Superman from the comics: Starting with the Black Robe

Chapter 64 Helmet of Destiny

The distant horizon was shrouded in thick, dark clouds, and muffled thunder rumbled through the clouds, while fine rain washed away the indelible sins of the entire city.

Joey's ears were filled with the cacophony of gunfire and sirens, the roars and screams of residents, and the nervous snickers from the corners of the city.

Gotham City.

I don't know why Doctor Fate dragged me to this godforsaken place.

"What do you want from me?"

Even though the other party's words were incredibly informative, Joey couldn't afford to think about them too much at the moment. When facing Doctor Fate, she had to be on high alert.

Doctor Fate is a troublemaker. Although he is arguably the most powerful sorcerer in the DC Universe and has the impressive title of Fate, he can't even control his own destiny.

The golden helmet on its head is the true form of Doctor Fate, containing the divine power and will of the Lord of Order, Naboo. It's somewhat like a parasitic relationship; the host gains the power of fate but also offers its own body to fate.

Doctor Fate is like an agent of Naboo, the God of Order, who has been replaced by one generation after another. He is like a puppet of Naboo, and everything is based on the will of Naboo himself. It doesn't matter who is under the helmet and cloak.

In Joey's memory, in most crises, Doctor Fate rarely played a positive role. He was usually absent when things went well, but he would almost always get involved when things went wrong.

"What a cruel thought, you know Doctor Fate, just like you knew me before but never met me."

Doctor Fate's voice was like the clang of metal on metal, its emotionless tone echoing directly in Joey's mind, just as before. He could clearly read Joey's mind:

"This explains why I couldn't see your future when I peeked at the Book of Destiny, and why our first meeting happened in such a remote and desolate universe. You were an unplanned 'unknown challenger'."

"you mean......"

Joey caught the unspoken meaning in Doctor Fate's words: it had clearly seen him before, and in a previous universe.

"Joey Joseph Kent".

Doctor Fate called out his real name from the previous world, and the voice that entered his mind was finally not that emotionless, androgynous tremor, but a familiar female voice:

"It is I, Raven."

Boom~

The shockwave from Joey's punch shattered the dark clouds that had shrouded Gotham day and night, causing the searchlights that had been shining above the clouds to disappear, and the entire city was once again illuminated by the bright moonlight.

Dr. Fate, or Raven, was caught off guard by this punch. The enormous impact sent her flying to the lunar surface, smashing a brand new crater into the cratered landscape.

Joey followed closely behind, bringing with him a blow powerful enough to destroy the moon.

"Wait, the moon will shatter because of your punch!"

There are moments, like just now, when Joey is able to temporarily put aside the cracks in his heart and truly think about the future he can achieve.

But his own scars followed.

"I fucking don't care about the moon! I only care about why you fucking haunt me!"

Joey didn't care whether the moon would be shattered by the aftershock of his punch; at worst, he could just pull in a similarly sized asteroid to maintain Earth's tides.

The shadows of the past once again drove Joey mad; it seemed his heart was unworthy of even the slightest peace.

From their previous exchange, Raven had already realized that Joey was no match for her; the Kryptonian's anger was still as intense as when Raven first met him.

Raven's power was far weaker than when he first met Joey, and this was a world where magic was almost exhausted, so even the power of the god Naboo could not be fully utilized. If the fight continued, he might really die.

Just like when we first met, I've arrived in the right universe and found the right person, but now is clearly not the right time; it's too early.

Joey hasn't faced death yet.

Joey felt a dizzying sensation as his surroundings changed once again. This time, the teleportation was a true "world-changing" event. He and Raven traveled from the moon to a star system with a red star.

"It's no use! I already knew that!"

The arc reactor on Joey's chest continued to radiate yellow sunlight for him. Although it was not as effective as being exposed to direct sunlight, it was enough for him to fight a battle under the red sun.

Joey lunged at the raven wearing the Doctor Fate helmet at top speed, trying to remove it.

Although he didn't know what the strange combination of Raven and Fate meant, in his understanding, it would be extremely difficult for him to deal with either one in a short period of time, let alone the two together, he would have absolutely no chance of winning.

"Karl El, stop! This world is in grave danger!"

Doctor Fate, or rather Raven's voice, reverted to its mechanical tone:

"Your feud with Raven shouldn't even be a problem! Let me tell you..."

Don't listen to him!

Doctor Fate's icy voice was interrupted, and the voice that reached Joey's mind transformed back into Raven's tone: "You're not ready yet!"

Joey figured it out; Doctor Fate was probably in a state of mental instability again, with the helmet and the host talking to each other.

The will of Naboo is sufficient to suppress mortals, but it is clearly not enough for ravens.

While the two were struggling, Joey stepped forward and snatched the golden helmet off, revealing the raven's true form hidden beneath.

Although Joey punched Raven's exposed head—after everything he'd been through, all he wanted now was to leave his fist mark on Raven's little face.

But Joey's powerful punch missed its mark, because the face hidden under the Helmet of Destiny was not the one Joey had expected.

To be precise, only half a face.

The right half of Raven's face—no, the right half of her body—was completely nothingness, as if something had cleanly and neatly cleaved her in two vertically.

Doctor Fate hides only 0.5 ravens under his cloak and helmet.

The wounds on her head and side of her body were sealed by golden light, and Joey's extremely fast punch just now grazed the edge of her body, perfectly missing the mark.

"wtf......"

Although Joey knew that the universe he lived in was a world of supernatural forces, Wonder Woman and Aquaman's methods were still within the realm of understanding. The current situation was still somewhat difficult to adapt to.

In that instant, the raven broke free from the ravages of fate. Before Joey could even recover from her shock, half of its body transformed into a massive, jet-black raven, spreading its wings and disappearing into the endless void, leaving only one sentence projected into Joey's mind:

"San Francisco, 1906."

Although Joey was very annoyed, he still remembered the time: "You son of a bitch riddle-maker, can't you just speak properly?"

[Put...me...on...]

The Helmet of Destiny in his hand emitted a golden light, and that voice echoed in Joey's mind once more:

[Infinite power...]

The Helmet of Destiny revealed to Joey a power that transcended the multiverse, a power that was readily available—all he had to do was put on the helmet.