15: Discoveries
Smallville was in chaos, pinpointing a particular reason would be difficult as many important events had occurred in a short amount of time.
The murder of students in front of the high school was a localized chaos, not many people beyond those present and the officers who began to head there had an idea of what had happened.
Then, a horrible sound, like the screeching of a million insects, swept through, causing that all the crystals in kilometers around to suddenly shatter. That was a general chaos, one that affected Smallville and a bit beyond.
Next came the tremors, like continuous earthquakes that began to shake the town for two or three minutes culminating in a roar that made everything before it pale in comparison, a real earthquake that only lasted a few seconds but brought the small rural town into even greater chaos than before.
The inhabitants of Smallville were scared, confused, but above all doubtful, what the hell had happened?
On the grounds of Smallville School, Carol arrived running, her destroyed clothes had been changed, and an identical trench coat to the one she had been wearing all day replaced the previous one.
Carol took a breath before entering the school through a window, which was easy since they all had broken glass.
She easily sneaked into the room where she had left Chloe, using her super hearing to check the situation inside before entering.
Chloe was still unconscious, she seemed, the girl hadn't woken up despite all the chaos that had occurred, and Carol had to wonder if she had hit her too hard.
The steady beats of her heart and her calm breathing didn't seem to indicate anything wrong so she could only attribute it to Chloe having a heavy sleep or something similar.
Carol approached her, adjusted her better, and sat next to her, that was all she needed to do.
Change, return to school, and wait with Chloe, her alibi was that Chloe had fainted upon witnessing what happened in front of the school and Carol had carried her to hide together in an empty classroom inside.
Now she just had to wait for the police to arrive and give her statement.
There were no cameras in the school and before entering the room with Chloe, Carol had made a quick trip to where Whitney's body was, she had touched him for a few moments, so she had to make sure she hadn't left any fingerprints.
Her superhuman sight made it easy for her to detect such things, she only needed a second to check before she was sure it was okay.
Now she just had to wait, she wanted to do more, help more, but Daniel had told her he would take care of it, that he would clean up this mess, that she only needed to do her part and avoid suspicion.
She felt a bit useless but didn't argue with him, Daniel knew better, he would know what to do she trusted him so she just had to do what he said and everything would be fine.
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Daniel didn't know what the hell to do. Of course, he first made sure to do what he did know how to do.
He arrived at the battlefield and without hesitation began to freeze everything. Bloodstains? Freeze. Insectoid body parts? Freeze. Anything, no matter how insignificant, received the treatment of being frozen at super speed.
The battlefield was extensive, and there was a lot of biological material left behind, mainly from the insect monster.
Daniel took a minute, thirty seconds to find everything he could by going at super speed, combing the area with teeth so fine he surprised himself.
Everything he could gather was quickly taken to a secure area deep in the woods. He couldn't take it home directly; it was too much. So he traveled at least a hundred and fifty kilometers until he found a deep and large enough cave where he stuffed everything and sealed it with his icy breath.
The ice was so thick and deep that it would give him enough time to think of something else.
For now, he needed to calm the waters in Smallville. Everything that had happened would undoubtedly attract too much attention. He wasn't too worried about himself, but Carol and her family were a completely different matter.
If someone were to discover her secret, her true origins, the damn spaceship in her barn...
To say things would go south would be an understatement.
That's when he didn't know what to do, how to fix this. How could he divert attention from everything? As he flew back, his brain started to think quickly.
"Divert attention?"
He looked at himself. Wasn't he the biggest attention attractor in the world right now?
He didn't have to clarify everything or give explanations. He just had to confuse them enough so that suspicions fell on him, not in a bad way, just in a way that people would assume all the strange things that happened had to do with him.
To create the perfect lie, you just had to add some truth to it and let the other part do the remaining work. At least that's what his brother used to say.
And so far, none of his advice had failed him... mostly.
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That day, Daniel arrived in Smallville as Defiant. The aftermath of Carol's battle created accidents and structural damage in some parts of the town. Daniel made sure to reach those places and start helping with the cleanup.
Meanwhile, the authorities had arrived at Smallville High School.
The scene was strange in many ways. Witnesses claimed that a monster had attacked the students, and the descriptions were consistent: humanoid form with insectoid characteristics.
Greg wasn't very popular at school and didn't have friends. No one managed to recognize him truly from a distance and with the severe aesthetic changes he underwent.
Probably the only ones who could recognize him were Whitney and Lana.
Under any other circumstances, claims of a monster appearing would be dismissed and filed away. But news that Defiant was in town spread quickly.
When something extraordinary already exists in the world, everything becomes possible.
For a long time, people had been waiting for someone or something else like Defiant to appear. Many believed he was unique, but the most astute could see a new era coming, a wave that would change the world.
As people arrived at the site where Carol fought, rumors and claims that Defiant had battled the monster that appeared at the high school grew louder.
The students were the most vocal. Their thinking was simple: a monster killing people and a superhero appearing in the same place? Then the superhero took care of it and was now helping the townspeople.
In addition to Carol and Chloe, many other people had hidden in the school—some teachers, some students. Their situation was neither unique nor strange, so they were grouped as indirect witnesses.
Those who attracted the most attention were those at the scene, the direct witnesses, and standing out among them was Lana Lang, who was currently giving her statement.
"I-it was like the skin on his body was a disguise, it bulged and twisted as if it wanted to peel off, I thought I was going to die, but then someone saved me. I couldn't see who it was, it was too fast. One moment that thing had me in its hands, and the next, something hit it hard, and I was safe"
Her statements simply reinforced the rumor of Defiant facing the monster as what had happened.
Lana had forgotten to mention that the person who saved her had spoken to her. She had also forgotten to mention that what she heard was a woman's voice. It wasn't intentional omission—her boyfriend and all her friends had been brutally murdered in front of her by her stalker.
She was still in shock, and recalling every exact detail was difficult; she just wanted to go home.
The police weren't harsh with her. She was just a girl who had no guilt in this. It helped that Smallville was a small town where people knew each other. The older officers had seen Lana grow up, as well as many of the other kids in town.
Some knew her aunt.
They didn't make things difficult for her.
Thanks to her statements, they could put a name to the monster: Greg Arkin. Without hesitation, they went to his house, where they found another crime scene. Although there was no body, the bloodstains were enough indication.
After that, they couldn't find any more clues.
Why Greg had turned into a monster and how he had done it were mysteries they couldn't solve.
It was something extraordinary, something beyond them, so they decided to close the case. There was no point in searching for a reason for impossible things.
With no leads and no trails to follow, they could only withdraw. Until something else happened, this case would remain unresolved.
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"Did I really faint?" Chloe took a sip of her coffee as she looked at Carol. They were still at the school. Due to the seriousness of the situation and the shortage of staff, the officers took a while to take statements. They were just finishing, and the parents of the students were taking longer to arrive due to the aftermath that hit the town.
"yes, you just collapsed. I had to drag you, which wasn't easy. Maybe you need to go on a diet" Carol said, trying to lighten the mood, but Chloe remained incredulous.
She, an aspiring reporter, had fainted just from seeing a corpse? She had missed the most significant event since the meteor shower because she was too scared?
In some way, she couldn't believe it, but she had to. This was a harsh blow to her. How could she be a reporter if a corpse scared her so much she fainted? She didn't want to be callous, but a reporter encountered chilling scenes all the time. She had researched a lot about it and seen many photos online. She knew what she could encounter and see, and she thought she was ready. It seemed she was wrong.
From the side, Carol watched as Chloe seemed frustrated with herself, and she could only apologize internally. This was for her own good. Chloe would understand.
"Carol!" Her parents' voices made Carol lift her head and turn in their direction. The police officers began to let the students' relatives through to pick them up.
Carol stood up and patted Chloe's shoulder.
"Your dad should be here soon. It's better for you to rest and not dwell on this too much, okay? Fear... isn't easy to overcome" This time, Carol's words had something truly genuine in them—fear, a word she had ignored but had now come to understand. Somehow, it made her more aware of some things.
Distractedly, Chloe nodded with her head still bowed. Carol sighed before turning around and going to her parents.
