Helen was stunned, and so was Haier.
But Helen was quicker to recover. Seizing the moment before Haier could react, she flew at top speed to the other side of the Sun, quickly finding Bruce waiting to meet her. The two of them moved together to the other side of the Sun.
Haier still stood dazed on the spot, seemingly unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
Yet, just as he was struggling to wrench his thoughts away from his memories, reality struck him like a heavy hammer blow.
A figure flew out from Krypton.
Haier was struck again as if by a heavy blow.
His lips moved, and a syllable heavy with complex emotions slipped out, but it was drowned in the noise of the cosmos. No one but himself heard it.
"Dad..."
Half an hour ago, two tiny figures stood before a gigantic machine. Clark had taken out the box he found in his home.
"Oh my, this is the Medal of Distinguished Science. I knew Uncle Joe had one, but it turns out Aunt Laura had one too," Kara said as she looked at the items in the box.
"These are Kryptonian coins," Kara said, picking up a few coins nearby. "This side has the denomination. This one's a one, and this one is a five. The other side has the emblem of the High Council. Not very impressive, right?"
"This thing... it's a compact storage device. But it doesn't look like the civilian version; it might be something Uncle Joe brought back from the lab. He probably stored something in it."
"Let's have a look," Clark said.
He picked up the small storage device. Kara found a port on the side of the machine's control panel. He said, "Come here. Just place the item here."
Clark walked over and inserted the storage device into the port. A blue light flashed, and a holographic projection popped up above the machine. Clark stood there, somewhat shocked.
"Hi, little Karl. I'm glad to speak to you this way," the man in the hologram said with a smile. "Perhaps you don't know me yet. I am your biological father, Joe El. This is your mother, Laura."
Of course, Clark knew who they were; what surprised him was how much the man in the hologram resembled him. The two of them were almost like clones.
"The letter your companion helped write was a bit brief. You must have many questions, but don't worry, I can tell you now."
"The Kryptonians of the previous era knew that the radiation of stars was always a major issue for them, whether it was drawing strength from the star or dying from its decline. Our evolutionary path must bear much of the responsibility, but can stars be entirely faultless?"
"Thus, they never gave up on the dream of finding a perfect star. So, the question arose, what's the best way to move?"
"You might think loading all the furniture onto a spaceship and taking it to a new home is simple enough. But no, Karl. They came up with an even easier way—to move the house directly."
"Back in the Kryptonian era, the El family had already developed a Superluminal Engine. It's the foundation that allows two generations of civilizations to roam the stars. However, Superluminal Engines are not all the same. The engine used on Kryptonian ships now is just a civilian version, mediocre in energy consumption and thrust."
"To move an entire house, naturally, you'd need a more powerful engine. Through the cross-generational efforts spanning thousands of years of the El family, we made it."
"The Lao God gave us a seed, and we let it grow luxuriantly, eventually flowering and bearing fruit. What you see now is a true planetary-level Superluminal Engine. It can take all of Krypton on a jump."
"The key you took from my lab is meant to activate this big guy. For safety reasons, only the bloodline of the El family can control the Planet Engine."
"Come on, my little Karl." Joe El and Laura both smiled. El said with a rather invigorated voice, "No time to be sad. You will be the operator and witness of this miracle journey. Let's embark on a true interstellar 'Crazy Rush' together!"
With a "buzz," the hologram disappeared. Clark looked down at the key in his hand, with the red liquid flowing slowly. He seemed to see Joe El, fully focused on crafting the key, before the lab table.
"I've found it," Kara said standing on the other side of the control panel, "this seems to be the place for the key. But..."
Clark walked over. There was a cylindrical platform with a threaded keyhole, perfectly matching the key in his hand.
But Clark did not immediately insert the key. He looked up again to scrutinize the nearby environment.
On the opposite side, he noticed a door, so he walked over, as if compelled by some feeling, and gently pushed the door open.
A small office with only a desk and a stool, plus a lamp overhead.
