With the criminal wearing a 'President Jefferson' mask falling down, the metallic lustre of his skin slowly receded, and he returned to his normal appearance.
Lana, riding on a red horse, looked at Clark with shocked eyes, as if she couldn't believe it.
The latter quickly withdrew and acted as if he was caught skipping school by a teacher.
Generally speaking, the identity of a superhero was their biggest secret.
Once discovered, there would always be some trouble.
Fortunately, the track was full of people and full of chaos.
No one noticed except for Lana.
Otherwise, Clark wouldn't know what to do.
"A kryptonite mutant."
Luke said as he walked off the bleachers, lifting the corners of his mouth.
Through his Super Vision penetrating flesh and blood, he saw signs of mutation of the cells in the body that had been exposed to kryptonite radiation.
Fortunately, it wasn't considered a prolonged exposure and didn't cause cancer.
This guy was beaten by his cousin's lightning whip-like fists, and he may have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
'Speaking of which, why is Superman becoming more and more Batman-like?'
'Not willing to kill, but could maim.'
'Before you even meet with Batman, you're already like him?'
'Alas, best friends think alike.'
"Kryptonite?"
Clark looked puzzled.
He didn't know what kryptonite was at this point in time.
"Every time you approach Lana, do you feel weak, extremely weak, or having a hard time breathing, right?"
Luke looked at the crowd scattered in the open field. The smoke and dust that rose gradually subsided.
The bank robber, who was attempting to take revenge on Clark, came out of nowhere to disrupt the horse race.
Maybe the other party didn't know what the kryptonite irradiation did to him, but he gained an ability somehow. And, his self-confidence inflated, thinking he could retaliate...
Luke made a simple analysis with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
Like Lana, if he wore a small fragment of kryptonite everywhere he went, he wouldn't be affected much.
Only those who had received a lot of radiation for a long period of time, resulting in cellular mutations, would become short-lived superpowered people.
Less than two weeks since the bank robbery, 'President Jefferson' turned into a kryptonite mutant.
Such a rapid rate of infection meant the other party was most likely hit by a large amount of radiation in a short period of time.
In other words, he knew a place that had a lot of kryptonite.
'Fortunately, Clark didn't beat him to death. I should be able to get some useful information out of him later. '
Luke had used his Super Vision to scan the town but didn't find any place where a large number of kryptonite fragments were buried.
"Yeah, Chloe said I'm falling in love."
Hearing his older cousin's question, Clark scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
He and Lana grew up as neighbours and went to and from school together every day.
If it weren't for the uncomfortable proximity to each other, maybe Clark would have succeeded in confessing his love. Why would that damn quarterback get a chance?
"The green meteorite on Lana's necklace is a polished fragment of kryptonite."
Luke saw that the smoke was about to clear and thought that if he delayed any longer, the town's police and Lex, as well as Clark's parents, would probably reach them by now.
He directly pulled his younger cousin up with him and flew high into the air, disappearing from the race track.
"Kryptonite is a mineral from outer space. It produces radioactivity that could cause ... Saiyans to lose all their abilities and enter a weakened state."
Luke explained.
"Then why aren't you affected?"
Clark's heart fluttered. No wonder his older cousin reminded him to tell Lana to take off the necklace earlier.
Then, he suddenly remembered.
Luke seemed to have made contact with Lana a few times and didn't display any weakened state.
"Because I'm a Super Saiyan."
Luke stood above the clouds and replied with a peculiar expression on his face.
"Kryptonite radiation doesn't have any effect on me."
'Super Saiyan ...?'
Clark was a little confused.
Although he didn't know what it meant, it seemed awesome.
"Could you explain it later? Lana saw me beat that mutant!"
Clark remembered the surprised look in Lana's eyes and felt a bit complicated inside.
He felt a bit joyful, a bit panicked, and full of complications. He was overwhelmed ...
Even his adoptive parents didn't know he was a Superman.
Clark was living a double life every day.
While enjoying the various praises and reports from Metropolis about Superman;
On the other side, he was the mediocre small-town boy.
His secret identity as a superhero was discovered by his crush, which in fact, fulfilled a teenager's eagerness to show off in front of the opposite sex.
Of course, Clark wasn't that naïve.
He only had a hint of indefinable joy at the very beginning.
When he calmed down, it turned to panic.
'What if Lana didn't want to keep it a secret?'
Clark was a little worried that his older cousin would think he had screwed it all up and kick him out of the Superman family in anger.
