Homelander is in DC

Unfortunately, Pete's words eventually came true.

The new baseball coach was found hanged in the baseball activities room.

Although the school tried its best to keep this under wraps, word eventually spread.

Pete and Chloe seemed particularly interested in this gossip. Especially Chloe, who immediately published the story in The Torch, even incurring the principal's wrath.

The principal declared that if Chloe continued reporting on such matters, he would not hesitate to shut down The Torch.

Eric, however, remained unaware of the events unfolding at school. Recently, he had been trying to track down Joe El, but had made no progress so far.

It seemed that ever since Joe El took Kara, he had vanished without a trace.

About 36 miles from Kenyon Farm, on a certain hillside, Eric entered the cave that Clark had once sleepwalked into.

Treading over the damp ground of the cave, Eric walked forward without any light for guidance.

The cave walls were decorated with Kryptonian script and indescribable, complex murals.

Thud!

Eric's feet landed on a slightly firmer surface, and he looked towards the cave's deepest wall.

In the center of a complex pattern made of Kryptonian text and images, there was an octagonal indentation.

After studying the pattern and writing for a few minutes, Eric placed the octagonal metal piece he held into the indentation.

The next second, a golden light filled the cave, instantly surrounding him.

Bathed in the golden light, Eric showed no signs of fear or shock.

He could sense that this light posed no threat to him.

At the same time, a fissure appeared on the cave wall, filled with flowing light, as though something was constantly shifting inside. Eric could vaguely see a figure within the glow.

"Eric Kent?"

"Who are you? Joe El?"

Eric stared at the figure within the light.

"I am. You are Eric Kent, the one who defeated Kara? I thought I had already overestimated you, but I must admit, when something exceeds expectations, it implies that the initial thinking was flawed and insufficient. I misjudged you."

The spectral figure, suspected to be Superman's father, spoke in a low, slow voice.

"Kara?"

Eric scoffed, "I wouldn't consider the 'real' Supergirl to be so weak. This isn't the real Kara, is it?"

"Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter. What matters is that I gave her Kara's name, and she can use Kara's abilities."

The figure made of light spoke to Eric: "You are so much like Kryptonians, even in your way of thinking. Weakness and arrogance—Earth's people follow this pattern. At the end of civilization lies destruction; they are even more arrogant than Kryptonians. By not following Earth's ways and rules, by becoming cold and strong and ruling over them, you are, in a way, protecting them. I can sense such intentions in your thoughts."

"It sounds very persuasive, but sorry, it's useless to me. I care less about myself and more about you!"

Eric said coldly, "If you try to interfere in my and Clark's lives, I'll consider you an enemy—and one to be completely destroyed, body and soul."

"This was never meant to be Clark's life. Eric Kent, I've changed my mind. You are Clark's brother. In some situations, I'll consider you as a stand-in for Clark. Right now—"

The figure's tone shifted slightly, "You too could be my son, son of Krypton, wielding the supreme rights that belong to you."

"I always thought you were a schemer, but now I've changed my mind. You're not only ambitious and scheming but also have a bit of a screw loose."

Eric chuckled, finding the notion utterly absurd.

The idea that he would willingly let himself be someone else's son? No, thanks.

He took a step, intending to leave the circle of light surrounding him.

But Joe El seemed unwilling to let him go. A bright strand of light formed a rope around his wrists, holding him back.

"Krypton is gone. I am Joe El, and yet I am not Joe El. The source of power is beyond control, even when we remain clear-headed."

Bound by the light rope, Eric felt a torrent of power rushing through his body, as though all his strength was being sealed.

The feeling of weakness enveloped him, and the light rope continued to siphon his power.

"Is this all you've got?"

Eric sensed his dwindling power, his eyes glowing with red laser energy.

The laser burst of power surged into the wall shrouded in light.

However, the area belonging to Joe El existed in a different world from reality, making the heat vision ineffective.

He struggled to free himself from the rope's control, but it wouldn't easily come off.

As he struggled, Eric felt his body changing more intensely.

A burning sensation filled his body, pain that seeped into his bones and was impossible to ignore.

"Ugh!"

Enduring the excruciating pain flooding his body, Eric continued to release his heat vision against the intangible enemy.

"Your body is remarkable—a steel physique under the yellow sun's radiation, flight abilities due to Earth's weak gravity, and heat vision awakening only under the yellow sun. Your cellular structure is so much like that of a Kryptonian; it's almost unbelievable. I even suspect you are an alternative evolution of Kryptonians!"

While controlling Eric, Joe El continued to express his admiration.

"I could transform your body to make it even more like a Kryptonian's, but it would come at a great cost. To gain something is to lose something else; that is an unchangeable truth."

"You're celebrating too soon!"

Eric extended his right hand.

In the next moment, the staff flew in from the cave entrance, glowing with golden light and illuminating the cave even brighter.

Bang!

The staff flew into Eric's hand, and he gripped it tightly.

Holding the "Cosmic Staff," he countered the transformation happening to his body.

The luminous energy from the cosmic staff flowed continuously into Eric's body.

Two cosmic-level energies battled within him.

Meanwhile, the Homelander Template within him, which had remained dormant for days, finally surged forward.

The template progress climbed from 85% to 88%, 90%, 92%, finally rising to 95%.

It seemed that his Homelander Template sensed the host's crisis and boosted the progress to 95%.

A powerful force instantly surged through Eric's body.

With 95% template power, Eric finally had the strength to retaliate.

Enduring the pain wracking his body, he raised the staff, aiming at the figure on the wall.

Boom!

A powerful energy beam, carrying immense destructive force, shot from the staff's tip and hit Joe El's figure.

The energy beam from the cosmic staff struck Joe El's shadow.

The shadow made of light vanished instantly.

All light vanished from the wall, and the rope restraining him disappeared.

Phew!

Feet firmly on the ground, Eric felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him.

He leaned on the staff, breathing heavily, struggling to stay upright.

The cave that once radiated brilliant light instantly plunged into darkness.

Clenching his fist, feeling the changes in his body, Eric steadied his breathing.

With his Homelander template unlocked to 95%, the Kryptonian traits in his body were becoming more pronounced.

He had gained a significant boost in power, but along with it, a closer resemblance to Kryptonian physical traits.

If not for the system's sudden intervention, Joe El's scheme might have succeeded.

Eric's expression was solemn as he gripped the staff, activated super speed, and moved toward the cave entrance faster than ever before.

Closing his eyes briefly to feel the power coursing through him, he opened them and unleashed a vastly more powerful heat vision at the cave ceiling.

With a rumble, stones and soil collapsed, sealing the cave.

Eric bent his knees, leaped upward, and with a loud boom, vanished into the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several lights descended on the outskirts of Metropolis.

"Did you all sense that? I felt a power similar to Clark and Eric—a presence impossible to ignore!"

The tall woman in a black robe, with striking long legs and features sculpted like a Greek goddess, frowned at the others.

"Our mission isn't to investigate strange energy signals, Diana."

The young man with brown hair and a few loose curls shrugged, looking at the woman named Diana with a hint of sarcasm.

The third member of the trio, a girl whose appearance was almost identical to the Kara Eric had encountered, adjusted her baseball cap. "I thought Justice League missions had a bit of a casual vibe—a little friendly joking, or at least a shift in tone. But you two are different. Diana, and...Green Lantern."

The girl smirked at Diana and Green Lantern.

Green Lantern was about to retort when he noticed something unusual about the building ahead.

"Wait, weren't we supposed to be transported near the Justice League Hall from over a decade ago? Why does this building look...different?"

Green Lantern pointed at the Justice Society Headquarters Eric had just acquired, surprised.

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