Night had settled over the Kent farm, up in the barn loft, Charles lay on his back with his hands folded behind his head, staring towards Smallville Cemetery.
He'd rushed home from the forest after giving Clark a hard but necessary reality check. The moment he saw Jonathan and Martha, he'd never seen them that worried before. At their age, they didn't need more stress, and he felt it was on him to calm things down. He promised them Clark would be home in the morning. It wasn't much, but it was something they could hold on to.
So he did the one thing he could, he promised them Clark would come home in the morning. He didn't sugarcoat anything, but he gave them the kind of reassurance.
After dinner, he slipped into the battle space as usual. Tina had already finishing her training when he arrived.
She took one look at him, stepped close without asking anything, kissed him just a small action, nothing dramatic, but it settled his mind a bit.
"We'll talk later." She said softly, giving his arm a gentle squeeze before heading out.
Then he started his own battle with Hawkeye to improve his mood. Tonight battle didn't give him any breakthroughs, both of them go all out, rather than just swordsmanship.
Right now, he observed Clark and Lana talking in front of her house. He senses their emotions and let out a small shake of his head.
Clark looked nothing like he had a few hours ago. Back then he'd been tied up in doubts, unsure of himself, his origins. Now he was laughing, excited. The change was so sudden it felt strange, but he figured it was just the way teenagers swing from one mood to another.
Thinking Clark might come late, bored he call Tina they just chatted casually about their training today, what happened today and what's going on with Clark.
"Then we don't have to be so secretive around Clark, right?" Tina asked her hologram tilted her head, Clark's senses and reaction were very good Charles had forbidden her from using abilities anywhere near him.
"The answer is both yes and no," Charles said, rubbing his chin. "Clark isn't the problem. The real issue is the alien creature who's been watching him from the start."
Tina's projection flickered in surprise.
"I've known about him since the day Clark landed here," Charles continued. "So don't show too much. Let him think our powers came from kryptonite. I'm not confident I can take him down instantly if things go wrong, so we need to keep a low-profile."
The alien he meant was none other than the Martian Manhunter a Green Martian, with humanoid dark-green skin, red eyes, and a power set that could rival, or even surpass, a fully-grown Superman. Strength was one thing, but the real problems were his two abilities: mind control and memory manipulation.
By chance or maybe misfortune the Martian had used memory manipulation on Charles when he was three. His system had stopped the changes and filtered what could and couldn't be altered. Even so, Charles still carried the urge to settle the score.
He could be friendly or goofy, but there are bottom lines you don't wanna cross with him.
"Is that alien a threat to us?" Tina asked with a frown. She'd learned that Charles never stayed cautious without a reason. If something made him tense, she worried about the damage he could cause, if pushed in a serious fight involving Charles could flatten Smallville in an instant.
"Not exactly," Charles said. "If it comes to a fight, I'm not the one who should be worried. He'll have to decide whether it's worth facing me." The words came out with the steady confidence of someone who treated danger like an old acquaintance.
"Hai, hai… Brag all you want, my little man. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight." Tina's hologram gave him a playful air-kiss and blinked out.
Charles shook his head, smiling. His observation haki drifted back down toward Clark, who was in a surprisingly bright mood. Being young and innocent is really a great superpower.
The night became deeper, Clark Kent who was in good mood enter the farm, instead of going to his house.
He climbed the stairs of the barn, the moment he stepped inside, his smile flatered. A young man with long black hair and sharp features stood by the old workbench, he stood there relaxed.
"Didn't expect me here, did you Clark?" Charles said lazily."Go on, ask what you wanted to ask me earlier."
Clark stared at him for a while trying to sort out the mess in his head, After a long moment, he finally spoke.
"Then can you tell me, when did you gain this gift before or recently?"
"It's not really a gift," Charles said."But if you're asking when probably after the meteor shower." Technically it's true, who in the right mind will go to battle space at the age of toddler. Only after he reached three, he have gone to battle space which is after meteor shower.
Clark's eyes windened."Are you sure."
Charles smirked at him."Hard to accept that! I hid mine power's better than you did?"
He looked at Clark playfully. Clark dropped his gaze, as a kid he had thought! He was special chosen by God. Remembering how proud he'd been back then only made him more embarrassed.
"Don't get dramatic," Charles added."Unlike you! I earned my strength through practice, it's a very slow and painful process breaking down my own physical limit's. That's why, I can control my strength better than you."
It wasn't bragging, even with Battle Space by his side, the grinding work had still been brutal. Compared to Kryptonians sun-charging their way to power, his method was brutal, effective and cruel.
"But, how is that even possible." Clark whispered, his parents said Charles was their biological son. If a human could break their genetic limits by sheer training, it would be an miracle in human history.
Charles shrugged."No clue! I found the training effective in the Creekside foundry anyway, don't tell anyone about my secret. Not even Mom and Dad."
"Why?" Clark asked, genuinely confused.
"It'll only make them worry. You already give them enough stress. I don't need to add to it." The second half was just nonsense but the first was his true intentions, he simply didn't want to expose his power to parents right now.
Let them have a normal, worry free son for now. Clark also thought it was true in shame and said.
"Alright, but you have to use your power responsibly, don't mis..." He didn't finish, because Charles vanished right infront of him and reappeared in his bedroom. He wasn't actually tired, but he needed to act like a normal, kryptonite-affected human under Martian Manhunter watch.
...
Meanwhile in a shabby car repair shop.
A worker with blond hair and a strong body was listening to song. He stood next to the car and reached into the car to twist the key.
The dashboard lit up and the engine started successfully. The worker closed the hood of the car in front.
Just when he was about to take a break, the worker suddenly noticed a thin figure standing in the shadow of the store entrance.
"Damn it kid, you're going to scare me to death!"
Cursing in a low voice, the worker suddenly felt that the man in the shadow looked familiar.
"Do I know you?"
He narrowed his eyes to recognize the person as he walked up to him.
"You look like the scarecrow kid. What's your name? It seems... Jeremy?"
Jeremy, who had black hair and a slim build, looked at him indifferently without saying a word.
"I heard that you injured your head during the meteorite rain and fell into a coma..."
As he spoke, the worker, who was once a football player at Smallville High School, wiped the opponent's clothes with his oily hands contemptuously.
"Finally willing to leave the hospital bed?Look at your small body..."
Before he could finish speaking, a strong electric current shot out from Jeremy's shoulder where he touched it.
A burnt smell spread in the air, the worker suddenly flew three to four meters away, knocked over a tool rack, and fell heavily to the ground.
"Stay away from me you freak!" He raised his hand, which was burnt black and painful from the electricity, and stepped back with fear.
"Listen, that was more than ten years ago! It's just a game."
The blonde hair worker immediately realized why the other party was here, and shouted at him in pain.
"Game?" Jeremy raised his palm as if he heard some joke, there is a terrible scar left by a steel nail in the palm of the hand.
"After Jesus was crucified on the cross, he took on all the sins of the world and ascended to heaven."
As he spoke, a fierce and dazzling electric current was emitted from his palm, making the guy eyes widen.
"Seventeen years later, I returned to the world. God gave me this ability just to wash away your sins!"
"Since you like games so much! Now, let's play another game! "
Jeremy walked up step by step, while the blonde hair guy tried to run.
"Ahhh!"
Electric light illuminated the windows, accompanied by screams.
Ten minutes passed, the thin figure put on his hood and left coldly.
In the car repair shop, a body that had been tortured and turned into coke was lying quietly on the ground, no longer showy or contemptuous as before.