8. Saving Superman (Part 2)
◎Ludwig: He really is a sweetheart◎
Apostle No. 1 was a poor guy. The first half of his life was spent in darkness underground. The only people he ever saw were researchers in white lab coats.
His daily life was endless experiments and cruel, inhumane tests. He had no idea how much time had passed, nor what was happening outside. All he knew was that three oddly dressed people claimed to be his friends. They broke into the lab and took him away from this prison.
That was the first time Apostle No. 1 saw the sun.
Warm, comfortable — a joy the cold underground lab had never given him.
It was truly beautiful, completely different from the lifeless lights above his head.
“They’re here!” The pursuers shouted, holding wooden stocks, yelling that they would kill them all.
Apostle No. 1 turned around, and a beam of red light shot from his eyes, melting all the wooden stocks the soldiers held.
Is this his power? How could he have this kind of power?
Apostle No. 1 was frightened. He ignored everything else and just wanted to escape as fast as possible.
He flew into the clouds, fleeing from his friends and his enemies.
The wind around his ears was freedom, but the land beneath his feet was broken.
Apostle No. 1 didn’t know where to go. Following the direction of the wind, he arrived at a vast wheat field.
The endless wheat swayed gently in the breeze, like green waves. An old man drove a harvester through the field, while his wife rested under a nearby tree’s shade on a pale yellow picnic blanket.
“If you hadn’t landed in Metropolis, you’d be one of them too,” Ludwig suddenly spoke, wrapped in his blanket, startling Apostle No. 1.
A heat beam shot uncontrollably toward Ludwig’s direction, but fortunately, Ludwig was quick enough to dodge this sudden attack.
Ludwig looked at the deep ravines on the ground, the grass and plants were scorched, and even the soil was turning a burning brown.
“I… I’m not… sorry…” Apostle No. 1 tried to run again, but Ludwig’s quick eyes and hands grabbed his wrist.
Apostle No. 1 was afraid of hurting this small boy, so he didn’t dare to run away and could only let the boy gently hold him in place.
“Don’t worry, you can’t hurt me,” Ludwig said, looking at this man who was already grown but was extremely thin and weak. Even a child like Ludwig could circle his wrist with one hand.
Apostle No. 1 was scared he might hurt this handsome boy, so he lowered his head, afraid to look around, fearing that his power might hurt someone else again.
Ludwig sighed as he looked at Apostle No. 1’s expression.
“What should I call you?” Ludwig’s tone softened. He tried to ask the man’s name, even though he already knew who he really was.
But some things were still unexpected.
“Apostle No. 1… that’s what they call me,” Apostle No. 1 stammered. He still didn’t dare to look up at the person speaking to him, but he could feel there was no malice.
Just like those friends who came to save him.
“Apostle No. 1… that’s not a good name, it sounds cold and distant. You should have a more popular name,” Ludwig pretended to think, his tone carrying a bit of a smile. Apostle No. 1 could even hear his heart beating happily.
Apostle No. 1 really liked this feeling—pure and untainted happiness.
“How about Clark?” Ludwig didn’t make Apostle No. 1 wait long. His smiling eyes locked onto Apostle No. 1, and his voice was neither masculine nor feminine but carried a kind of charm that surrounded Apostle No. 1.
“Clark Kent.” Ludwig cupped Apostle No. 1’s face with both hands. Even though fear had appeared on that face, and even though the body was weak from lack of sunlight, he was still Clark, the handsome Superman.
Apostle No. 1 shrank back a little, but…
“Clark… I… I mean, I like that name,” Apostle No. 1 said slowly. Actually, he didn’t care much—names were just labels, it didn’t matter what he was called. Since that was so, a warm-sounding name wasn’t bad at all.
Ludwig was very pleased. He helped Apostle No. 1 up and, pointing to the old couple sitting together resting, said to him:
“All right, go and greet them.”
“Wh-what!” Apostle No. 1 was surprised and moved forward under Ludwig’s force. He shrank back, wanting to run away quickly, but he couldn’t escape, his strength couldn’t break free from such a frail boy.
But Ludwig didn’t give him the chance to run. He grabbed his clothes and led him all the way toward the elderly couple.
Apostle No. 1 was pushed in front of the two elderly people. He awkwardly wondered how to greet them, but his voice seemed trapped in his throat.
Fortunately, someone broke the silence for him.
“Oh my goodness, child, what have you been through!” the lady exclaimed in surprise. She held her husband’s hand tightly and looked at Apostle No. 1 with worry and sympathy.
The gentleman gently patted his wife’s hand, stepped forward, and spoke kindly to Apostle No. 1.
“Hello, child. I am the owner of this farm. My name is Jonathan Kent, and this is my wife, Martha Kent. Our home is just ahead. If you don’t mind, you are welcome to come visit us. Martha’s apple pie is something special.”
