Chapter 4436: Dark Prelude (Part 28)

After Christmas, the weather turned cold again; the previous warming felt like a hallucination. It snowed the night before last, and when the sun came out in the morning, the snow turned into water, and after the temperature plummeted, it froze into ice. Dozens of car accidents occurred in downtown Metropolis in the morning, and just the insurance company's cars alone numbered four or five.

Clark sat in the Presidential office, watching the tow truck work downstairs. He was a bit distracted, thinking about the mastermind behind the scenes.

He already knew about Diana's arm injury. Because the symptoms were almost exactly the same as Hal's, this must be another move by that Death. He wanted to turn everyone into puppets of death and invade the multiverse under his control.

There is no such thing as a thousand-day defense against a thief. The mastermind is just like this, doing a little here and a little there, sometimes plotting, sometimes sneak-attacking. They would all be infected by that terrible power of death sooner or later. Clark couldn't imagine himself turning into a corpse and then being manipulated to attack his own counterparts. He would never allow such a thing to happen.

So he was thinking about how to thwart the mastermind's conspiracy. This was certainly not easy, but he had only been President for a few days, and all the homeless people in Metropolis had been sheltered; no one would die this winter. It showed that things are done by people.

Clark believed that to deal with Death, one had to first find a power that could restrain his power. This power of death was too terrifying; it could turn people into corpses in an instant, and even a demigod like Diana had no resistance. If they couldn't find a way to restrain it, they would definitely be defeated one by one.

Just as Clark was thinking, Hal suddenly sent a message. Clark lowered his eyes to look, frowned, then dialed Bruce and said, "Is there anything unusual at my farm recently?"

"Unusual? No," Bruce said. "If anyone were spying there, I would tell you."

"Hal said my father might have been resurrected. I'm also a bit worried about this; it makes no sense that their relatives have all been resurrected, but mine haven't."

"If he really has been resurrected, what do you plan to do?"

"Of course, I'll put him under surveillance; that is not my father." Clark expressed his disgust very clearly. He said, "If Death extends an invitation of resurrection to him, my real father would decisively refuse."

"What if he is in hell?"

"Then he would agree even less; he would think this must be the devil's temptation." Clark said firmly. He knew that returning from the dead was something that could not be accepted by the public, and his return would definitely bring trouble to his loved ones. What's more, everything has a price; there is never a free lunch. It was precisely by relying on such a philosophy that the Kent family farm could be maintained.

"Okay, but I really haven't seen him resurrected. It's also possible he went elsewhere. However, his grave is in the small town; if he were resurrected, it would be easily discovered. Under the current circumstances, he would be reported."

"Tell me as soon as you have news," Clark said. "Now I have to go find Hal and Diana to talk about the power of Death."

After hanging up the phone, Clark arrived at the fast-food restaurant where Hal and Diana were. As soon as he entered, he saw the two of them stealing fries in the back kitchen. He knocked on the counter and said, "Large cheeseburger combo, give me extra ketchup."

Both of them turned their heads at the same time, and when they saw it was Clark, they both rolled their eyes almost imperceptibly. Hal walked over to take the order, while Diana prepared the burger in the back kitchen.

"Just one layer of cheese? Mr. President."

"Yes, and no pepper."

"Okay, please wait a moment. Diana, make me another chicken leg burger, whole wheat bun, skinless chicken leg, non-spicy, no sauce, no salt or pepper, and add a lethal amount of vegetables. Thanks!"

"What's going on?" Clark exclaimed. "No sauce, and the chicken leg patty has to be skinless? What kind of way to eat is this?"

"I have always strictly controlled my sodium intake," Hal said. "Chicken skin has too high a fat content; I never eat it. Actually, my favorite is chicken breast, but this fast-food restaurant doesn't have it."

"You're crazy," Clark said. "No one who strictly works out has a normal mind."

Diana quickly finished everything and brought it to the table nearby. Because this fast-food restaurant was in a bad location, there were very few customers, and there was no one in the shop at the moment. They sat in the customer seats and feasted.

Hal took a bite of the burger and raised his eyebrows in surprise. Diana asked him, "What's wrong? Not to your taste?"

"No, you made it too standard, second only to the whole wheat sandwich I make myself."

"Steve loved this too," Diana said. "Pilots have to control their diet. His training volume was very high at that time, and he had to ensure calories while eating clean. I often made sandwiches for him."

Hal gave her a thumbs up. The few of them chatted while eating fast food. Hal looked at Clark and asked, "Have you been back to your farm?"

"No. But Bruce told me my father hasn't been back. I don't think he would lie to me about this."

