He chuckled softly and said, "You're really sharp. He is indeed a Cephalopid."
Soren flashed a "V" sign behind his back and proudly said, "Of course. No one knows S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'Extraterrestrial Residents on Earth Atlas' better than I do."
Clark smiled, a few wrinkles forming around his eyes, "You've always been the smartest."
Soren beamed and was about to continue walking with a spring in his step when he suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
He spun around sharply, his expression one of disbelief, "Clark, quick, check for me—am I seeing things? Is that man wearing the baseball cap next to the F28 booth sign Steve Rogers?"
Clark glanced over and raised an eyebrow, "…It's him."
"Captain America comes to UFO conferences?"
Soren slowly turned his body back, craning his neck to get a better look at the blonde man who is picking out cute octopus plushies at the booth, like a curious rabbit standing on tiptoe to scout the path ahead.
Clark found his reaction so adorable it made his heart flutter.
Holding back laughter, he leaned down and whispered in Soren's ear, "…At the B27 booth to your left, Diana's buying ice cream. Straight ahead on your right, Hal and Barry just passed through the security scanners. And five meters behind you, one of your gamer buddies is glaring at you."
Soren: !
Instinctively, he turned his head, scanning through the crowd.
In a corner he hadn't paid attention to earlier, he spotted the scowling yet handsome face of none other than teenage Jason Todd, looking annoyed.
It turns out today's seminar is filled with familiar faces.
—Are they secretly doing team-building activities behind his back?
"Jason!"
Soren immediately let out a cheer and ran toward the teenager, "What are you doing here?"
"..." The rebellious teenager, Jason Todd, quickly hid the signed photo album of Jeri Ryan behind his back.
In his heart, he'd already cursed the runaway Nightwing who'd cheerfully asked him to help buy it at least eight hundred times.
A white bandage was still stuck under the boy's right eye — the result of his patrol last night.
His messy hair stuck up wildly, and although he hadn't fully grown up yet, his jawline, already showing the handsome contours it would later develop, had a few light scratches on it.
Seeing Soren running toward him made his expression even worse.
He really shouldn't have softened up and agreed to that idiot Dick Grayson's request!
Soren's giant smile was already on his face, and he was pulled into a friendly one-armed hug, "So you're into sci-fi too? Why didn't you tell me earlier! I saw it! You bought a Star Trek album!"
—Does this guy really think he's one of those dumb nerds who'd enjoy going to conventions?
To maintain the last bit of his dignity, Jason snorted and awkwardly shrugged off the arm on his shoulder, "I didn't. I'm not—"
He caught a glimpse of the "Disguised Kryptonian," the Chairman of the Justice League, behind Soren.
Jason: "Pfft."
His sharp eyes flicked back and forth between Soren and the Superman behind him, and Jason quickly figured out what was going on.
He smirked, feeling suddenly better: So there is someone in the world more helpless than him, forced to play dress-up in public.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
"Did you come here alone? Where's Dick?" Soren excitedly asked him.
Jason gritted his teeth, "…He said he's too busy with work in Blüdhaven and didn't have time to come, so he asked me to help him buy a signed album."
When his predecessor as Robin, now Nightwing, had seriously told him he was swamped with work in Blüdhaven and couldn't make it, Jason had believed him.
So much so that, in a rare moment, Jason agreed to do him a "small favor" and come to the seminar in Philadelphia to help him buy a signed album.
…It wasn't until Jason was standing in line to meet the beautiful actress and was forced to take a photo with her that he realized he'd been tricked.
—FXXK Dick Grayson! Why does chasing girls have to drag him into it?
Soren let out an "Oh" and grabbed his arm, whispering mysteriously, "Since you're already here, I strongly recommend the seminar's main event — the Sci-Fi Classics Movie Marathon! Come on, follow me! The program says the Star Trek marathon screening is about to start. I bet you'll love it! ST is my all-time favorite!"
Jason leaned back tactically, keeping his cool with a cold face, "I'm not going. I have to get back to Gotham, got things to do."
Just three days ago, a high-profile criminal had successfully escaped from Gotham's finest job market — Arkham Asylum.
After a recent disagreement with Batman, Jason was holding a grudge, is determined to capture the escapee on his own without Batman's help.
He'd been busy with that for days.
But—
He touched his chin, looking at someone with blonde hair and a pretty face, and suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head.
He quickly glanced at the Justice League chairman nearby and decided to keep this clever idea to himself for now—That old Bat had repeatedly warned them not to act like they knew Soren's true identity in front of Superman.
So, Jason swallowed his genius plan, deciding to contact Soren privately when they got back.
"That's even more reason for you to take the afternoon off and watch a movie!" Soren raised his voice, grabbing Jason and trying to pull him along, "Come on, come with me, I'll get us some good seats."
Jason: "..."
For the sake of his plan to catch the escaped criminal, he decided to put up with it for now.
Their conversation was overheard by Diana, who was approaching them.
The 4,000-year-old Wonder Woman, Amazon Princess, and daughter of Zeus was holding a triple-scoop ice cream and glanced their way.
She didn't feel any embarrassment about being seen at the seminar.
With grace, she greeted them and walked over, "Hi, you two are here as well. What are you up to?"