"Maybe Clark is avoiding an awkward silence."
Eric gently put down the newspaper in his hand.
"An awkward silence?"
Jonathan looked at Eric with a puzzled expression.
"Wandering outside at night, waiting until you and Mom go to bed before coming home to avoid an awkward silence."
Unlike Jonathan and Martha, Eric didn't seem worried. He casually said, "Clark feels he shouldn't be punished for having abilities."
"Did Clark tell you that?"
Mother Martha frowned and asked.
"No, he usually doesn't open up to me, especially when he thinks I'm on Dad's side."
"Okay, let's put the awkward silence aside for now. Eric, go out and look for him. I can't believe Clark would be out wandering without telling us."
Jonathan took Eric's coat from the hanger and handed it to him.
Without saying another word, Eric put on the coat and stepped out into the night.
Using his super vision, he scanned the surroundings.
The flat farm was sparsely populated and had no obstacles, so Eric's super vision could easily see miles away.
The "Fortress of Solitude" secret base, the school, Lana's farm, the bar...
He checked all the places where Clark might be.
Still nothing.
Eric's expression became more serious.
Could something really have happened?
In the cornfield near the third fertilizer plant of LuthorCorp, the quiet was broken.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Heavy breathing mixed with faint groans.
In a clearing in the cornfield stood a wooden cross.
Clark, shirtless with only a pair of shorts on, was firmly tied to the cross.
A conspicuous "S" symbol was painted on his chest with red paint, and his hair was wet with sweat.
Clark, with his head lowered, was panting painfully while trying to free his bound hands.
But the kryptonite necklace hanging around his neck severely suppressed his strength, making it difficult for him to move.
Let alone break free from the cross.
Several miles away in the cornfield, a curly-haired young man with a high school appearance had his hands in his pockets, watching Clark on the cross with a complex expression.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind blew, making the cornstalks sway violently.
The young man raised his hand to shield his eyes from the dust.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a stranger standing next to him.
Eric appeared in the gust of wind.
Although he couldn't fly yet, he had found Clark after some time.
Using super speed, he arrived in the cornfield in an instant.
The gale caused by his rapid movement made the surrounding cornstalks sway wildly.
"Did you do this?"
Eric looked at Clark on the cross in the distance and asked the curly-haired young man bluntly.
"Me? I couldn't do something like this; it was those football team guys."
The curly-haired young man was startled by Eric's imposing manner but shook his head in denial.
"Those bastards pick someone to be the scarecrow before each game, tying them up here to humiliate and torture them!"
The young man seemed equally unhappy with the football team's actions, showing hatred in his eyes. "I thought they'd stop after what happened, but they've only gotten worse! Evil never goes away, and they never reflect or change!"
Listening to the young man's words, Eric squinted his eyes. "Sounds like you've been tied up as a scarecrow on the cross before. What's your name?"
"Jerome."
The curly-haired young man smiled faintly. "Have you heard my name before?"
"Uh-huh, you're the guy who was tied up as a scarecrow and went missing three years ago, right?"
Eric had heard about an unlucky guy chosen as the scarecrow by the football team three years ago, who then mysteriously disappeared the next day.
That unlucky guy's name seemed to be "Jerome."
With this thought flashing through his mind, Eric slowly turned around to face Jerome, his eyes briefly glowing red. "Jerome, I think...you must have heard my name too."
"Why would I have heard your name?" Jerome asked in confusion.
"Eric Kent! When you stole the meteor rocks from my locker, you must have seen the name on it."
As soon as he finished speaking, red beams shot from Eric's eyes.
"Zzzz!"
The high-temperature heat vision, though not at full power due to the "Homelander template," still pierced Jerome's shoulder instantly.
"Ah...!"
Jerome screamed as the impact from the heat vision sent him flying.
Boom!
He fell heavily in the cornfield, sliding along the ground with undiminished momentum.
The ground was plowed into a deep furrow, the cornstalks crushed and broken.
"Cough, cough..."
Lying among the flattened cornstalks, Jerome coughed painfully.
Holding his shoulder, he struggled to stand up.
In the next second, Eric was in front of him.
"With a body far beyond ordinary people, even now you can still stand up. Did you use kryptonite to enhance your body?"
Eric's cold voice reached his ears.
"You!"
Jerome wanted to say something but was punched in the stomach by Eric.
"Ugh!"
Blood spurted from his mouth.
His stomach felt like it had been hit by a speeding train, his organs seeming to shift.
"Surprised? I can sense the taste of kryptonite. It's in your body. You stole the key to my locker and took my kryptonite, didn't you?"
From the moment he saw him, Eric was sure this guy was the thief who took his kryptonite.
Not only did he sense the kryptonite from his body, but the scent matched the one left near his locker.
"Ugh!"
Blood trickled from Jerome's mouth, but he didn't respond, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Eric.
The next second, a massive energy burst from his body!
Silver-white lightning arcs shot skyward like silver snakes!
More lightning carrying high voltage surrounded Eric.
"Bastard, die!"
Jerome, his eyes flashing silver, roared as the crackling lightning surged toward Eric.
The violent lightning made the air tremble slightly.
"Lightning power?"
To Jerome's despair, Eric stood in the lightning unscathed.
His clothes were a bit tattered.
Eric stretched out his hand and lightly grasped, the surrounding lightning dissipating instantly!
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