(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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"Ahem... Did you dial the wrong number or is this a prank?"
Jonathan's voice was filled with disbelief as he listened to the call.
"What?... Thank you."
Martha was flipping pancakes in the pan and turned around, asking, "What's going on?"
Jonathan frowned as he put down the phone.
"The credit card company called to confirm the amount we spent."
A series of bills, a lot of money had been charged to their credit cards this morning.
"But we clearly..."
He was about to take out the credit card but realized that the card was missing from his wallet.
"Jonathan, when did we install a satellite dish in the warehouse?"
Looking out through the window, Martha suddenly noticed a brand-new satellite dish mounted on the wall outside the second floor of the warehouse.
Jonathan looked as well, and he and his wife exchanged a puzzled glance.
The couple walked into the warehouse, finding everything before them unfamiliar.
"When did our storage space for farm machinery and tools turn into a game room?"
A confused voice came from behind, saying exactly what the couple was thinking.
"Son."
They both turned around.
David, who had just returned from Washington, stood at the warehouse entrance, hands in his jacket pockets, looking surprised.
The warehouse was now filled with various video game consoles, stylish rock-themed clothes hanging from the ceiling, and a few beautiful electric guitars mounted on the wall.
'It looks like a little haven for some nerdy boy who likes games and rock music but cares so much about his face to do it.'
"Boom boom boom!"
Loud game sounds echoed from above.
It was still a while before Clark's birthday, and even then, his parents wouldn't indulge him like this. David raised an eyebrow.
"We... won the lottery?"
Thinking of his new way of farming emotional points, but not wanting to disappear from home without reason, he decided to wait until after the exams and take a vacation before searching for Paradise Island. After all, it wouldn't take more than a week. However now, he had to deal with some new shit again.
"I really hope so."
Looking upstairs, Jonathan's face flickered with confusion and anger. He guessed what had happened.
The three of them walked up the stairs to the attic.
Clark, who was dressed completely differently from his usual attire, wore a black leather jacket that screamed rebellion and defiance. He was fixated on the game screen, the booming sound effects of the fighting characters resonating from within.
"Die, die! Hahaha, Let's see how long you can last NoobMaster69!"
He frantically pressed the buttons on his game controller.
The couple watched Clark, who seemed completely immersed in the violent games, with a mixture of strangeness and anger.
"Clark, what's going on? How did all of this end up in our house?"
"Eddie's Store in Metropolis, open 24 hours, with low prices and discounts."
Even though his parents stood by his side, questioning why the warehouse had turned into this state, Clark still didn't look away from the screen.
"Are you saying... you used our credit cards to buy all this?"
Jonathan widened his eyes in anger.
Martha couldn't believe that her usually shy and nerdy eldest son would do such a thing, he really stole their money to willfully buy these things without even a word.
"Clark, did you steal our money?"
Martha, who rarely got angry, couldn't help but look stern.
David's eyes were full of surprise. Had Clark entered his rebellious phase?
At the tail end of puberty?
"Clark, are you even listening to your mother?"
Seeing that their eldest son was still engrossed in his video game and not turning around, Jonathan angrily turned off the noisy speakers.
"Ugh, you guys are so annoying!"
Without the loud music, the fighting in the game instantly lost its appeal. Annoyance flashed on Clark's face. He angrily tossed aside the game controller and got up.
"Do you guys not have enough work to do already on this poor farm?!"
"What did you say, Clark?"
Hearing words completely uncharacteristic of Clark, David frowned.
Even during his rebellious phase, he shouldn't be this disrespectful. Someone with a superpower like Tina's, one that could shapeshift?
"Clark, we've never taught you to speak to your parents like this!"
His son's attitude and unexpected reaction took them by surprise. Rather than admitting fault, he was being impolite to him and his mother. Jonathan's expression froze, and he said angrily:
"Clark, what happened?"
Martha was stunned, her eyes reflecting deep confusion. The eldest son before her felt like a stranger.
Could it be that because their eldest son was an alien, with super strength, super speed, and supervision, and now experiencing a super rebellious phase?
"Don't talk to me in a preaching tone, you're not my real parents anyway."
Facing the couple who had worked so hard to raise him, Clark sneered disdainfully, uttering even more painful words.
"You're just a lucky couple who happened to find me in the wheat field."
As his words landed, the warehouse fell silent.
Martha felt as if she had been struck by a heavy hammer. She staggered back, her eyes reddening. Jonathan's face turned ugly, a mix of shock and anger as he called out his eldest son's full name:
"Clark Kent!"
"If you don't want to go to school with a bruised and swollen face after the holidays, Apologize to Mom and Dad right now, Clark!"
