Unreversible Plot

"But this doesn't feel like evolution to me; it feels more like a disease," Reed said, shaking his head, still grappling with his new reality. He felt like a freak, even though there were others like him.

"Hey, this guy! If this is a disease, then Mutants are all sick," Johnny retorted, clearly annoyed. He saw his abilities as a gift rather than a curse.

"Everyone needs to adapt to their new reality. Not everyone is as anxious as you are," Ben said with a smile, patting Johnny on the shoulder. Unlike Reed , Ben found some comfort in his ability to switch between being a stone man and a human, and he didn't share Reed 's unfounded fears.

"Hey! Who are you calling a big nerve?!" Johnny shot back, a bit irritated.

"Okay, I'm off to find Debbie. She must be extremely worried after all these days," Ben said, choosing not to argue further. He looked at Alex and added, "I hope everything goes well with her."

"Go ahead," Alex nodded, hoping that Ben's reunion with Debbie would be a happy one. 

However, Alex didn't anticipate how the plot would evolve. Even though Ben could transform between a stone man and a human, misfortune still seemed to follow him.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, Ben sat alone on a large bridge pillar, his forehead resting in his hand as he muttered to himself, "Yeah, Ben, how good would it have been to stay in space for a few more days? Why did anything bad have to happen?"

He glanced at his stone-like body with a touch of self-deprecation. His lover had left him because of his transformation, leaving him feeling somewhat hopeless. He wondered if Reed was right—perhaps this wasn't a special ability, but a disease.

At that moment, a pigeon landed on his shoulder. Ben looked at the little bird and chuckled softly, "Hey, little thing, aren't you afraid of me?"

The pigeon cooed twice, then left a pool of white excrement on Ben's shoulder before quickly flying away. Ben's expression was one of deep loneliness, as if even the pigeon didn't like him.

Ben reached up to wipe the pigeon droppings from his shoulder. At that moment, a person suddenly appeared next to him, crying as they clutched a pile of documents, which they then threw into the river beneath the bridge. Seeing this, Ben thought the person was attempting suicide and quickly intervened, "Hey, do you think you have a problem? Look at me."

The young man, startled by Ben's sudden appearance, nearly lost his balance and fell off the bridge. If he had, it would have been a grim end. The young man managed to steady himself but, upon seeing Ben more clearly, his face drained of color, and he trembled with fear.

Ben looked at the young man and continued, "What's the matter? Feeling bad?"

The young man's legs were shaking, and he was backing away, trying to distance himself from what he perceived as a monster. Meanwhile, the vehicles passing below had to slow down as they witnessed the commotion.

Seeing the young man's reaction, Ben stood up, spreading his hands helplessly. "Okay, friend, calm down. Don't go outside."

The young man, still trembling, was precariously balanced on a slender iron pole. The area around him was narrow, and he began to falter as he tried to move away.

Ben saw his stone body and, with a thought, transformed back into his human form. He hurried towards the young man to stop him, but the sight of Ben's transformation only increased the young man's fear. The young man, already unstable, stumbled and began to fall.

The bridge was bustling with traffic, and if the young man fell, he would be run over by the vehicles speeding by.

Fortunately, the young man managed to grab onto a strap on an iron pillar. However, his luck was short-lived. The strap couldn't bear his weight and broke, causing him to fall onto the bridge.

Drivers in nearby cars, alarmed by the sudden appearance of people in the middle of the road, slammed on their brakes. One car narrowly missed the young man and crashed into the edge of the bridge.

At that moment, a large truck was barreling down the bridge. The driver, seeing the chaos, realized he wouldn't be able to stop in time and was about to hit both Ben and the young man on the ground.

Ben gritted his teeth, transformed into a two-meter-tall, sturdy figure, and braced himself. He positioned himself sideways to absorb the impact of the speeding truck.

Ben's rock-hard body collided with the truck, causing sparks to fly and the front of the truck to crumple. Despite the severe impact, he managed to stop the truck, preventing it from running over the young man. The onlookers scattered, and many people began to gather on the bridge.

(End of this chapter)