Chapter 23: Woman!

Chapter 23: Woman!

"I don't eat candy!"

Clark pulled his hand away from the Joker's grasp and said to him.

Suddenly, he remembered the story his father told him. His eyes lit up as if he had realized something interesting. He roared loudly, "You're trying to kidnap me with candy! You're not a good person, you're a child trafficker!"

The clown rolled his eyes.

This little troublemaker.

Seeing that people nearby were already drawn by Clark's outcry, he acted ruthlessly, grasping Clark firmly, holding him in his arms, and preparing to flee.

Clark glared at him angrily and said, "Let go of me, or I'll be rude to you!"

"Rude?" The clown sneered. "You'll see what being rude gets you."

Clark opened his mouth, and the clown thought he was about to call for help, so he quickly covered Clark's mouth.

Clark rolled his eyes and raised his fist.

The clown sneered, thinking that such a small fist wouldn't affect him at all.

But...

"Boom!"

Clark punched the Joker's jaw.

The clown's eyes widened in pain. He screamed and fell backward. Before hitting the ground, several teeth flew out.

"Yuck! Yuck!"

Clark jumped off the clown, spat out, and muttered, "Your hands are so dirty!"

The clown clutched his broken chin, looking at Clark in horror, whimpering.

When the onlookers saw this, they gathered around curiously.

Seeing this, the clown scrambled to his feet, covered his mouth, and attempted to flee.

Clark rolled his eyes and shouted, "Get him! I don't know him, he was trying to take me away!"

Hearing this, the bystanders couldn't immediately comprehend what was happening, but they promptly stopped the other party. Some even resorted to physical force against the clown.

Clark smiled and slipped out of the crowd, pretending nothing had happened, and obediently sat down on a bench.

"Huh?" Raven, emerging from the bathroom, observed the scene with a frown. She hurried over to Clark and asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Clark shook his head, wiped his mouth again with his hand, and said, "Auntie, take me to the bathroom, please."

With that, he hopped off the bench and pulled the bewildered Raven along, rushing back to the bathroom.

...

As the stars dotted the sky, reflecting the lights of Las Vegas, the trio descended from the sky amidst the night fog.

"Let's go have a drink! Celebrating Stryker going to hell," Remy LeBeau invited them as soon as they landed.

"Sure thing!" Logan agreed eagerly.

The two turned to Mike.

Mike shrugged and said, "I have to see my son."

He hadn't seen the little guy in almost two days, and he was already missing that cute little face.

Logan patted Mike on the shoulder in understanding, while Remy Lebeau looked surprised.

"Already trapped ?" he joked.

"Heh... you'll get there too," Mike teased back.

Mike waved to them and departed, saying, "See you if I get the chance."

Logan called out, "Thanks, Mike."

Mike paused, turned to Logan, and said, "Call me if you ever run into trouble."

With those words, Mike hastened his pace and disappeared into the night, leaving the two behind.

...

Rose Hotel.

Mike pushed open the door and entered. He approached Clark's door, hesitated for a moment, straightened his clothes, patted his face, then took out the key and unlocked the door.

"Whoosh!"

A slender yet powerful leg whipped towards Mike's head like a whip.

Mike's eyelids twitched, but he made no attempt to evade.

As expected, the leg halted beside Mike's ear.

"Aren't you afraid of getting kicked, you dummy?" Raven scowled at Mike.

Mike grinned.

Raven rolled her eyes, retracting her leg from Mike's shoulder as her body leaned forward.

Just then...

"Dad!"

Clark rubbed his eyes, sat up from the bed, and watched Mike with surprise. His gaze froze when he noticed Mike and Raven's positions.

Mike and Raven exchanged embarrassed glances.

Clark suddenly closed his eyes and shouted, "Dad, where are you?"

Then he flopped back onto the bed, pulling the covers over himself, and began snoring.

"Pfft!"

Raven couldn't help but laugh. She lowered her legs from Mike's shoulders and muttered, "Little rascal!"

Mike stepped back, coughed softly, and asked, "Did he cause you any trouble?"

"Clark is very well-behaved," Raven assured him, "more so than you."

Mike nodded. "You've had a long couple of days."

Raven blinked playfully. Her face inched closer to Mike's, and she teased, "So, how do you plan to repay me?"

"Didn't I save someone for you?" Mike retorted.

Raven glared at Mike, snorted coldly, pushed him towards the door, then strode out and slammed the door shut.

Mike gave a wry smile.

Clark observed Mike with wide eyes. "Dad, why is Aunt Raven mad?"

"You'll understand when you're older."

"Women!"

Clark sighed and sat up on the bed.

"Haha!" Mike chuckled and approached Clark, sitting beside him. He ruffled Clark's hair affectionately and said, "What do you know?"

Clark stuck out his tongue, hugged Mike, yawned, and said, "I told you, Aunt Raven took me to the amusement park today, and she and I..."

Clark recounted the day's events, his voice trailing off...

Mike smiled faintly, placed the little guy back on the bed, covered him with the quilt, then headed to the bathroom.

...

The next morning dawned clear and bright.

After Mike finished his morning routine, he squeezed toothpaste onto Clark's toothbrush. Glancing back, he saw the little guy still curled up under the covers, drooling and fast asleep. Mike cleared his throat and said, "Ah, braised pork."

"Braised pork! Where?" Clark's eyes snapped open, and he leaped out of bed.

"Heh heh!" Mike chuckled.

Clark shot Mike a resentful glance. "Dad! You tricked me again!"

Patting Clark's head, Mike said, "Get up, wash up, have breakfast, and then we'll go."

"Go?" Clark tilted his head, rubbing his eyes. "Are we going home?"

Mike nodded.

"But didn't our home get bombed?"

Mike helped Clark out of bed and said, "We're going back to New York."

"Oh..." Clark's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Mike. "New York?"

"Yeah, back to New York."

"But Dad, didn't you say we were going home?"

"New York is also home," Mike explained. "We have a house in New York."

"Oh yeah!" Clark cheered and scampered off to the bathroom.