Bill Hawkins was an ordinary man in Metropolis.
From his appearance, he had nothing remarkable about him.
A grotesque upturned nose, curly red hair, and a denim jacket that was more than 20 years out of style were his daily standard.
The only regrettable thing was that he was wearing shoes; if anyone saw his feet, they would find them a perfect match for his nose, as his feet looked as if they were naturally a few inches shorter.
His job was also nothing to brag about; currently, he sold meat at the butcher counter in Giant Supermarket, but that was his most recent gig.
His previous job was as a gas station attendant, and before that, he was an attendant at another gas station.
He once thought he could be a drummer in a band, but after much deliberation, he finally realized it was better to drum at home than in a band.
In his own opinion, he was the most interesting person on earth, but in the eyes of others, he was as monotonous, dull, and boring as an unfinished house.
The morning sun was a bit strong, and Bill, feeling a bit tired, got up and prepared to smoke a joint.
He smoked joints to stay up late watching cartoons or various other movies, but the result was that he woke up even more tired; to have enough energy, he had to smoke another joint, falling into a vicious cycle.
Could he die?
Compared to Death, he was more afraid of wasting his life, and the result of wasting his life was a quicker path to Death.
So he preferred to die from not sleeping and smoking joints.
Standing up and stretching, Bill rubbed his eyes, just about to call his cronies to come over and have some fun, when he suddenly felt a dizzy spell.
A sharp pain shot through his head, as if some foreign object had invaded it in an instant.
It felt as if something had intruded into his consciousness.
The next second, his vision blurred, his already indistinct consciousness completely dissipated, and the space before him completely twisted and deformed, finally disappearing entirely.
After an unknown amount of time, when his consciousness returned, he found himself standing in a strange space.
Everything around him was filled with darkness and chaos, an ominous and terrifying cloud-like substance invading the entire space.
"What... is this place?"
Bill swallowed, a surprised sound escaping him.
He took two steps forward, treading on the somewhat insubstantial ground, his heart filled with shock and confusion.
This shouldn't be the real world!
Although his mind was a bit hazy, he still came to this conclusion based on his experience.
This was more like the scenes that appeared in his hallucinations after getting high.
"Did I die because I stayed up all night watching cartoons and kept smoking that stuff?"
Bill shook his head, kicking a pebble on the ground somewhat dejectedly.
Damn it!
He had indeed died young!
He knew there were still several rolls of exciting magazines hidden in his locker at home.
Who would benefit from them after his Death?!
After recalling all the life goals he hadn't yet achieved, Bill's mood became even worse!
After walking for a few minutes, he suddenly discovered a bizarrely shaped ruined city.
In the city ruins, which seemed abandoned for centuries and had an unsettling appearance, Bill walked on the muddy stone steps.
The entire city seemed to be emitting a corrupting miasma; the sunlight twisted and struggled in these foul gases, and the stones on the buildings, affected by the unstable light, seemed to constantly change shape, glaring menacingly at these uninvited humans.
As Bill walked through such a city, his heart was filled with fear; with every step, the unease and dread in his heart seemed to increase.
Although he kept telling himself to turn back immediately, for some reason, he felt an strange force continuously pulling him deeper.
He reached a stone door, pushed it open, and looked inside.
Nauseating smoke billowed out from the obscure darkness.
There was movement coming from inside!
Gradually, the sound grew louder and closer to him.
Then, a giant, dark-green monster surged out from within. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
Thick green slime continuously seeped from its entire body, which was massive but had no definite shape.
Such a terrifying and twisted creature completely petrified Bill, leaving him standing rooted to the spot, unable to move.
All the strength drained from his body, and the urge to go mad, to completely destroy his sanity, and then to simply rot and die there, quickly surged over him.
In Metropolis, there were not a few humans who, after being controlled by Brainwave, saw the indescribable and dark, profound existence.
Brainwave suffered a stroke after invading Eric's brain and being Backlash (counterattacked).
Although he had reawakened, the existences he had glimpsed in Eric's consciousness were deeply imprinted in his memory.
This time, he used a radar diffuser to spread his thoughts, intending to use his Brainwave to control the people in the six central states.
