Zod didn't stop them at all, so their return journey was very smooth.
"Who is Kal-El?" General Swanwick asked Thea on the constructed plane. His gut told him Thea likely knew these strange people.
"You should have seen him too, though I don't know his name. That guy in the red cape from the Coast City battle last time is a Kryptonian. I don't know if he's the Kal-El they're looking for." Thea's words were seventy percent truth and thirty percent lies. Hearing this, General Swanwick had a rough idea. At least he wouldn't have to search blindly in a sea of people; that was good news.
The plane landed on the ground. General Swanwick walked back into the Department of Defense in high spirits. He was greeted by approving gazes from everyone. Regardless of faction, brave people are worthy of admiration. The Secretary's personal prestige suppressed all dissatisfied voices for the first time.
"Find this Kal-El immediately! Right now!" The high-spirited Secretary of Defense issued a new order, and everyone began bustling around.
"Miss Thea, I still need you to hold the fort for a while." Having shared this experience of adversity, the relationship between the black Secretary and Thea had grown invisibly. The address had transitioned from "Miss Queen" to "Miss Thea." Thea also needed to consolidate this relationship, and incidentally, watch these broken-as-hell Kryptonians fight a civil war from close range, so she naturally agreed.
Not long after, Superman and Lois Lane arrived at the Department of Defense one after another. Superman came to turn himself in, while Lois was brought in half-forced, half-voluntarily. The cause was her boasting on the internet that she "knew the true identity of the Kryptonian hiding on Earth."
Looking at the indignant Lois Lane, Thea was truly speechless. Talking about freedom of the press at the Department of Defense? The word "fear" just wasn't in this girl's dictionary! If not for her father, General Lane's face, who would speak nicely to her? They'd probably pour two pounds of Veritaserum down her throat first.
Standing 1.9 meters tall, with a large red cape fluttering in the wind, Superman didn't surrender meekly like in the original timeline. Instead, he hovered outside the Pentagon, waiting for them to come out.
The Secretary spoke like he was dissuading someone from jumping off a building, laying out facts and reasoning. His words, inside and out, meant one thing: asking Superman to sacrifice the small self to achieve the greater good.
Superman appeared to listen carefully on the surface, but in reality, he had already slipped into a telepathic chat channel opened by the Martian Manhunter.
Once outside the Pentagon's black-tech shielding zone, their telepathic abilities returned to normal.
Knowing each other's backgrounds, Thea was also pulled into this chat room. With the help of the Martian Manhunter's powerful psychic abilities, the three chatted via telepathy under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
"Uncle J'onn, are you sure you won't act?" Thea had always wondered about this. With him and Superman teaming up, plus herself slacking off on the side, those few Kryptonians who hadn't sunbathed yet would be finished in minutes.
The Martian Manhunter's tone was firm. "I want to protect Earth, but as an Earthling. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I will not act."
"What situation counts as absolutely necessary?"
"When this Kryptonian and you are all dead!"
Thea rolled her eyes. Obviously, he just wants to slack off, yet this guy says it so righteously. No wonder he spent his days running psychological counseling sessions, cooking, and cleaning for the Justice League later on. He had taken slacking off to a new level.
"Kara Danvers wanted to come too, but I persuaded her to go back. J'onn, she still needs you to take care of her." Superman's voice was a bit miserable. On one side were his kinsmen; on the other were the Earthlings who raised him. He didn't know what choice to make. Perhaps he just wanted to take it one step at a time.
"Miss Thea, if possible, please help take care of my adoptive mother."
Seeing him giving his last words, Thea had to nod in agreement. His mother is that farm woman, right? Named Martha something?
With an expression like he was going to the execution ground, Superman ended the three-way call. Afterward, he sprinkled a handful of "dog food" (PDA) with Lois Lane on the spot. While he was showing off his affection, he didn't know his future father-in-law, General Lane, was right there in the crowd of onlookers. Although curious about who this old man with the trembling face was, this wasn't a game; there were no names floating above people's heads. Plus, he had too many troublesome things on his mind right now, so he didn't pay attention. Releasing Lois Lane, he soared into the sky, flying toward General Zod's ship.
"Is it over just like that?" The Secretary waved everyone back to work, then leaned over to quietly ask Thea.
"Should be." Thea laughed secretly. This is barely the beginning. But not wanting to blow their morale, she told a white lie.
"Where is that Codex they wanted?" The Secretary suddenly remembered this matter.
Thea shook her head to indicate she didn't know. However, the Secretary reminded her. Kryptonian biotechnology was at the peak of perfection. Their people's genetic makeup had reached a perfect level; from certain angles, they were man-made gods.
Superman's father had injected the genetic map into Superman's blood. It could only be read by combining the blood with the device on the Kryptonian ship. Both blood and device were indispensable. In the original timeline, Zod was so grief-stricken when Superman destroyed the ship because he felt the hope of Krypton had been shattered.
Perhaps I should copy this data in advance? Their genetic technology wasn't of much use to herself, but even if it didn't help her, it would benefit Moira, Malcolm, and the others.
But these things could only be done secretly; she couldn't let these politicians know.
Thea was secretly calculating her plan while time moved forward slowly.
"Sir! Two small spacecraft have entered the atmosphere!" A lieutenant reported.
"Calculate their landing point!" General Swanwick asked urgently. Thoughts of these aliens going back on their word and breaking their promise all surfaced in his mind. At the same time, he held a bit of luck in his heart: If they land in another country, I won't have to worry about it.
But the lieutenant's next words shattered his fantasy. "Sir, the landing point is in Kansas!"
Ouch! Swanwick's expression looked like he had eaten expired food. His face instantly turned sallow. Is it too late to let Kansas declare independence now!?
"I'll go take a look." Before he could speak, Thea volunteered to take on this task. If she remembered correctly, Zod and the others were going to find Superman's childhood spaceship. She had promised Superman to look after his adoptive mother, so she had to at least make a gesture.
Kryptonians! Hmph! Thea felt her fighting spirit rising rapidly as she flew. Time to verify the combat capabilities of my new armor. While constantly accelerating, Thea completed her equipment change. The silver-white armor and the large red cape covered her body.
General Zod entered from the atmosphere, while she flew from Washington. Their speeds were similar, but Thea was much closer in distance. She pulled up Clark Kent's farm on the armor's onboard computer and arrived at the destination one step ahead.
"I'm Clark's friend. Ma'am, hide first; enemies are coming soon." Thea took off her mask and waved to Martha Kent, who had boldly come out to check.
The old lady didn't understand, but she still hugged her dog and ran far away.