American comics: Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who worry about their fathers!.

Chapter 1005 Clark and Louise's Trip to Moscow
at the same time.

The cold wind in Moscow felt like sandpaper covered in ice, scraping against Clark's cheeks.

He tightened the collar of his not-so-thick jacket, and the white breath he exhaled was instantly blown away by the wind.

Beside her, Louise was rapidly scribbling something in her notebook with her red, frozen fingers, a pencil dangling from her mouth as if it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.

“Clark,” Louise suddenly spoke, her voice a little muffled because she still had a pencil in her mouth and her eyes were still glued to her notebook, “seriously, thank you for coming to Moscow with me this time.”

She paused for a moment, seemingly finding the opening remarks too "official," and added, "The recent international situation... is like a pressure cooker. Markia, India, Uralsk... When Jimmy heard it was Moscow, his face turned green, and he made an excuse about family matters and refused to come."

"To be honest, I'm a little nervous about just the two of us coming."

She finally took the pencil out of her mouth and tucked it behind her ear before glancing quickly at Clark. "So, thank you for coming with me."

Clark was a little embarrassed by Louise's words, then he smiled and said, "Uh, it's nothing, Louise, it's nothing, and besides..."

He hesitated for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words, and looked sincerely at Louise, "Actually... it was the Godfather who sent me."

"Peter?"

Louise raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting this answer.

She stopped, wrapped her scarf tighter, and looked at Clark with great interest.

"Mr. Patrick? He told you... to come with me?"

"Ah."

Clark nodded, his expression serious, and said, "Before you left, didn't you mention this interview assignment in Moscow to him? He... well, he felt that the situation was too chaotic lately, and that it might be dangerous for you to travel so far alone, so he asked me... well, to come with you and keep an eye on things."

Listening to Clark's words, Louise remained silent for a few seconds, a complex and unreadable emotion flashing across her beautiful eyes.

There was surprise, warmth from being cared for, but also a slight... subtle unease at being "arranged" by Peter Patrick?
"Oh……"

She drew out her words, a half-smile playing on her lips, and started walking again, her high heels crunching on the snow. "So it turns out I only got the chance to be the 'Kansas Farm Boy's' bodyguard because of Mr. Patrick?"

She said it in a deliberately teasing tone.

Clark quickly waved his hand and explained, "No, no, Louise, I... I wanted to come myself, and I'm happy to learn how to do real investigative reporting with you."

He spoke a little hastily, afraid that Louise might misunderstand that he was only forced to carry out the mission.

Louise's slight annoyance vanished instantly when she saw his flustered explanation; instead, she found the boy incredibly endearing.

She couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, alright, Kent, I was just kidding."

“I know you’re a good man, Peter…your godfather, he…”

She paused, seemingly searching for the right words to describe the mysterious and powerful man.

"He always thinks things through very carefully, doesn't he?"

Her tone was teasing, but there was a hint of gentleness deep in her eyes.

Peter Patrick's powerful mystique held a peculiar attraction for an independent journalist like her, who was also keenly aware of the world's dangers.

"The Godfather is always so thoughtful."

Clark's eyes lit up immediately when he mentioned Peter. "He always knew what to do, how to protect everyone, everyone on the farm, Raven, Azu, Booboo... and me, all because of him..."

Clark quickly realized he might have said too much; he couldn't reveal too much about the farm's secrets.

He immediately slammed on the brakes, a hint of annoyance flashing across his face.

"Yes."

Louise's voice softened, "He is indeed... very special."

She didn't say anything more about Peter, cleverly steer the conversation back to the present, "So, this interview at the Permafrost Institute might really be boring. Are you really sure you want to come with me? If you want to back out now and go back to the hotel to warm up, I completely understand."

She pointed to a gray building that was vaguely visible in the distance, devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

Clark immediately straightened his back, putting aside his earlier embarrassment, and his face once again showed that energetic and reliable smile.

“Of course I’ll go. I’m your ‘bodyguard’ and intern reporter, Ms. Louise Lane.”

Louise chuckled at his words, took the pencil off her ear again, and twirled it deftly between her fingers. "Let's go, Guardian, let's see what other big news we can dig up in the Siberian permafrost besides ice worms!"

After the two entered the subway, Clark suddenly realized that something was wrong.

His super hearing caught so much.

Suppressed coughs in the subway, fragments of angry Russian arguments on street corners, and news broadcasts with deliberately exaggerated voices reporting on the "Uralsk massacre" and the "American superhuman butcher."