But controlling others' thoughts and entering their consciousness also allowed others to glimpse a corner of his own consciousness.
Countless people, whether they had read cthulhu novels or not, saw a corner of those terrifying and unwatchable existences hidden in the dark starry sky and the deep sea.
Shock and disbelief reverberated in these people's minds.
Could this not be a fictional legend, but something that truly existed?
Was what the author described to us not fantasy, but some kind of reality?
...
"Sounds good."
In Blue Valley, Eric shrugged after hearing Courtney talk about the Injustice Society's declaration of a "New World."
"Are you sure they're villains?"
Clark was silent for a few minutes before asking her.
"I don't know, but... I don't think it should be like this."
Courtney also felt that compared to the Injustice Society, her own side seemed more like the villains.
"Pat told me that forcibly altering someone's mind can cause great harm to him. If Brainwave forcibly alters people's minds, those with strong resistance are very likely to suffer brain Death."
"Is that so?!"
Clark nodded.
Indeed, how could such a thing be without risk?!
At the same time, a sense of relief arose in his heart; fortunately, he could find this so-called "black mark" of the Injustice Society, otherwise he would continue to be conflicted about what to do.
"There's another question."
Clark looked at the people on the street whose minds were controlled. "Will they stay like this forever?"
"Probably not; the transformation time is very short, so we should go stop him immediately!"
Courtney said nervously.
As they were talking, a car slowly drove to a spot not far from them.
The driver, with a blank expression, opened the car door, slowly got out of the driver's seat, stood on the road, and stared blankly at the sky.
"We should stay, Eric."
Clark looked at the driver, who instantly turned into a blank-faced dummy after getting out of the car, and his eyes became firm.
"If many people are harmed by this, Eric, we cannot stand idly by.
"Whatever."
Although Eric had developed some interest in Icicle's "New World," he was quite speechless about the opponent's foolish and high-profile plan.
To directly and openly change the minds of some people, and then split off to form a new country, was he treating the United States Government as fools?
However...
He pinched his chin and fell into thought.
Establishing a new country, though the idea was somewhat absurd, was enough to cause some trouble for the United States Government.
As someone who loved watching a good show, he was naturally very interested in such a dramatic performance.
As for whether many people would be killed by them because of this, what did it matter to him?
Anyway, they were all people unrelated to him; if they died, they died.
Shaking his head, Eric said to Clark: "If you've made up your mind, stay here and deal with those guys who want 'medical reform.'"
"Aren't you staying?"
"Sorry, I'm not interested in saving the world or anything like that."
Eric got out of the car, sat in the driver's seat, and started the car.
"Just be smart. Although the Injustice Society members are generally not very capable, if you're careless, it's not impossible to mess up."
After Eric warned Clark, he started the car and drove forward along the road.
Midnight Doctor, Wildcat, Hourman, and Mike came to Clark's side, and they all watched Eric's car leave.
"Hmm..."
Mike looked at Courtney, "Courtney, shouldn't you have let him just leave like that?"
"What?"
"I haven't said hello to him yet, and I haven't asked him for an autograph."
Mike said somewhat dejectedly: "It's like seeing your idol right in front of you, and he just walks away, and you do nothing; if that happens, you'd be very frustrated."
"The autograph can wait; we have more important things to do."
Courtney rubbed her shoulders and said seriously: "Now we must go stop Icicle."
"So can I join? As part of the superhero team."
Mike said with shining eyes.
"No, you have more important things to do."
"What?"
"Take care of Mom."
Courtney glanced at her mother and said to Mike.
"Alright, I agree. Last time I wanted to go out with you, but you made me take care of Pipi (Pat's dog), and this time it's taking care of Mom."
Mike said to his sister: "You just think I'm a burden; just you wait, one day, I'll become a superhero that you all look up to."
Mike grumbled as he walked towards his mother.
"So... what should we do next, Clark?"
Courtney turned her gaze to Clark.
After personally witnessing Clark's strength, she had already regarded him as their most reliable combat asset.
"Stop them!"
Clark's unusually serious gaze fell upon Blue Valley.
Although he had some reservations about Eric leaving, he would prove to him that he had the ability to save the world!
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