Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman Chapter 864: Sky After School

After returning to New York, Henry resumed his ordinary, uneventful life. If there was anything different, it was that Thena, Gilgamesh, and Cassandra had gone on a business trip.

Alexei, who was far away in Europe, had extended an enthusiastic invitation. Two Eternal heavyweights and a Spartan warrior had suited up in their respective armor, brought along the Ursa Major armor prepared for the Red Guardian, and headed to Budapest, Hungary, on a business trip.

...Whoever their opponents were, God help them.

Oh, wait. Vampires and werewolves apparently didn’t believe in God. In that case, they needed even more divine protection.

As for why they absolutely had to make this trip, it wasn’t because they were particularly close to Alexei. The real reason was that Cassandra couldn’t wait to put the Isu Aetos armor through its first real combat test.

On the previous two occasions, the Kryptonian had shut her down using personal grudges as an excuse. This time, however, Alexei was asking for support against vampires and werewolves, not some country’s official organization. Henry no longer had any reason to stop her.

The Dog Squad’s Saint Bernard, currently its only operational unit, had been making frequent trips to Europe lately, consuming the limited supply of specialized ammunition stored in the secret base. Silver nitrate rounds and ultraviolet rounds were among the most popular types.

The ammunition production line, which had been idle for some time, had inevitably started running again.

But the Dog Squad wasn’t merely hauling supplies out of the base. On the return trip, it always brought back some strange and unusual spoils of war. Henry had begun to wonder whether the people who had gone out were secretly hamsters. They seemed determined to drag home anything and everything they could get their paws on.

Meanwhile, the Kryptonian who had started this whole mess still had the True Adamantium heating furnace he’d brought back from the Alkali Dam base in Canada sitting in a corner of the secret facility.

He was beginning to understand why the U.S. military hadn’t been in any hurry to move this priceless batch of Adamantium in its original molten state.

Even at the dam base, it had been kept in a relatively spacious, well-ventilated area rather than a narrow, enclosed space. In fact, that particular laboratory was rarely occupied by anyone.

The reason was simple: the pot of molten Adamantium being kept hot was practically a furnace, continuously radiating terrifying amounts of heat into its surroundings.

To prevent the Adamantium from cooling and solidifying, its temperature had to be maintained at around 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, or over 800 degrees Celsius. Even an ordinary person standing a little too close to the heating furnace would soon be sweating profusely.

This also explained why, in the movie, the water in the tank bubbled and boiled when Wolverine underwent surgery to replace his skeleton with Adamantium.

That wasn’t some arbitrary special effect. Liquid metal at 800 degrees Celsius had been injected into Wolverine’s body. His healing factor could keep him alive, but that didn’t mean his body was immune to heat. The water in the tank really was boiling!

Although nobody working in the secret base was an ordinary human in the strictest sense, who would willingly put up with such discomfort when a more comfortable alternative was available?

As for why he’d stolen the furnace and its contents in the first place, Henry still hadn’t come up with a particularly good use for them.

None of the armor designs had been finalized yet, and most of the materials could still be recycled and reused. After all, from the very beginning, the raw materials for these suits of armor had been scrap metal purchased from American junkyards, which Henry then smelted and processed himself.

Adamantium’s properties meant that once it had been shaped and set, there was no going back. If he recklessly used it to manufacture components that might still need upgrading, he’d either limit his future design options or end up wasting the component entirely.

All in all, the secret base had gradually begun to resemble a warehouse, a storeroom, and a workshop rolled into one. It also had projection screens, sofa chairs, and a complete set of gaming equipment. If someone claimed it was a superhero’s headquarters, it would be more accurate to call it a childhood dream space built by a bunch of boys for themselves.

Apart from Henry’s private quarters, things at the Hepburn residence had also changed somewhat. The most significant change concerned Sky’s safety.

New York City Standard High School was located in Queens, separated from the Hepburn residence in Manhattan by a bridge.

There were practically no students like Sky who lived in an upscale Manhattan neighborhood but attended school in Queens. As a result, the girl had no school bus to take and no direct bus or subway route to get her there.

Previously, Henry had sponsored a bicycle for her commute. But ever since the incident in which she had been cornered in a dark alley, Sky had received a dedicated car and driver for her trips to and from school.

That was Grandma Katherine’s demand.

At first, Sky had been rather unhappy about the arrangement. If it hadn’t been impossible to refuse the old lady’s request, she would have preferred to spare Henry the trouble. Besides, when she rode her bicycle, she could make detours to take care of personal business after school. As long as she didn’t get home too late, nobody would complain.

Now that Henry was supervising her pickups and drop-offs, she couldn’t go anywhere else. She had to head straight home as soon as school let out.

As Sky walked out of the school gates, she spotted that same vintage Cadillac again. She didn’t even bother checking the license plate or looking at the driver. With a deeply dejected expression, she walked over and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Henry, you’re here again. Is this really necessary? I know someone’s targeting me. Do you think I don’t know how to run away? How long is this arrangement supposed to last?"

"Whose fault is that? You’re the one who complained to Kate when something happened to you. If she hadn’t found out about it, she wouldn’t have ordered me to drive you to and from school. Now you know what happens when you speak before thinking."

"Ughhh!"

Sky let out a helpless groan and slammed her forehead against the storage compartment in the center console.

"Put on your seat belt. I don’t want you smashing my windshield if we get into an accident."

Sky sprang upright and stared at him in disbelief.

"You only care about the windshield?"

"That’s not the point. Put on your seat belt. Let’s go. I still have to prepare dinner when we get home. We’re having curry today."

Henry revved the engine and drove off without checking whether Sky had fastened her seat belt.

"Cur... Fine, I’ll forgive you." Sky obediently settled back into her seat and buckled up. "Is it Karen’s version of curry?"

"You want authentic Indian curry now, too?"

Ever since their vacation in the Aegean Sea, Sky had been thoroughly won over by the curry prepared by Karen Patel, the Indian butler of the Eternal Kingo.

Hearing Henry’s dismissive tone, the girl complained, "Your curry is always spicy, and it keeps getting hotter and hotter. It’s almost as if you’re doing it on purpose. I can’t get used to it."

"That’s because you lack training. As long as it doesn’t kill you, keep eating until you’re practically dying. The ultimate goal is to make yourself immune to every poison and conquer every allergen. I’m only doing this because I care about you."

Sky stared at the driver, dumbfounded.

"What kind of bizarre theory is that?"

Then she suddenly turned serious.

"Henry, promise me one thing. Don’t ever get married or have children. I’m genuinely worried your kids won’t survive being raised by you."

"Ha! Worry about yourself. You don’t need to fret over my unborn children. If a kid can’t even make it into the world without first crafting a pocket universe with his bare hands, I’d consider him an embarrassment. I’d rather have a watermelon."

"Poor kid. His dad just wants to mate with a watermelon."

Henry laughed but didn’t continue their banter. Instead, he gradually slowed the car until it came to a stop on the bridge.

"What’s going on?" Sky asked. "Traffic jam? The bridge usually isn’t congested at this time of day."

"Looks like there’s been an accident up ahead."

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