Even though it's already winter, after a heavy snowfall, the temperature has risen somewhat. But this is not necessarily good news, because sometimes rain is harder to endure than snow. On this night, cold rain fell in Metropolis. When Diana brought Clark back to her apartment, both of them were soaked, and even a demigod could feel the chill penetrating to the bone.
Diana shivered violently, rubbed her arms, and took a deep breath. She first helped Clark to the sofa, then went to the bathroom to dry her hair and body, not even having time for a hot shower, before returning to take milk from the fridge, pouring it into a cup, and putting it in the microwave.
She couldn't be sure if this powerful alien still had such a formidable physique after being injured. To prevent him from getting hypothermia, Diana first found a thick blanket for him, then handed him a cup of hot milk.
Then she returned to the bedroom, saying while rummaging through things, "I have to find a sheet to temporarily act as a curtain in the living room. Can't let people find out you're here with me, or we might get kicked out."
Clark was still very weak; even wrapped in the blanket, he continued to shiver. He instinctively picked up the warm milk cup to take a sip, but his hands were trembling so much, he choked after just one sip.
"Cough, cough, cough!" He began to cough violently, a sudden fury rising within him. He slammed the cup onto the table, spilling half of it; when withdrawing his hand, he accidentally knocked the cup over, and it fell to the ground with a crisp crack.
"Oh, heavens, take it easy!" Diana said in a low voice, "The apartment building isn't soundproofed well. It's already the middle of the night; you can't disturb the neighbors, or we'll be complained about."
Just as she finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Diana rushed to the door monitor and saw it was the building's security guard.
"Oh, hello, Mr. Davis. So late, is there something wrong?"
"Someone said they saw you bring your boyfriend back home."
"Yes," Diana said through gritted teeth, "He got drunk. It's so cold tonight the car wouldn't start, so he's crashing here for the night."
"Alright, be careful not to make too much noise. This isn't your first time getting complaints."
"Okay, understood, thank you for the reminder."
Having ended the communication, Diana breathed a sigh of relief. She then turned back to tidy up the table, saying, "I'll help you to the bedroom first, don't make any noise again. This apartment is strictly managed; generally, strangers aren't allowed to stay over. If found out, the landlord will kick me out."
Diana helped Clark into the bedroom, drew the curtains tightly, and poured a glass of water for him, placing it on the bedside table. Once everything seemed fine, she shut the bedroom door.
It's a studio apartment, just one room and a living room. Though the space isn't large, the rent is astronomical because it's in the center of Metropolis, merely a five-minute drive from her workplace, the Metropolitan Museum, and she could even see a corner of the Luthor Group Building.
Since the only bedroom was given to Clark, Diana could only squeeze onto the living room sofa for the night. But she couldn't sleep because if she didn't take Clark away by tomorrow, the security might still cause trouble. If the police got involved and found out an alien was possibly staying with her, it would be a complete disaster.
Diana and Clark had never met before, weren't familiar at all, let alone any feelings involved. Diana chose to bring Clark back because Superman's past deeds in Metropolis made her feel he was a good person, and Diana was also a good person, so she would help whenever possible.
But the current issue was that she lacked such power. She was indeed of the Immortal Species, a demigod, but her social standing was awkward. She was never among the top wealthy, had no enterprise, being just a laborer, even if earning quite well as upper middle class, she had no control over society, instead bound by social order, needing to watch the faces of various violent agencies.
As long as she wanted to maintain her identity within the Human Society, she had to obey laws and follow many unwritten rules. If she went too far, others couldn't kill her, but they could cause her social death. She didn't want to become a wandering fugitive.
Bringing Clark to the apartment was already extremely risky; once discovered by the building manager, the landlord would immediately terminate the lease. According to unwritten rules, you can't find a place to stay in winter; any halfway decent community won't accept residents in winter, even if two superpower users ended up homeless it would be very awkward.
Risking ending up homeless for Clark was already the limit of what Diana was willing to risk for her conscience. She had to figure out a way to solve this series of troubles.
Thus, anxiously, the night passed. When Diana awoke the next morning, something even more exasperating occurred—Clark had opened the curtains, the window, and had his upper body hanging out.
"Clark!!! Clark Kent!!!!" Diana roared at him, "What are you doing?!!!"
When Clark turned around, Diana was startled by the coldness in his eyes. This didn't look like someone about to commit suicide, but rather someone about to kill.
