"So that means the Guardians are entirely under your control?" Bruce Wayne asked.
"That's right," Lucas replied calmly. "I alone can overturn every rule. What I say is final."
He looked at Bruce Wayne and continued, "So—do you still want to join?"
Bruce Wayne stared at him deeply for a moment, then answered without hesitation,
"I do."
"Oh?" Lucas smiled faintly. "You're not afraid I'll target you?"
"I fear many people," Bruce Wayne replied flatly. "But not you."
"Alright," Lucas said. "You pass."
He didn't say anything more.
With a thought, a pitch-black card flew into Bruce Wayne's hand.
Bruce frowned slightly as he examined it. The card was completely black, smooth like a mirror, without a single marking.
"This is an internal Guardian access card," Lucas explained.
"It contains the internal channel access method and verification credentials."
"Once you authenticate and officially join, the card will automatically self-destruct."
"Now don't interrupt my breakfast. You can leave."
After Bruce Wayne departed, Lucas sipped his fruit juice quietly.
With Batman now officially under his command, future tactical and strategic planning would improve dramatically.
His thoughts drifted elsewhere.
---
Time quickly passed into the afternoon.
Once school ended, Carrie and Elaine returned home.
"Brother, when is Sister Kara coming back?" Carrie asked as she ran up to Lucas, who was lying on the couch.
"I don't know," Lucas answered bluntly.
"Hmph! Then I'll find her myself!" Carrie snorted, turning and running upstairs.
Lucas didn't stop her and returned to his thoughts.
Elaine walked over and sat down beside him, then asked softly,
"Confused?"
Lucas came back to his senses and looked at her.
"Do you have any good advice?"
To this day, Lucas had no interest in probing Elaine's origins. To him, she was simply family.
"There's a saying I've always liked," Elaine said softly.
"When every road looks closed, sometimes you just have to make your own path."
"Sounds about right, doesn't it?"
Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly as he pondered.
A moment later, his eyes lit up—as if something had clicked.
"Thanks," he said.
Elaine smiled faintly and ran upstairs.
Many previous ideas were discarded in that instant, leaving only a single clear choice.
---
Suddenly, Lucas frowned and stood up, turning his gaze toward a distant direction.
"Why now…?"
"Elaine, take care of Carrie."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lucas vanished from the room.
He shot out of the house, accelerating rapidly in midair.
His speed surged continuously, quickly surpassing even the velocity he had once reached in outer space.
In less than five minutes, he arrived above the source of the intense disturbance.
Below him, countless people were shoving one another, screaming and fleeing in blind panic.
What had once been one of the world's most prominent cities was now engulfed in fire and chaos.
Multiple skyscrapers were violently shaking, cracking apart. One building had already begun to tilt dangerously.
"Los Angeles earthquake!"
The quake below had already reached magnitude 6.2, and according to Lucas's perception, it was still intensifying.
From high above, the entirety of Los Angeles entered his field of vision.
The tremors spread rapidly, soon covering nearly one-third of the city.
Lucas frowned slightly.
At that moment, a figure streaked in from the distance, tearing through the air.
Seeing Lucas, the figure adjusted course and flew over.
"Lucas? You're here too?" Clark stopped two meters away.
"Mm," Lucas replied.
"We need to go down and save people—now!" Clark said urgently, staring at the worsening disaster below.
"Not yet," Lucas said calmly, eyes still fixed on the city.
Below, collapsed buildings, ruptured streets, snapped high-voltage lines, gas leaks, and fuel station explosions erupted one after another.
Fireballs bloomed across the city.
Columns of smoke rose skyward, gradually gathering into dark clouds over Los Angeles.
At that moment, another figure flew in from a different direction.
"Lucas! What are you doing? Why aren't we rescuing people?"
It was Kara, her voice full of anxiety.
"Wait," Lucas replied evenly.
"If we keep waiting, countless more people will die!" Clark and Kara said almost simultaneously, panic clear in their voices.
Then another figure arrived—red and gold armor blazing through the sky.
The visor opened, revealing Tony Stark's face.
"Why are you all just hovering here?" Tony demanded. "Why aren't we moving?"
"I said—wait," Lucas replied, his brow tightening.
The three of them were utterly confused.
Below them, more buildings collapsed. More people screamed for help.
"You're not helping? Fine—I will!"
Tony clenched his teeth. His helmet sealed shut as he turned and dove downward.
He hadn't even flown ten meters before an invisible force locked onto his entire body.
He couldn't move at all.
"Lucas!" Tony roared instantly, knowing exactly who had done it.
"I said—wait," Lucas repeated, his voice now heavy and solemn.
This time, Clark and Kara seemed to realize something. Their expressions shifted, though confusion still lingered.
Meanwhile, the earthquake intensified further—magnitude 7.3.
Even more buildings collapsed.
Rescue helicopters and emergency aircraft filled the skies.
They too noticed Lucas and the others hovering motionlessly.
Several news helicopters turned their cameras directly toward Lucas.
At that moment, all of America—through live broadcasts, online streams, and news feeds—saw the same scene.
They watched in confusion as Lucas remained motionless in the sky.
Then, his lips moved.
"Now."
In an instant, Lucas's hair turned golden.
A vast, overwhelming aura erupted from his body, surging upward like a pillar of flame.
Lightning crackled violently across the sky.
The dark clouds overhead were blasted apart by the sheer force of his rising energy.
A single beam of sunlight broke through the sky, shining directly onto the city below.
And then—
The city that should have been filled with deafening collapses and roaring destruction…
Suddenly became silent.
..
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