Jonathan was a gentle and kind man, offering his greatest goodwill to the stranger, Apostle No. 1.
Martha looked at the man before her with hopeful eyes. He must have suffered a lot. This world was indeed a scary place, and if they could help, they wanted to do their best to assist.
“I… um… no,” Apostle No. 1 couldn’t handle the kindness from others. He tried to refuse and even wanted to look back to find the boy who had brought him here, but in the blink of an eye, the boy was gone.
“Don’t refuse our boy. Just have a meal. Maybe you’d like to rest here for a while and get yourself together,” Jonathan said gently as he embraced the man in front of him. He felt a strange sense of closeness to this person.
“Jonathan, don’t scare the child,” Martha said as she placed her hand on Jonathan’s shoulder, helping the stiff Apostle No. 1 escape her husband’s hug.
Of course, Martha also looked at Apostle No. 1 with shining eyes and gently asked, “Child, may we be so lucky as to know your name?”
Apostle No. 1 instinctively wanted to give his code name, but the boy’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind. He couldn’t help but wonder if he should give a warmer name.
So Apostle No. 1 slowly spoke, “Clark… my name is Clark…”
The Kents let out soft gasps of surprise, for long ago they had talked about naming their own child Clark if they ever had one.
“What a coincidence, Clark. We were just saying that if we ever had a child, we’d name him Clark. Looks like you really have to come visit our home.”
The Kents were warm and hospitable, welcoming this unfamiliar young man.
After several failed attempts to refuse, Clark finally followed the Kents away with hopeful anticipation.
“Is this what you wanted too, Young Master Ludwig?”
Not far away, a kindly old man holding a telescope took in everything that had just happened at the Kent household.
“That’s a good family,” Ludwig said casually as he sat on the grass. He couldn’t see Clark’s condition, but he knew that now he was no longer speaking about Apostle No. 1, but Clark — loved and cared for by his parents.
“Of course. But kind families don’t easily let a stranger into their home, right, Young Master Ludwig?”
Alfred was a little worried. Since a while ago, Ludwig’s condition seemed to be worsening. His previously rosy cheeks had turned pale, and several times Alfred could see right through Ludwig’s body to the grass behind him.
“…It will get better.”
Ludwig said this as he felt cold liquid running down his face. He reached up to touch it — it was blood flowing uncontrollably.
Ludwig guessed in his heart that maybe his superpowers, already running at full capacity to sustain his own existence, were strained even more by repeatedly using them to “persuade” others, causing his body to have problems.
Fortunately, the people he needed to “persuade” so far weren’t stubborn types. Even the most stubborn one, Batman, had begun to waver seeing the face identical to Bruce’s.
“It will get better.” Ludwig wiped the blood from his face with his hand, but no matter how much he tried, it only smeared a larger area.
Alfred immediately crouched down and used a wet tissue to clean the blood off Ludwig’s face. Then he folded a thick stack of cold wet tissues and applied them to Ludwig’s forehead and the back of his neck.
“Young Master Ludwig, we should hurry to the hospital,” Alfred said, seeing that the nosebleed wouldn’t stop. He still hoped Ludwig would go see a doctor soon or get the master’s help.
Ludwig bowed his head to prevent the blood from flowing backward. He didn’t say anything, but Alfred firmly supported him and headed toward the plane.
Ludwig looked back anxiously at the small house. The warm yellow light still seemed to reflect the happiness of its inhabitants inside.
Ludwig could almost smell the aroma of apple pie. If this were his own timeline, Clark would have long since invited him and his family to taste it together.
Grandma Martha really liked him and Bruce.
After confirming that Clark wouldn’t suddenly leave, Ludwig turned back and resolutely climbed into the helicopter he came in. Now was not the time for sadness or melancholy, he still had to continue as if last night had never happened.
With a roar, the helicopter slowly rose into the sky and eventually disappeared into the clouds.
Ludwig leaned against the soft seat, his mind gradually growing hazy until at some point he completely disconnected from reality.
Clark, shyly eating at the Kent’s house, suddenly turned his head. Through the glass and hundreds of meters away, he saw the boy’s pale face and shallow breathing.
He hurriedly stood up, wanting to help his friend, but when he met the concerned eyes of the Kents, he confusedly sat back down.
What was he trying to do before?
—
【Author’s Note】
Short Scene:
Ludwig had lived on the farm, and the biggest opposition he faced was from Lex Luthor.
L: Are you and Wayne together?! You’re even raising his kid!
K: No! I’m not! Bruce and I are innocent! We’re both straight.
B: Of course I am, but you can’t say for sure. After all, I’ve never done “mouth-to-mouth” with a man.
K: B, don’t make things worse. (The little dog looks hurt)
L: Ha, just you wait, alien!