After sunbathing on the beach for most of the day, sampling local specialties, and brushing off a few girls who tried to flirt with him, Azuma Shoyo gnced at them and declined.

  Even without using his super vision, he could spot their obvious fws—nothing as extreme as a full-body bacterial bnket, thankfully.

  But those oversized pores? He couldn't help but notice.

  "How does Crk deal with this?" Azuma wondered.

  Most Westerners past 25 showed signs like these, with rare exceptions. It was just how it was.

  As for turning on his microscopic vision to see the world up close?

  No thanks!

  He'd tried it once—opened his eyes, and bam! The sight nearly scared him into shutting it off instantly.

  No way around it…

  One gnce, and the world was a freakshow of bizarre bacterial carpets. He couldn't stomach it.

  Good thing Superman's microscopic vision could be toggled on and off.

  Otherwise, Azuma might've started thinking Kryptonians stayed holed up on their pnet because they couldn't face this gross universe!

  But… didn't Krypton have bacteria too?

  …

  Egypt.

  Azuma toured the pyramids, checked out the Sphinx, then tried some surfing.

  Bored after a while, he zipped over to Everest to climb the snowy peak. No challenge at all—he reached the top in no time.

  After pnting a fg to mark his visit, he took off.

  1:00 PM, Kent Farm, Smallville.

  Azuma dropped from the sky into the farm's yard.

  Hearing the noise, Crk stepped out of the house.

  "Afternoon, brother!"

  Crk greeted him with a warm hug. Azuma suddenly regretted ciming he was Kryptonian—Crk's enthusiasm was a bit much.

  But considering the guy had spent 33 years alone, Azuma could understand it.

  "Didn't you say you'd show me that ship? Ready to go?" Azuma asked.

  "Sure, let me tell Mom," Crk replied with a nod.

  "I'll say hi to Mrs. Kent too," Azuma added.

  They went inside together to let Martha know.

  "Be safe out there!" Martha said, holding Crk's hand.

  "Don't worry, Mrs. Kent. No weapon on this pnet—not even a nuke—can hurt me or Crk," Azuma said from the side.

  Martha looked at them in shock.

  "Is that true, Crk?"

  Crk nodded. "Yeah, Mom. Though it'd dehydrate us a bit."

  "Well, alright then. Off you go—come back soon!" Martha said, reassured.

  If they could tank a nuclear bst, what was there to worry about?

  In the yard…

  Crk pulled a key from his pocket.

  Not an Earth key, but a Kryptonian smart key.

  "Azuma, do you have one of these?" Crk asked.

  "I had one, but my ship blew up after reaching the sor system. Lucky I got out in time, or I'd have gone down with it," Azuma said, spinning another bald-faced lie.

  Crk didn't bat an eye.

  "No worries, mine's enough," he said. Then they both took off, soaring toward the Arctic.

  The ship was stashed deep in the North Pole—no people for dozens of kilometers around. Plus, with its camoufge mode, there was no chance of humans spotting it.

  …

  The Arctic.

  Two figures descended from the sky.

  "Here we are," Crk said.

  He'd swapped his usual clothes for the deep blue Kryptonian suit. No red undies on the outside, though—not quite the cssic look.

  But cssics?

  They're fun to see on others.

  Wearing it himself? Azuma wasn't that weird.

  Before them was an ice cave—just a disguise. It was really the ship's entrance.

  Crk led Azuma inside. A beam of light scanned them from above.

  "Kal-El, welcome back!" an electronic voice chimed.

  The ice cave floor shimmered with light, revealing the ship's main entrance.

  "Come on in," Crk said.

  They stepped inside.

  "I'll give you the tour," Crk offered.

  Azuma nodded, genuinely curious about the Kryptonian ship.

  He'd seen it in the movie in his past life, sure, but through a screen. How could that compare to being here in person?

  Crk guided him around, expining the ship's sections as they explored.

  It wasn't huge. Kryptonian ships, it seemed, weren't the massive mothership types.

  When General Zod invades Earth ter, his ship looks big—but that's mostly the World Engine attached. Without it, the ship itself isn't that impressive.

  Compared to those sci-fi behemoths spanning dozens or hundreds of kilometers?

  It's nothing special.

  After the tour, Crk inserted his key into a control panel.

  A fsh of light swept through the ship, and a middle-aged man appeared before them.

  "Father, this is a fellow Kryptonian I found on Earth. His name's Azuma Shoyo," Crk said, introducing him to Jor-El's AI.

  Jor-El turned to Azuma.

  "Hey," Azuma greeted.

  "I never imagined another Kryptonian besides Kal survived," Jor-El said, closing his eyes as if pondering—though he was really verifying Azuma's Kryptonian DNA.

  Finding no issues, he nodded. "If there's a second, there could be a third, a fourth…"