They rushed to hug her immediately.
"Are you okay?" Carol nodded, patting her mother's back.
"Everything's fine. You know nothing bad can happen to me" Her mother sighed in relief, and her father glanced around before approaching and whispering so only the three of them could hear.
"Were you involved in this?"
Carol knew this question was coming, and without blinking, she completely denied it.
"No, I just made sure Chloe was safe, and we hid together"
Her parents seemed much more relieved with that response.
"That's good, that's fine" Jonathan Kent said before starting to lead his family to their truck.
"You did the right thing, Carol. This was very dangerous. I heard some kind of monster attacked the students, and that... hero took care of it. It's too close; you need to be careful. Don't use your abilities until all of this calms down, understand?"
Her father warned her as he opened the van door. His gaze was serious and severe. Carol nodded and got into the vehicle without saying anything else. Arguing now wouldn't serve any purpose.
Soon they were away from the school. The trip home was somewhat uncomfortable as there were still shards of glass on the seats. Carol grimaced at this; now she wished she had prevented the insect monster from screaming as it did.
As she remembered her fight, Carol rubbed her shoulder. The wound had mostly disappeared. Fortunately, her body healed quickly when in direct contact with sunlight, so she didn't have any visible bruises, and all the blood that covered her had been quickly cleaned off at Daniel's house.
Ordinary humans couldn't have done everything they did in such a short period of time, but they weren't ordinary humans. They didn't need to perceive the world like humans did. Moving at super speed had its advantages.
Carol and Daniel could have an extensive conversation in a matter of seconds without wasting time. It's just that they normally didn't do it because neither of them was used to it.
As the school disappeared in the distance, Carol sighed, relaxed against the seat, and closed her eyes. The day wasn't over yet, and she already felt like going to sleep. She hoped Daniel didn't have any problems, although from what she had been hearing, he seemed to have resolved them as he said he would. That was good. He could always figure everything out.
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Daniel couldn't solve everything, but somehow things worked out. Luck? Destiny? Divine intervention?
It didn't matter. His plan had been successful to some extent. Now he just needed to let things take their course and deal with upcoming problems as they arose.
Smallville would be a bit turbulent in the future. He couldn't keep coming and going from the town until things settled down. It seemed he needed to move temporarily.
That sucked. He wasn't exactly swimming in money at the moment. Where would he go?
"Uh, didn't Harleen say she had an apartment in New York? I wonder if she'll let me stay there since she doesn't use it"
She practically lived in Rykers, so it shouldn't be too much to ask, right?
Plus, he needed her help with something else. Daniel pulled out a small fragment of exoskeleton that glowed faintly in green. It was the only one he hadn't left in the cave.
He needed to know what this was and why it could harm Carol. He had a vague idea, but it seemed to slip from his grasp every time he felt he could remember it.
It was really annoying, knowing you know something but not knowing it.
Also, he needed to know where the hell that insect monster came from. Was it something unique? Or something more? How did it mutate like that? If it was human, how did it stop being one?
Questions upon questions. It seemed like these days were just filled with them. Although a hectic life was better than a boring one.
When night fell, Daniel had finished helping the people of Smallville. Some reporters from nearby cities had started to come because of the news of his stay in the town, but it was too late. When they arrived, Daniel had already put on a farewell show and flew directly to Mexico. There, he decided to visit some cartels and dismantle them quite publicly before discreetly returning to Smallville.
He couldn't fly directly, so he made a stop in Kansas City and ran from there at super speed.
Daniel entered the grounds of his farm somewhat exhausted, mostly mentally. He slumped into one of the two chairs in the backyard and looked at the night sky.
He needed to pack, but before that, he needed to give Carol some instructions.
It wasn't long before a blurry figure entered his backyard. Carol had been resting at her house until she heard Daniel arrive, then she sneaked over.
Carol approached and sat in the chair beside him.
"So... a monster"
It was a bit awkward, but it worked to start the conversation. Carol needed to improve her social skills.
Daniel nodded and said, "It seems things are starting to stir up. This world is more complicated than it seems. For now, you need to keep a much lower profile than usual"
Carol blinked. "What do you mean?"