Clark walked in and saw a set of clothes neatly placed on the desk, folded meticulously without a crease.
Kara followed him in, and when she saw the clothes, something suddenly came to her mind.
"This is the ceremonial robe for the award ceremony," Kara said. "The Distinguished Medal is the highest honor any Kryptonian can receive. Your biological father was the youngest recipient of the Distinguished Medal. He was about your age when he wore this outfit."
Clark gently picked up the clothing.
He recognized this outfit because in that family photo, Joe El was wearing the robe, standing tall and full of spirit.
"Maybe you could wear it," Kara smiled and said, "No one can award you anymore, but you can give one to yourself."
Clark thought of the message Shiller had sent him not long ago and of his own face that closely resembled the young Joe El.
This might be fate, but it felt more like El had planned everything long ago—a pair of brothers, a new home, a new sun.
Clark went to change into the robe. The robe looked somewhat like Earth's British military uniform, sharply tailored, with neat shoulder lines, a stand-up collar that made him look energetic, and cuffs with a touch of elegance.
"It suits you well," Kara commented.
"Then let me award myself with the Best Driver Award," Clark said with a laugh while walking to the key slot.
He slowly placed the key in, and as he pressed down for the last time, a tiny needle above the nail pierced Clark's skin. Blood flowed into the center heart, mixing with the red liquid and emitting a faint glow.
With a click, the end of the key touched the bottom. A hum resounded with energy, causing Clark's hair to float backward.
"Here we go—" Clark said, "Welcome our new Mercury!"
In the vast, boundless cosmos, this long-silent, lifeless planet, like a seed deeply buried in the soil, finally sprouted today, jubilantly breaking through the ground, rushing towards another world.
The moment the planetary transition engine started, the planet left behind a red and blue shifted afterimage in its original position. Everything around was slightly trembling due to gravitational changes.
There was no intense combustion, no loud roar. When speed exceeds light, time is no longer a problem. In the cosmos, it begins and ends in an instant, not even leaving a cloud.
This interstellar Crazy Rush ended the moment it began. The entire Krypton directly transitioned to the Solar System, stopping at the original position of Mercury.
Clark knew what he was about to face, but he was unafraid, slowly flying up from Krypton, hovering opposite Hai'er.
At the moment he saw him, Hai'er's pupils contracted to the extreme. His mind was greatly shaken, almost losing control of himself.
Charles, who came with Helen, caught that brief flaw.
He seized the opportunity, with a mental wave like an arrow leaving the string, fiercely stabbing into Hai'er's Psychic_Battlefield.
"Ugh!!!!!"
Hai'er let out an incredibly painful scream. Charles' mental wave was instantly obliterated, but Hai'er's brain finally halted in the long-term chaos and instantaneous intense fluctuation.
He slowly fell towards Krypton, and Clark caught him.
At this moment, another figure appeared above Krypton. As planned, Martian Manhunter Ron arrived, gestured to Clark, and said, "Quick, find a place to put him down!"
With the briefly unconscious Hai'er, Clark landed on Krypton's surface, on top of a building. Martian Manhunter came to his side.
He squinted, focused his attention, and began reading Hai'er's memories. Without the mind's protection, even Hai'er's super brain couldn't guard him against a mind power user like Martian Manhunter. Everything in the Psychic_Battlefield was laid bare.
Ron's expression changed several times, first with shock, disbelief, and anger, then with relief, but soon, he frowned and finally let out a long sigh.
"How is it?" Clark asked him.
"Our guesses were correct," Ron said, "Someone told him that it was General Zod, out of revenge against the council, who bribed a worker to alter all the Kryptonians' genes and destroyed Kryptonian civilization."
"He came looking for Zod?"
"Yes, he found the signal of Zod's ship from back then and followed it all the way to the Solar System."
"Who told him?"
"The other party claimed to be the artificial intelligence Butler created by his father."
Martian Manhunter slowly stood up, walked to the edge of the building, looked around, and then raised his head towards the sky, slowly calling out that name—"Brainiac."