"Your internship is over."
The younger cousin was apprehensive. His mind was filled with that classic line, 'Your fired!'
"I'm sure that with your relationship with Lana, she'll keep it a secret for you."
Luke didn't speculate on Clark's imaginations and replied casually.
Compared with Lana's knowledge of Superman's identity, he was more concerned about Lex's following actions.
That clever-headed godson, who's always observant, might have picked up on a few clues.
Lex paid special attention to Clark after the last bank robbery.
Although they practised fencing together every day and built a deep friendship...
But considering Lex's character and talent, Luke couldn't rule out the idea that he kept close contact with Clark to investigate the truth behind it.
"My relationship with Lana? ... we're just ordinary classmates."
The younger cousin's voice was full of sullenness.
"Clark, you know, very few girls could resist the temptation of becoming a superhero's girlfriend."
Luke didn't think much of the strict secrecy surrounding Superman's identity.
According to his plan, this information would be made public sooner or later.
Only when the label of Clark Kent, the farmer's son from Kansas, overshadowed Superman, the orphan of Krypton, could the younger cousin be accepted and recognised more easily.
Behind the title of 'The God Among Us', which seemed powerful, it often represented some kind of caution and distance.
"Is that so?"
Clark scratched his head. He did look very popular when he donned his Superman uniform and hovered high above Metropolis.
Every time he rescued innocent people from a fire or stopped a car accident ... Those people were so excited they couldn't wait to come up for a photo and get an autograph.
The most exaggerated thing was that not long ago, he successfully caught and landed a plane that was falling.
One of the beautiful flight attendants who survived the disaster was so enthusiastic that she even unbuttoned her shirt and asked Clark to leave his signature on her chest.
Superman, a minor, had never seen such a thing.
Looking at the purple lace and glistening skin, Clark couldn't help blushing and then fled in fear.
He was too naïve and had never watched an adult movie.
Not to mention looking directly at a woman's body.
"Of course."
Luke nodded, responding to his younger cousin.
"Provided she hasn't experienced her boyfriend mysteriously disappearing every night. She would also get kidnapped and targeted often ..."
Clark: "..."
...
...
Smart people were always different. They could find out the essence or law of how the world worked from a small thing.
For example, the most recognisable apple in the world was said to be the reason why Newton later put forward the law of gravity.
Or Archimedes solved the King's 'golden crown mystery' when he was taking a bath and figured out the law of buoyancy.
The authenticity of these stories was perhaps open for debate.
But there was no doubt that being good in observation was one of the good habits to accumulate wisdom.
Back at Lex's villa, the shooting incident at the racetrack during the day shook him.
Although there was a common saying, 'Everyone has a gun in America.'
But Lex grew up in a wealthy area with outstanding public security and went to a private school with bodyguards and drivers to pick him up and drop him off.
He didn't know much about the chaotic and seedy slums.
He was sitting in the stands, waiting for his good friend Clark to show off his skills and make a splash.
Who knew that the starter would shoot at the audience, wound an innocent person, and later kill his godfather's pure-blooded horse.
By the time the submachine gun swept toward the sky, everyone had scattered like birds.
Lex was swept up in the tide of panicked people and couldn't move an inch. He shouted Clark's name, but no one answered.
Later, he returned to the race track. The man wearing the 'President Jefferson' mask was being carried out on a stretcher.
And Clark was obediently giving a statement to the police.
According to his words, Superman saved him.
"Superman again ..."
Lex wrinkled his brow. He always felt that something was not quite right. Clark seemed like he was hiding some kind of secret from him.
"He just kept staring at Lana's ... chest."
Although they hadn't known each other for a long time, Lex felt he knew Clark quite well.
He wasn't very good at lying, let alone staring at his crush's chest, like a pervert.
Usually, this guy would feel nervous when looking at Lana in the eye. Why would he be so bold now?
Lex's intuition was telling him that Clark was hiding something.
Such an assumption made his two eyes slightly light up as if he had found some kind of interesting activity.
"Detective Lex Luthor is on the case."
Lex proudly said.
He regarded it as a pastime.
It was like being too bored after breakfast and killing time with a newspaper crossword puzzle.
"First, find a way to get a statement from the robber, then ... Lana? There's something strange about her that's making Clark unusually concerned."
Lex snapped his fingers. His ability to do something when he put his mind to it had always been excellent, and without the slightest hesitation, he began to formulate a plan.
"Caves, meteorites ..."