Daniel thought about how to explain it.
"This incident will attract attention not just from the media or the public. Government agencies, private groups, many people with unknown intentions will come to Smallville for a while. The spotlight will be on this place until something else diverts it"
Daniel looked at Carol. He didn't know if she would be happy with what he was going to say.
"So for a while... don't use your powers near Smallville"
Those words made Carol furrow her brows deeply, she held Daniel's gaze for a moment before her shoulders slumped and she sighed.
Just when she could finally use her abilities freely, this happened.
But she could understand it; raising suspicions was not something she sought right now.
Seeing that she didn't argue, Daniel felt relieved.
"So what will you do?" Carol asked. If he said she couldn't use her powers near Smallville, then he probably thought he should be careful too.
"I'll leave Smallville—" Before Daniel could finish, Carol had already lunged at him with clear panic.
"No! You can't!" If it had been someone else, Carol's grip on him would have broken some bones, but instead, Daniel removed her hands from him and held her by the shoulders, gently seating her back down. Even so, it took a lot of effort.
"I'll leave Smallville, temporarily" he emphasized the last part.
Carol relaxed, though she still seemed somewhat nervous.
"Just until things calm down. I'll still come by from time to time during this time to check in."
Carol wasn't happy, and that was noticeable. She gritted her teeth. She wanted to say she would go with him, that they could move somewhere else, but she couldn't do it even if she wanted to. She was still a minor, and her parents would die before letting her go with what was essentially a stranger to them. Not to mention, she still had to finish school and help on the farm.
It was frustrating; she could go anywhere in the world and beyond, but she was tied to Smallville by insignificant things.
"Where will you go?" Well, even if she didn't live nearby, she could go anywhere now that she could fly. Visiting him in her free time should be fine, right?
Daniel spoke without much thought.
"I have a friend who lives in New York; I'll simply ask her to let me stay with her for a while."
Suddenly, the atmosphere seemed much colder than usual. Daniel furrowed his brows; was winter coming early?
He turned to look at Carol, who was giving him a somewhat strange look. He raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask; women were too complicated to understand, and he didn't need more headaches right now.
Meanwhile, Carol was internally debating with herself. Maybe she should run away from home? Her parents would understand; she would just go with Daniel for a while and return later. She could take care of herself pretty well, and they knew that, so it shouldn't be a big problem. school? what is it? is it eaten?
Of course, her logical side told her that was a stupid plan; her logical side should shove her opinions up her ass.
"So, take care of my farm while I'm away, okay? I'll take some things with me but leave some others; they're important, so I'll trust you to keep them safe. I know with you here, everything will be fine" Daniel smiled, patting Carol's head and looking into her eyes, trying to convey all the confidence he had in her.
"Of course" Carol said through gritted teeth. Now she couldn't just follow him without fear of disappointing him; that was cruel.
They talked a little more, but Carol had to leave since her parents were quite alarmed, and she couldn't spend too much time outside without them noticing.
Watching her leave, Daniel entered his farm. Now, what things should he pack?
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"What do you want?!"
Harleen was having a hard day. Working at Rykers was never easy, and dealing with Killgrave's victims wasn't either. She had been quite busy and was hoping to relax during dinner with Daniel.
What she didn't expect was for him to ask for her apartment.
She looked him in the face, narrowed her eyes, and said, "If this is your way of flirting, it's a bit strange"
Daniel laughed, "If I were so bad at it, I wouldn't even dare to leave the house. I just have some issues at home. Have you heard about what happened in Smallville?"
It was a bit hard not to. Everything Defiant did was national news at least these days. Rumors about him fighting a monster quickly circulated among people.
Though not many believed it. After all, there was no evidence beyond some dead students, a small town with some damages, and the fact that Defiant was there helping people.
"Wait, the monster thing is real?!" Harleen almost shouted but managed to control her tone of voice.
Daniel nodded, took a bite of his food, swallowed, and then responded.
"Smallville is where I live" Telling her didn't really affect Daniel much. She already knew his face and his real name. After all, he couldn't just invite her to dinner and let her keep calling him Defiant all the time.
