Some of them examined her derivation process, while others lowered their heads and ran the calculations themselves.
Thea scratched her head in frustration. This spaceship's speed could exceed the speed of light, but even ignoring energy consumption, flying back normally would take at least a year.
The tens of millions of people inside the glass enclosure couldn't wait a year, and this ship couldn't possibly carry that many people either. The only viable option was to use a spatial jump to return to the Solar System.
However, the tremendous overload produced by a jump was something only Thea herself could endure. Publicly revealing such terrifying physical resilience would inevitably expose her abilities, which went completely against her plans.
So what should she do?
Thea fell into deep thought along with the large group of scientists. The difference was that the scientists were thinking about how to get home, while Thea was thinking about how to keep up the act.
After much deliberation, she decided not to expose herself for the time being and instead contact the nearest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, and have him help send the ship back to the Solar System.
Just as she was about to act, she heard the resident troublemaker, Lois Lane, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Superman's here! Superman's here!"
The surrounding crowd instantly erupted with excitement, shouting over one another: "Where is he?" "How do you know he's here?" "Do you two have some kind of connection?"
Watching this scene left Thea a little speechless. Lois Lane and Clark Kent were so close, yet these oblivious Metropolis residents somehow still hadn't connected the dots that Clark was Superman. She really didn't know what to say.
That said, Superman showing up was a good thing—at least she wouldn't have to call in a favor.
Opening the Eye of Horus, Thea looked outside the ship and immediately spotted Clark in blue with a red cape. His brow was tightly furrowed and his lips pressed into a hard line—clearly he'd rushed here at full speed to rescue his girlfriend.
"Clark, this is Thea. The ship is already under control. Come in through the rear diagonal entrance," she said. She'd originally wanted to discuss things outside, but quickly realized Superman was no different from Batman in this regard—he couldn't communicate telepathically either. Letting him in was the only option.
"Superman's here!"
"Superman's come to save us!"
"We're saved!"
The moment Superman entered the ship, everyone inside went wild with excitement. This left Thea feeling slightly annoyed. After all, these weren't ordinary civilians—most of them were government and military personnel. Sixty percent of them were people who normally broke into a cold sweat just hearing Superman's name.
Seeing how fervently they rallied behind him now, it could only be said that Superman's approval rating was completely maxed out.
"You're not thrilled about this either, are you?" Only Lex Luthor could speak in such a sardonic tone. Deep down, he would rather fly straight back to Earth like this than accept Superman's help.
Originally in a foul mood, he noticed the faint trace of displeasure on Thea's face. He'd worn that exact expression countless times over the past year—the feeling that no matter how hard he worked, it could never compare to the acclaim Superman earned with a single gesture. Finding a kindred spirit instantly lifted his spirits.
Luthor jerked his chin toward the Superman surrounded by the crowd. "A perfect alien, with godlike morality. People worship power and ignore wisdom and knowledge."
Thea neither agreed nor disagreed. Pretending not to know Luthor at all, she briefed Superman on the situation.
Superman completely understood her decision to hide her true identity. In his eyes, Earth's heroes—whether Thea or Batman—were all like this: one identity in daily life, another in battle. There was nothing wrong with that.
After hearing her explanation, Superman didn't hesitate. "I'll push the ship."
"Can you handle it?" Thea asked quietly via telepathy.
Superman couldn't reply directly, only giving a slight nod.
Thea thought it over and couldn't come up with a better plan. Worst case, she could always use her ring to replenish him with some yellow energy.
After sending Superman outside to prepare, Thea began calibrating their position. Brainiac had never taken Earth seriously; the ship didn't even retain Earth's coordinates. She had to calculate Earth's position herself.
Superman was much like Diana in the original timeline—clearly capable of space travel, yet spending decades anchored to Earth. The reason he arrived so quickly this time was entirely thanks to Lois Lane's locator. Otherwise, letting him search the universe blindly, he might never have found them.
Once the calculations were complete, the engines ignited. The ship roared to life, spewing massive exhaust flames as it rocketed toward Earth at light speed.
Superman waited until the ship reached its maximum velocity, then placed both hands against the rear hull. Using his own flight capability, he added an incomparably massive thrust.
Three days later, when Thea announced that they were about to enter the Solar System, cheers erupted throughout the ship. Few people praised Thea; most praised Superman. They had no idea that if Thea hadn't secretly sent a clone wielding a yellow ring to recharge him, Superman would have collapsed long ago from pushing the ship at superluminal speed.
To help conceal Thea's secret—and because he didn't want anyone to see him weakened—Superman never entered the ship during those three days. After reaching the Solar System, he headed straight back to Earth.
Several core members of the Anti-Superman Committee remained ignorant of the truth and became even more wary of Superman's seemingly limitless stamina.
"Entering Earth's atmosphere in three minutes. Begin deceleration!" Thea had effectively trained the scientists into ship pilots. Even several men in their fifties and sixties were now accustomed to her commands and hurriedly began landing preparations.
Upon entering the Solar System, the first to establish contact with Earth was Luthor—he'd launched his satellites all the way out to Jupiter's orbit.
Shortly afterward, several military leaders and Thea herself received feedback from their own satellites. Each contacted their respective subordinates and superiors, and thankfully, the clichéd scenario of being attacked by nuclear missiles never occurred.
Thea's superior was, of course, Director Moira. She likely had a rough idea of Thea's capabilities; a week without news didn't worry her much. She merely said she would come to the site to pick her up—and that she'd be bringing a big surprise.
A big surprise? What was that supposed to mean?
Thea didn't have time to dwell on it. Before the ship had even landed, Secretary of Defense General Swanwick impatiently boarded the vessel via a transport plane.
"Is this ship intact?" The Secretary immediately pulled a few people into a small meeting. Before anyone even sat down, he asked the question.
The meeting truly was small—only four people including Thea, all of whom knew her true identity. Faced with the Secretary's question, the generals all turned to Thea in unison.
They had no choice. Unlike Luthor, they didn't have the ability to instantly learn an alien language with no connection to Earth's. That was asking too much of a few old soldiers.
"The damage is minimal. The weapon systems and propulsion systems are still functional," Thea said. "However, I do not recommend that the military dismantle it."
"Why?" the Secretary asked, puzzled.
"This is Brainiac's ship. It's only been temporarily suppressed. I can't guarantee there aren't other communication devices onboard. You must understand—this is a top-tier artificial intelligence that has destroyed countless planets. Its technology is far beyond our comprehension," Thea said solemnly.
The Secretary was extremely frustrated. Last time, the Kryptonian ship had been smashed nearly to dust, and the military spent a year with nothing to show for it. Now they finally had an intact alien ship—and still couldn't touch it.
Still uncertain, he asked, "Is that… Brainiac you mentioned really that powerful?"
"Yes," Thea replied. "The guard we fought this time was only one of its countless avatars. To destroy it, we lost more than thirty brave soldiers. It can produce tens or hundreds of billions of such robots. Once it gets serious, no planet in the universe can stand against it."
She had to shatter their illusions. Krypton couldn't stop Brainiac—Earth certainly stood no chance.