A small town in Kansas—
Marcus teleported to the familiar town, looking around at the environment he remembered.
"Yep, still the same, though it looks like there are a few new shops."
Although he was ready to return to the farm, he still needed to make some preparations first—like getting a gift for Clark.
After browsing through the town's shops, Marcus couldn't find anything particularly suitable, so he settled on a complete children's denim outfit that could turn Clark into a little cowboy from head to toe.
After finishing his shopping, Marcus vanished from the town again in thick mist and returned to Jonathan and Martha's farm.
Life on the farm remained peaceful, with Jonathan working on his tractor.
"Looks like this thing finally needs replacing. There aren't many parts for this model anymore."
Parts for this old-fashioned tractor were extremely rare, and his spare parts stockpile was exhausted.
"Hey, haven't you gotten rid of that piece of junk yet?"
Marcus's voice rang out behind Jonathan, startling the farmer who was bent over the engine.
"Marcus?" Turning to see him, Jonathan's face broke into a smile. "It really is you! You're finally back."
"Haha, you look like you've been through a lot while I was away."
Marcus laughed and patted Jonathan's shoulder. It really had been a long time since they'd seen each other.
An excited Jonathan led Marcus to the house, pushing the door open and walking in with barely contained enthusiasm.
"Martha, I've got good news! Want to hear it?"
Good news?
Martha, who was preparing lunch, looked over suspiciously. What could make Jonathan this excited?
"Let me guess—did Clark do something?"
To Jonathan and Martha, Clark really was like their own child. In Martha's mind, the only thing that could make Jonathan this excited had to involve Clark.
"Clark didn't do anything—Marcus is back!"
Following his announcement, Marcus was pulled forward by Jonathan and greeted Martha with a smile.
"Long time no see, Martha."
Marcus?
Seeing Marcus being pushed forward by Jonathan, Martha froze in place. She hadn't expected Jonathan's good news to mean Marcus had returned.
"Where have you been all these years? Why didn't we hear anything from you?"
Martha put down what she was holding and walked toward Marcus. Since their last goodbye, they hadn't seen each other for such a long time.
Even Clark had grown from a toddler into a boy who spent his days playing around the farm.
"Well... the place I went was a bit special, so there was no way to send word." Marcus said casually, then looked around curiously. "Where's Clark? I don't see him anywhere."
With his perception range, he should have sensed Clark's presence, which wasn't normal.
"He went to the neighboring farm to play with little Henry."
Clark was the only child on their farm. For Clark's mental health, Jonathan and Martha often sent him to other farms to play with children from the surrounding area.
"The neighboring farm? That explains it..."
No wonder he couldn't sense Clark. Although his perception range was considerable, it wasn't enough to cover the entire farm area, let alone Clark at the next farm over.
Knowing Clark's whereabouts, Marcus didn't press further. Although he planned to train Clark, there was no rush.
Clark was still just a child after all, and judging from Jonathan and Martha's demeanor, Clark's Kryptonian abilities probably hadn't awakened yet.
The current Clark was just a slightly stronger kid—at most making people think he was born with unusual strength.
"Looks like I won't be seeing Clark right away, and the little cowboy outfit I got him will have to wait for its debut."
Taking out the complete denim ensemble he'd bought in town, Marcus smiled helplessly.
But the outfit caught Jonathan's attention. In his opinion, these clothes were absolutely perfect for Clark, as if they'd been custom-made for him.
"Ha, I think Clark would love it."
As a kid growing up on a farm, nothing was more appealing and fitting than this cowboy outfit.
"I think so too!" Marcus replied with a grin.
The three of them chatted while getting busy in the kitchen.
Steak, mashed potatoes, bacon, fried eggs...
Different dishes took shape under Martha's hands. It was clear Martha had really worked on her cooking skills over the years—all the food gave off enticing aromas.
"This will have to do for now. Today's the day Marcus comes back, so we'll have a real feast tonight!"
Setting the food on the table, Martha announced with a flourish.
Time was short, and this was the best they could manage on short notice—they'd save the big meal for evening.
"Wow... your cooking keeps getting better, Martha."
After tasting the steak, Marcus immediately gave a thumbs up. The flavor was much better than Martha's past attempts.
After lunch, the group sat on the sofa and talked.
Marcus told them about various places he'd been, which made both of them exclaim in amazement.
But when Marcus mentioned Gotham, both their expressions grew serious. They'd obviously heard about what happened in Gotham a month ago.
"You just came back from Gotham. Were there really as many terrifying creatures as the news said?"
The news hadn't reported demon appearances, but even their sanitized version had been frightening.
After all, the footage showed the battle's aftermath, and the area had been almost completely leveled.
If the police hadn't responded quickly, the ordinary people living there would have been killed by those mutated creatures—after all, they'd even demolished buildings.
"Yeah, that's true. I took out quite a few of those creatures over there," Marcus replied with a smile.
He understood why the story had been changed. After all, the day after the battle ended, officials had swarmed Gotham and practically turned the place upside down.
The government wanted to study demons, but demons weren't so easy to research. He couldn't guarantee what would happen if people got contaminated with demon fluids.
But that wasn't part of his plan and didn't affect him anyway.
No matter which world it was, governments always studied uncontrolled forces. This pattern was perfectly demonstrated in the mutant world.
Once those Sentinel robots determined someone carried the X-gene, they'd arrest them regardless of whether the person was actually a mutant or criminal.
Such oppression had nearly driven humanity to extinction.
The governments of this world were just asking for trouble, and after they'd caused a catastrophe, superhumans would be accepted more easily.
Besides, there was an ultimate bastard in this world who'd deal with anyone potentially contaminated by demon blood—after all, that guy's goal was getting into heaven.