Harleen opened her eyes wide. "Oh... I see" and she understood. She was smart after all.
"So, the world's greatest hero is now a vagabond, huh? Well, you're in luck. This generous lady has decided to help you" she stretched out her hand as if she were one of those arrogant high-society ladies.
Daniel rolled his eyes, "Maybe you should have studied acting; you'd be a hit in circuses."
Harleen scoffed and lowered her hand. "I'd be a hit at anything" she emphasized before becoming serious.
"Alright, you can stay, but I don't want you wrecking anything, okay? That apartment cost me all my savings" she didn't say it, but she really loved her apartment, even if she couldn't be there often these days.
"I promise I'll protect it as if it were mine" Daniel solemnly promised.
Harleen looked at him skeptically "Like your farm that you made a hole in the roof of?"
Maybe Daniel shouldn't have told her that.
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"Welcome!" Harleen said as they entered her apartment, quickly moving to turn on the lights.
Daniel entered and observed the place with some curiosity. It was a medium-sized apartment in a good area of New York, more precisely in Manhattan, which couldn't have been easy to get.
The walls were painted red with white accents and adorned with several interesting paintings. There were some photos, mostly of Harleen alone or with what seemed like friends? Family members? He decided not to pry too much into it and kept walking.
Upon entering the living room, Daniel saw many plants, too many plants.
"I didn't think you were a nature enthusiast" he remarked.
Harleen emerged from the kitchen with two beer cans, and upon seeing him examining the plants, she couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly.
"I'm not" there was some bitterness in her voice.
"For someone who isn't, you seem to take care of them quite well," Daniel didn't have to be an expert to see that.
"Ugh! Let's not talk about those things. I only care for them because they were a gift, but I've been thinking of giving them to someone else. Now that I work at Rykers, it's a bit complicated to take care of them"
She opened the beer can and drank a quarter of it almost instantly, then tossed the other one to Daniel, who caught it and opened it without much thought.
Daniel decided not to inquire further about the plants. It seemed like a sensitive topic, and he didn't want to put his foot in his mouth. Conversations were always tricky.
"Since you'll be staying here, let me give you a tour!" Wanting to change the subject, Harleen stood up and dragged Daniel around the place, showing him every room and how everything worked.
It didn't take long, and Daniel quickly familiarized himself with the place.
After that, they continued chatting about different topics. Harleen kept pulling out beer cans, and Daniel had to wonder if she had a hidden stockpile or something.
"Why are you still sober?" With narrowed eyes, she pointed accusingly at him.
Daniel lowered the beer can and shrugged.
"You know, superpowers and all that. I can't get drunk."
Harleen blinked, then looked at the small stack of empty cans on Daniel's side and fell to her knees on the floor.
"My beer..."
Daniel sighed and looked out the window. It was late already, and he still had things to do, so he should unpack and get going.
"Come on, go to sleep. You still have work, and I have things to do"
Daniel easily lifted her up and led her to her room, where there were more plants.
Maybe the idea of wanting to give them away wasn't a bad one after all.
She fell asleep easily, and Daniel went to the guest room to settle in. He would be here for a while, so it was best to get comfortable.
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"What the hell am I doing?" Harleen had promised herself not to do stupid things for anyone else anymore. She had had enough trouble with all the problems Pamela had caused her.
But now she found herself here at S.T.A.R Labs, watching someone illegally using the internal laboratories, with her help...
If anyone found out, she would be in so much trouble...
Meanwhile, Daniel was quite busy. At first, he had wanted to use the equipment he had already acquired to analyze Greg's remains, but that plan hit a wall head-on. It was one thing to extract fragments from the remains left by Killgrave's power, and another completely different thing to analyze biological samples in depth.
So he needed something better. He didn't have the resources to get the equipment immediately, so he had to think about how to analyze the samples effectively, more precisely how to get the equipment to do so. It was while he was pondering what to do that Harleen decided to lend a hand.
Harleen had worked for a while as an intern at Star Labs while she was still in college, specifically in the neurochemistry area where they researched pharmacological treatments for psychiatric diseases.
