"I didn't expect Father to testify for Lex," Clark said, still a bit surprised as they returned home that evening.
Luther had indeed stayed near their fruit stand all day, never leaving their sight. But it was surprising that his father, Jonathan, who clearly disliked Luther, had stepped forward to provide a character witness for him, clearing him of some suspicion.
"Do you think Father would lie just to cause trouble for Luther?" David raised an eyebrow and retorted.
Clark scratched his chin, thinking it impossible. His earlier statement had been a doubt on his father's decades of teaching by example.
"Honesty is a bright mirror that reflects your character. I don't want to add a stain to that mirror for the sake of Luther's son," Jonathan said, returning from outside and hearing his sons talking. He took off his coat and spread his arms open.
"Especially not in front of you, my sons."
The farm's fresh fruit had sold well today, and the hard work of planting had paid off. He was in good spirits and spoke a little louder.
"I wonder who was late for a date with me when they were young, claiming their motorcycle broke down halfway when they had overslept."
Martha, walking up from behind, shook her head. "Sometimes, a white lie is harmless."
Jonathan hugged his wife lightly, a little embarrassed, and winked at his sons. "Otherwise, how would we have this warm home now?"
Alright, although the atmosphere at home was relaxed, Clark could tell his father's dislike for Luther hadn't changed.
"Today was really strange. Luther never left the market. Who robbed the bank?" He recalled the day's events, his words tinged with confusion.
"Many people saw Luther, and the bank's closed-circuit television also recorded him."
"Maybe that robber just looked a lot like Lex Luthor?" Martha, washing her hands in the kitchen and preparing dinner, turned back and guessed.
"Luther hasn't been in town long, and not many people know him particularly well. They might have mistaken him." She wiped the water from her hands and continued with a smile. "Jonathan, do you remember Jack King from when we were in school? Besides his curly hair, he looked so much like our English teacher."
"He always liked to imitate the teacher's accent and joke around behind his back, before he was caught by the teacher and his parents were called to the office." Jonathan also recalled a funny story from their school days.
Clark agreed, shrugging. "Perhaps it was someone who thought he looked a lot like Lex and decided to try his luck."
The police officer explained the incident: Lex Luthor went to the bank to withdraw money, and the branch manager excitedly greeted the bank's important client. However, when it came time to sign, the signature didn't match the previously recorded samples.
"The bank manager casually asked if he could see his driver's license, wanting to process his transaction in a different way. Then he pulled out a gun... Fortunately, no one was injured in the end." He concluded his summary of the town's hot topic.
However, Clark actually had another guess. David, who had been silent since earlier, met his gaze. They both knew what the other was thinking but didn't say it in front of their parents. Even though their parents knew about the existence of superpowered beings, they tried not to worry their sons too much.
...
After dinner, in the attic of the warehouse.
Blowing in the cool night breeze and gazing at the quiet wheat fields in the distance under the moonlight, David turned to look at Clark, who had just snuck back from outside.
"Where did you go?"
"Nowhere," Clark scratched his head. David and Gregg had fought earlier, damaging the road. It was dark now, and he was afraid someone might drive into a pothole and get into an accident, so he went to check.
"You're truly kind," David couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing him.
"When I went, the road maintenance engineering team contracted by the town had just finished their work. They were very confused about the damaged road surface, thinking that even falling steel weighing tens of tons from a truck couldn't cause such damage." Clark spoke about what he saw, glancing at David, and then asked casually.
"David, how strong are you?"
"You want to arm wrestle me to strengthen our brotherly bond?" David narrowed his eyes.
"How old are you?"
"No..."
"Good, I'm not interested in arm wrestling with you either."
"You should really practice masking your intentions when you speak, Clark."
He put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the night.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with being sincere."
Clark felt a bit annoyed that his younger brother always spoke to him with a tone that implied he was more mature and smarter, even though it was often true.
"Oh?"
David chuckled softly. "Are you going to tell me you were just genuinely curious about my strength just now?"
"..."
The son of Krypton felt a bit embarrassed.
His question earlier hadn't been entirely innocent.
He wanted to know David's strength level so he'd know how much force to use to stop something if another incident like Gregg's happened.
David saw through Clark's intentions.
"Save it, I'm not telling you."
He added after a moment.
"Because honestly, I don't know myself."
"David, do you think the person impersonating Luthor and robbing the bank was a metahuman?"
Hearing this answer, Clark pondered for a moment in surprise, then changed the subject.
He'd met two metahumans in a very short time, and the impression was profound.
Now that something strange had happened, it was like being almost bitten by a snake; he started seeing snakes in ropes and instinctively thought in that direction.
"Maybe."
David didn't rule out the possibility.
But he didn't think every strange thing had to be related to metahumans.
"If it was a metahuman, he might be able to withstand bullets with his bare body."
Clark's expression was slightly grave.
Even Gregg, who had a strength of over a hundred tons, didn't have that kind of defense. This might be an even more powerful metahuman than Gregg.
David nodded.
News had spread in town, and according to eyewitnesses, they could clearly see the person was only wearing a light suit, not a bulletproof vest.
But in the eyes of ordinary people, there was no other explanation for someone to escape unharmed after being shot twice in the back, other than wearing a bulletproof vest.
"Don't worry, the bank robber probably isn't interested in the farm."
He patted Clark's shoulder and turned to go downstairs to sleep.
But Clark was worried about a bandit daring to rob a bank and hiding within their town.
"I hope everyone else is okay too."
...
Thump, thump, thump!
Early morning.
In an antique shop in town.
Catherine, who looked a bit old with graying hair, was carrying a red backpack full of money and hurrying up to the second floor where she lived, urgently knocking on her daughter's door.
"Tina, where did you get all this money?"
Tina, who had just washed her hair, casually came out of her room, absently wiping her hair with a towel.
"I told you, our lives would get better."
"Tell me, you didn't rob the bank yesterday." Catherine said to her daughter, her voice filled with disbelief and clinging to the last shred of hope.
"Of course I didn't."
Tina, with her high-bridged nose, pretty features, and long, reddish-brown hair, smiled.
Before Catherine could breathe a sigh of relief, Tina put down the towel, and a chilling, bizarre scene unfolded.
Crack!
Tina's skin and flesh flowed like clay, her appearance suddenly changing. She grew taller, her frame widened, and she transformed into the bald appearance of Luthor, a cold sneer on her face.
"It was Lex Luthor who did it."
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------