Hearing Clark reveal his alien heritage, David no longer doubted if the person before him was truly Clark. His voice turned cold, devoid of any emotion.
"Immediately, right now!"
A ring with a 'ruby' embedded in it on Clark's hand, glowing strangely, caught his attention.
Unlike the glowing green kryptonite, the color along with Clark's sudden change in personality reminded David of something, and his face slightly changed.
"Who do you think you are?"
Clark seemed to have pent-up grievances; he replied angrily.
"I've been fed up with you for a long time.
You should know in this house, who's the older brother and who's the younger one, right?"
He clenched his teeth while looking at David, remembering all those times he'd been humiliated, never obedient, daring to repeatedly make him embarrassed!
{Anger from Clark + 112...}
"Take off the ring on your hand, Clark."
Clark's emotions became extreme, and David became even more certain of his speculation. In a deep voice, he said, "You've changed completely now. Don't let the ring control you, and don't make me hit you."
It was the red Kryptonite that had drastically altered Clark's personality.
'There are many types of Kryptonite. Besides the green Kryptonite that weakens Kryptonians and the blue Kryptonite that temporarily removes Kryptonians' abilities, there's the gold Kryptonite that permanently removes Kryptonians' abilities, and the black Kryptonite that splits Kryptonians into good and evil.'
Among them, there's also the red Kryptonite, which makes Superman abandon his morality, experience a surge of negative emotions, and gradually become evil.
He could no longer view Clark the same way as before due to the personality change.
Due to the presence of his parents, David held back from acting immediately and gestured subtly for his parents to leave.
"The ring?"
Jonathan and Martha realized something might have happened to Clark. Understanding that their younger son was concerned for their safety, they looked worriedly at their abnormal elder son and withdrew downstairs to avoid causing any trouble for their younger son.
"How could there be red Kryptonite in Smallville?'
David frowned, staring at Clark and the red Kryptonite ring on his hand.
In regard to Kryptonite that affects Kryptonians, the most common type is green Kryptonite. Other types of Kryptonite are extremely rare in the comics and have different ways of being formed compared to green Kryptonite.
Red Kryptonite forms only when green Kryptonite goes through a special cosmic cloud, a detail that David had almost forgotten, having never found red Kryptonite in Smallville.
"Are you afraid, David?"
Seeing David moving and blocking his way as if facing a wild animal, Clark burst into laughter.
"What are you going to do? Pull out a meteorite ring and make me kneel powerless on the ground?"
The next instant, he turned and pulled out a stone from behind him.
A gray rock base with a cluster of yellow crystals seemingly growing on top.
"What do you see in this?"
Clark's eyes showed a sinister and victorious glow.
"The wishing stone?"
David's expression darkened.
"It seems you've stolen other things besides Mom and Dad's credit cards!"
He had simply locked the wishing stone in the bedside cabinet.
Having seen the body of Atkins, Clark's resistance to the wishing stone was high and he was full of disgust towards it. He was unprepared for Clark's actions.
"What do you want to do?"
"Do? Of course, erase my only weakness."
Clutching the stone tightly, Clark laughed recklessly, excitement in his eyes.
He wasn't perfect yet!
"Fortunately, this stone is here."
Buzz!
"Don't do something you'll regret, Clark!"
David was furious. He raised his hand and fired an energy beam, trying to knock away the wishing stone.
Making a wish to the wishing stone came with a price, but no one could clearly know what price the wishing stone exacted.
But Clark has always been faster than David, especially after releasing the limitations on his mind. His power now far exceeded what it used to be. In an instant, he disappeared from his spot and reappeared downstairs.
"My dear little brother, speed has never been your strong suit. Have you forgotten?"
At the attic railing, David looked down and shook his head with a sneer at the rebellious Clark, who loudly stated his wish.
"I wish for all meteorites that weaken me to disappear!"
Crackling sounds echoed!
Dark clouds swept across the sky, sudden darkness enveloping it, and lightning thrashed.
In different places all over the world, green Kryptonite disappeared simultaneously. The box under David's bed that was once filled with Kryptonite was now empty.
"From today onwards, there's nothing that can restrain me!"
Using his X-ray vision, Clark saw that beneath the town's surface, there were no longer those bothersome green stones.
Amid the strong wind, Clark laughed heartily at the sky, pocketing the wishing stone. He looked at David with arrogance, clenching his fist, the knuckles cracking.
"Now let me teach you a lesson and show you how a qualified and obedient brother should act!"
In the distance, the parents watched this scene in shock and worry from behind the house.
"You're too willful, Clark!"
Seeing the wish had been made, David's expression changed, and he narrowed his eyes.
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power-stones! ~(˘▾˘~)