Hal nodded and said, "There's really no need. Maybe because you didn't join the Justice League, they didn't list you as a target?"

"How is that possible? He is the President now, the direct superior of the Justice League, the hope of all humanity. Taking him down would mean half the plan is successful." Diana shook her head and said.

"Then that means they are holding back to do something big," Hal continued to analyze, "the kind that defeats you in one fell swoop."

"I won't let them succeed," Clark took a bite of the burger and said, "I came to find you today because I wanted to study what kind of power can restrain this power of death."

"A very interesting topic," Hal thought for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, death corresponds to new life. So we have to find a life force to deal with the power of death. However, considering that Batman in the whole universe is looking for it and hasn't found it yet, it's unlikely we'll be able to find it."

"I don't think it needs to be completely restrained," Diana said. "It just needs to be on the same level as this power of death and have a certain counter-effect. Anyway, my divine power is useless; it's too low-level compared to that kind of death power, otherwise my arm wouldn't have become like this."

Clark reached out and grabbed her injured wrist. The situation with this arm was getting worse and worse; red liver spots covered the upper arm, and the muscles had begun to lose activity and atrophy slightly.

He turned his head to look at Hal again. Hal wasn't as serious; although some liver spots could be vaguely seen on his neck, the skin and muscle activity were kept quite well.

"Why is this?" Clark asked with some confusion. "Clearly you were injured earlier than Diana, and the problem is all over your body, but the symptoms are lighter than hers."

By this time, Hal had finished eating. He wiped his mouth hard with a napkin and said, "Sinestro told me that Green Lantern power is the power of wish fulfillment. As long as there is sufficient imagination, anything can be achieved. As long as I feel in my heart that it's no big deal, it really won't be a big deal."

Clark widened his eyes slightly and then said, "That powerful? Then isn't this the power that restrains the power of death?"

"In fact, the Green Lantern power couldn't fully heal me, which I'm still quite surprised by. Because this is a very high-level power; although it can't reach instant healing, as long as I keep believing I'm fine, no illness or pain can bother me. But it still couldn't fully expel this power. It can be seen that it is at least on the same level as the Green Lantern power."

"But only you can use it, right?" Clark asked.

"I can use Green Lantern power on you guys, but that requires me to be by your side all the time, watching you every moment, and the power spent is much more than protecting myself. Currently, my power is only enough for me to watch one person. Because Diana is injured, staying by her side is the best choice."

Clark nodded. He knew Hal's choice was correct. Diana was the second one injured, and her injury would be very valuable for reference. It turned out that divine power could not contend with the power of death.

Clark kept holding Diana's wrist, holding his breath and concentrating. The power of magic began to be input from his body into Diana's. Diana was shocked to find that the muscles on her arm were actually beginning to recover gradually.

But not long after, Clark stopped and said, "It seems to have reached some kind of limit; it's no longer having any effect."

Diana looked down at her arm. In fact, the effect was already very significant; it had recovered to about the same as Hal's, meaning there were liver spots, but it didn't affect the skin and muscles. Diana moved her arm and shoulder and didn't find any problems.

"It seems that magic energy also has a certain alleviating effect, which puts my mind at ease," Clark said. "Even if he deals with me, I have a certain defensive capability."

"That's right," Hal said. "I was completely unprepared at that time and was taken advantage of by him. You are different; if you keep your spirits up, they definitely won't be able to sneak-attack you. Clark, you must be careful. Once you fall, it will be a disaster for the Earth and the Justice League."

Clark nodded with a serious face and said, "Besides me, the others in the Justice League must also be careful. What are they all doing now?"

"Arthur is still exploring the Tomb of Atlan, Victor is helping Bruce with work, Barry is running errands for them, and J'onn is of course busy playing the Martian, collecting data all over Mars."

Clark thought for a moment and, according to his own understanding, ranked the people in the Justice League. He thought the most important ones were Barry and J'onn, because they could both help the Justice League communicate in real-time, except one used psychic abilities to transmit messages, and the other ran directly.

When fighting, communication is the most important thing. Once communication is cut off, it might cause a devastating disaster for the front line. He thought for a moment and said, "Do you think the Speed Force can contend with the power of death?"

Diana and Hal looked at each other. Diana thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I still don't know what the Speed Force is."

"Me too," Hal said. "This kind of thing is too profound; apart from Bruce, I'm afraid no one can understand it. But precisely because of this, Bruce should protect Barry."

Clark nodded. He thought for a moment and said, "Then what about J'onn? Does he have any self-preservation means?"