General Swanwick felt his blood pressure shoot up.
He looked up at the slouching figure on the barn's crossbeam.
A floral shirt, baggy shorts, and flip-flops.
His attire made him look like a street punk who had just strolled off a Hawaiian beach.
Yet, this very street punk had, not long ago, pulverized an entire country.
General Swanwick's face immediately fell, becoming incredibly grim.
Tel-Rol lightly leaped from the crossbeam, slowly floating down.
He walked straight past General Swanwick, who was standing stiffly, as if no one was there.
He plopped down onto a hay bale next to Kara.
He turned his head and stared intently at Kara.
Then, he grinned, revealing an incredibly bright, sunny smile.
Kara was completely stunned; this vibe was all wrong!
Wasn't this guy usually all 'I'm the best in the world, you're all trash' and arrogant?
What was with this sudden sunny, warm guy mode?
She shivered, instinctively shuffling sideways, putting more distance between them.
"You... why are you looking at me like that?"
Kara's voice was a little shaky.
Tel-Rol's smile vanished, returning to his usual lazy expression, and he turned to Clark.
"Cousin."
He spoke.
"Do you also think I should be responsible for this?"
Clark's face was full of distress; he raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, looking utterly exhausted.
"Tel, this incident has gotten too big."
"The whole world is watching. The people of Sokovia... they are now displaced, refugees. We..."
"Oh, that's simple."
Tel-Rol interrupted him directly, shrugging.
"Just let other countries take them in, what's the big deal?"
"Isn't the world peaceful, as you all imagined? That's enough."
At these words, General Swanwick, standing nearby, could no longer hold back.
He felt his anger burning to the top of his head.
"What's the big deal?"
General Swanwick stepped forward, pointing at Tel-Rol's nose.
"What about the relocation costs for those millions of refugees? What about those extra financial expenditures? Who's going to clean up this mess? Are you going to bear it?"
Tel-Rol finally looked him in the eye.
He slowly stood up and walked in front of the human general.
He was a head taller than Swanwick, and he looked down at him with disdain.
"Hey, old man."
"I solved the crisis that would have destroyed the world, saving your Earth."
"You don't even erect a statue to worship me, and you come here to pressure my cousin and Kara?"
His words made the temperature in the barn drop a few degrees.
"You, now, immediately, go back and tell those suit-wearing superiors of yours."
"Tell them to figure out a solution themselves."
"Otherwise..."
Tel-Rol leaned closer, his threat directly slapped onto Swanwick's face.
"I wouldn't mind if there was one less country in this world."
General Swanwick felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to his head.
He subconsciously took two steps back, stumbled, and almost fell.
He glared fiercely at Tel-Rol, his chest heaving violently, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Threat.
This was the most blatant, most unreasonable threat!
Finally, he squeezed out a cold snort through gritted teeth, and, filled with resentment and frustration, turned and quickly left the barn.
Watching Swanwick's disheveled retreating figure, Clark still wanted to say something.
"Tel, you can't be like this..."
"Shut up."
Tel-Rol interrupted him again.
"Cousin, you just worry too much."
He walked back to Clark, patting him on the shoulder.
"This whole thing, from beginning to end, is very simple."
"Strength, that's all that matters."
"This world is like a giant cattle ranch. Who gets to eat the fattest beef isn't decided by the bleating sheep, but by the butcher holding the knife."
"You have the power to overturn the entire ranch, yet you always want to reason with those sheep, asking if they agree to you eating meat."
"Aren't you tired?"
Tel-Rol had an expression of disappointment.
"You should think about it carefully."
With that, he didn't care about Clark's shocked expression and turned to walk out of the barn.
"Aunt Martha! I want to eat your apple pie!"
Before he even left the barn, his booming voice had already reached the farmhouse outside.
At the doorway, he stopped again, looking back at Kara, who was still frozen in place.
That resolute and handsome face once again showed that bright, sunny smile.
"Kara, coming along?"
Goosebumps rose on Kara's skin again.
She felt that this guy was definitely not normal today.
"O-o-okay. You go first, I'll be right there."
She stammered her reply.
Tel-Rol winked at her, then walked out, satisfied.
In the barn, only Clark and Kara remained.
Clark stood still, his brows tightly furrowed, seemingly still processing Tel-Rol's "cattle ranch theory."
Kara looked at him, then at the barn door, her mind a mess.
She walked over to Clark and gently touched his arm.
"Kal-El, don't listen to his nonsense."
Clark slowly shook his head, looking out at the cornfield with a bewildered expression.
"No, Kara."
"What he said... perhaps has some truth to it."
"We always want to embrace this world in the gentlest way, but this world doesn't necessarily respond to us with gentleness."
He looked at his hands.
"Perhaps, I really worry too much."
Kara opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
She was very worried.
She wasn't worried about Tel-Rol, but about Clark.
She feared that Tel-Rol's twisted logic might truly shake the beliefs Clark had always held.
On the other side.
Tel-Rol swaggered into the kent family's kitchen.
The kind Martha Kent was busy, and seeing him enter, a warm smile appeared on her face.
"Oh, Tel, you're here! Kara said you weren't feeling well these past two days, how are you feeling?"
"Fantastic, Aunt Martha! I feel like I could eat ten apple pies in one go!"
Tel-Rol unceremoniously picked up a bright red apple from a nearby basket, wiped it on his clothes, and took a big bite.
"Hahaha, you child."
Martha was amused by him.
"Want apple pie? That's simple, wait, Auntie will make it for you now."
"Thank you, Aunt Martha! You! Are! My Deleted!"
Tel-Rol's mouth was full of apple, and he mumbled flattery.
He even knelt on one knee, left hand on his chest.
Then he leaned against the doorframe, munching on the apple, watching Martha's busy back, calculating in his mind.
'Hmm, this place is nice, food and drink, and no one bothers me.'
'It's just this cousin, his thinking is too rigid, he needs a good makeover.'
'And Kara...'
He remembered Kara's cute, startled expression from just now, and that mischievous smile involuntarily appeared on his face again.
'The little sun-person is sweet-looking and has a great figure. Just a bit timid, need to tease her more.'
Just then, Kara also walked in.
She saw Tel-Rol leaning against the doorframe like a hooligan, and that smile on his face that made her uneasy, and she got angry.
She walked up to him, lowering her voice.
"Were you serious about what you just said to General Swanwick?"
"Otherwise?"
Tel-Rol took another bite of his apple, answering indifferently.
"I was joking with him? Is he worthy?"
"You!"
Kara was choked by his words.
"Do you know how much trouble you'll cause Clark!"
"Trouble?"
Tel-Rol laughed.
"His biggest trouble is thinking too much and doing too little."
"I'm helping him."
He accurately tossed the apple core into the distant trash can.
Then, he suddenly leaned close to Kara, lowering his voice, speaking at a volume only they two could hear.
"Don't worry about your cousin."
"Worry about yourself."
"Your outfit today..."
He looked Kara up and down, his gaze completely undisguised.
Kara was wearing a light blue tight-fitting T-shirt and jeans today, perfectly showcasing her youthful and energetic figure.
"...is pretty good."
Tel-Rol finally concluded.
Kara's face instantly turned red.
He was crazy! Absolutely!