Bab 157: Unreversible Plot
"But this doesn't feel like evolution to me; it feels more like a disease," Reed said, shaking his head, still grappling with his new reality. He felt like a freak, even though there were others like him.
"Hey, this guy! If this is a disease, then Mutants are all sick," Johnny retorted, clearly annoyed. He saw his abilities as a gift rather than a curse.
"Everyone needs to adapt to their new reality. Not everyone is as anxious as you are," Ben said with a smile, patting Johnny on the shoulder. Unlike Reed , Ben found some comfort in his ability to switch between being a stone man and a human, and he didn't share Reed 's unfounded fears.
"Hey! Who are you calling a big nerve?!" Johnny shot back, a bit irritated.
"Okay, I'm off to find Debbie. She must be extremely worried after all these days," Ben said, choosing not to argue further. He looked at Alex and added, "I hope everything goes well with her."
"Go ahead," Alex nodded, hoping that Ben's reunion with Debbie would be a happy one.
However, Alex didn't anticipate how the plot would evolve. Even though Ben could transform between a stone man and a human, misfortune still seemed to follow him.
On the Brooklyn Bridge, Ben sat alone on a large bridge pillar, his forehead resting in his hand as he muttered to himself, "Yeah, Ben, how good would it have been to stay in space for a few more days? Why did anything bad have to happen?"
He glanced at his stone-like body with a touch of self-deprecation. His lover had left him because of his transformation, leaving him feeling somewhat hopeless. He wondered if Reed was right—perhaps this wasn't a special ability, but a disease.
At that moment, a pigeon landed on his shoulder. Ben looked at the little bird and chuckled softly, "Hey, little thing, aren't you afraid of me?"
The pigeon cooed twice, then left a pool of white excrement on Ben's shoulder before quickly flying away. Ben's expression was one of deep loneliness, as if even the pigeon didn't like him.
Ben reached up to wipe the pigeon droppings from his shoulder. At that moment, a person suddenly appeared next to him, crying as they clutched a pile of documents, which they then threw into the river beneath the bridge. Seeing this, Ben thought the person was attempting suicide and quickly intervened, "Hey, do you think you have a problem? Look at me."
The young man, startled by Ben's sudden appearance, nearly lost his balance and fell off the bridge. If he had, it would have been a grim end. The young man managed to steady himself but, upon seeing Ben more clearly, his face drained of color, and he trembled with fear.
Ben looked at the young man and continued, "What's the matter? Feeling bad?"
The young man's legs were shaking, and he was backing away, trying to distance himself from what he perceived as a monster. Meanwhile, the vehicles passing below had to slow down as they witnessed the commotion.
Seeing the young man's reaction, Ben stood up, spreading his hands helplessly. "Okay, friend, calm down. Don't go outside."
The young man, still trembling, was precariously balanced on a slender iron pole. The area around him was narrow, and he began to falter as he tried to move away.
Ben saw his stone body and, with a thought, transformed back into his human form. He hurried towards the young man to stop him, but the sight of Ben's transformation only increased the young man's fear. The young man, already unstable, stumbled and began to fall.
The bridge was bustling with traffic, and if the young man fell, he would be run over by the vehicles speeding by.
Fortunately, the young man managed to grab onto a strap on an iron pillar. However, his luck was short-lived. The strap couldn't bear his weight and broke, causing him to fall onto the bridge.
Drivers in nearby cars, alarmed by the sudden appearance of people in the middle of the road, slammed on their brakes. One car narrowly missed the young man and crashed into the edge of the bridge.
At that moment, a large truck was barreling down the bridge. The driver, seeing the chaos, realized he wouldn't be able to stop in time and was about to hit both Ben and the young man on the ground.
Ben gritted his teeth, transformed into a two-meter-tall, sturdy figure, and braced himself. He positioned himself sideways to absorb the impact of the speeding truck.
