A master reveals his skill with a single move, and even with just a simple punch, Clark learned a lot about his opponent.
Terrifying strength! Conservatively estimated, the prisoner's strength was at least several times greater than Clark's.
Frightening speed! His power and stamina gave him a speed far beyond that of ordinary people. Even with the most unskilled application of force, he managed to match Clark's terrifying speed.
Crude technique! Compared to his horrifying strength and speed, the prisoner's combat skills were virtually non-existent. His punching posture was full of flaws, no different from a street thug. Of his total power, he could only utilize about 20 to 30 percent effectively.
Against an average opponent, even superheroes like Captain America, he could easily overpower them with his strong attack and defense abilities.
But unfortunately for him, he was facing Clark.
Although Clark's current strength was far inferior to this unknown prison escapee, the gap between them was not unbridgeable.
As the prisoner's punch approached, Clark casually lifted his left hand, lightly touching the assailant's forearm, and deftly deflected the punch powerful enough to pulverize an elephant.
Immediately taking advantage of the exposed chest, Clark targeted the weak point with a palm strike…
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, Clark's mighty power and energy burst forth the moment his palm contacted the man's chest. The prisoner was sent flying backwards, his momentum slightly less than when he charged but still surpassing the speed of sound.
He landed face-up, carving nearly a thirty-meter-long trench in the ground before coming to a stop.
Realizing the punch could kill an Asian elephant, Clark confirmed this guy was ruthless. Such force against an unknown entity like himself clearly showed he was no benevolent character.
Clark didn't hold back either in his counterattack.
However, his full-powered palm strike, while seemingly giving him the upper hand, didn't actually harm the prisoner. The man, Marcus Milton, simply shook his head, flinging mud off his hair, and charged at Clark again, even faster than before.
His punch this time showed a much better grasp of strength than before. Was he concealing his skill earlier, or was his learning speed just terrifyingly fast?
Interesting! Thinking this, Clark met the attack again. With the same effortless deflection, he identified a flaw and struck the chest, sending Marcus flying once more. Clark asked, "Did you escape from prison?"
"None of your business!" Marcus roared, charging at Clark again. This time, he didn't punch but released two red beams from his eyes, aiming straight for Clark's heart!
Heat vision? Sensing the power of the attack, Clark decided to test his new ability. He met Marcus's gaze, unleashing a devastating beam from his eyes, colliding with the heat vision.
The high-energy beams clashed, a pure contest of strength.
Surprisingly, Clark found Marcus's strength overwhelming. His light beams were instantly overpowered by Marcus's heat vision, pushing Clark's beams back towards him at alarming speed, coming within five feet of his body.
If his light beams were crushed, the consequences were obvious! What kind of being was this man?
Clark initially thought Marcus was an Inhuman awakened with abilities, escaping prison with newfound powers. That would explain why such a terrifying criminal was in a regular prison.
Clark had planned to inquire about Marcus's crimes. With Earth needing every hand, Clark could recruit him to the Avengers or SHIELD, as long as his crimes weren't utterly heinous.
However, after a brief encounter, Clark shockingly realized Marcus wasn't just any Inhuman – he was like Superman! Did Superman from the neighboring DC Universe cross over to Marvel and turn evil?
As Marcus's heat vision almost overpowered Clark's light beams, Clark knew he had to use his trump card.
With a gesture, his Healing Hands transformed into a sword in his hand. With a slash, he severed the connection between the heat vision and light beams, creating a dark space rift that swallowed Marcus's attack.
Then, with a forward thrust of his sword, he used the Tesseract Slash, sending the heat vision back at Marcus.
Marcus, recognizing Clark's move's power, stopped his attack and fled without a moment's hesitation.
Without any semblance of a powerful being's dignity, Marcus ran away immediately, no hesitation!
Having offended him, Clark didn't intend to let things slide. Seeing Marcus flee, he followed with his sword in hand.
Marcus, realizing Clark's speed matched his, leaped a kilometer away in desperation. Landing, he created a three-meter-wide crater, using it to propel himself into the air.
After several jumps, he began flying, moving several times faster than before.
Clark tried to keep up, but with a significant gap in physical strength, he couldn't maintain the pace. As Marcus's flying skills improved, he soon disappeared from Clark's sight.
Since his second breakthrough, this was the first time Clark encountered someone who could overpower him physically, by more than tenfold.
What was the background of this incredibly strong individual? Clark knew he had to find out immediately.
Returning to the prison, Clark found it in chaos. Many prisoners had escaped. The limited number of guards couldn't control all the inmates. Some were shot dead by the guards, but many had fled far, even hijacking police cars. The scene was chaos personified.
As a superhero representative, Clark couldn't stand idly by. After a long effort, he recaptured over 90 percent of the prisoners. Still, nearly fifty managed to escape.
"The escape was too sudden," the warden explained. "The prisoner tore off his handcuffs and ankle cuffs with his arms and jumped from the basement, breaking through seven floors. We're powerless against such criminals…"
Clark interrupted, "He's not a normal person. I've fought him, and even I couldn't gain an advantage. I'll testify for you. I'm sure the government will handle this appropriately once they know the details. Give me his file. His name is Marcus Milton, brown-haired, the one who broke through seven floors. The more detailed, the better."
The warden was excited to hear Clark's willingness to explain, "Okay, I'll get it ready."
As the warden gathered the information, Clark immediately called Hank Pym, "A massive prison break happened at Nashemo Prison in Florida. Send someone to handle it. The ringleader has supernatural powers… yes, he truly does. I fought him."
"What?!" came Hank Pym's almost screaming reply. "You mean the escapee managed to get away after fighting you? Does he have some escape ability like Ava?"
Clark solemnly replied, "Super strength, speed, stamina, flight, heat vision…"
Hank Pym: "You're not suggesting the prisoner is Superman, are you?"
"As much as I don't want to admit it, his abilities do resemble Superman's. Only his combat skills and experience are poor. Otherwise, it could have been me trying to escape, and I might not have succeeded…"
…
Moments later, Clark received Marcus Milton's file from the warden.
Marcus Milton Graduate of Harvard's journalism program. His family was killed by drug traffickers in retaliation for his investigations. He embarked on a violent vendetta, killing the drug lord's entire family, including two children!
Marcus had been on the run until a month ago, committing several crimes and killing sixteen innocent people.
He once mixed with a gang, known by the code name...
Hyperion!
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