Meanwhile.
"Don't worry, John and the Godfather will be fine," Clark reassured Star-Lord as they drove along the highway outside Smallville.
"Mm."
Star-Lord nodded, but the worry on his face did not ease in the slightest.
He gazed out the window, listening to the patter of raindrops striking the glass, his mood growing heavier.
As he lost himself in thought, a sudden commotion erupted outside.
Hearing the noise, Jonathan urged everyone to stay in the car while he went to check it out.
Bang!
Bracing himself against the storm, Jonathan stepped out of the car and pushed forward with difficulty through the howling wind and rain—only to see a panicked crowd rushing toward him from up ahead.
"What's happening?"
He grabbed someone by the sleeve and shouted over the storm, "Did something happen?"
The rain was pouring so hard that the person had to yell back, "Get out of here! A tornado is coming!"
Jonathan's expression changed as he looked up.
Through the dark, stormy night, he heard the terrifying howl of the wind.
Dust and debris swirled in the air, forcing him to squint.
Fighting against the wind, Jonathan quickly turned back to the car, flung open the door, and shouted, "There's a tornado coming! Clark, Star-Lord, we need to get out of here—now! Get out of the car!"
At his urgent warning, everyone scrambled out of the vehicle and joined the fleeing crowd, running away from the highway toward an open area.
As they reached a relatively safe zone, a desperate cry for help rang out in the distance.
Someone was trapped inside a car.
Clark instinctively tried to activate his super speed—but suddenly, his legs felt weak, and his whole body was overcome with exhaustion.
The effects of the solar flare hadn't fully worn off.
His powers had failed him at a critical moment.
Frustrated, Clark stomped the ground, trying to think of another way—when Star-Lord suddenly bolted forward.
Under the Martian Manhunter's training, Star-Lord had finally learned to tap into his Celestial power in an emergency.
Before Clark and the Kent couple could react, Star-Lord had already reached the stranded car.
Inside, a woman was desperately pounding on the window, trying to escape.
A wrecked vehicle had blocked her car door, trapping her inside.
Seeing her panic, Star-Lord didn't hesitate—he grabbed the obstructing vehicle and shoved it aside with sheer force.
The woman's eyes widened in shock as Star-Lord opened her door.
The storm raged around them, and though she couldn't make out his face, she was so overwhelmed with relief that she threw her arms around him, sobbing.
Thanks to his enhanced senses, Star-Lord could tell the storm was intensifying at an alarming rate.
He had no time to talk—he grabbed the woman's hand and ran back toward Clark and the others.
After a few moments, the woman suddenly stopped and began struggling against Star-Lord's grip.
"No! My Lucy! My Lucy is still in the car!"
She screamed, her voice hoarse with desperation.
"Your daughter?"
Star-Lord shouted over the wind.
"No! My dog! Let me go! I have to save my dog!"
For a moment, Star-Lord's mind went blank.
Then, gritting his teeth, he yelled, "No! It's too dangerous!"
He held on to her tightly.
"I can't leave her!"
The woman sobbed, her anguish piercing through the chaos.
Star-Lord hesitated—then stomped the ground in frustration.
"Fine! Just get out of here—I'll get your dog!"
Without another word, he dashed back toward the car.
By now, the tornado was nearly upon them.
Star-Lord was racing against time.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the vehicle and scooped up the terrified, whimpering dog.
But just as he pulled the animal into his arms, the monstrous tornado engulfed his position.
A tremendous force seized him, and in an instant, he was yanked into the sky.
From a distance, Jonathan and the others could only stare helplessly into the pitch-black night, unable to see what was happening.
As he was sucked into the tornado, Star-Lord clung tightly to the dog, pain shooting through his body as the air was forcibly squeezed from his lungs.
Sand, rocks, and debris struck him from all sides, pelting him relentlessly.
At one point, he even caught sight of an entire car being hurled past him.
Boom! Boom!
His Celestial physiology shielded him from being torn apart by the storm, but without full control over his powers, he could do nothing but endure.
Holding the dog close, Star-Lord gritted his teeth through the pain—and suddenly remembered something.
The Gypsy woman's prophecy.
Back then, she had drawn a tarot card for him—The Hanged Man.
A young boy with flower-like hair, hanging upside down from a tree, swaying back and forth.
His current predicament… felt eerily similar.
The Gypsy had warned him: he would face hardship, suffering, and a moment of utter helplessness.
His life would encounter a great setback.
Was this that moment?
As his thoughts raced, another memory surfaced—his own words to his father.
'I believe in you, Dad. And because I believe in you, I won't be defeated by setbacks.'
Taking a deep breath, Star-Lord's eyes snapped open.
Through the swirling dust and darkness, he vaguely saw something outside the tornado—
A shadowy figure, faint and blurred.
And strangely… it looked just like his father.
'Am I hallucinating…?'
Just as Star-Lord thought he was hallucinating, a series of strange and mysterious characters suddenly appeared in the void.
These characters gave him a sense of containing some kind of mystical power.
As he had expected, every time a strand of pure white energy engraved a character, the concentration of that mysterious power became more evident.
Under Star-Lord's gaze, a line of mysterious text was inscribed into the sky.
Immediately afterward, a vast surge of energy erupted, instantly suppressing the terrifying tornado!
In Star-Lord's shocked eyes, a figure shot up into the sky, flying toward him.
Before he could react, Star-Lord was directly embraced.
"Y-Youhan?"
Star-Lord stammered as he looked at John, who had just flown up and hugged him.
With a loud thud, John wasted no words and landed directly on the ground with Star-Lord in his arms.
Having just used runes to dispel the tornado, Peter felt a bit exhausted.
He glanced at the stunned Star-Lord, then at the small pet dog in his arms, soaked by the rain and shivering. With a helpless sigh, he thought:
This brat got himself caught in a tornado just to save a dog?
"Dad!"
Seeing Peter standing before him, Star-Lord ignored the pouring rain and ran toward him, who was holding an umbrella.
"I knew it! I knew you'd come to save me, Dad!"
Excited, Star-Lord threw himself at him.
Feeling Star-Lord's trembling body, Peter looked down at him.
"You shouldn't have done that, Star-Lord. You nearly lost your life over a dog."
Peter reprimanded him.
Hearing Peter's stern tone, Star-Lord lowered his head and muttered, "I know I was wrong, Dad."
"I... I didn't think it through. I thought I could run out in time, Dad," Star-Lord explained. "But the tornado was too fast."
"If you were an ordinary person, you could have lost your life because of this reckless act."
Peter's voice was serious. "Remember this, Star-Lord: never put yourself in danger because of someone else's mistake. Do you understand?"
"Loud and clear."
Star-Lord nodded. "Dad, I won't do it again."
"Uh..."
He hesitated before asking Peter, "Dad, was that awesome magic just now from you?"
His eyes sparkled with curiosity and excitement.
Peter: "..."
This brat has no sense of danger, does he?
He had nearly been blown away by a tornado, and now he wanted to learn rune magic?
Half an hour later.
At Podrick Farm.
Back home, Star-Lord stared in shock at the baby lying on the bed. Turning to John, he asked, "Where... where did this baby come from? Did Dad pick him up?"
"I don't know. Dad said he plucked him from a tree."
John's response left Star-Lord even more bewildered.
He had always thought that "babies come from trees" was just something parents told kids. Aunt Kelly had once told him that too. But now, it actually happened?
Plucked from a tree?
No way. He was way past the age of believing such nonsense.
But looking at the white ash tree glowing with a hazy radiance, Star-Lord started to have his doubts.