Ben's rock-hard body collided with the truck, causing sparks to fly and the front of the truck to crumple. Despite the severe impact, he managed to stop the truck, preventing it from running over the young man. The onlookers scattered, and many people began to gather on the bridge.
(End of this chapter)
Bab 158: Brooklyn Bridge
Alex was enjoying breakfast with Susan when Reed burst in, looking anxious. "Boss, Ben is missing."
Alex looked up, surprised. "Missing? What happened?"
"I called Debbie to check on him, but she didn't say much before hanging up. I'm worried something has happened to him," Reed explained, clearly distressed.
Alex's brow furrowed. In the original story, Debbie had left Ben because she was scared of him as a stone man. Now that he could return to his human form, why was this happening again?
"Let me see where he is," Alex said, closing his eyes as he focused his psychic power.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and said, "He's on the Brooklyn Bridge."
"We need to get there quickly," Reed urged.
"Definitely!" Alex agreed. For this new citizen, he needed to show some care.
Susan gathered Johnny, and Alex waved his hand, creating a portal to the Brooklyn Bridge.
Unbeknownst to them, as Ben sat on the bridge, a large truck ahead suddenly stopped. The vehicles behind couldn't see what was causing the delay and had to slam on their brakes. With such a short distance to stop, they collided one after another, causing a chain reaction of accidents.
Alex and the others emerged from the portal just as the scene of chaos unfolded. The police arrived promptly to manage the situation and prevent the accident from worsening. However, the sight of the accidents drew a crowd of onlookers. The police struggled to keep the spectators at bay and maintain order.
Alex, Susan, Reed , and Johnny rushed towards the scene, their concern for Ben evident.
Several people exchanged looks, and Susan asked, "What should we do now? There are too many people here, and we can't get through."
Reed replied to Susan, "We can't make it, but you can."
Susan paused for a moment, then remembered Alex had mentioned she had an invisibility ability. She nodded and activated her power. Alex grabbed Susan's hand and said quietly, "Susan, are you going to undress here?"
Susan looked at herself and realized that while she was invisible, her clothes were not. Her face turned red as she quickly reappeared. "I thought my power would make my clothes invisible too! You didn't mention that it wouldn't work! It's your fault!"
Alex was taken aback. "Why is this my fault?"
He decided to let it go; it was just another minor issue. Women, he thought, could be quite unreasonable.
Johnny, witnessing the exchange, chuckled. Alex gave Johnny a playful smack on the head and scolded, "What's so funny?"
"Hey, that's not fair!" Johnny protested.
"Alright, enough messing around. We need to figure out a solution," Reed said, looking frustrated.
As he glanced at the group—his boss, the boss's wife, and the boss's brother-in-law—he realized he seemed to have the lowest status in this scenario.
"Okay, just look at me." Alex held Susan's hand and instructed Johnny to hold onto Reed . Placing his own hand on Johnny's shoulder, Alex made a quick motion, and the four of them vanished from the scene.
Ben glanced up at the truck he had collided with. The driver, looking dazed but unharmed, was soon rescued from the wreckage. However, the arrival of police officers with drawn pistols quickly shifted the situation.
"Don't move! Put the person down and step away!" the officers shouted, aiming their guns at Ben.
Confused, Ben tried to understand why he was being targeted when he was only trying to help. As he began to lower the driver, one of the officers barked, "Put him down now!"
Ben complied, setting the driver gently on the ground. The officer kept his gun trained on Ben, continuing to demand, "Step back and raise your hands!"
Realizing that his appearance as a stone man was alarming to the officers, Ben understood that he was seen as a threat. The realization that he was now viewed as a monster made him question his own abilities and their consequences.
Feeling disheartened, Ben raised his hands and began to retreat, following the officers' commands. He felt increasingly alienated from the abilities he once saw as a blessing, now questioning if they were more of a curse.
(End of this chapter)
Status Power Mingguan
200+ Peringkat
Power 
2 Power
stone 
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