Kapitel 138: A Long-Awaited Reunion
Soren couldn't hold back any longer.
He stepped forward quickly and wrapped his arms around his father.
"Dad, it's me. I'm home, Dad..."
Charlie pulled Soren into a tight embrace, his breath heavy as he held his son close.
With his head bowed in sorrow, he said, "My baby, my child! …Why did it take you so long to come back? Why did it take you so long?"
The man who had always been strong and proud, meticulous about appearances, now clung to him, crying uncontrollably, "My baby, my precious baby, do you know how much your mom and I missed you? We missed you so much we thought we'd go mad... Am I dreaming? My baby's really back..."
Soren sobbed into Charlie's chest, unable to stop. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Dad, I'm so sorry..."
Charlie held his head gently, "It's okay... It's okay now... You're home, that's all that matters. Do you want to go see your mom? She's upstairs, she's sick, she can't come down..."
Soren nodded desperately, tears streaming down his face, "I'll go see her right now. Clark—"
He turned to find Clark's face, "I'll go upstairs with Dad to see Mom."
Clark nodded, his voice gentle, "I'll wait for you downstairs."
Charlie wiped away his tears and took Soren's hand, leading him upstairs.
...His hand was trembling slightly.
Soren supported him, leaning on his father's shoulder like a child, his voice shaking as he asked, "Dad, how's Mom?"
Charlie replied, "She's... been sick for a while now, but now that you're home, I'm sure she'll get better soon. She missed you so much, she'd sit alone at night holding your picture and cry..."
He took a deep breath, as if trying to inhale all the pain, "...My poor baby, we really..."
Soren squeezed his hand tightly, "Don't say anything more, Dad. Let's go see Mom."
Together, they entered the upstairs bedroom.
Renee was propped up in bed, her eyes already filled with tears.
She was shockingly thin.
The once beautiful and vibrant face had become hollow, and her hair, once full of shine, had lost its luster.
She lay there, fragile, like an old photograph that had been drained of color.
She reached out a frail, bony arm towards Soren, and he rushed to her side, gripping her hand tightly, "Mom..."
"My baby, my precious baby…" Tears kept rolling down her face as she held Soren's hand, her eyes fixed on his face, "You must have suffered so much..."
"I didn't, Mom," he said, sitting by her bedside, leaning in to embrace her, "I didn't suffer at all. It's you and Dad..."
He couldn't bring himself to say more.
Silently, he wept in her arms, feeling that he owed them so much.
How could he have allowed the two people who loved him most to suffer like this?
He wished all their pain had fallen on him instead.
—He couldn't bear to see his parents so worn down, so devastated because of him.
"We're okay, baby. As long as we see that you're okay, we can rest easy," her voice was hoarse, yet she still comforted Soren, stroking his hair as if soothing a child, "Mom and Dad will always love you, baby."
He buried his face in her shoulder.
For some reason, the more she comforted him, the more he wanted to cry.
His tears were uncontrollable, soaking Renee's shoulder in moments.
Charlie bent down as well, wrapping his arms around them both.
The three of them huddled together, cried for a long time before their sobs slowly subsided.
Soren lay by Renee's bedside, gazing at her with deep affection, his eyes still red and swollen, "Mom, you need to get better soon. When you're well, we'll go on a trip together..."
Rene smiled gently through her tears, softly caressing his head.
"Anywhere you want to go, we'll go. As long as we're together—" She glanced at Charlie, "As long as we're together as a family, anywhere is fine."
Charlie wiped his tears with a handkerchief, raising his voice slightly, as if trying to cover something up.
He glanced at the wall and then, rather abruptly, asked, "Would you like to see some photos of us from the past few years, baby?"
Soren turned his head, and the moment his gaze met Charlie's, his expression suddenly froze, "…Alright."
Charlie, breathing a bit heavily, grabbed an iPad from nearby, handed it to Soren after unlocking it, and swiped his fingers across the screen, "All the pictures of Mom and Dad from these years are here—"
But instead of photos, a video call interface appeared on the screen.
On the video, Tony's face emerged.
It was unmistakably a two-way video connection.
Tony looked at him silently, his usually bold and striking features now heavier with repression and exhaustion, a faint crease already forming between his brows.
Soren glanced at him and immediately, tactfully said to Charlie, "Are these all the pictures from these years, Mom and Dad?"
"Yes, look at this one—" Charlie gestured toward the screen, leaning closely as if they were both intently browsing through the photos.
But what they were truly looking at was Tony's face on the video.
Tony raised an eyebrow at Soren, and a line of text quickly appeared on the screen: "This video is encrypted; Cyborg can't monitor our conversation."
Soren bit his lip, keeping his heartbeat steady, and swiftly typed on the virtual keyboard: "What's going on, Tony? I saw Steve and Diana in Eastern Europe."
Tony lowered his head and typed: "Kal-El has become a dictator. He has established a world authoritarian regime, enforcing strict control and capturing all registered criminals for lobotomies or executions. Most of the nations on Earth no longer exist. The Avengers have gone underground. For the past three years, we've been waiting for a chance to overthrow his dictatorship. I'm currently in a secret base that he can't find."
Soren suddenly gripped the tablet tightly.
His heartbeat spiked in an instant, catching Clark's attention downstairs as he glanced upward.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein