14 years ago.

  Lor-Zod's heart thundered in his chest. He gnced back a few times, hesitation gnawing at him, but he pressed onward.

  The frigid air brushed his face, yet a sense of liberation accompanied it. He had never flown beyond the Arctic, as this world called it, where his ship was located. But having already begun, he was determined to see it through.

  His speed surged to hypersonic, then beyond, yet he flew silently, thanks to his father's training and soon he reached the nearest civilization.

  Upon nding in the city, some people noticed his arrival, but Lor-Zod simply blitzed past them with his superspeed, finding himself in another part of the city.

  He couldn't help but marvel at the sight. He had seen what Krypton used to look like, and while this world wasn't as impressive, his eyes still twinkled with amazement.

  'Wow...' he thought.

  "Watch it, bo-ough!" Someone tried to shove past him, only to stumble backward upon impact.

  "What the...?" the man muttered, confused. Lor-Zod simply looked at him with curiosity.

  As he gazed at the man, his father's words fshed through his mind: 'This pnet will become Krypton, and all inhabitants must choose whether they are under you or not. Otherwise...'

  He snapped out of his reverie, looked away, and strolled through the city, observing new sights, how people interacted, and their everyday lives.

  He immediately noticed how different their lives were compared to his.

  They possessed... a sense of belonging, whether to each other or to this pce.

  What did he have?

  He had none. Standing alone as people came and went, he was a complete stranger on this pnet through and through. And the only connection he had was a bunch of data, that was supposedly his father.

  'To bring Krypton back and restore our people...' Lor-Zod repeated what his father kept telling him. 'This will be our home. But to do that...'

  For a moment, Lor-Zod stood there, lost in thought. He wasn't opposed to bringing back his people; he wanted to do it.

  But what was this strange feeling within him?

  He didn't know, and the only person he could confide in knew would berate him for this.

  He felt lost. 'Is this what Father feels? Is that why he wants me to restore our people so quickly?' He could now faintly understand why his father was so driven to bring Krypton back, but then again, he didn't even know if his father was capable of feeling such emotions, or if it was merely a sense of duty.

  After a while, Lor-Zod headed back and grimaced when a hologram awaited him at the entrance.

  "Kinky..." Iowa snickered, watching a supe orgy on the screen.

  Chris, along with Ranker and Soren, watched the video tape Jaime had obtained.

  While orgies and parties were commonpce, a practice dating back since ancient times, one participant, in particur, subverted their expectations—at least for one of them.

  "Jesus... I once participated in an event for Capes for Christ..." Soren mumbled, his eyes twitching at what he was witnessing.

  Ranker snorted. "And what? You think those religious types are really clean?"

  On the screen, Ezekiel, the organizer for Capes for Christ, was receiving a double blowjob from two men while kissing two others on either side.

  Soren shook his head. "If it were so easy to obtain this recording, why hasn't anyone exposed him yet?"

  Iowa scoffed. "Because, first, it's not easy to acquire these videos. Jaime had to use his old connections and pay a hefty sum just for a copy. And second..."

  "Vought will immediately deny or erase the video from the internet within minutes of it being posted," Chris answered. "Still, even with Vought's power, Ezekiel can easily be repced, and he'll do his best to suppress this video."

  "We're going to bckmail the bastard?" Iowa asked with a grin. Chris nodded.

  "Then, after we extort him, we'll release the video old-school style, on physical discs sold in all the stores we can reach."

  Iowa cackled at that, while Soren grew nervous. "Are we really going after Vought? That's..."

  "We're not going after Vought, just this guy," Chris said.

  Ranker continued for him with a snort, "The moment this gets released, Vought will cut off its infected limb immediately."

  "Exactly," Chris added. "Be ready for the aftermath. Make sure it's done cleanly."

  "I'll tell Jaime," Iowa said, and Chris nodded.

  "And Wilson Investigations?"

  "Thanks to the portraits you showed us, we have leads. But as you said, these guys are good, trained, and..."

  Confetti, fgs, and rows upon rows of people filled the field where the "race of the century" was about to happen. Though, from a normal person view, it was hard to understand the excitement for a race that would likely end in a second.

  As a Vought employee, he bypassed the lines and entered through the employee entrance.

  "Chris!"

  "Steve!"

  Steve, who worked in the PR department, saw him and waved.

  "Who's this? A model?" one of Steve's coworkers commented as Chris approached.

  "This is Chris Kent. We applied at the same time and formed a special bond," Steve said, pcing a hand on Chris's shoulder and smugly introducing him to his colleagues.

  Chris socialized, noticing everyone's excitement for the race.

  "Under Ashley Barrett, huh? I'm surprised you can still stand her management. I hear she practically only sleeps three hours a day and lives and works at the company," Dinah said, then eyed him up and down and quirked an eyebrow. "Though I have a feeling you have a lot of stamina."

  Chris chuckled. He was about to reply when Homender's arrival caused a buzz in the crowd.

  "Got to go..." Chris headed towards the signing area where Starlight and Bck Noir were stationed. As he arrived, his boss approached him.

  "Is the poll ready? Teen demo? And the PR department's report on you?" she asked immediately.

  "It's ready, ma'am. Regardless of the results, our team is prepared," Chris answered. While the company believed in A-Train, they were also preparing for the worst-case scenario if Shockwave won, ensuring the results were controlled and wouldn't negatively impact the company too much.

  "Good, you're doing well..." Ashley said, pcing a hand on his arm. "I'm going to deal with Maeve's and Homender's interview. Be ready for the results," she said before walking away.

  Chris nodded. Starlight, noticing him, shot him a look and huffed before turning away and walking towards the dressing room.

  A nky, familiar man with a camera was looking around, taking pictures of Bck Noir and then Starlight. Chris smiled widely upon seeing him.

  He certainly hadn't expected to encounter him.

  He didn't approach him, keeping his distance. He blinked a few times, scanning the crowd, and soon found the one of his companion, the Englishman, who was watching A-Train. Chris then shifted his gaze towards A-Train.

  Shockwave appeared, and the crowd cheered. Then A-Train blurred; most people might have missed it, but Chris saw him grab something from his bag—a capsule with blue liquid. Chris narrowed his eyes at that. A-Train injected himself with it and then returned to his previous position, all in a moment.

  Something had changed in A-Train; he was more energetic, jumpy, and zappy.

  'A new type of drug? No, this is something else...' Chris thought, then his gaze moved back to the Englishman, who was now looking at someone else.

  A quick scan revealed he was looking at Homender. The man's heartbeat quickened, not from joy or fear, but from anger.

  A smile formed on Chris's lips realizing there was a story behind this as he sent a message to his team, informing them that the targets were here and instructing them to follow them.

  The race began as the two participants prepared.

  Bog!

  It was over in a blink. A shockwave washed over the crowd, followed by a deafening cheer as A-Train defended his title as the fastest man alive.

  "Impressive..." Chris commented, mildly impressed, as he immediately turned his attention to his tablet and began working.

  “Who lives in that apartment?”

  “I don’t know about the others, but there’s a D-list hero living there.”

  “Who?”

  “Pop-Cw.”

  “The one with the bones that stick out…”

  “Yeah…”

  Jaime sat in the passenger seat, his gaze fixed on the parked transport truck.

  "Is it true, though?" Seth, in the driver's seat, asked him.

  "What's true?"

  "I mean, all these investigations on Vought—their employees, their associates, and even... their heroes..." Seth said the st part in a whisper, as if afraid a Supe would overhear him. "The guys are wondering and hesitating..."

  "Just say it directly..." Jaime said, his eyes still on the truck.

  Seth made sure no pedestrians were approaching before leaning towards Jaime. "Are we really targeting Vought?"

  Jaime didn't answer for a few moments.

  "Come on, boss, you can tell me. I followed you from the West Coast to here..."

  Jaime turned his eyes towards Seth before looking back at the truck.

  "Our first priority will be Vought now," he said, offering no further expnation.

  "Ah..."

  Then, they noticed movement from the truck as their targets emerged and headed into the apartment. They remained in the car, waiting. Soon, the Frenchman reappeared, carrying a rge bag, and Jaime and Seth exchanged gnces.

  When their gaze returned to the truck, a knock sounded on their car window. Jaime immediately tensed, grabbing his gun as he looked towards the window. The Englishman they had been watching was grinning widely at them!

  "Ello, boys!"

  whatswrongwithme22