Late at night.
At Smallville Elementary School, mist swirled over the river, illuminated by the moonlight.
Old Hori, who had taken Clark to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries earlier that day, slowly walked to the riverbank.
Deep in the river, a faint greenish glow emanated.
Old Hori glanced left and right, and after confirming no one was around, he took a deep breath and plunged into the river with a splash.
As he slowly submerged, the water surface gradually became calm.
"Splash!"
A few minutes later, Old Hori's head emerged from the water.
After being immersed in the river water, his originally old and wrinkled face transformed into a youthful one.
His thin and shriveled body was also replaced by a strong, muscular physique.
After swimming ashore, Old Hori found the backpack he had hidden in advance, took out the prepared clothes, and changed into them.
After changing, Old Hori transformed into a trendy young Black man.
Feeling the youthful body, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists, sensing the surging power within him.
His body trembled slightly, and this feeling made him indulge in it, even wanting to immediately unleash this power.
Opening his eyes, he shook the water droplets from his hair.
He looked up, his gaze fixed on the dark night in the distance, and he uttered a name: "Andy Hawkins."
"Thump!"
Andy Hawkins, at the car repair shop, closed the car door and clapped his hands.
He lightly massaged his lower back and shook his head helplessly.
As he got older, his physical strength was not what it used to be.
When he was young, he could lie on the ground repairing a car for three hours without feeling tired.
Now, after only an hour of repair, his back was so sore he couldn't stand up straight.
He closed the garage door, and as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a figure standing in front of him.
Startled, he sharply recoiled.
Under the faint moonlight, Andy Hawkins saw a young Black man wearing a baseball cap standing before him.
"Oh my! Kid, you scared me."
Andy Hawkins exhaled, thinking the person had come to him for car repairs.
"I have a Dodge Coronet 500, Mr. Andy, can you help me fix it?"
Horry stepped forward and asked him in a low voice.
"A Dodge Coronet 500, that's an antique from the last century. Is that your grandfather's car?"
Andy Hawkins looked at him in surprise, "Young people nowadays don't like that car."
"I like old things."
Horry shrugged and walked towards him, "Do you know how that car broke down?"
Before Andy Hawkins could answer, he continued, "Forty years ago, four high school students drove that car to a bar. Perhaps they drank a bit too much, they acted foolishly and tried to rob a jewelry store."
Andy Hawkins had been listening to the story with a smile, but the more he listened, the more something felt off.
"As a result, these unlucky guys just happened to run into patrolling Police, and they were arrested without surprise. To escape punishment, three of them pushed the blame onto another Black man."
Upon hearing this, cold sweat instantly covered Andy Hawkins's forehead.
"That Black high school student was a promising baseball player at school, he could even have directly participated in the Major League training after graduation, but that charge completely ruined his life."
After hearing this, Andy Hawkins looked at him with a face full of surprise and asked, "Who, who exactly are you?"
"Among those three who escaped punishment, there was a guy named Andy Hawkins, and the person they framed was named Horry Mays."
As Horry said this, he took off his baseball cap, revealing a face that Andy Hawkins found unbelievable.
"You—Horry, it's you! No! No! This is impossible!"
He recognized that the person was the young Horry.
But how could he possibly return to his youth?!
"Long time no see, Andy, I'm Horry Mays."
Horry greatly enjoyed the other's terrified expression upon seeing him.
A surge of pleasure rose from the bottom of his heart, "Want to know why I'm here? It's not complicated. You guys ruined my life back then. After I was released from prison, I left Smallville and only recently returned. I originally thought I'd never get a chance for revenge, but I never expected…"
He slowly walked to a car, leaning his back against it, "One day, I was walking by the river and accidentally fell in."
"Have you heard the legend of the mermaid?"
Horry crossed his arms over his chest, "Legend says there's a mermaid in the World, and if you eat its flesh, you can regain youth. Perhaps… I accidentally bit off a piece of mermaid flesh in the river, and so I regained my youth, and my strength also far exceeds that of ordinary people. It's truly incredible! If it hadn't happened to me, I'd even think it was a fairy tale."
Andy Hawkins quickly apologized to him: "I'm sorry, Horry, I—I didn't want to do that, they said to push all the blame on you, I tried to stop them…"
"Shush!"
Horry made a shushing gesture, "I know you're a good person, Andy."
"But…"
Soon, his tone shifted, "You—are also a weak person!"
The next second, he instantly moved to Andy Hawkins's side.
Horry's hand formed a blade shape and he chopped at the other's neck.
Andy Hawkins's face turned beet red, his two eyeballs seemingly about to be sucked into his brain.
Losing his balance, he clutched his throat and fell backward heavily.
Immediately after, he felt his feet being lifted, but not by his own will; Horry was dragging them.
His consciousness gradually blurred, and excruciating pain shot through his lower back in waves.
He wanted to cry out for help, but no sound could escape his throat, and finally, his consciousness gradually faded during the dragging process.
"Bang!"
Patrick Farm.
Mark caught the baseball Peter threw to him.
The two were playing a post-dinner baseball throwing game.
Mark caught the baseball and asked Peter in confusion, "Dad, what happened to Clark today?"
"He's allergic to that green stone, so don't let him touch that kind of thing again, John."
Peter gave an excuse for Clark.
"Green stone?"
Mark controlled his strength and gently threw the baseball to Peter.
"I'll protect Clark and not let him touch that stone."
Mark puffed out his chest and said.
"By the way, Dad."
He suddenly remembered something important and stopped throwing, "Teacher McConnell said that the school is going to visit the museum next week."
He looked at Peter expectantly, "Dad, can you get me excused? I've already been there once for my birthday."
"You don't want to participate in the activity?"
"Yes, I can weed at home, Dad, didn't you say the faster I complete the weeding task, the higher my pay?"
Mark was completely engrossed in the "great cause" of earning pocket money.
Thank you all for your votes.
I recommend a high-quality U.S. comic novel by a friend, "U.S. Comics: Enlightenment in Arkham, Ascension to Homelander."
Interested readers, you can click the link below: