Underground Mall

When Jay saw the news about the Nashino City bank robbery on TV, he was eating toast for breakfast. Dad was still snoring in bed, while Mrs. Reynolds was tossing the washed clothes into the dryer.

The reporter on television spared no effort in praising the efficiency of the Nashino City police, describing how swiftly they had acted, how they had reached the scene in the shortest possible time, leaving the criminals no chance to escape. Their assault had been precise and rapid, their tactical deployment flawless, which was why they had taken down the robbers at minimal cost.

The camera then turned to the leader of the operation, a rather handsome blond middle-aged man. When he smiled, exactly eight neat teeth showed, the expression so perfect it looked as though it had been rehearsed countless times.

The reporter asked, "Detective Cortese, how were you able to lead your team to resolve this incident with such an almost perfect result?"

Detective Cortese tilted his nose skyward and said proudly, "Naturally, it was because my command was exceptionally well handled! And every one of our officers is highly trained. Dealing with a bunch of petty thieves who can barely use a gun was no challenge at all!"

The reporter immediately went along with him, raising a thumbs-up. "It seems us taxpayers haven't wasted our money after all. With such a professional police force, the citizens have nothing to worry about when it comes to safety." Detective Cortese laughed heartily. "You flatter us. We were merely fulfilling our duty."

Just as the two were happily praising themselves, Cody Hawkins, the officer who had previously been trapped inside the bank with the hostages, pushed past the guards and rushed into the shot. He shouted that the police had not arrived in time at all—it had been Supergirl who came to the scene and saved everyone! He said she had even taken a bullet for him, and that the public deserved to know the truth.

Detective Cortese was clearly displeased. He waved for someone to drag the officer away, then told the reporter not to mind him. That guy had suffered from delusions for years, he said, and everyone in the department knew it. The reporter did not pursue the obviously flawed explanation in the slightest, deliberately or otherwise ignoring the little interruption and continuing to praise the police force's efficiency.

Supergirl?

Jay fell into thought. His instincts told him that the version given by the young man who had stolen the spotlight was probably the truth.

Ever since Apocalypse Invasion ended and the World Federal Government was established, things seemed to have been this way. Media outlets across the globe had suddenly learned to watch their words. There were rarely any criticisms of the government, and every incident involving superhumans was covered up without restraint. Two years ago, an unexplained accident in Gotham City caused more than a hundred casualties. The media claimed it had been caused by a sudden magnitude-seven earthquake, while rumors said it had been a supernatural incident involving magic. Whether that was true or not could no longer be verified.

Still, it was not difficult to understand why things had turned out this way. After being devastated by such a disaster, society's stable development was more important than anything else.

Jay finished the toast in his hand, drained his full glass of milk in one go, and got up to take the cup to the kitchen. By then, the television had invited on some so-called expert. The bald expert with a beer belly listed developments in every industry to prove just how much humanity had advanced since the end of the age of heroes. Maybe you overlooked the crime rate soaring right alongside it, Jay thought.

But that was the current state of things, and it was why Jay did not feel any need to use his abilities to do anything. After all these years, Lex Luthor had finally made the world accept his view—superhumans were a burden on humanity's progress, and humanity would be better off without them.

But what was so bad about that? Jay was already quite satisfied with his current life. He could not ask for more. He had an ordinary, warm family, a brand-new life, and extraordinary abilities no one knew about. His future was bright.

"Jay!" Mrs. Reynolds called from the bathroom. "Go wake your dad, get changed, and we'll head to the Underground Mall in a bit. You need some new clothes."

"More clothes?" Jay asked. "Didn't we just buy some not long ago?"

"Those were for summer. All your winter clothes are too small now." Mrs. Reynolds complained, "It's all because you're growing too fast. The clothes we just bought become too small in no time. You really don't know how to save money."

Jay really wanted to say that he did not need winter clothes. Even if he wore short sleeves to Antarctica, he would not know what cold felt like. But he ultimately kept it to himself. He still had to keep up appearances and do his best to look normal.

After dragging the extremely unwilling Mr. Reynolds out of bed and having a simple breakfast, the three of them followed Mrs. Reynolds to the Underground Mall in the city's commercial district.

Since it was still the holiday season, the commercial district was packed. The crowds pouring underground through entrances on all sides were like a flood. As the three of them were swept along with the crowd, Mr. Reynolds kept muttering complaints under his breath, seemingly about not being allowed to sleep until he woke naturally.

The moment it came time to pick out clothes, Mrs. Reynolds immediately displayed the utmost professionalism. She never blindly bought into a clothing store clerk's sales pitch. She would only make a decision after thoroughly examining the color, material, quality, price, and various other factors. It sounded like the right approach, but it often meant spending an especially long time. On top of that, she might haggle over the price in the end, so whenever she suggested going shopping, it usually meant clearing the entire day's schedule.

Although Mrs. Reynolds had said they were there to pick out winter clothes for Jay, by the time the day was nearing its end, the many bags in Jay's arms contained only one outfit for him. Most of them were clothes Mrs. Reynolds had picked out for herself. It was not that she had planned it that way when she arrived, but she had a habit of being unable to walk away whenever she spotted an outfit she liked. By the time she came to her senses, she had bought another huge pile.

While she was browsing through the crowd, Mr. Reynolds lowered his voice and said to Jay, "Your mom really doesn't need to buy so much. At the rate she's developing, she won't be able to fit into any of it by this time next year anyway."

Jay could not help laughing. Dad only had the courage to sneak in a few jabs behind her back. Who knew that Mrs. Reynolds's hearing was exceptionally sharp in certain matters? She suddenly spun around and demanded harshly, "What did you just say?"

Mr. Reynolds jolted. "I said... I said you'll definitely look great wearing those outfits."

"Oh, really?"

Mrs. Reynolds slowly approached with a murderous glower. Mr. Reynolds realized things were going badly. Abandoning all hope of luck, he turned and prepared to flee as the best course of action, but he ultimately failed to escape her clutches. He shot Jay a pleading look. Jay merely shrugged, indicating that his arms were full of shopping bags and he had no free hands, then gave him a sympathetic look.

Jay was smiling as he watched their comical squabbling when his sharp hearing suddenly caught something unusual in the distance. He turned his head and saw the crowd far to his left moving toward them in a highly abnormal rush, like a flock of startled birds fleeing in panic.

All at once, an extremely ominous premonition rose in his heart, as though his peaceful life was about to be shattered. Jay instinctively took two steps back. "Dad, Mom? I think... maybe we should leave."