"Clark seems a bit off."
In the school newspaper office, Pete had just walked in and said this to Chloe.
Chloe, holding a stone, didn't notice what Pete said. Excitedly, she remarked, "You won't believe what I discovered, Pete! The rings the school sold us are actually fake."
"Let's talk about the fake rings later, Chloe. Clark has been acting really strange lately."
"What?" Chloe asked, puzzled. "What's happened to Clark?"
"Motorcycles, conflicts with his dad, his personality—he seems like a different person. I just talked to Mr. Jonathan, and they're even considering the worst-case scenario, like drug addiction."
Chloe shrugged. "Clark has always been strange, but maybe he's gotten stranger lately. Besides, he'd have to start using drugs to get addicted, and I don't believe he'd do something so stupid."
"Hopefully." Pete sighed. "I don't know any reasons, so I can only guess. By the way, what were you holding just now?"
He looked at the stone on Chloe's desk.
"That's the news I just discovered, this ring!"
Chloe showed Pete the ruby ring in her hand. "The graduation rings the school sold are fake. The truth is the jewelry company replaced the rubies with worthless meteorites to cut costs."
Pete looked at the ring on his hand. "Chloe, I'd love to believe you, but I must remind you that the gemstone is red, and meteorites are green."
"Not the meteorites near Smallville, but the ones found at Hobbs Lake. The meteorites there are entirely red. This sample I have here proves it."
Chloe handed the glowing red stone to Pete. "Look at the patterns on it; they're the same as on our rings. Tomorrow, I'll put this fact on the front page of 'The Torch.' It will definitely be big news."
Holding the red meteorite, Pete's expression became serious. "Do you think Clark might be affected by this red meteorite? I know he acts strangely around the green ones."
"Hmm, like Atkinson's enchantment, could the red meteorite also have enchanted him?"
Chloe frowned. "It's indeed possible."
Elsewhere, at the Kent farm.
Martha was tending to her husband's injuries.
Jonathan, with a bare, red-swollen back, leaned on the railing, allowing his wife to apply a hot compress to his wounds.
"I can't believe Clark would do that."
Martha's eyes showed her concern for her husband.
Jonathan gritted his teeth in pain and exhaled, "He seems like a different person."
"How can we persuade him to come home?"
"I don't know," Jonathan shook his head. "If he wants to do his own thing, there's nothing we can do."
"If this continues, I don't know what Clark might do. If we want to stop him, Eric is the only one who can."
Martha, worried, said, "Eric awakened his abilities earlier and is better at using them."
"That would only make things worse."
Jonathan put on his jacket, interrupting his wife. "We've seen Eric learn to fly. He can even break the sound barrier in the air. He's like a fighter jet now. And Clark, who just learned to use his heat vision under Eric's guidance—if they clash, I don't think Clark could easily resist."
"They're not ordinary people. If they fight, the damage could be catastrophic for the town. I don't know what would happen."
Taking the towel from his wife, Jonathan applied it to his injured chest and continued, "Once a conflict starts, it won't end easily. For Clark's sake and for the town, I don't support calling Eric back right now."
"But Clark won't understand."
Martha, looking toward Clark's "secret fortress," said painfully, "He seems like he's suddenly become someone who doesn't understand others overnight. How can such a big change happen in one night?"
"Martha, he's Clark. His superpowers appeared overnight too."
"Do you think this is part of his growth?"
Martha asked her husband.
Jonathan hesitated briefly. "I don't know. The things he said—the emotions have probably been brewing for a while."
Seeing her husband's dejected expression, Martha touched his shoulder. "No, Jonathan, Clark loves you. He loves you just as much as Eric does. This isn't just simple rebellion; there's something else we don't know about."
"I don't think I'm being rebellious."
In the basement of Wayne Manor, Bruce pressed his hands together against his face, staring at the screen in front of him.
His hair was slightly messy, and his eyes were red, clearly from a sleepless night.
Bruce stared at the screen without blinking and said to Alfred, who was bringing him coffee, "I know what I'm doing and understand the consequences. It's just temporary physical collapse. But trust me, I won't be that fragile."
He began typing on the computer in front of him. "Second processor, conduct a voice search."
"Voice search failed!"
"Damn it!"
Bruce pounded the table heavily.
Yesterday, he fought a mysterious person in an alley but only saw the person's chin.
Yes, what gnawed at him was that even though they fought, he hadn't seen Eric's face.
Even after recording the person's voice, no matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't match it to any known identity.
"I put the coffee beside you, Master Bruce."
Alfred placed the coffee next to Bruce. "If I may, Master Bruce, I'd like to say something. I read an article in the science section of the Gazette. Recently, German ornithologists discovered that bats need the sunset to fly long distances."
"In other words, Master Bruce, if you're willing, even Batman needs some sunlight to continue flying."
Bruce reanalyzed Eric's voice. "I know enough about bats, Alfred. Do you know anything about owls?"
"I don't know more than you do, Master."
Alfred paused briefly and said, "I've prepared medicinal black coffee for you. It's good for your late nights and your injured body. Maybe you need a day's rest."
Pouring some coffee into a cup, Alfred added, "Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Cobblepot suddenly announced a banquet, inviting many of Gotham's celebrities and officials. Naturally, that includes you, Master Bruce."
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