Anything that couldn't be explained was simply treated as a joke. Students were heartless like that. Fortunately, with Gwen keeping watch, Henry wasn't harassed by the little sprites for too long. Everyone's attention soon returned to the prom.
Before the band took the stage, the dance floor was already packed with young men and women. They swayed to the music being played by the DJ.
Since this was primarily an event for young people, the music naturally reflected the popular styles of the time.
But it wasn't all electronic dance music. After all, not all the teachers supervising the event were fully adapted to the new era. And when boys and girls danced together, there were always some classic group dances and slow dances that were suitable for young men and women to interact.
There was no formal ballroom waltz here, nor tango, blues, or other structured social dances. Instead, the emphasis was on street-dance styles that followed the rhythm freely.
Simply put, you could dance however you wanted.
Of course, some students performed fairly difficult moves that easily attracted attention and earned cheers or admiration from the crowd. Henry had no intention of becoming that kind of center of attention, however. He simply danced at about the same level as everyone around him and enjoyed himself with Gwen.
Just watching Gwen interact with her classmates from close by was enough to tell that the girl had both a good reputation and considerable social skills.
She was nothing like those girls who were treated as punching bags or betrayed by fake best friends. Gwen's personality was naturally outgoing with a slightly assertive streak. As long as she didn't bully anyone, nobody dared bully her either.
Henry, however, didn't receive the same treatment simply because he had been invited as someone's date. At least in a crowded place like the dance floor, he was deliberately bumped more than once. Every collision came with enough force and intent to knock him over.
How could a Kryptonian possibly be knocked down that easily?
Henry couldn't even be bothered to pretend to be delicate. He simply acted as though nothing had happened, letting the other person experience the sensation of running into a wall before continuing with his own dance.
Even outside the dance floor, there were the classic tricks of drinks and snacks mysteriously flying around. Henry dealt with those just as quietly.
These little tricks from a bunch of high school kids were beneath his notice.
After all, he'd experienced the highest level of psychological warfare at Hollywood parties.
There, actresses of roughly the same age often regarded one another like sworn enemies. To preserve the dignity of the girls he'd once been involved with, Henry had learned to defuse and return all kinds of overt and covert attacks with effortless ease.
With that level of experience, what could these kids possibly do?
Hollywood stars set traps for one another with the determination of soldiers going into battle with bayonets fixed. Here, Henry's very appearance was enough to make these youngsters afraid to go too far, forcing them to resort to sneaky little tricks instead.
Which only made him look down on them even more.
The hottest part of the entire evening naturally came when the band began its live performance.
The rebellious spirit represented by rock music appealed to young people in every era.
The rapid tempo and pounding drums made it feel as though everyone's hearts were about to leap out of their chests. Their blood was boiling with excitement!
The infectious power of the music made Henry pay a little more attention to the band.
He suddenly realized that these people seemed to be a future superstar pop-rock band—
Maroon 5.
Their breakthrough debut album, Songs About Jane, was also not far from release. At this point, they really were active in the New York area, since they were signed to Octone Records, a company based in New York.
Were they working on their album while also coming to school proms to make some extra money?
While Henry was dancing along with the music on the floor, someone behind him "accidentally" bumped into him again.
He'd been targeted by Gwen's invisible admirers throughout the entire evening. Even a saint would lose his temper.
But turning around and beating someone up would obviously be the worst possible solution.
Henry looked at the rock band onstage and suddenly had an idea.
During a break between songs, Henry jumped onto the stage.
"Mr. Adam Levine?"
"Yes, that's me. You are?"
As the band's lead singer, Adam Levine looked at the man who had suddenly climbed onto the stage with confusion.
Henry approached him with a banknote pinched between his fingers.
"Do you guys know how to play this song?"
He quietly named the song.
Adam Levine smiled.
"Of course we do. It's a classic among classics."
He casually accepted the hundred-dollar bill. That counted as the fee for requesting a song.
"Then can I borrow a guitar?"
"You can play?"
"I just hope your band can keep up."
Adam Levine chuckled.
"Can I take that as a challenge?"
As an experienced live performer, the lead singer was certainly familiar with situations like this. Naturally, he had his own way of handling them.
Maroon 5's lead guitarist was James Valentine, but Adam Levine himself had originally played guitar for the band. So he retrieved his own guitar and handed it to Henry while informing the rest of the band about the new song.
The little interruption didn't delay things for long.
But everyone stared in disbelief as a man in a suit strapped an electric guitar over his shoulder and stepped up to the microphone.
Please don't pretend you can play when you can't.
If this guy turned the performance into a musical disaster, they would boo him until he questioned every decision he'd ever made.
The person most worried was naturally Gwen Stacy.
"Dedicated to a girl, and to everyone graduating this year."
After saying those opening words, Henry strummed the electric guitar.
The very first note sent a strange shock through everyone's emotions.
Then came a dazzling guitar solo.
His fingers flew across the strings.
It was the legendary classic by the heavy metal band Metallica:
"Master of Puppets."
An absolutely phenomenal and breathtaking rock performance.
The moment the opening riff rang out, the emotions of all the young people below surged to a climax!
The members of Maroon 5 understood the weight of that magnificent intro even better. Every one of them immediately gave the performance their full concentration.
If anyone fell behind at a moment like this, they would probably be carrying the embarrassment for the rest of their lives.
The two most pleasantly surprised people were naturally Adam Levine and James Valentine, the band's two guitarists.
A live performance like this didn't necessarily follow strict rules about who could play, who couldn't, who could sing, or who couldn't.
It was all about having fun together and getting everyone fired up.
Letting Henry handle the opening solo was also a way of testing what he could actually do.
If he turned out to be terrible, they'd have to salvage the performance themselves.
Since this generous man in the suit had already demonstrated his skill, the next step was simply to work together and perform this legendary heavy-metal classic to perfection.
Even without sheet music in front of them, every fingering and drumbeat seemed to be embedded in their muscle memory. Combined with the vocals, delivered in that distinctive restrained style, the atmosphere was pushed higher and higher.
> "End of passion play, crumbling away.
I'm your source of self-destruction."
…
Whether it was the softer melodic sections or the dazzling electric-guitar passages, the man in the suit performed every bit as well as the band's professional guitarists.
At times, the two guitarists traded off like relay runners, giving each other opportunities for solos. They even exaggerated their expressions of amazement, turning their interactions onstage into part of the performance.
Below the stage, however, the frenzy created by the heavy metal music seemed almost hypnotic.
People either whipped their heads violently to the pounding beat or jumped up and down where they stood, completely immersing themselves in the exhilarating rhythm.
The man wearing that exquisitely tailored suit had become a gentleman in a suit gone berserk, perfectly blending elegance with madness.
He had just delivered a performance worthy of becoming a legendary classic.
Unfortunately, this wasn't an era when everyone had a phone in their hand, ready to record everything at a moment's notice.
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