As they were about to leave, Soren won the grand prize of the open house event—a special pass that allowed him to visit the Justice League headquarters at any time throughout the year.
Soren could hardly believe his luck!
When he received the special pass, which seemed to glow in his eyes, his hands were trembling.
The pass was styled just like the staff's access card, the size of a business card, with an embedded identification chip, along with his name and photo printed on it.
—It felt like it was tailor-made just for him.
Dazed with excitement, he looked at the pass over and over, then carefully stashed it in the most hidden pocket of his backpack.
They had lunch at an Italian restaurant and then walked over to Tomorrow Square, another famous Metropolis landmark—the site of the giant statue of Superman holding up the Earth.
As Soren and Tim walked along the sidewalk, Soren excitedly told Tim about his recent adventures in New York—how he once stumbled upon a superhero fan gathering in Central Park, got a personal tour of Stark Tower thanks to Tony's approval, and even had several chance encounters with Spider-Man in Queens (he couldn't figure out why he kept running into Spider-Man all over New York).
He also happened to meet Captain America himself during a visit to the Captain America Memorial Hall.
In short, his life was filled with luck and surprises at every turn.
Tim smiled as he listened to Soren, but suddenly, his eyes froze as he glanced at a reflection in a nearby glass storefront.
"Watch out!"
In the reflection, a mutated creature was plummeting toward them from the sky.
Tim quickly turned, scanning the area for a safe spot, but the creature was falling too fast for him to find cover.
Just as he was about to grab Soren and run, the grayish-purple mutated monster slammed into the middle of the street with a wet, squelching sound.
The impact shattered all the glass storefronts around them and created a massive crater in the road.
Every car on the street bounced at least a few inches into the air from the shockwave.
—Was this what Bruce meant by an "unexpected event"?
Tim was thrown by the shockwave, desperately grabbing Soren, fearing he might be hurt.
But in the next moment, he realized he was holding nothing but a torn sleeve—
Soren appeared to have teleported, standing unscathed on the opposite sidewalk, staring blankly at Tim.
Tim furrowed his brow, his gaze crossing the intersection to exchange a glance with Soren, but Soren's eyes were glazed over.
Suddenly, he turned and sprinted ahead!
The street was filled with panicked people fleeing in every direction.
Soren pushed through the dense crowd, his heart racing as if it might explode.
His movements were instinctive; he didn't even know what he was doing, but he had to run.
He had to catch up to that person ahead—
He reached out, grabbing the sleeve of a tall figure in a gray shirt.
The sound of his heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Despite Soren's grip, the tall figure didn't turn around. Instead, he stood frozen as if caught by some unseen force.
"You—"
Soren looked up at the gray-haired man's back, his gaze stubborn and resolute.
"...Have we met somewhere before, sir?"
The man was as stiff as a statue.
Soren watched him, tears beginning to well up in his eyes.
He bit his lip stubbornly, using his other hand to wipe away the tears, still unwilling to let go of the man's sleeve.
He didn't know why he was acting this way, or why he suddenly recognized that this was the person who had brought him to the intersection.
But he knew he couldn't let go.
The man, still facing away from Soren, spoke in a low, raspy voice. "I think... you might have the wrong person…"
His chest emitted a deep, rumbling sound.
Soren kept his gaze fixed on him, stepping closer. "I didn't mistake you."
With a kind of innate tenacity, the facets of his soul sparkled like diamonds as he faced someone he was never supposed to know, saying each word deliberately: "We must have met somewhere, haven't we?"
"No... we haven't."
The man continued to deny it.
Soren pressed his lips together, his long, thick, light golden eyelashes lifting as he looked toward the man's hair.
Just as he was about to say something, a loud explosion echoed behind them.
The powerful shockwave even tore down the traffic light poles at the intersection.
The blast surged toward them like a sandstorm.
Soren felt a strong, iron-like arm wrap around his waist, and in an instant, everything spun around him.
He found himself pressed against a broad, warm chest.
—He was securely held in someone's embrace, while everyone else on the street had been teleported over a hundred meters away from the explosion's epicenter.
He looked up at the stranger who had caught him.
What met his gaze was a face with sharp features, marked by the ravages of time and endless hardships.
Deep wrinkles etched by the years lined his forehead, and a vertical line carved through the space between his brows.
His nose was prominent, and his hair was completely white, yet the jawline remained perfect, resembling that of a classical sculpture.
Soren stared intensely with his bright, vibrant Kryptonian blue eyes, but the man's expression revealed immense pain.
He met Soren's gaze only for a moment before, unable to endure it, he turned his eyes away—
He had to exert all his self-control to avoid pulling Soren closer, to the point of embedding him in his chest.
In his arms was the most precious star in the entire universe, one he had waited countless eons to find again, having reset the timeline infinitely.
This stranger—an aging and weathered Clark Kent—averted his gaze, while Soren's body was warm and full of life.
Soren's heartbeat resonated clearly in Clark's ears.