(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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When Clark and David hurried back to school, they found out that their classmates had already lost their memories of being charmed and controlled. They couldn't recall anything, except for a stunningly beautiful woman entering the classroom, introducing herself as the new teacher, Atkins.
At Luthor Manor.
Sitting behind his desk, Lex Luthor shook his head to regain his senses. He felt as if a piece of his brain had been taken out, leaving an unexplainable gap.
"What did I forget?"
He only remembered a hot woman barging into his office.
What happened afterward... afterward...
Luthor's face turned grim, and he quickly crouched down to open the safe.
It was empty!
As expected, his worst fear had come true; the wish-granting stone was missing!
"Was it that woman?!"
"No, not quite..."
Luthor frowned, realizing that his brain seemed sharper than before. He could recall scientific knowledge thoroughly in his mind, and from time to time, inspiration about experiments occasionally surfaced...
"Exoskeletal mechs, new energy sources..."
It seemed like the wishes he had wished for had come true, but when had he made those wishes?
Luthor furrowed his brow, struggling to remember any fragments of memories.
"What on earth has happened?"
...
After Atkins left the people she had charmed, they would lose memories of her. With her ability, she had seduced countless men over the years, making them fall in love with her and deceiving them into giving up their wealth. If not for this point, those victims would have pursued and killed her after the incident, chopping her up.
This ability actually helped David and Clark.
As for the collective loss of a short memory among students, in this town known for its strange occurrences, it wasn't anything significant. After the police ruled out the presence of any neurological drugs in the classroom, everyone returned to school the next day as usual.
Summer was approaching, marking the coming graduation.
As the students were about to enter college and go their separate ways, they cherished their feelings for each other as classmates and felt reluctant to part with the beautiful high school campus.
Some clever minds spotted an opportunity and began selling memorabilia within the campus.
"David, don't you want to buy a graduation ring to commemorate the end of high school life?"
On their way home from school, in the corridors, Clark asked David beside him.
"You've been lost in thought these past couple of days. Is it because of the graduation?"
However, his brother didn't seem like someone who was sentimental or nostalgic about the past.
"Are you talking about spending dozens or even hundreds of dollars on a ring that costs a few dollars to make?"
David interrupted with a shake of his head.
"No thanks. The only nostalgic effect this kind of action would have is that, after several years, I'd remember it and want to smack my stupid self."
"Uh..."
Chloe awkwardly withdrew her hand; she was wearing a brass ring engraved with the words "Smallville High," and she had wanted to ask everyone if the ring looked good.
"Clark, don't mind him. As long as we feel it's worth it, that's all that matters."
Pete's enthusiasm wasn't dampened in the slightest; he dragged Clark over to the booth selling commemorative rings.
After picking out a dark wooden ring, Pete found his desired choice, and Clark used his saved pocket money to select a ring that appeared to have a ruby embedded in it.
However, Clark knew that this ring couldn't possibly have a real ruby.
'Could it be plastic, or even synthetic gemstones?'
But regardless, Clark glanced at the inscription of Smallville High School on the inner circle of the ring and happily put it on.
This doesn't affect its memorial role.
The moment he put on the ring; Clark felt a strange sensation rising in his heart.
It was as if an ice cube had suddenly been pressed against his back, causing a shiver to run through his whole body. His eyes widened, excitement rising in his heart, it was like...
Clark thought of some bad things, things that could indulge emotions and excitement.
"How does it feel?"
Pete asked if the ring size was right.
"I've never felt better in my life."
There was a sensation of all shackles being released, an inexplicable excitement filling his heart. His brain had never been this active, and a smile tugged at the corners of Clark's mouth.
"Never before!"
A glint of something unusual flickered in his eyes.
"David was right. Sometimes, after growing up, people feel that their past selves were incredibly stupid, almost wanting to slap themselves."
Now he himself felt that his past self in his memories was so stupid.
He had extraordinary talents but didn't use them. He could have lived a thousand times better life than he was living now.
"I told you it wouldn't be wrong."
Pete looked delightedly at the ring on his hand.
Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. The ring looked exquisite and beautiful on the display stand, but when worn on his hand, it wasn't so easily noticeable. 💀
With excitement in his eyes, Clark glanced at his brother not far away, his eyes flickering for a moment, and then he hid the smile.
...
During this rare vacation, despite exams approaching, neither David nor Clark considered exams to be a problem; it was leisure time for them.
He was not interested in asking about Clark's plans, if nothing else happened he would stick to the routine and go on a date with Lana.
'Although Whitney's 'mysterious disappearance' made Lana somewhat concerned, it hasn't affected the growth between Clark and Lana's relationship.'
Ever since David had encountered Atkins, he had been curious about the extent of the temporal ripples he caused.
One morning, taking advantage of the vacation, he rushed to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington.
He remembered that Wonder Woman had been working there since after World War I, hiding among the public as an ordinary person.
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
A grand hall paved with smooth marble.
"Diana Prince? I'm sorry, I've double-checked that we don't have a person by the name you're looking for among the staff responsible for artifact identification and restoration."
After a series of inquiries, the receptionist set down the phone and replied in a soft voice.
"Thank you."
David's expression was surprised as he walked out of the museum.
He inquired around Washington again, but there was no sign of the mysterious woman who could control golden lassos to save the people from crimes.
"Did I cause a bigger ripple than I thought?"
Could it be that Wonder Woman hadn't left Paradise Island yet? "Paradise Island..."
In Fountain Square, watching a white dove flying across the sky, David gazed into the distance and softly murmured.
For the past couple of days, he had been thinking about one thing. His emotional points seemed to be controlled only by those with extraordinary powers, aside from the unique roles like Batman.
'But there are so few of those people.'
Even in Smallville, there weren't many power-wielders. Up to now, he hadn't encountered more than ten individuals with abilities, and their combined emotional impact couldn't match even a tenth of Clark's.
'Most of the time, improvement of the template fusion relies on Clark.'
Now that Clark's strength had grown, he could provide him with sixty or seventy emotional points at times in a single go.
'But what if it's a race of superhumans with a large number of people...'
David's eyes lit up at the thought.
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power stones!~(˘▾˘~)