Chapter 13: Peter Can Only Hope
"Sh*t!"
Peter couldn't help but curse as he looked at Azu, who was clutching his head, covered in filthy blood.
This kid, smiling with blood all over his face, really reminded him of Homelander from his past life.
Peter quickly walked over and picked Azu up.
"What happened?!"
He took off his suit jacket and began wiping the foul-smelling blood from Azu's face.
"Gulp."
Clark swallowed hard, glancing at the corpse of the hunting dog on the ground.
"It attacked me and John, then John's laser eyes—"
"Enough, Clark, I know what happened."
Peter cut him off. "You help John clean off the blood, I'll bring the car around."
"Got it."
Peter quickly drove the car over and placed Azu in the front passenger seat.
Before getting in, he glanced at the dog's corpse on the ground, hesitated for a moment, and finally moved the body into the trunk.
At the Podrick Farm
In the bathroom, Peter helped Azu wash off the filthy blood.
"Dad?" Azu said.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable?" asked Peter.
"No, I just feel... strange," Azu said.
Azu wiped the cloudy, blood-streaked water off his face. "So this is what blood smells like."
"What does it smell like?"
Peter paused and looked at Azu.
Could Azu have awakened some weird trait?
If Azu became like that head-exploding Homelander, Peter would be in trouble.
"I don't know, it was like fireworks suddenly going off. It was scary but also kind of exciting."
Azu tried to describe his feelings.
"Mm-hmm, but that smell is pretty awful."
Peter wiped him down, saying, "If you don't want to be messy, don't get yourself covered in blood."
"Because it's not cool, right, Dad?"
"Exactly. Dad doesn't think being covered in blood is cool at all."
Peter thought he needed to correct this behavior early.
This kid had once slaughtered the scientists at Vought who had bullied him, using his laser eyes to cut them into pieces. Being drenched in blood, he'd looked rather psychotic.
"Alright, I won't end up like this next time."
Azu was simple-minded—if his dad didn't like it, he wouldn't let it happen again.
"Dad, am I a monster?"
After a bit of hesitation, Azu asked Peter, "My laser eyes—no one else has powers like that."
Peter thought to himself that Clark's laser eyes hadn't awakened yet; otherwise, he'd soon shift from being bullied to becoming a bully.
"No, you're not a monster, Azu. This is your gift, a talent given to you by the heavens."
"A gift?"
Azu blinked.
"Yes, a gift. It's something the heavens have bestowed upon you, and with it comes responsibility."
"Dad, what responsibility?"
Peter definitely wasn't going to say "With great power comes great responsibility," because Azu wasn't Spider-Man.
"The responsibility to protect your family."
"Family... that's me, you, and Clark?"
"Exactly."
Peter thought it was best to imprint the idea of family deeply into Azu's mind.
If the kid didn't listen in the future, Peter would be powerless as a father, unable to control him.
Ahem.
He cleared his throat. He was just helping Azu develop the right values.
After all, being a "family hero" was better than becoming the terrifying Homelander.
After helping Azu clean up, Peter walked to the storage room at the back of the farm.
He placed the dead hunting dog on the table, examining the marks on its body.
Judging by the stiffness of the corpse, the dog had been dead for quite some time.
However, its head, which Azu had just severed, indicated it had died no more than a day ago.
So, it had already been dead?
Peter rested his hands on the table, staring at the rotting corpse.
That meant the dog had already been a walking corpse when it attacked Azu?
Turning around, he raised his hand, staring at the Kryptonite that had somehow appeared in his palm.
This piece of Kryptonite had caused that land to mutate, creating something like a "corpse-rearing" ground.
Creatures buried there might, after some time, become things like the "walking dead."
All Peter needed to do next was observe his cousin's family and confirm if his "little nephew" had come back to life.
Stowing the Kryptonite, Peter's expression grew more serious.
It seemed he needed to buy a large freezer to store these walking corpses—it might come in handy someday.
He pushed the door open and walked out of the storage room.
Creak!
Old Bill opened the door and was startled.
"Hello, Mr. Bill."
Peter stood in front of him, greeting him.
Seeing Peter standing there, looking so stern, Bill—who was balding—nervously swallowed.
"Sorry, Mr. Podrick, I was just about to come by and apologize."
Old Bill knew that his dog had almost hurt Azu.
Even though the dog was now dead, he had no intention of holding Peter responsible.
He knew the truth.
That dog hadn't been normal for a while.
"I accept your apology, no need to come by."
Peter walked inside. "Actually, I wanted to ask you about something."
Old Bill, anxious, poured Peter a cup of coffee.
"If I know, I'll tell you everything."
"Your hunting dog—I heard it died a month ago, but today, it nearly bit my child."
Peter's intense gaze made Bill uneasy.
He stammered, "I... I raised another one of the same breed."
"Is that so?"
Peter then tossed a stack of photos onto the table.
"Can you tell me where this is?"
Bill leaned forward and picked up the photos, only to shiver in shock.
The photos clearly showed the burial ground!
Sighing in defeat, he curled up in his chair, "I'm sorry, I made a terrible mistake."
He thought Peter had found out about his past deeds.
"Kaiser was with me for eight years. He was my family. I couldn't bear to lose him, so I buried him there. I knew that even if he came back, he wouldn't be the same, but I just wanted to see him again."
By the end, he was sobbing into his hands.
"What's the history of that land?"
Peter frowned and asked.
He was now sure that the land had some extraordinary power.
"It used to be a swamp. About six years ago, a meteor shower hit the area, destroying the swamp. Combined with the land ownership disputes with LuthorCorp, the swamp eventually disappeared."
Peter continued, "How did you know the land could bring your dog back? Who told you?"