Trouble from the Streets

Spring arrived a little late in 2000, as the eastern East Coast of North America, centered on North Carolina, was hit by the biggest snowstorm on record. New York State was not spared either.

Although spring arrives a little late, the vitality of all things reviving is not far behind; new buds sprout from the grass and trees as if they can't wait. Even the animals are no longer as lazy as they were in winter, but are much more lively.

The beautiful girls walking on the street, those who are quick have already changed into hot pants or mini skirts, and then put on a fur coat or Trench Coat on top; combining fashion, warmth and glamorous allure.

The old lady, who only had a minor cold this winter, finally doesn't have to dress up like a ball when walking Kitty outside.

However... as the social atmosphere became more unfriendly to Mutants, Henry also felt some malice around him.

I don't know if New York have become more impetuous and hot-tempered, making a big fuss over the smallest things, or if they are being deliberately targeted.

A few months ago, when Catherine Hepburn was walking hand in hand with Kitty in the streets and parks, not only did gods and ghosts scare her away, but even the most reckless thugs on the street dared not approach her easily.

However, since the beginning of spring, there has been a significant increase in instances of young hooligans walking by, making provocative gestures or muttering insults.

For example, today, a toddler "accidentally" bumped into Catherine Hepburn from the side, almost knocking the elderly woman over. Fortunately, Henry and Kitty caught her from behind, otherwise she would have fallen heavily.

"Sorry." Hiding his face with the brim of his baseball cap and tightening his sports jacket with one hand, the big kid apologized and was about to leave.

Although the elderly woman's dementia had been improved, even a young person would be stunned by such a sudden impact, so Catherine Hepburn had no idea what had happened.

But the old man didn't notice, how could Henry not? He grabbed the child by the collar as he hurried away and pulled him up in front of him.

With his other hand outstretched, Henry said, "Let's do it again."

"What else is there to give me!"

"The things you just took."

The child wanted to say something more, but Henry stopped him.

"Hey, hey, don't deny it. You haven't even had time to sort through your loot yet; your identification documents are still inside. If you call the police, even if you're too young to go to jail, you'll still have to stay at the Police Station until your parents come to pick you up."

Reluctantly, the child placed the small handbag in Henry's hand, and began to struggle. "Put me down!" the child cried, shouting, "There's a pervert here, bullying a child! Help! Someone call the police for me!"

Judging from the child's age, he was about ten years old, but his personality was quite unruly. Henry couldn't bring himself to argue with such a brat, so he put him down. At the same time, he handed the small handbag he had taken back to Catherine Hepburn.

In that moment of carelessness as he turned his head, the opponent delivered a vicious blow to Henry's foot! He was just not tall enough; otherwise, given the boy's ferocity, he would have delivered a crushing blow to the groin.

But can an ordinary person kick a body Steel Body? This kid kicked himself until he was grimacing.

Henry stared silently at the brat, about to say something, when the boy spat at him. The Kryptonian could only feign surprise and barely manage to dodge the spit attack.

The brat stuck out his tongue, cursed, "Fuck Mutants!" and ran away.

This really angered the Kryptonian! As usual, without eyewitnesses, physical evidence, and a body, there's no way to convict someone of murder, right?

He was counting how many people he needed to kill, how many surveillance cameras he needed to destroy, and how long it would take to reach the Sun Pharma. Then the old woman called out, "Henry, are you alright?" Catherine Hepburn instinctively tugged at Henry's sleeve.

"Oh, it's alright. Kate, are you hurt?" Henry, who had instantly recovered, came to the old woman's side to help her.

That wasn't a hard collision; it was a cleverly timed move that threw the person off balance, leaving them panicked and defenseless, making it easy for them to grab something.

What If...? this brat didn't just bump into someone by chance, it just means he's gotten used to it—a classic case of a repeat offender.

The reason why a brat is so unruly is that his age is his strongest shield. Now that the brat has run off, Henry can't do anything about him except mutter that he has no manners.

The impact wasn't particularly severe, but it wasn't a minor incident for an elderly person. Fortunately, Kitty cushioned the fall from below, and Henry also caught her in time, preventing further injury.

So the old man carefully checked the parts of himself that had been bumped, his hands and feet, looking them over from head to toe. "Looks like I'm alright. That child, he's really careless when he walks."

Henry muttered at the old woman's evasive tone, "He might accidentally slip your handbag into his pocket? If he did it on purpose, he could pack you up and send you to Antarctica via FedEx."

"What are you saying?" She lightly slapped Henry's arm. The old woman grabbed his arm, saying, "Oh dear, I almost fell just now, it's all because you weren't holding my hand properly. Don't let go this time."

Henry continued his grumbling, "With the strength you have, if you had used that force just now, that kid would have been sent flying to the moon, or at least into the ocean."

"You talk too much! Come on, let's go find a bench in the park. I'm going to soak up some Sun Pharma today. I was just startled; my heart almost jumped out of my mouth."

With Kitty around, these kinds of collisions were almost impossible. But today's lesson taught Henry that there are always some people with ulterior motives who deliberately seek opportunities to create things that no one wants to see.

So when they went for walks together, Henry would just follow beside the old lady. Kitty would walk ahead, leading the way with an air of authority.

Henry was now being held tightly by the arm, unable to go and cause trouble for the brat. He simply directed Kitty to walk on the opposite side, forming a circle around Catherine Hepburn to protect her in the middle.

Earlier, that brat seized an opening and squeezed in to bump into people. I didn't expect this to happen, which is why I didn't have time to stop him.

Now that we've learned our lesson once, we can't let it happen again.

Henry's idea was rosy, but reality always teaches people a lesson.

No matter how much protection is given, it is still a passive behavior. Starting with the incident with that brat, every time Henry went out with Catherine Hepburn, whether or not Kitty was with them, they would always encounter one or two unpleasant things.

Sometimes I was disturbed by those selfish street kids, and other times I encountered some unpleasant New York who yelled at me for no reason.

All of this seems to have happened unintentionally, but the frequency and the timing make it hard not to suspect that there might be a mastermind behind it all.

Especially during the daily activities, there's always that brat talking...

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