mtl008 Chapter 4415 Project Far Star (End)
Chapter 4415 Project Far Star (End)
Chapter 4415 Project Far Star (End)
Clark stared blankly at the Justice League members before him. He wondered if he was dreaming. Or maybe he was on a high for drugs. Or maybe he'd eaten some poisonous mushrooms. Otherwise, why would he be inside a Martian spaceship, seeing the Justice League celebrating Christmas?!
Clark even rubbed his eyes. His super vision had never been so distrusted. Even his super brain seemed wrongly accused. It wasn't until Bruce greeted him that Clark realized this wasn't a hallucination. They really were preparing for Christmas Eve on the Martian spaceship!!!
Clark took a deep breath, struggling to suppress the urge to blow them all into the Kuiper Belt with a blast of icy air. Everyone clearly noticed his urge. Hal swooped down to the ground, picked up the star, and shoved it into Clark's hand, saying, "Good heavens, you're finally here. We can't install this thing without you. Come help us!"
“Ah, yes. So many gifts, I don’t know when I’ll be able to pack them all up,” Barry said. “I know you’re the best at this, Clark. We’re counting on you.”
Ron and Arthur were genuinely at a loss, staring at the collapsed Oreo tower and the turkey with a huge hole in it. Arthur scratched his head vigorously and said, "Is it too late to go back and buy one? Or should we change the main course to gray whale?"
“If you’re going back to buy more, buy another set of colored lights,” Victor said. “I turned the power up too high and burned out the bulbs. I shouldn’t have connected them to the power source.”
Clark's gaze swept over them, but did not linger. Instead, it fell on the three women standing by the table, especially Louise Lane, who was holding the table runner.
At that moment, the three women exchanged glances at a speed comparable to the speed of light and a power comparable to nuclear power generation. Within two seconds, a figure rushed towards Clark.
Before Clark could even realize what was happening, he felt a warm, soft touch on his lips. A deafening scream erupted in the room. And he felt a dizziness he had never experienced before.
Louise gave Clark a quick kiss, then, seeing his stunned expression, couldn't help but chuckle. Clark, realizing what was happening, closed his eyes helplessly.
A few minutes later, everyone was sitting around the sofa, each doing their own thing. Carol was helping Hal break the joints of the star decorations, Barry was packing gifts, Ron was eating Oreo cookies, and Arthur and Mera were figuring out how to sew up the turkey's belly. Clark and Bruce sat facing each other, listening to him explain the whole plan.
At first, Clark was still angry, but he couldn't express it in front of Louise. However, as Bruce recounted the story, he became increasingly shocked.
Without a doubt, this was a colossal lie that deceived the whole world, but it was also an ingenious and brilliant plan.
Using the pressure from the Martians to force humanity to unite and develop. Clark couldn't imagine what kind of person could devise such a plan. Faced with this plan, his previous ideas about saving the world seemed somewhat shallow and one-sided.
Clark's mindset was always one of "salvation," even though he realized that decay could not be reversed from within a corrupt body, and that correction had to be made from the outside. Yet, he was always thinking about how to improve the bad parts himself.
He couldn't deny that this was a messianic complex. From beginning to end, he always wanted to take responsibility for the world, trying every possible means and making every effort to save something.
But at that moment, he realized that Bruce's ideas differed from his own. Bruce didn't need a savior, or rather, he believed that humanity didn't need a savior. Only humanity itself could save itself. The right way to save humanity was to force humanity to save itself.
The moment these two completely different ways of thinking collided was like a violent storm sweeping through Clark's brain. Even a super brain was left dizzy and disoriented by this tempest.
Clark had always struggled with how to become God, but at this moment he realized that humanity does not need God.
Indeed, they needed a strong enough leader, and Clark felt it was his duty. But if this was just a fabricated lie, then everything would continue as usual even without him. Bruce would still achieve his goals.
In other words, humans do not need him.
Clark found it difficult to describe his feelings at that moment. Perhaps he should feel sad and lost, because he had no feelings for Krypton, and if Earth was not his home either, then he would become a true orphan, with no place for him in the vast universe.
But his emotions were much more complicated. On the one hand, he was indeed somewhat disappointed, feeling that he had tried many methods, but in reality, they were all useless. On the other hand, he felt a sense of relief and relief for some reason, and even a little proud.
Clark thought about it carefully and realized that the relaxation might be because he had never come up with a perfect way to save all of humanity, and now that he didn't need to do so, his pressure was not so great, so he naturally relaxed.
His pride stemmed from his belief that he was an Earthling. If humanity was capable of saving itself and could do so better than the Kryptonians, then he should share in that pride.
Caught between these complex emotions, Clark was momentarily at a loss for words. Just then, he heard Bruce say, "Actually, I knew about the situation on Mars a long time ago, and I knew this method would work. Logically, I should have implemented it sooner. But do you know why I didn't?"
