"It seems we'll have to scavenge more local specialties in this World."
Homelander's mind had already begun planning the next move.
To establish his totalitarian regime, Superman had indeed destroyed most of the Kryptonite out in the open. But what this World lacked least was clever people hiding in the shadows.
Bruce Wayne certainly had no stock left in his bunker, otherwise he wouldn't have been forced to the point of relying on the Joker.
So, on this devastated Earth, the only person who might still hide a large amount of Kryptonite...
Was that bald man.
Lex Luthor.
Even if he were to die, he would absolutely leave a trump card against Superman in some unknown place as a precaution.
Thinking of this, Homelander looked at Ego.
"You've fused with Superman's memories now. Look it up—where is that bald guy named Lex Luthor now?"
Ego closed his eyes, quickly searching for the name in Clark's memory bank.
A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Master, this man named Lex Luthor is already dead."
"Dead?" Homelander raised an eyebrow. "How did he die?"
"He was killed by the original owner of this body." Ego narrated the memory expressionlessly. "When Darkseid's vanguard arrived, Luthor took the initiative to contact Apokolips. To trade for his own survival and power, he sold out information."
"He told Darkseid that Superman's fatal weakness wasn't Kryptonite, but a human woman named Lois Lane. Darkseid used this intelligence to break into the Batcave and kill that woman, which led to Superman's mental breakdown."
"When Superman learned that Luthor was the informant, he didn't even give Luthor a single chance to make an excuse; he used his Heat Vision to incinerate Luthor into ashes."
Hearing this ending, Homelander couldn't help but let out a sneer.
"Ha... as expected. Courting death is Luthor's nature. This guy was smart his whole life, yet he underestimated the rage of a Kryptonian who has lost his mind."
In this apocalyptic World, the end for villains was always so swift and decisive.
"However, whether he's dead or not isn't important. What matters is his legacy."
Anyway, let's head back to Metropolis first.
Thinking this, Homelander's gaze fell once more on the face of the Son of Krypton.
"Listen up, Ego," Homelander instructed. "This face and this uniform will cause too many screams and unnecessary trouble in this World. I don't have time to deal with those stupid stress responses."
"So, without my explicit permission, you must never appear before anyone in this alien Boy Scout persona. Understand?"
The tall Kryptonian body leaned forward slightly, bowing its head in a gesture of absolute submission. "Your will is my code, Master. I shall remain hidden in the shadows until you require the strength of this body."
"Very good." Homelander nodded with satisfaction. "To differentiate, I'll give this body a new codename. Let's call it... Super Ego."
"When I call you 'Ego,' you will still appear as that blue brain-flower entity. Only when I call out the name 'Super Ego' can you use this Superman shell to get to work. Got it?"
"Ego represents wisdom and creation, while Super Ego represents power and destruction. I understand completely, Master."
Homelander nodded in satisfaction. With a flick of his wrist, the master ball fell into his palm.
"Come back, Ego."
Pressing the button, Super Ego turned into a stream of red particles and was sucked into the sphere.
Homelander tossed the master ball a few times before putting it back into his magic pocket.
Taking one last look at the Fortress of Solitude—that Base filled with alien style—he left.
With his legs slightly bent, he headed toward the Shelter, disappearing into the wind and snow.
...
By the time he returned to the Shelter, it was not yet dawn.
Homelander walked through the corridor covered in thick cashmere carpet and pushed open the heavy wooden bedroom door.
The room was filled with the lingering scent of expensive fragrance, and the dim wall lamps cast ambiguous shadows.
On the giant circular soft bed, Harley Quinn was lying there sprawled out.
The quilt had long since been kicked onto the carpet, revealing fair skin covered in hickeys and old scars.
She was still deep in sleep, a bit of glistening drool hanging from the corner of her mouth, letting out light snores.
Homelander stood by the bed, looking down at this crazy woman.
He silently summoned the system interface in his mind, where a string of dazzling numbers was flashing.
"Current special popularity value: 312,555!"
Homelander's gaze swept over the dense records of income.
Batman, Cyborg, The Flash, Mera... these core characters of this Universe had all contributed quite a bit.
But if he were to pull up a pie chart of the data, the one who took up the absolute lion's share was undoubtedly the crazy woman snoring on the bed.
"Harley Quinn..."
Homelander's gaze toward Harley became much softer, like the doting look a boss gives a top salesperson.
As long as he gave her a little stimulation, this woman's emotions would erupt like a volcano, continuously providing him with high-quality special popularity value.
But along with this satisfaction, a hint of regret crept into Homelander's heart.
He silently calculated.
There were less than two and a half days left before this 'Earth-1 Seven-Day Luxury Tour' ended.
Once time ran out, he would be forcibly teleported back to the Marvel Universe. And Harley Quinn, who was basically a walking ATM, would be left in this wasteland World forever.
"Tsk, what a waste of talent." Homelander shook his head in regret. "The system actually doesn't provide a service option to bring living people across Universes."
"Anyway, let's start with two draws..." Homelander sat back down on the living room sofa, looking at the huge sum of over three hundred thousand, and chuckled.
"...Maybe there'll be a surprise."
"...System, open the Superhero Blind Box."
"Confirm consumption of 1,000 special popularity value for a high-level draw?" the system's voice sounded.
"Two draws in a row, open them directly." Homelander didn't hesitate.
"Deducting 2,000 special popularity value, draw beginning..."
Familiar music, familiar special effects...
"Congratulations to the host! You have obtained a rare item: [loki mask]!"