Homelander looked at the submissive Steel Body before him, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.
He held up the master ball.
"Come back, Ego."
A red light shot out from the master ball, enveloping Superman Ego.
There was no resistance, no struggle. Superman's massive body transformed into a stream of red particles and was sucked into the small sphere.
"Click."
Homelander pressed the button and tossed the master ball out again.
With a flash of white light, Superman Ego reappeared in space, still maintaining a standby posture.
"Perfect."
"How do you feel?" Homelander asked.
Superman Ego raised both hands, clenched his fists, and excitement flickered in his eyes.
Although his power was limited now, as long as this body was given enough time to bask in the Sun and gradually unlock the restrictions in its genes, he could even hunt members of the Celestials in the future.
"And..."
Superman Ego closed his eyes to reminisce.
"In his residual memories, I discovered a very interesting piece of information."
"Deep within the glaciers of Earth's North Pole, there is a hidden Kryptonian outpost. The original owner of this body called it the Fortress of Solitude."
Ego opened his eyes and looked toward the far north of Earth.
"It's a Kryptonian scout ship that crashed on Earth ten thousand years ago. According to the memories, the ship not only carries core technology from the Kryptonian golden age, but more importantly, it houses a complete Genesis Chamber."
"Genesis Chamber?" Homelander's eyes lit up slightly, his interest thoroughly ignited.
"What is it used for?"
"The Genesis Chamber is the core facility for Kryptonian reproduction," Ego explained. "Kryptonians long ago abandoned natural birth. Through the Genesis Chamber, they artificially customize every new life according to the needs of society. Their physiological traits, intellectual tendencies, and social roles—such as warriors, scientists, leaders, or laborers—are set at the genetic level."
"The ultimate key to activating and editing these genomes is the Codex. And now, the Codex is within my body."
Homelander rubbed his chin, and the image of a group of arrogant aliens covered in gold dust immediately surfaced in his mind.
"Sounds like another Sovereign."
"No, Master. This is far superior to the Sovereign."
Ego made no attempt to hide his disdain. "The Sovereign's genetic engineering went in the wrong direction. In pursuit of so-called 'perfection' and 'purity,' they removed all wildness and variables from their genes. As a result, they created a bunch of defective products who have magnificent appearances and are extremely conceited, yet are as cowardly as rats."
"But the Kryptonian Genesis Chamber was designed to adapt to the harshest survival environments in the Universe. As long as there is enough energy and matter, we can use it to tailor an absolutely loyal, invincible Kryptonian legion for you!"
A Kryptonian army.
These words hammered heavily against Homelander's heart, causing his heart—which usually only cared about personal influence—to beat wildly for once.
If he could pack up and take the entire Genesis Chamber with him...
After returning to the Marvel Universe, he could find a deserted Planet to build a Base. Given time, he could pull together an invincible legion composed entirely of Supermen.
Thanos's Black Order, the Celestials, the Dimensional Demons—under the synchronized Heat Vision of thousands of Kryptonian warriors, not even ashes would remain.
"Lead the way."
A brilliant light shone in Homelander's eyes.
"To that Fortress of Solitude."
...
The North Pole glaciers.
Violent winds whipped up blizzards, and the vast white ice plains stretched as far as the eye could see.
Boom! Boom!
Two sonic booms exploded over the ice plains, scattering the filling snow.
Homelander and Ego hovered in mid-air, with a massive iceberg beneath them.
"It's right down there, Master."
Ego flew forward and pressed his palm against the identification terminal next to the door.
The Kryptonian biological information passed verification instantly.
Sshhh—
The heavy doors slowly slid open to both sides.
The two of them walked in slowly.
Homelander observed the internal structure of the ship.
The style here was completely different from Earthling creations.
There were no intricate circuits, no square control consoles. All structures presented an organically grown crystal form.
Walking through a long corridor, they arrived at the ship's main control hall.
The place was a mess. Countless crystal fragments were scattered everywhere. Several thick energy transmission pipes were severed, with obvious burn marks at the cuts.
"It looks like a very unfriendly dispute took place here." Homelander kicked aside a shattered crystal plate.
"These are marks left by Zod." Ego's gaze swept across the surroundings. "Back then, Zod tried to seize control of the ship and destroyed the ship's main AI, Jor-El."
"The system is intact, and the hardware facilities of the Genesis Chamber can be activated at any time." Ego checked the data, then his brow furrowed slightly. "But, Master, we face a problem."
"Speak." Homelander walked to an empty amber pod and tapped the tough crystal shell.
"Materials." Ego frowned, his expression solemn.
"To cultivate Kryptonian embryos, a radioactive mineral element unique to Krypton must be introduced as a stabilizer. It can stabilize the gene chain and prevent genetic collapse during the cultivation process."
"Krypton has already exploded into cosmic dust; where am I supposed to find Kryptonian native elements?" Homelander frowned.
"Zod once carried a batch of these element samples," Ego explained. "But... in Superman's memories, that batch of samples was destroyed along with the ship in the subsequent battle to prevent Zod's plan from succeeding."
"What a spendthrift," Homelander cursed.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
With a flick of his wrist, Homelander took out that exquisite small green knife from his magic pocket.
"See if this will work?" Homelander tossed the knife to Ego.
Ego caught the knife steadily. Superman's instinctive reaction made this body feel weak the moment it touched the Kryptonite. But he was Ego now; he immediately circulated his divine power to isolate the discomfort caused by the radiation.
"Kryptonite..." Ego nodded. "The purity is very high. These are indeed radioactive fragments produced after Krypton's explosion. A small amount of isotopes can be extracted, which is exactly what the Genesis Chamber needs."
"As long as it works." Homelander's spirits lifted. "How many Supermen can this knife create?"
Ego shook his head.
"The quantity is too small, master. The effective radioactive elements that can be extracted from this knife can at most barely maintain the genetic stability of three embryos."
"Three? That's fine, better than nothing." Homelander waved his hand dismissively. "How long will it take for them to grow as large as you are now and have combat capability?"
"If we turn the power of the life acceleration device to the maximum for forced catalysis," Ego gave an assessment, "it will take at least nine months for an embryo to develop into a fully adult individual."
Time wasn't the problem; the problem was that there was no time.
Moreover, there was no point in cultivating them if they couldn't be taken away.
"master, is there a problem?" Ego saw Homelander's hesitation.
Homelander said bluntly, "This set of Genesis Chamber equipment—if you moved it somewhere else, could you set it up again?"