The force of their punches was so great that even from a hundred meters up, it carved two deep trenches in the ground. As the two completely different energies made contact, even larger-scale destruction erupted.
Like a mischievous child scribbling at random, with the two as the center point, Superman's side of the ground was scoured by soul force into a semicircular crater several thousand meters (nearly 2 miles) in diameter, the soil completely turned to sand. On Thea's side, the ground was merely shaved off a layer, with the attack's aftershock creating massive flying debris.
I've surpassed Superman! Thea wanted to howl at the sky, but beating him gave no experience, no hidden achievement rewards—it might even damage his confidence. Especially in front of his wife and child. To preserve Superman's dignity, she deliberately flew backward a short distance. To an outsider, this signaled a draw.
Superman, who'd been sent flying several miles in a tumbling mess, climbed up from the ground, wiped dirt off his face with his hand, and focused his attention on the distance.
Having always been vague about his own strength, Superman felt much better seeing Thea also flying backward. Though he'd slacked off a bit these past two years, it wasn't much—if he caught up now, there was still a chance!
"Again!" After too long a peace, the warlike nature within Superman's Kryptonian blood stirred. Thea didn't want to bully him, but Diana flew out at this moment with high spirits, suggesting a three-way battle.
"Let's do it then." Representing the highest combat power in this universe, the three began attacking each other.
Diana had emerged from the weak period after the gods' blessings had left. Every bit of divine power now belonged to her, but unfortunately, she still wasn't a match for Thea at full strength. The three-way fight slowly became Thea versus Diana and Superman.
Combat was combat—they wouldn't hold back because of love.
Diana's martial skills compensated for Superman's deficiency. The two coordinated quickly, joining forces to suppress Thea.
This was "even a hero can't fight off a pack," right? Struggling left and right, though Thea tried hard to maintain the situation, her disadvantage grew increasingly obvious.
Darkseid could fight seven at once, but she couldn't handle two? This was the gap.
Two-on-one, after half an hour, a landmass the size of half the Korean peninsula was directly sunk by the three.
"Okay, okay, enough." Thea was far from her peak condition. The divine power in her Soul and Arts Seats was just a thin layer—she really couldn't continue. She declared a ceasefire.
The other two were exhausted too. Diana also faced insufficient divine power. Though they'd had the advantage two-on-one, they felt uncomfortable—Thea was stronger than them, no question.
The three agreed to go back and train hard, then have another match next time.
Thea teleported everyone back to Earth, using magic and divine spider silk to create a blue bodysuit and red cape on the spot as a gift for little Jonathan. Finding materials left over, she made a red cape for Krypto too.
After saying goodbye to the Superman couple, Thea pulled Diana into the car to leave. According to her, she was under too much pressure now and needed to relax.
Watching the two women drive off toward the sunrise, Superman stood at the farm's edge for a long time without speaking.
"Clark, are you okay?" Lois asked worriedly, holding her son.
"You know, Lois, she's under tremendous pressure right now."
Confused by Superman's non sequitur, Lois took a while to understand. "You mean Thea?"
"She carries the fate of the entire world. She's helpless and anxious, afraid one wrong step will cause irreparable damage to the world. I really understand that feeling. Because this was my mission—the mission my father sent me to this planet for."
Lois looked at him suspiciously. What are you getting at? Praising another woman in front of me—you don't want to live?
Superman gently stroked his wife's face. "Now I can live so easily with you all because someone else has shouldered the burden that was originally mine. I want nothing more than to stay with you forever, but I can't be that selfish. Earth still needs me."
Lois took a deep breath. She knew her husband was going to do dangerous things again, but her sense of justice told her she had to support him. "Clark, whatever you do, I'll be home waiting for you."
Feeling the atmosphere was a bit heavy, she even smiled playfully. "When I've rested enough, I should go back to work too."
Embracing his wife, he said, "We have half a year. Thea was right—I'm going to Gotham to find that person to train me. I'll bring Jonathan too. I heard his son is also ten. Maybe they can become friends."
No sooner said than done. After saying goodbye to his adoptive mother and wife, Superman flew straight to Gotham with his son, claiming to visit a friend.
Jonathan's flying ability was questionable—up and down erratically. Fortunately, loyal Krypto was always protecting him, preventing any disasters.
"Dad... was that woman earlier very powerful?" Having grown familiar with flying, little Jonathan asked curiously.
The father-son bond made the distance between him and Superman dissolve quickly. But thinking this man he'd never seen was his father still felt absurd. He'd grown up in the wilderness with only Krypto. These parents suddenly appearing was hard to accept.
For them, maybe it was just an instant, but for him, ten years had passed.
"Very powerful, but I'm confident I can catch up." Superman spoke with certainty before his son.
Little Jonathan nodded silently, saying nothing. In his gut, he chose to believe this man's words.
Father and son flew to Gotham. Superman stopped, using his super vision combined with super hearing to quickly find someone's hideout. Leading his son and dog, he dove straight into a waterfall.
"I don't recall inviting you." Even at home, Batman remained fully suited. He glanced briefly at little Jonathan and Krypto before continuing his work, welding some device.
"Uh, I want to learn some martial arts. Do you have time to teach me? I remember you know many martial techniques..." Superman said awkwardly.
Batman put down his welding torch, raised his head, and looked Superman up and down until he felt uncomfortable. "You want to learn martial arts? Unbelievable. Have you lost your powers?"
"Sorry to disappoint—all the powers are still there..."
"Then did you take the wrong pills?"
Emmmm... Superman remained silent.
Batman looked at this old friend as if seeing him for the first time. Even with his brilliant mind, he couldn't figure out the connections behind this. But his attention was quickly drawn to little Jonathan and Krypto.
"This child is?"
"My son, little Jonathan Kent."
Batman fell silent. His first reaction was similar to Thea's—wild son showing up, etc.
But he wasn't that gossipy. After a brief thought, "Let your son play with Damian for a while. Since you're sincerely wanting to learn human martial arts, follow me."
He signaled Damian, emerging from the shadows, to take little Jonathan aside, then led Superman away.