Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
The next day, the events that unfolded in New York during Halloween once again triggered a storm of public opinion.
Spaceships, aliens, and… that battle.
Although the chaos of yesterday kept people from recognizing Clark and the other superheroes at first, once the fighting ended, through their distinctive abilities and the videos recorded, people still managed to identify them.
But at the same time, when they looked at the costumes those superheroes were wearing, the public couldn't help but feel confused.
Who was supposed to be who?
Why was Thor dressed up like the Hulk?
Why was Superman dressed like Iron Man?
And who was that Black Widow supposed to be?
And what about Captain America?
Looking at these heroes who seemed both familiar and unfamiliar, the public, after their initial bewilderment, burst into laughter.
The superheroes had dressed up as other superheroes to join the parade?
Whoever came up with that idea—pure genius.
Once people realized it had all taken place on Halloween night, everything clicked. Excitement began to spread.
At that moment, many felt that superheroes were suddenly so approachable, so close to them, as if they weren't untouchable legends after all.
This made both the Avengers and Clark even more popular.
As for the battle last night, discussions were still raging everywhere.
It looked like the buzz wasn't going to die down anytime soon.
But none of this affected life at the Kent household.
…
Outside New York, at the Kent farm.
A figure suddenly appeared outside the property.
Mike gazed at the familiar home before him and let out a soft sigh.
The farm had long since been handed over to Bob and his wife to manage, and for years they had taken excellent care of it.
Stepping forward, Mike walked into the barn, opened the basement hidden inside, and retrieved something buried there—the "cradle."
It was the tiny spaceship Clark had traveled in when he first arrived on Earth, his cradle.
With Clark's permission, Mike had decided to use it as the foundation to construct a small starship.
Carrying the cradle out of the barn, restoring everything to its original state, Mike rose into the sky. A golden portal appeared before him, and he flew through it, emerging high above the ocean.
With a thought, the portal behind him vanished. Mike looked at the vast sea and dove down with the cradle in hand.
Since he had plenty of free time nowadays, he planned to build a base deep within the seabed's rock layers.
First, he carved out a chamber tens of square meters wide within the rock. After setting the cradle inside, he activated it.
A lifelike holographic projection appeared before him.
Jor-El.
After explaining his plans for the base and for modifying the cradle, Jor-El pondered for a moment and said to Mike, "To achieve this, the first problem you need to solve is energy."
Even as he raised the issue, he was already preparing a plan—such as tapping into geothermal energy deeper in the rock layers…
"This!"
Mike smiled faintly as a gemstone flickering with a ghostly blue glow appeared in his hand.
"What is that…?"
Jor-El's eyes narrowed as he studied the gem.
"The Space Stone."
"The Space Stone! One of the Infinity Stones?"
Jor-El stared at the gem in shock.
Mike nodded. "With this, energy won't be a problem."
"You're right," Jor-El admitted with a nod. Then he added, "I'll prepare a modification plan and design an energy-extraction machine. Let's begin by transforming this place."
"Good."
Mike agreed, then stored away the Space Stone. With a wave of his hand, he opened a portal. "I'll leave this in your care. I'll come back tomorrow."
Jor-El smiled and nodded.
Mike stepped through the portal, reappearing in his backyard.
Done!
Next came the slow process of building the base and modifying the ship.
Of course, there was another reason he was doing this—Charles and Erik.
Mutants wouldn't integrate into this world so easily.
If those two failed—or worse, if instead of succeeding they ended up in an even worse situation…
Well, so be it.
At least now he had something meaningful to occupy himself with again.
As for Jor-El—strictly speaking, the artificial intelligence carrying Jor-El's knowledge and memories—Mike trusted it considerably. The El family had designed it to be under their complete authority, and since Clark had given Mike authorization, he could command the AI freely.
Returning home, Mike checked the time and began preparing dinner.
…
Halloween passed, then Thanksgiving…
In the blink of an eye, Christmas was just around the corner.
During this time, aside from his usual routine and teaching Thor some new dishes after the latter's return from Asgard, Mike spent most of his once idle hours working on the undersea base.
Thanks to his efforts, the base now had a solid framework.
The interior had been expanded dozens of times, its energy problem solved, and under Jor-El's guidance, an energy shield had been built to protect the structure.
With the Space Stone providing a limitless supply of power, energy was no longer a concern.
Still, for now, this was as far as he could go.
He lacked professional knowledge, and everything had been carried out under Jor-El's direction.
Watching the base gradually take shape under his own hands, Mike felt a sense of satisfaction.
But with Christmas so near, construction came to a pause. He planned to rest a bit, resume work after the holiday, and focus for now on Christmas preparations.
"Dad, where are we going? Chinatown?"
Gwen sat in the passenger seat, buckling her seatbelt as she asked.
Trips to Chinatown for groceries and seasonings were a regular part of life for the Kent family.
Mike nodded. "Some ingredients and spices can only be found there."
If not, he'd simply open a portal to the other side of the ocean.
"Great!"
Gwen cheered.
It had been a while since she'd gone out with Mike.
"By the way…"
As he started the car, Mike asked, "After Christmas, are you planning to go on a trip?"
Gwen's winter break wouldn't end immediately after Christmas, so her friends had planned a trip.
"Yeah!" Gwen's eyes lit up. "We've already mapped out the route—a short cycling tour."
Mike hesitated. "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No need!" Gwen shook her head. "An adult tagging along with a bunch of kids?"
So… he was being rejected?
Mike: (╯︵╰)
The heart of a weary father.
Seeing his expression, Gwen patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Mr. Kent, children must grow up. You have to let them spread their wings and fly."
Mike: "…"
Unable to help himself, he rubbed her head. "Brat. Sit tight."
With that, he drove toward Chinatown.
Using his super-vision to avoid traffic jams, he soon arrived.
While Mike went to the supermarket, Gwen wandered the street, searching for something new and interesting.
A little later, when Mike returned with groceries, he saw Gwen by the car, eating something.
Long, soft, bright red…
Mike blinked and walked over.
"Dad! Want some?"
Gwen waved the spicy strips in her hand, hissing as she sucked in air to deal with the heat.
"Where did you get that?"
Mike asked curiously, taking one from the bag to try.
The taste was average.
Gwen pointed to a shop nearby and laughed. "Good, right? It's a local specialty. Sss…"
She sucked in another breath from the spice.
"Not bad."
Grinning, Gwen licked the oil from her fingers. Mike's eye twitched as he asked, "You like them that much?"
"Mhm!"
"Then I'll make some at home."
"Really? Awesome!"
Her eyes lit up, sparkling like dollar signs. "Can you make a big batch?"
Mike gave her a look. "Planning to sell them again?"
"Hehe!" Gwen grinned, shaking her head. "I'm not selling them, just… sharing a good product with everyone."
"You little rascal. Come on, let's buy the ingredients."
"Woohoo!"
Gwen cheered, reaching out with her greasy hands to hug him.
Mike smacked her hands away, then sighed, pulling out tissues for her. "Wash up first!"
"Okay!"
…
At the Kent house.
After returning from the supermarket, and with Gwen urging him on, Mike headed into the kitchen.
Gwen waited impatiently, then suddenly darted for the door.
"Dad, I'll be right back!"
Before Mike could answer, she was gone.
He shook his head with a chuckle.
That girl—mention money, and she turned into a whirlwind.
While Mike cooked, Gwen ran to the store to buy packaging supplies, calling her friends to meet at her house that afternoon.
Half an hour later, she rushed back, arms full of bags. The spicy aroma filling the air made her swallow hard.
Time crawled by as she waited.
Finally, after lunch, just as her friends were due to arrive, Mike walked out with a huge bowl of spicy strips.
Gwen jumped with excitement.
She grabbed one, popped it into her mouth, and her eyes narrowed in bliss.
These snacks were amazing—so much better than the store-bought ones!
She gave Mike a big thumbs-up, then couldn't resist eating another.
"Mmm, so good! I'm in heaven!"
Her mouth moved like a rabbit's as she munched away.
"Don't eat too much, or you'll break out," Mike said, flicking her forehead.
Gwen stuffed a strip into his mouth. "Try it! How can I stop when you made them so delicious?"
Mike couldn't help but laugh.
This girl was getting sharper with her words every day.
As he chewed, his eyes landed on the empty packaging boxes nearby. "So, how much are you selling a pack for?"
"Ten dollars!" Gwen said, then after a pause, added, "I'll test the market first. If it goes well, I'll raise the price!"
Typical.
Mike chuckled. "I need to step out for a while."
"Mm."
Gwen barely looked up, too busy calculating her potential profits.
Mike went upstairs, opened a portal, and stepped into the cold air. White mist swirled as he emerged, then he soared forward.
Within half a minute, three massive invisible Helicarriers appeared in the sky.
Activating his super-vision, Mike located Nick Fury aboard the central ship. With a flash, he appeared before him.
Nick Fury didn't flinch.
Instead, he looked at Mike with mild exasperation. "You're late."
"Got held up," Mike replied. "Are the things I asked for ready?"
Fury nodded, then asked curiously, "What exactly are you planning?"
"Doing what must be done."
Mike smiled as he handed him two metal containers.
Fury's eyes lit up as he accepted them, though he pressed, "Don't you think you should tell me more?"
Mike paused, then asked, "What's your take on the current situation with mutants?"
"Mutants?"
Fury frowned. "Something happened?"
After a moment, he continued, "Their situation has improved somewhat, but real change will take a long time."
He glanced at Mike, who remained calm, and went on, "In my view, thanks to the X-Men—thanks to Charles and Erik—relations between humans and mutants have eased. But that fragile peace is built entirely on Xavier's school and the X-Men. A single incident could shatter it, plunging relations back into the past, maybe even worse than before."
Mike nodded. "You're not wrong."
Fury froze. "So what you're doing now… is connected to mutants?"
"Just making preparations," Mike said with a faint smile. "You'll understand when the time comes."
He added with a smirk, "By the way, without S.H.I.E.L.D., you seem awfully free."
Fury chuckled. "With the Avengers and the X-Men around, I really do have a lot less to worry about."
Currently, he remained in the shadows, gathering intel, and whenever something tricky came up, he let the X-Men or Avengers handle it.
"Alright, take me to the supplies," Mike said, making himself invisible with a card and following at Fury's side.
Other than Fury, he had no intention of letting anyone else see him.
(End of Chapter)