DC: Starting With Homelander As My Child!

The freckled boy seemed to sense something and abruptly turned his head.

Before he could see the shadow behind him clearly, he was shoved forcefully forward.

Losing his balance, he plummeted downward in terror.

Thud!

His body crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud, and the arm that hit first throbbed in excruciating pain as if it had broken.

He tried to stand, but even the slightest movement sent piercing pain through him. Tears and snot burst forth as he cried out.

Through his blurred vision, he looked up to see a figure standing atop the slide.

Azu looked down at the freckled chubby boy lying on the ground in tears, a smirk forming on his lips.

Evening.

At Podrick Farm.

"I can't believe he'd do something like this!"

The mother of the freckled chubby boy, face flushed with anger, pointed at Azu, who stood beside her. "He pushed Darl right off the slide. This is attempted murder!"

"Mrs. York, John wouldn't do something like that."

Peter spoke calmly, "He's not that kind of person. Maybe Darl fell on his own."

Before dinner, Darl's mother, having heard he'd been pushed off the slide, arrived furiously with her son, his arm bandaged, ready to demand justice.

Peter knew it was certainly Azu's doing.

Though he knew, he wouldn't admit it. After all, the boy had handled it pretty well.

He'd avenged Clark and punished a bully in the process.

Looking at the woman, he thought, You should be thankful this isn't the Azu from a previous life. Back then, he'd dealt with bullies by... cutting them into pieces.

Mrs. York didn't notice Peter's complicated expression. Hearing his denial, she erupted, "So you're calling me a liar?"

Gulp.

Clark, standing beside Azu and catching some of Mrs. York's flying spittle, nervously swallowed. He glanced at Azu, who had his head down, expressionless.

"I didn't say that, Mrs. York. I'm merely pointing out that no one actually saw John push Darl. However, several people did see Darl push Clark in the school hallway."

Peter's tone turned serious. "Let's set aside any unproven accusations. Why don't we discuss the things we know for sure?"

Mrs. York faltered, glancing at her son.

"Darl, did you really do that?"

Darl opened his mouth to deny it, but seeing the intimidating look Peter gave him, he swallowed his words.

Lowering his head, he stammered, "I-it was an accident."

"No, it wasn't an accident. If it was, you would've apologized after knocking him down. But you didn't—you even said some harsh words, didn't you?"

Peter stood up, his gaze intimidating as he directed it at the boy. "Darl, lying isn't a good habit."

Darl shivered under Peter's gaze, unable to understand why it made him so fearful.

Under Peter's authority, he had no choice but to admit to bullying Clark.

"I-I didn't mean to."

"Hmm. I accept your apology. What about you, Clark?"

Peter turned to Clark with a satisfied look.

Clark, dazed by everything that had just happened, only snapped out of it when Peter addressed him.

"Oh! Y-yes, I also accept Darl's apology."

Darl looked at Clark, who was standing there with an apparently innocent expression, and scratched his head, confused as to how he'd ended up apologizing so quickly.

"Mrs. York, I think Darl understands his mistake."

Peter spoke sincerely, "We should give children a chance to correct their behavior. I hope you won't punish him too harshly for his bullying."

Mrs. York: "..."

It wasn't until she'd left the farm that Mrs. York suddenly realized—

Wait a minute! Wasn't I here to confront them? Why did I end up getting a lecture myself?

Frustrated, she thought it over and decided it was all because of her "foolish" son.

Seeing him acting like nothing was wrong, she reached out and twisted his ear.

"Why did you blurt everything out?"

Feeling "betrayed," she pulled his ear hard.

In the darkness, Darl's cries echoed.

Back at the farm, Clark thought he heard a faint scream.

He shivered, then hurried over to Peter.

"Godfather, thank you—and Azu, too."

Clark thanked both of them.

He thought his godfather was amazing, making Darl apologize so easily. At first, he'd thought he would get Azu in trouble, but the situation had taken an unexpected turn.

Azu, munching on a cinnamon roll, didn't seem affected. "I didn't do it for you, Clark."

He denied any notion of vengeance. "I just wanted to hit him."

"So you admit you pushed Darl off the slide?"

Peter asked, eyeing Azu, who was eating like a lumberjack.

Sensing Peter's gaze, Azu immediately stopped chewing.

"Dad, I know I was wrong."

When Dad got that intimidating look, Azu's motto was to admit fault immediately.

"Good. Now, what was your mistake?"

"Um..."

Azu hesitated, glancing at Clark, who was standing by the table. "I shouldn't have pushed him."

"That's right. You shouldn't have pushed him."

Peter nodded. "You should've just punched him in the face. Of course, not enough to ruin his looks—just enough to make it hurt."

Azu and Clark both nodded when Peter said not to push him. But when they heard "punch him in the face," they both froze.

"With bullies, bottling up your feelings only fuels their arrogance, Clark."

Peter ruffled Azu's hair, "So the best way is to make them realize the wrongness of their actions. Azu, you're doing the right thing—don't be so sneaky about it."

"But, Godfather..."

Clark asked in confusion, "Didn't you say we shouldn't fight?"

"Fighting isn't good. But sometimes, it's the only way to resolve things—unless you have a better way."

Clark and Azu both nodded, half-understanding.

"Godfather, why does Darl bully people? Doesn't he know it hurts the people he picks on?"

Clark asked.

Peter thought for a moment and replied, "Because people can never truly empathize with one another."

"Empathize?"

"Yes, Clark. You can never fully understand another person unless you've walked in their shoes, seeing things from their perspective. And once you do, you'll feel sadness just from passing through their experience."