A few days later, Lex got a lot of useful information from the bank robber who was lying in the hospital bed, paralysed, with the bargaining chip of 'a lawyer'.
According to 'President Jefferson', in order to avoid the police, instead of running along the highway, he abandoned his car and hid it in the dense forest over 10 kilometres outside of town.
Then, he accidentally fell into an empty cave. Inside, the rock walls were covered with various shiny green ores, like clusters of growing plants.
The other party stayed there for a week or so and found that his body had undergone great changes.
It was as if his skin turned to metal and felt hard as steel.
After repeated tests and confirming his invulnerability from knives and guns, 'President Jefferson' decided to go back into town, kill the kid, and rob the bank.
This was the plan that came out of his stupid muscle filled brain.
This was the end of the conversation, and Lex's visiting hours were over.
He didn't go any further and asked who Superman really was and what he looked like.
"The ore gives people superpowers...?"
Lex's face twitched, forcibly suppressing his inner excitement.
But his clenched hands exposed his restless mood.
'Should I tell Uncle Luke?'
Almost immediately, Lex thought of Luke.
But he immediately dismissed the idea. It might just be a lie made up by the bank robber.
Without confirmation and rashly running to claim credit, he was afraid it would provoke ridicule.
Lex hesitated. He thought of what the bank robber said that there was an ore hidden in the trunk of his jeep.
...
...
"Lex? Lex!"
That afternoon, Clark came over to Lex's place as usual.
Although the equestrian competition was stopped and cancelled, fencing could still go on.
Besides, Clark would rather spend time with his friends than face his older cousin. At least it wouldn't be stressful.
Luke was sometimes not very serious and enjoyed saying strange things that people couldn't understand.
But perhaps because of the keen intuition of Kryptonians, he always felt like there was something pressing on his head every time he faced his older cousin.
'Maybe it's the oppressive feeling a Super Saiyan emanates?'
"It's unlocked ...?"
Clark rang the doorbell several times, but there was no response.
He stretched out his hand and pushed the door. The mahogany clad copper thick door opened a bit.
"Lex!"
Clark tried to call him twice. Still no response.
So, he walked inside and went straight up the stairs to the second floor, where Lex's study was.
"You're home? Why didn't you answer?"
Clark couldn't help complaining when he saw Lex sitting in front of his desk with his head down.
"I, didn't... hear... you."
Lex looked like he had a cold. His voice was a little hoarse, and he spoke one word at a time.
His eyes were looking straight at an iron box on the table, without looking at his friend who had arrived.
"You're a little strange. Are you sick?"
Clark felt something wasn't quite right and came closer.
"No. I'm ... fine."
Lex slowly looked up and pulled out a stiff smile.
His eyes were filled with a fierce light, like a beast, radiating a violent aura.
Clark saw that and couldn't help but step back.
Lex, who was usually humorous and tried to show his gentle side, was like a different person.
He suddenly stood up, grabbed the slender steel sword on the shelf and stabbed at Clark.
"Lex, what are you doing?!"
Clark was careless. He didn't dodge and was directly hit by the other party.
The sharp steel sword pierced his chest, bending into an arc, not even pricking Superman's skin.
According to Clark's broad-minded character, he couldn't possibly kill Lex.
So, he could only shout, trying to wake him up, while constantly backing up and avoiding the attack.
Thud!
Clark hit the table. The metal box shook, the contents rolled out and fell on the carpet.
He involuntarily looked back and found a dark, pitch-black abnormal crystal.
The glow of the surface seemed to bounce off, causing Clark's eyes to slightly squint.
He wanted to look away and try to wake Lex up, but a different voice seemed to appear in his head.
It roared and echoed --
"Kill this bastard! Crush his bones and show him a painful death!"
"Step on his face! This arrogant show-off!"
"Clark Kent, you're the most powerful person in the world. Why should you obey the rules?!"
"You can do whatever you want!"
"..."
Clark wrapped his hands around his head, trying to shake that hateful voice out of his head.
"That voice is yourself, Clark. You need to learn to accept it."
Lex's pitch-black pupils shrunk, and an evil grin appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"Get rid of those restraints and make yourself feel better, right?"
Clark's forehead was bursting with veins as if filled with rage.
He looked over at the chattering Lex, took a big step forward, broke the steel sword that had once again stabbed him in the chest, and raised his hand to knock his opponent out of the room.
Bang!
Lex's body slammed against the wall, and he passed out.
"You're too noisy!"
Clark spoke in a foul tone that didn't fit his personality.