Smallville Salon Club.
Peter and the farmers sat together, listening to the mayor report on the wildfire news.
After receiving a call from Jonathan, he rushed to the scene.
"The Governor has signed an emergency order, mobilizing all forces to extinguish the fire, protect people's lives and property. Currently, over 500 firefighters have been deployed, and four large fixed-wing firefighting aircraft are spraying chemical retardants on the fire zone."
"But..."
He suddenly changed his tone, "The weather is the key factor for the future. Kansas is under record-breaking high temperatures, and the wind direction changes frequently, increasing the difficulty of the firefighting efforts."
The mayor looked around at the crowd, "So—for everyone's safety, I suggest everyone evacuate before noon tomorrow."
Hearing the mayor's request for everyone to evacuate, the crowd below immediately began to whisper.
Jonathan listened to the mayor's speech, his brows furrowed.
Previously, the livestock attack incident caused significant losses to the farm. Now, if the wildfire encroaches upon Smallville...
"Don't worry, Jonathan."
Peter comforted the worried Jonathan, "The fire may not spread here."
Jonathan nodded, "Hmm, I hope things don't get that bad."
After exchanging a few words with him, Peter turned his attention to the club's television.
The television was showing footage of the burning wildfire.
In an instant, Peter glimpsed a figure flashing through the flames on the screen.
A person covered in flames appeared in the raging inferno and could move freely.
Staring at the television screen, Peter paused, then showed a thoughtful expression.
At the same time, Smallville Elementary School.
Inside the Headmaster's Office, Martian Manhunter took off his hat and shook hands with Assistant Headmaster Henry Grier.
As Assistant Headmaster, Henry Grier's primary job was to maintain school discipline.
When disciplining students, he always tried to project the image of a lovable John Wayne, but without much success.
(John Wayne: Film actor, famous for playing tough guys in Westerns and war films)
"John Jones, I am Peter Patrick's butler."
Martian Manhunter stated that since Peter was not present, he, as a guardian, came to the school to handle Mark's matter.
Henry looked at the extraordinary Black man in front of him and paused.
He coughed and said to Martian Manhunter, "Peter Patrick was once my student, I remember now."
He sat behind the desk and smiled apologetically, "There are too many students. After four or five years, they all start to look the same. You'll call a boy by his brother's name, things like that, it can't be helped."
"Indeed, Mr. Grier."
Martian Manhunter nodded in agreement.
As the Assistant Headmaster was recounting Mark and Whitney's conflict, the door was roughly pushed open, and Whitney's father stormed in.
Harrison, dressed in a custom Savile Row brown suit, greeted the Assistant Headmaster, then unceremoniously asked Martian Manhunter, "Are you John Patrick's guardian?"
Martian Manhunter calmly replied, "I am his butler."
"Good, I'm quite busy lately and have to be in court in fifty minutes, so let's get straight to the point."
Harrison, a lawyer by profession, said impatiently, "John violently harmed my son and also verbally abused him. I demand that John publicly apologize to my son, and the school must also punish him."
Martian Manhunter glanced at the astonished Assistant Headmaster and said calmly:
"To my knowledge, Mr. Harrison, your son has been kept after school seventy-four times, twelve of which were for bullying unpopular students, and he skipped fifty-one of those detentions."
Martian Manhunter said words that stunned Harrison.
"He was once suspended for putting a firecracker in a girl's shoe, a little girl named Irma Swope, who nearly lost two toes because of that prank. The girl named Swope has a cleft lip."
When he mentioned the girl having a cleft lip, his tone was filled with coldness, "Mr. Harrison, you obviously don't realize that the law you perceive protects both your son and John. Once you demand an apology and compensation on the grounds of physical and verbal abuse, then—"
"I believe the school will also demand compensation from Whitney for the same reasons."
Saying this, he turned his gaze to the Assistant Headmaster, "Mr. Grier, am I right?"
The Assistant Headmaster swallowed, looking at the Martian Manhunter in front of him in shock.
He couldn't understand why the Black man in front of him knew so much information.
Although his mind was in a whirl, he quickly reacted.
Seeing Martian Manhunter gaining the upper hand, he immediately said to Harrison with a serious expression, "I think Mr. Jones is right."
"You—you people!"
Harrison's mouth hung open as he looked at Martian Manhunter, "You can't expect to escape punishment with such despicable tactics, you—!"
Forcibly holding back the words on his tongue, he hesitated, knowing he couldn't get the better of this Black man, and finally walked out of the room in a huff.
Mark soon learned that Martian Manhunter had severely rebuffed Whitney's father in the office.
This greatly changed his impression of the butler.
The next day, when the family packed their belongings to temporarily avoid the wildfire in Metropolis, he secretly thanked Martian Manhunter.
"Thank you, Mr. Jones."
"Your strength shouldn't be used in this way, John. I taught you to discover your potential, but not to do this."
Martian Manhunter said to him while packing his luggage, "You should learn from Clark and use your abilities wisely."
Mark scratched his head, putting on a harmless expression, "I didn't mean to, Mr. Jones."
As the two were talking, Peter walked over and asked, "How is it? Are things packed?"
"Yes."
Mark quickly gave Martian Manhunter a look, signaling him to keep it a secret for him.
Looking at Mark's expression, Martian Manhunter was a little speechless.
You still want to keep it a secret, your father already knows.
Peter patted Mark's shoulder and said to him, "See if there's anything else you forgot to bring. We might be away for a while before we come back."
"Father."
Mark looked wistfully at everything in the room, "Will we... come back?"
Peter stroked his head, "Of course we'll come back, this is our home. We'll live in Metropolis for a while. Don't you like big cities?"
"No, I just... Father, I just want to be a Kansas farmer on the farm, protecting the farm and Father."
"Uh-huh, didn't you used to say you wanted to be a superhero, John? Don't you want to anymore?"
"No, superheroes aren't real. I think... Father, that's just a dream many people have."
New week, asking for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets from the Readers, many thanks.
Book recommendation:
Myriad Realms: Invincible from the Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin, an old author's pen name for a Myriad Realms novel, worth a read. Interested Readers can click the link below.