"Why?" Clark snapped out of his reverie, following Bruce's train of thought. If Bruce had done this sooner, the plan might have been completed much earlier. Moreover, Bruce was already old now; if it had been in his youth, the plan might have been executed even more perfectly. Why didn't he do it this way?
“Because of you,” Bruce replied, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Clark looked at him with a hint of disbelief. But there was no hint of a joke in Bruce's calm blue eyes. He was serious.
"Why?" Clark asked again, "Why wait for me?"
“I can give humanity hope, but I also need someone to give me hope.” Bruce looked into Clark’s eyes and said, “After Damian died, I gave up on all ideas of changing the world. In my decades in Gotham, everything I saw about humanity was dark, hopeless, and not worth saving.”
"And you, Clark Kent, the very thing that molded you into a body of steel, is the exact opposite of what I have witnessed in the first half of my life—the bright, beautiful, and hopeful side of humanity. My fire had gone out, and you rekindled it."
"You once said that, for better or for worse, you would change the world. And now, the way you're changing the world is by changing me. You may not be the savior of this world, but you're certainly mine."
Bruce's voice was deep and resonant, more like a glass of wine than a speech. Clark stared at Bruce, as if drunk. He had never imagined Bruce would say such a thing. This was unlike him.
But that night resurfaced in his mind. Yet, recalling that conversation now held a different meaning. Bruce had told him that trying to take responsibility for everyone would only make him feel helpless, helplessness breeds anger, and anger would destroy everything.
Clark had previously realized that this might be based on Bruce's experience. However, his main point of speculation was that "anger can destroy everything." He knew this might be referring to Damian's death.
But at this moment, he suddenly realized that the key point of those words was in the first half. That feeling of being told what he had learned also came from the faint despair and helplessness in Bruce's voice when he said he "wanted to save everyone."
This means that Bruce also tried. He too wanted to change the world and worked hard for it, just like the young Clark. He just gave up.
It seems that he, as someone who has been through it all, wanted Clark to act within his capabilities and not to overexert himself. But wasn't he also clinging to a sliver of hope amidst despair? Perhaps Clark's strong rebuttal was exactly what he wanted to hear, and his persistence and belief were exactly what he wanted to see.
That's human nature. Even when we rationally know something is beyond repair, we still cling to illusions—illusions that the past can be changed, that miracles will happen in the future. And Clark is that miracle that appears in young Bruce's fantasies about the future—a powerful and righteous god descending to earth.
Perhaps, that was also a version of himself that Bruce had fantasized about at some point, falling from the sky as he inevitably grew old and headed towards death. Those youthful fantasies, faded by the passage of time, appeared vividly before him. A raindrop falling on the still sea, seemingly disturbed by an external force, was in reality an echo of his own resentment from the first half of his life.
Clark came to understand why his father had said he was destined to change the world. It wasn't about the plans he devised or the methods he used, but rather that his very existence gave those like Bruce, who had been defeated by darkness and had wanted to change the world but had to give up, a reason to start anew.
Humans are a species adept at finding hope in countless ways. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many fictional gods. God has never appeared, so when a real superhuman proves to the world that he is both righteous and powerful, it naturally creates a faith even stronger than God's, allowing those once trapped in despair to struggle and squeeze out their last ounce of strength. And this is the power capable of changing the world.
Clark took a deep breath. How could he not have thought that the boy and his mother who were rescued from the flooded school bus, his colleagues who were saved from danger, the police and doctors who covered up the truth about his death... Bruce was just like them, forced by reality, invaded by darkness, and in their utter despair, they pinned their last hope on him—and he did it.
He did not disappoint himself, nor did he disappoint them. No matter how painful it was, he never chose to give up. He responded to their hopes and truly changed the world.
Clark squeezed his eyes shut. Then, the room erupted in noise again. Hal was setting off the stars again, Barry was rummaging through the gift box for extra ribbons, Ron was being scolded for eating most of the Oreo tower, the sewn-up turkey was finally put into the oven, and the others were helping Victor hang up the repaired string lights. These sounds were amplified infinitely in his heightened senses, yet also became distant. He could clearly feel his heart softening with each heartbeat.
Clark couldn't help but glance at the other man on the island platform. Schiller seemed to notice his gaze and smiled at him. Clark murmured to himself, "...And you?"
But he knew Schiller had already answered him; the voice, tinged with amusement, echoed in his ears. "I really like Superman. I've read all your stories. They're very good; I loved them."
It is love. What makes people break through despair is Superman's love for everyone, and what makes Superman never give up is people's love for Superman.
Countless stars on Christmas trees have been lit up; whether on Mars or Earth, tonight is Christmas Eve.