Unlike other laboratories, Star Labs didn't focus on a single field; they dealt with technology in general in its various forms.
And for that, they had different types of facilities throughout the country. The laboratory they were in was one dedicated to human biology research, disease treatments, and drug development.
Harleen knew the place, so entering the facilities with her help had been easy. Daniel had taken care of breaching the cyber security system, which was somewhat complicated but nothing that coding at super speed couldn't overcome.
So now he could use the facilities without any problems and conduct some tests.
He looked at the samples he had been analyzing, raising an eyebrow with doubts before signaling for Harleen to come closer. She, still somewhat nervous, ran to his side.
Daniel pointed to the results, and Harleen looked at them attentively, her expression changing several times.
She wasn't an expert in the field of genetic coding, but she had enough knowledge to know when something was very wrong.
How could DNA have two different types of super genetic mutations at the same time?
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Daniel couldn't believe there would come a day when he could say this, but he was becoming quite an avid reader.
It helped that his brain could now process large amounts of information in a short period of time and easily retain that information.
And thanks to that, he had been studying a lot. It had been a few days since the incident in Smallville and his trip to the Star Labs laboratories. The results he obtained were beyond his understanding, and if he wanted to comprehend them, he needed to delve deep into the field of genetic science.
It was easy and difficult in equal parts. Daniel wasn't a genius; he might have had the ability to learn at super speed and retain that information thanks to the core that allowed him to remember things perfectly when he wanted to. That might make him seem like a genius in the eyes of others, but the reality was that he would always be limited to the knowledge that others had already discovered.
Of course, he could use that knowledge to make his own discoveries. That's how humanity had progressed for the most part.
But doing that was incredibly difficult, no matter how good his memory was or how much information he had in his brain.
That's why he didn't believe he was a genius. Geniuses like Tony Stark could also remember large amounts of information. He didn't know if it was perfect, but still, their memory capacity was immense.
But that's not what made them geniuses. No, the real reason they could be above the vast majority of thinking beings is their ability to take the unknown, the impossible, and make it possible.
No matter how much information you retain, it's useless if your brain isn't able to take all that information, analyze it, judge it as insufficient, and seek possibilities where there seem to be none, and yet still find them.
But even though he wasn't a genius, he could certainly pretend to be one with all he had studied lately.
And as they always say, every effort bears fruit.
While carefully inspecting the records, studies, and genetic research done by humanity and securely stored around the world, he noticed something interesting.
Actually, at first, he didn't believe it was real. He had dismissed it as a coincidence, but with each new piece of information he obtained, a pattern emerged.
It was quite well hidden; no one could have found it if they hadn't been specifically looking for something related to genetic mutations.
It was as if every trace of that information had been forcefully erased, at least digitally. But what happens with physical records is that sometimes, some things slip through.
A certain passage in a certain book here, a mention in a study there, old genetic tests and examinations forgotten and dusty, gathering dust in certain libraries, universities, and laboratories.
And so, with dozens more clues.
It had taken him some time, but Daniel had gathered enough information to realize something.
Someone or something had erased a part of humanity's scientific progress in genetic sciences, entire decades.
But it had been careless, as if it had been done hastily. Still, it was a good job; humans would take a long time to realize it. They would have to rediscover things that they had already discovered decades ago.
For Daniel, it was just a matter of searching a little more, looking a little more, obtaining blood samples, and sneaking into the Broad Institute at MIT was the final nail to confirm his suspicions.
Now he just had to find out exactly what effect this Gen X had on humans.
And if that had any relation to the insect monster, now he knew was called Greg Arkin.
A seemingly normal teenager until one day he wasn't.
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Important Note:
This chapter comes in advance thanks to Anonymous (yes, that's literally their name on Ko-fi) who decided to donate $50 usd out of nowhere, without asking for anything in return. On the other hand, I also have to thank, because they are in no way less important, the two people who decided to subscribe monthly on Ko-fi (I didn't even know I had that option activated on Ko-fi). Danny N and Awpanda 1, thank you very much for your support!
One of them decided that my writings were worth enough to subscribe for $20 usd monthly... not to mention all the other people who have been giving one-time donations.