The next day, school went on as usual. By evening, Clark and Charles came home together. Since Charles had been late the day before, everyone took turns lecturing him. Clark followed him around like a dog today, though he was clearly annoyed, he didn't want to enter the battle space today.
So, for now, only Tina was training with Kaido inside the battle space. Charles decided he'd practice at night, he need to refine his swordsmanship further to achieve the title of legendary swordsman.
Out on the farm, a brand new red pickup truck sat quietly at the entrance of the small courtyard. The shiny paint reflected the sunset, and a ribbon of fireworks wrapped around the hood made it look like a festive gift.
"Whose car is this?" Clark asked, spotting his mother walking out of the barn.
Martha wiped her hands on her apron. "That's yours, Clark."
"Mine?" he repeated, stunned.
"You saved Lex, remember? He gave you the car to thank you."
Martha frowned slightly, pulling a letter from her pocket before handing it to Clark.
Charles had already heard the story yesterday how Clark was knocked off a bridge by a runaway silver car. Clark came out without a scratch, but the driver nearly drowned in the river below.
Clark had dived in after him and pulled him out saving his life.That man turned out to be Lex Luthor, someone who would one day become Superman's greatest rival.
After discovering Superman, he devoted himself to ridding the world of the 'threat' of Superman. According to his view, Superman imprisoned mankind in the cradle of comfort, did not give mankind the opportunity to grow in the face of crisis, and weakened the racial potential of mankind.
"Dear Clark,"Clark tore it open eagerly and began reading aloud with excitement. "drive carefully. Don't be like me…I can't thank you enough for yesterday. Lex Luthor."
He was already imagining himself driving the shiny new pickup to school, picturing the looks he'd get as he pulled into the lot.
Clark grinned from ear to ear. "Mom, where are the keys of the truck?"
He turned to his brother, barely containing his excitement. "Charles, want to go for a ride? I can't believe this my first car! I thought I'd have to wait until I got a job."
Charles smirked, sensing the mixed emotions from their parents. "If Dad lets you keep it, then sure. But I don't think he will."
Martha hesitated, glancing toward the fields. "The key's with your father."
Out by the barn, Jonathan was mowing the hay, the sound of the machine blending with the hum of the evening wind.
Clark tugged Charles along and called out, "Dad!"
Jonathan stopped the mower, wiping sweat from his brow. His expression darkened slightly as he looked at the shiny truck, then at his son.
"I know you want it, Clark," he said seriously. "But you can't accept it."
Jonathan couldn't shake the memory of Lex Luthor's expression yesterday the way he'd stared at the wrecked car pulled from the river, then at Clark, completely unharmed.
There had been surprise in his eyes, but also confusion, as if he'd just witnessed something that defied logic. Beneath that, Jonathan sensed a flicker of fascination the kind that belongs to a man who's just discovered something extraordinary he can't explain.
It was the look of an ambitious businessman who's stumbled upon a new venture one too tempting to ignore. Jonathan didn't know if it was just his imagination, but one thing was certain, he had to protect Clark from Luthor. That alone was enough.
"Why? I saved him," Clark said, puzzled.
"That doesn't mean you can accept an expensive gift with a clear conscience," Jonathan replied firmly.
Clark frowned. "Then you can take the new truck, Dad. I'll just drive the old one."
"It's not about that," Jonathan said quickly when he saw the unhappiness on his son's face.
"A pickup truck's nothing to the Luthor family." Charles added quietly.
He wasn't wrong. The Luthor Group was one of the most powerful corporations in the world. Even in Smallville a quiet town far from Metropolis their fertilizer plant kept the local economy alive. Nearly two thousand townsfolk worked for the Luthors.
Compared to Lex Luthor's wealth, a pickup truck was nothing. But Jonathan's expression didn't soften.
"Listen, sons," Jonathan said patiently. "In life, we can't always take what we want. That's normal."
"Normal? I'm tired of being normal!"
Clark's frustration exploded, cutting straight through his father's words.
He could do so much more. More than just watching from the sidelines, pretending to be ordinary. But to stay 'normal,' he had to hide every part of himself, live small, act harmless.
He remembered standing by the playground, watching the girl he liked laughing in someone else's arms while he just stood there, pretending it didn't hurt.
"Is this what you call normal?" he shouted.
Jonathan reached out to calm him, but Clark stepped back, furious. He stormed toward the lawn mower, started the engine, and amid the deafening roar thrust his arm into the spinning blades.
Ka-ka!
The mower shuddered violently and stopped with a metallic crack. Bits of shattered blades flew across the grass.
"Clark!"
Even knowing his son was nearly indestructible, Jonathan still screamed and ran forward, pulling Clark's arm free.
The sleeve was torn to ribbons, but Clark's arm was untouched not even a scratch.
Jonathan stood frozen, breath unsteady, Before he could speak, Charles muttered under his breath, "I know you're strong, Clark. But you realize fixing that mower costs money, right?"
Clark's anger faltered for a moment. The only thing injured was the machine.
He clenched his fists, trembling. "Did you see it, Dad? Did you see? I was born abnormal!"
Jonathan opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Martha hurried over, alarmed by the noise. One look at the ruined mower and Clark's wild eyes, and she understood. She met her husband's gaze both of them weary, hearts heavy.
"Maybe it's time." She said softly.
Jonathan sighed and peeled off his work gloves, said in low voice. "This day was bound to come."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked, a chill running down his spine.
Jonathan and Martha walked toward the cellar, Clark and Charles following behind.
