The voice on the intercom, which had been trying to calm the passengers, strained to the breaking point.
The Russian captain desperately pulled back on the control stick, attempting to lift the nose of the aircraft away from the ground that was rapidly approaching—
At that moment, a pair of human hands pressed against the nose of the plane.
The hundreds of tons of aircraft felt like an oversized toy, caught in the grasp of this godlike figure in a red cape.
Under the forces of inertia and gravity, the nose of the plane was strained to its limit, fracturing in layers.
Clark's hands sank deep into the aircraft's structure, his arms nearly wrapped around the plane itself.
From this angle, the captain in the cockpit could even see the distinctive curl of Superman's black hair on his forehead.
Clark caught the plane and, noticing the captain's astonished and disbelieving gaze, lifted his head and offered a reassuring smile.
The fierce afternoon sun of the Eastern District shone directly on his face, illuminating it with a radiant glow.
He held the aircraft in his grip, enveloping it in a biofield, safely guiding it down onto the airport's tarmac.
Inside the cabin, the passengers erupted into cheers, celebrating their narrow escape.
As the emergency exit doors opened and the evacuation slides were deployed, ambulances, patrol cars, and fire trucks blared their sirens and rushed to the scene.
Passengers hurriedly descended the slides, while Clark stood at the bottom of the exit, smiling as he informed them.
"Please don't let this incident deter you from flying; air travel is still the safest mode of transportation."
—This was a fact he always shared with passengers after every rescue of a plane.
In the ten-plus years he had been Superman, Clark could barely remember how many planes he had saved—oh, if he really had to count, his Kryptonian brain would recall it clearly—two hundred and seventeen.
This included private jets, helicopters, and even two failed space shuttle launches.
Every time, he would reassure the terrified passengers with the same words, and everyone on this planet knew just how trustworthy Superman was.
They would take his advice and wouldn't develop a fear of flying because of the incident.
Passengers, in various languages, expressed their heartfelt thanks to him, their tear-streaked faces lighting up with expressions akin to seeing their savior.
They eagerly approached him to shake hands, and some even fumbled for pens they had originally intended to use for writing farewell letters, now asking him for autographs.
Clark patiently shook hands with each person but politely declined to sign autographs—if he stayed here too long, he might end up late for work!
There was only one little boy who, when brought forward by his mother to express their gratitude, stood frozen, staring blankly at Clark.
His large, gray-blue eyes seemed frozen in place, wide and unblinking as they looked at him.
Then suddenly, his mouth quivered, and with a wail, he burst into tears.
The boy cried his heart out, as if he had seen the most terrifying person in the world.
He clutched tightly to his mother's clothes and hid behind her.
His mother looked terribly embarrassed and quickly apologized to Clark in Russian: "I'm so sorry, Superman. He's probably just frightened from the accident…"
Clark smiled at her and responded in Russian, "It's alright, ma'am, but you'll need to make sure this young gentleman gets some psychological support when you get home. We don't want him developing any lasting trauma."
The woman nodded her head repeatedly, clutching her child and quickly boarding the arriving patrol car.
By this time, well-informed reporters had caught wind of the event.
They pushed through the temporary barricades, each holding cameras and microphones, hoping to get the first scoop on an exclusive Superman interview.
Clark couldn't stick around any longer.
With a smile, he waved at the cameras, lifted his arms, and in front of the watching crowd, launched into the air with a sonic boom resounding behind him.
Back in Metropolis, he grabbed his half-eaten cold sandwich and devoured a few bites in quick succession, then picked up his briefcase and rushed to
The Daily Planet office.
Perry was in one of his morning moods again.
As Clark walked in right on time, he saw Jimmy walking out of Perry's office, looking completely dejected.
Clark sat down at his desk, patting Jimmy's arm before raising an eyebrow and asking, "What happened, Jimmy?"
"You know... the only thing that can make Perry this mad is our beloved pride of Metropolis—" Jimmy raised a hand to cover his mouth and whispered conspiratorially, "The Gotham Gazette's official Twitter account posted about Superman saving that plane in Moscow a few minutes before we did. Perry's furious. He thinks it's an insult to The Daily Planet's reputation... so he called in everyone who showed up early and yelled at us one by one…"
"Oh…" Clark, the unwitting cause of his colleagues' misfortune, sheepishly rubbed his nose. "The Gotham Gazette managed to release that story before us?"
"Yeah, ever since they were bought out by Wayne Enterprises, they've been on top of everything!" Jimmy grumbled in frustration.
Clark just raised his eyebrows, not commenting.
He quickly turned around, pretending to be engrossed in organizing the paperwork on his desk as Perry emerged from his office.
He flipped through the files on his desk as if deeply focused.
To his right, the office TV was tuned into a popular morning show, Metropolis Morning Mysteries, where the host and guests were currently discussing the phenomenon known as the "Mandela Effect."
"We've all seen it—lately, more and more of our viewers have been writing in, claiming they've experienced the 'Mandela Effect.' They say they feel troubled by memories of things that seem to have happened differently—just like back in the day when so many people thought Nelson Mandela had died in the 1980s…"
"Yes, I've had that feeling myself. Just the other day, my wife and I were walking through a park, and we saw a newly installed sculpture of plants. The weird thing is, we both swear we saw that exact sculpture years ago. But when we looked it up, it turns out that the artist only recently completed it…"