"Why... why can't I fly anymore?!"
"What?"
"I can't fly anymore!" Clark stood at the window backlit, then said, "Even if I bask in the sun, I still can't fly..."
"You..." After a pause, Diana said, "You're injured, and very seriously. If you haven't recovered, maybe that's why you can't fly."
Her tone was uncertain because she was entirely unfamiliar with Clark's race. She guessed perhaps this species of alien lost the ability to fly when injured.
"What should I do?" Clark asked.
"You're hurt, you need to rest," Diana repeated again, "You must heal first to regain your mighty strength, right?"
"Heal?" Clark repeated coldly. He leaned against the wall, staggered to Diana, stared into her eyes and said, "My mom has been kidnapped, and I can only stay here, unable to even go find her..."
Diana opened her mouth; she completely understood Clark's breakdown, but it was beyond her capabilities. Because even if she flew out now to find someone, leaving Clark here alone, he was bound to be discovered—his mental state now made it impossible for him to stay put in the room.
Getting kicked out of the apartment wasn't the worst outcome. Now the military and police are searching for Clark, and if found here, she might also be arrested for harboring a criminal.
So how did things evolve into this?! Diana thought in a state of collapse; she shouldn't have meddled in the first place!
Yet even so, she took a deep breath and said, "I'll contact my friends to investigate your mom's whereabouts. Your primary task now is to recover, otherwise, you won't be able to look for her..."
Clark stood dazed for a moment, then clenched his fist and forcefully pounded the wall. Though he had lost most of his superpowers, the action was enough to make the whole room shudder like an earthquake. The table leaning against the wall collapsed, and Diana's laptop along with a bunch of electronics fell to the ground.
Diana didn't have time to check those things. She stopped Clark, who was limping out, and said, "Where are you going?!"
"I'm going to find her, I'm going to find her... I can't live without her; she's my mom."
Diana firmly blocked his way and said, "You really can't go out, police are everywhere outside. In your current state, you can't fight them off; you'll be caught!"
"Then what can you do!" Clark suddenly lost control, roaring angrily with bulging veins on his face. He reached out and pushed Diana; she stumbled without guarding and nearly hit the wall.
"I have no solution," Diana said, "Things have come to this point; we are all powerless."
Clark seemed like a bomb on the verge of exploding; the terrifying anger completely occupied his rationality. In a daze, he seemed back in his home's wheat field, furiously roaring and shouting about the dead lamb and the powerless death that left them all helpless.
"Clark... Clark..."
Before losing consciousness, Clark heard Diana's call. There was no anger in her tone, only shock and worry. At that moment, a vague emotion penetrated through the waves of anger, like a swift piercing the clouds, lingering momentarily in Clark's consciousness, like thunder illuminating the whole night sky.
When he woke up again, Clark found himself in a strange place. Though unfamiliar, it carried a sense of inexplicable familiarity. When the door was pushed open, a tall figure walked in.
It was that officer. Clark warily rose, huddled into the corner, staring furiously at the Black officer walking in.
But the other just glanced at him and said, "Perhaps he's right, you are still too young."
As Clark realized he was shaking, he became even more anxious, tightly gripping the bed rail until it was deformed. That familiar anger surged again; he almost couldn't control himself.
"Don't come near!" Clark shouted.
The other stood with his hands behind his back in front of him. For some reason, seeing his eyes brought Clark a moment of clarity again, but it wasn't sustainable for long.
"Among your kind, you're still but a baby. All of this is too cruel for you."
Clark heard him mumble, words that filled him with confusion but also an uncontrollable sadness, reminding him of his parents.
"Martha... Martha..." Clark suddenly woke up. He stood from the bed but wobbled with dizziness, eventually leaning against the wall and staring at the officer saying, "Lex Luther kidnapped my mother, you have to save her! Save her!"
But in Clark's blurred vision, the Black officer shook his head and said, "No, we can't save her. Only you can save her."
"But I've been hurt! I've lost my superpowers; I can't even fly anymore. Where should I go to find her?!"
Suddenly, Clark felt someone holding his shoulder. Looking up, he saw those eyes. Intuition told him these eyes shouldn't belong to a military officer; they lacked the typical coldness, instead exuding warmth and wisdom.
"Look at me, Clark Kent," he heard the Black officer say, "Control yourself, expel those angry and violent emotions from your mind, rediscover yourself, re-evaluate the world. Only this way can you save your mother."