"I know some things can't stay hidden forever," Jonathan said, his voice low, "especially now Clark… you were born extraordinary. Powers beyond human imagination."
The barn door creaked open, releasing the sour, damp smell of old rice. Charles already had a sense of what was coming a classic revelation moment where Clark would learn the truth about his origins.
Clark's chest tightened panic rose, inexplicable and sudden. "What are you talking about, Father?"
Jonathan reached into an old, inconspicuous box. His face was heavy with sadness. "This is what your parents left for you."
He handed Clark a long, dark stone seal, its top embossed with an S. Clark stared, pale, as if touching it would shatter the fragile bubble of his life.
"Father… this isn't funny."
His heart beat in a strange, hollow rhythm. Why wasn't he more shocked?
'The key to the Fortress of Solitude.'Charles thought and first time looked worriedly at Clark who was overwhelmed.
Jonathan lifted a dust-covered canvas, revealing a small, streamlined spaceship, just large enough to carry a baby. Clark staggered back, stunned.
"No… Father, don't do this to me."
Jonathan's voice wavered, but he pressed on. "Clark… you are actually our adopted son. Martha and I found you during a meteorite rain more than ten years ago."
Clark's knees threatened to buckle. His world felt unmoored. "What about David?" he asked, clinging to some expectation.
Jonathan hesitated, then whispered the painful truth. "David… is our biological son."
"No! This isn't real!" Clark roared, eyes burning red. Without another word, he fled, moving faster than the sound itself, vanishing from their sight.
"Son!" Jonathan cried, helpless. He remained at the cellar doorway with heavy heart.
Charles stepped forward, placing a hand on Jonathan's shoulder. "Clark will figure it out, Dad."
Jonathan looked up, weary. "Char… why aren't you surprised?"
"We only have a few places in this family I have seen the spaceship," Charles said softly. "and Clark is… different, extraordinary. Somehow, I'm not surprised."
Jonathan exhaled, doubt and relief tangled together. "It doesn't matter where Clark comes from, or that he's an alien. He's our family. The brother who grew up with you. Don't blame him for reacting violently… he just can't accept it yet."
Charles nodded. "I'll go get him back."
Jonathan paused. "If he refuses, don't force it. He needs time."
Charles watched silently, thinking, If words won't convince him… maybe he needs to see that he's not the only one with power.
In the forest, a young man walked aimlessly, punching tree trunks with the force of his anger. Each strike echoed his frustration, a futile attempt to make sense of the storm inside him.
He was none other than Clark Kent, who had run away from home, unable to accept the shattering truths he'd uncovered. His fists tore into the bark, but venting his rage left him hollow. Loneliness washed over him like a cold tide, and he felt like a lone wolf, cut off from its pack. Pain, deep and wordless, filled his chest.
"Is everything… fake?" he whispered to the wind.
Memories of his past flashed through his mind moments with his parents, laughter with his younger brother. He realized he had never truly belonged. Not to the family that raised him. Not even to the planet he called home.
As a child, he had wondered why other kids could be hurt by things that never harmed him why they struggled with tasks that came effortlessly to him. Now he understood.
He had no blood relation to the people he called family.
"I'm just… an alien. A monster picked up by my parents." The words tasted bitter, and yet, somehow, they felt like the truth.
"That's not what you are, also that tree didn't call you a monster, you know." Suddenly, a voice came behind him.
Clark reacted so fast the air snapped behind him. His eyes widened, even in his anger, he realized something, he hadn't heard Charles approach at all.
"How did..."
Charles stepped into view with his hands in his pockets. "You're wondering how I got here so fast… or how you didn't sense me at all."
Clark didn't answer, but his jaw twitched.
"If that's what you're thinking." Charles continued, "Then you really don't understand me yet. The world isn't as simple as you think, Clark."
Clark's teeth clenched. His silence said everything.
Charles watched him for a moment, head slightly tilted, like he was trying to understand a puzzle that refused to solve itself.
"You think being different makes you a freak," Charles said quietly. "A mistake. Something your parents just happened to 'pick up'."
Clark's swallowed."Isn't that exactly what happened?"
Charles walked by him and sat on a fallen log, elbows resting on his knees.
"You know." He said casually, "Where I grew up strength never made someone a monster. But fear? Fear makes people do dumb things like you're doing right now."
Clark looked away. "I'm not afraid."
Charles raised a brow. "You sprinted out of the farm fast enough to shatter the sound barrier. If you didn't have a bio-field, our parents will be injured you moron."
Clark flinched bowing his head in shame, realizing that's what would have happened.
Charles stood in front of him. He didn't touch Clark he didn't need to because he understand Clark Kent better than Clark Kent himself do.
"Let me show you something."
Clark hesitated. "What?"
Charles got up from the log, lifted his feet above the ground and causally step the ground.
*BOOM*
A terrifying shockwave spread in all directions, the ground cracked, Clark even got affected by it, flying 30 meters away.
A carter 20 meters wide and 10 meters deep, appeared around Charles as he stood at the center.
Clark got up, looking at Charles with mixed emotions, seeing Clark like this Charles nodded with satisfaction, otherwise he will fell lonely for who knows how many years.
"I know how you feel Clark, but if you want answers come where you grow up. I will give you time till night time, otherwise don't blame me for forgetting my identity as your younger brother." Charles said with a harmless smile but Clark felt the gaze of a predator, who will hunt down whenever he felt like it.
Charles vanished from his gaze, Clark once again was surprised at his younger brother speed.
For the first time since he'd run… he wasn't sure who he should be afraid of himself, or the younger brother he'd never really understood.