A mixture of sadness and anger hung over the city like a low-pressure system.

Clark was wondering what the "Uralsk massacre" was when the subway TV happened to be showing news of a firestorm that turned hundreds of people into glass figures.

Upon seeing this news, Clark was instantly stunned.

Louise's face also showed a shocked expression, "This...this is terrifying, hundreds of living people, turned into glass statues in an instant? God...!"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but shiver.

Clark nodded silently, a hesitant expression on his face.

After much internal struggle, Clark decided to take action.

After all, he and Firestorm had fought side by side when dealing with the Crime Syndicate. "Louise," Clark said, his voice soft but firm, "about the research institute... I might come to see you later."

Louise whirled around to look at him, her sharp gaze meeting his. "Kent! What are you planning? Don't tell me you're going to find that mobile nuclear reactor?"

"Feel sorry."

Clark met her gaze and said without hesitation, “I am… his friend, Ronnie and Professor Stein. They are good people. They’ve lost control. They need help. The people in Uralsk… maybe there is still hope.”

Louise stared at him for a few seconds, then finally let out a heavy sigh, like a deflated balloon.

"I knew it! Mr. Clark Kent, the nice guy, wouldn't stand idly by!"

She scratched her head in frustration. "Fine, but you better remember this: first, come back alive; second, get the exclusive; third... be careful, that guy is a walking disaster right now. If you turn into a glass Kent, I'm not going to move you back to Kansas."

"Of course, contact my godfather, Louise, and tell him I've gone to find Firestorm."

A few minutes later, Clark watched as Louise wrapped her coat tighter and got into a taxi before turning his gaze to the area outside Moscow that was cordoned off by police tape.

On the edge of the Uralsk industrial zone, in an abandoned factory laboratory with half of its roof collapsed.

The air was filled with the acrid smell of molten metal.

Firestorm is kneeling on the cold cement floor.

Before him was a glass doll that had been carefully moved over.

It was a young girl, still in a state of panic as she ran.

Firestorm's hands trembled violently, and crimson energy leaped from his fingertips like uncontrollable electric currents.

He tried pressing his hands against the cold glass surface.

"Focus, Ronnie!"

Professor Martin Stein's voice echoed in the merged consciousness, attempting to suppress Ronnie's panic and self-blame.

"Recalling the energy frequency at that time, the core of matter transformation lies in breaking the original molecular bonds and reconstructing a new arrangement structure. We have successfully transformed lead before. Theoretically, it's the reverse operation..."

"Theory, that damn theory again!"

Ronnie was on the verge of collapse. "Martin, last time we turned living people, living people, into glass. Glass isn't lead. This is different, completely different!"

“I can’t feel... I can’t feel any connection to life, only... only cold, lifeless things.”

The energy within his body spiraled out of control again, and a thin stream of plasma shot toward the metal support beside him with a hiss, instantly melting it.

"We must control this!"

Martin's voice was unusually stern, "Losing control will only create a bigger disaster. We need data, we need analysis, we need..."

"What do we need? Do we need a miracle?!"

Ronnie's mind was filled with self-loathing. "I'm a monster, a monster who can't control his own power. Look what I've done!"

He slammed his fist into the ground, instantly melting a charred crater and sending debris flying.

Just as the professor was about to speak, a calm voice rang out in the doorway.

"Professor Ronnie Stein?"

Upon hearing the sound, the firestorm seemed to be struck by something and suddenly bounced up.

He looked in horror at the young man in the ordinary jacket at the door.

"Superman?!"

Ronnie's voice was filled with incredulous fear, "No... don't come any closer, stay away from me, I didn't mean to, I really didn't..."

He staggered backward, knocking over the equipment behind him with a screeching metallic scraping sound.

"I just want...I just want to turn them back and make up for my mistake."

Ronnie's voice was choked with sobs.

Clark stood still, neither advancing nor making any offensive stance.

He raised his hands to indicate that he posed no threat.

Clark's gaze then swept over the mess in the laboratory and over the frozen glass girl.

“I know you didn’t mean it, Ronnie.”

Clark said softly to Firestorm, "I'm not here to arrest you."

The energy fluctuations around the firestorm noticeably stagnated.

"You...you're not?"

"I'm here to help."

Clark took a step forward, slowly.

"I'm here to find out what happened, Uralsk... I saw those people."

(End of this chapter)