AM I SUPERMAN?

After learning Kaius's secret, Clark went into full "100,000 Whys" mode. Although Kaius found it slightly annoying, he remained patient, thinking about the precious friendship points he could gain.

As their conversation continued, the friendship value between them gradually increased, finally stabilizing at 20% higher than before.

With their friendship at the Friendly level, 40% of Clark's abilities were unlocked. The next milestone, Trust, would unlock 55%, but it couldn't be rushed. Building true friendship required time and effort.

The deepest bonds, after all, were often forged between comrades-in-arms who had fought side by side for years. Only such experiences could cultivate the kind of trust where one would entrust their life to the other.

After some casual chatting, Kaius, eager to test his newfound abilities, suggested, "Hey, Clark, let's go outside!"

Clark hesitated, frowning slightly. "But you're still technically a patient. Are you sure it's okay to just leave like this?"

Indeed, it would seem bizarre for someone who had been lying in bed minutes ago with multiple fractures to suddenly appear completely fine. Such a miraculous recovery wasn't something ordinary people could easily process.

"I can't just stay cooped up in this ward forever," Kaius replied with a wave of his hand. "If the doctors come for a routine check, it'll raise way more questions than I'm prepared to answer."

With that, Kaius moved decisively to the window. The ward was on the third floor, about nine meters above the ground—a height that would break an ordinary person's legs if they jumped. But Kaius wasn't ordinary anymore.

"I'm not just anyone now!" he thought, steeling himself.

Without a second thought, he opened the window, climbed onto the sill, and leaped.

In his mind, he envisioned a flawless 360-degree spin mid-air, landing heroically on one knee—a move so cool that it would leave anyone watching speechless.

However... reality was far less glamorous.

Misjudging his coordination after suddenly gaining superpowers, Kaius ended up face-planting into the ground. His "steel body" was unharmed, but his "steel face" smashed directly into the concrete, leaving a small crater.

Crack!

The sound of a soft landing came from behind as Clark jumped down effortlessly. He hurried over, his voice full of concern. "Kaius, are you okay? I think your face—"

"Nothing happened! You didn't see anything!" Kaius cut him off quickly, standing up and striking a thoughtful pose. "A true hero," he declared dramatically, "should always maintain close contact with the earth while reaching for the stars."(This got me laughing 😂😂😂😂)

It was the first time Clark had heard someone describe a face-plant in such a poetic—and utterly shameless—way. He couldn't hold back his laughter. "You're unbelievable, Kaius. I'm starting to get used to your serious nonsense."

Clark's expression turned mischievous. "By the way, you said you copied my powers. Are you sure you can keep up with me at 40%?"

Kaius smirked. "You think I can't?"

Before Clark could respond, Kaius pushed off the ground with all his strength. Like a cannonball, he shot forward, accelerating as fast as his partially unlocked powers allowed.

"You liar!" Clark yelled, laughing, before activating his own super speed. With his red denim jacket fluttering behind him, he looked like a streak of red lightning as he effortlessly caught up.

The two of them became twin blurs racing through the town. From the hospital to the main street, they ran side by side, zipping around the town in several laps before finally coming to a stop.

While Clark remained calm and composed, his breathing steady, Kaius was gasping for air. At only 40% of Clark's power, he was clearly at his limit.

"Still think you can keep up?" Clark teased with a grin.

Kaius rolled his eyes, finally catching his breath. "Aren't you just full of yourself."

Clark chuckled, falling into step beside him. By now, their friendship had grown strong enough to feel natural. He spoke to Kaius casually, even throwing in the occasional jab.

Their relationship had reached the Friendly level, and it was clear that Clark no longer saw Kaius as just an acquaintance but as a true friend.

"It's not easy to compete with you. You might not believe it, but let me tell you, your brother here is all about the brains!" Kaius said shamelessly.

Clark raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly saying, Who believes that garbage? But instead of teasing Kaius further, he changed the subject.

"Kaius, earlier you told me, 'The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.' You've got power now too. So... what's your responsibility?"

The two of them had wandered onto a bridge. Kaius leaned against the railing, staring into the distance. He spoke lightly, but his words carried weight: "We're not the only ones in this world with superpowers..."

When Kaius first realized he was in the DC universe, this thought had crossed his mind. The DC universe was far from peaceful. Forget street-level criminals—this world had threats on an unimaginable scale. Bank robberies, buildings being leveled, alien invasions... these weren't rare occurrences.

And then there were the big threats: General Zod, Doomsday, Brainiac, Steppenwolf, and even Darkseid, the Lord of Apokolips.

In a world like this, even if you were lucky enough to survive, there was no guarantee of safety. Worse still, there were countless parallel universes, some filled with light and hope, while others were plunged into darkness.

Kaius remembered one particular parallel universe where Superman himself turned dark, establishing the infamous Superman Regime and ruthlessly killing anyone who opposed him—including many superheroes. (This was hinted at in the Batman v Superman movie, where Batman dreams of soldiers wearing armbands with the Superman symbol.)

In short: this world was dangerous.

Kaius sighed and continued, "I want to form an alliance—to unite righteous superpowered individuals and stand together against those who abuse their power."

It was a simple statement, but it lit a spark in Clark's eyes. He immediately grasped the importance of Kaius's idea. "If you can actually do what you're saying—bring together all the good superpowered people—then not just Kansas, but the whole world will be better because of you. Kaius, I didn't realize your ambitions were so big."

Wait, what? Kaius's thoughts screeched to a halt. His expression shifted to a mix of confusion and amusement as he processed what Clark had just said.

To be honest, Kaius was just pretending to sound noble in front of Clark. His true goal was much simpler: to create the Justice League, boost his friendship values, unlock more character cards, and gain as many superpowers as possible.

But obviously, Kaius wasn't about to explain all that to Clark.

At this moment, though, Kaius's image in Clark's mind had grown towering and noble.

"Have you thought of a name for this alliance?" Clark asked eagerly.

"I've been thinking about it for a while: the Injustice League!" Kaius declared firmly.

Clark froze. "What?"

"Ahem, I mean the 'Alliance to Combat Injustice.' You know, Injustice Alliance for short," Kaius said, his tone serious, though he was clearly enjoying this little game.

"Why not just call it the Justice League?" Clark suggested, his tone half-teasing.

"That's... a great name! Let's go with that," Kaius agreed, nodding as if Clark had just said something profound. "From now on, Clark Kent, you're the vice president of the Justice League!"

"Uh, thanks... Wait a second," Clark said, narrowing his eyes. "The Justice League isn't just you and me, right? Don't rope me into this without asking!"

"Don't worry! It'll grow in the future!"

The two stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, the sound of their camaraderie filling the air.

At that exact moment, a white Porsche came speeding toward them at over 180 kilometers per hour. The driver seemed distracted, possibly on their phone, and the car suddenly lost control, veering off course and heading straight for Kaius.