Chapter 2 – Corporate Adoption

(Kent Farm – Smallville - Kansas - June 25th, 1995)

It had been over a week since the lives of the Kents and everyone else living in Smallville had been turned upside down. For the town, the time had been spent recovering from a freak meteor shower that peppered their small corner of America with craters and caused irreparable damage to their harvest. The vast fields of corn that Smallville was renowned for were now a wasteland of flattened scorched crops. The only three things that had survived were most buildings, the people and the county's cattle.

Fortunately, the only structures that were seriously damaged had been the old county grain silo, which nobody had used since the great depression anyway, and Old Man Johnson's Barn. More fortunately the meteor strikes had thankfully resulted in no human casualties. Not a single expert had voiced how bizarre the situation had been, but it was almost as if the meteors had been purposefully directed to strike the unoccupied areas around the town. However, there had been one more casualty of another variety: the cattle fences.

A few of the flaming space rocks had taken out large sections of the grazing fences, resulting in Smallville's bovine population running amok all over the county. This is where we find a very tired and very sore Jonathan Kent, shuffling back into his house after several days of cattle wrangling. As he arrived, he was greeted by the major change in the Kents' life, which was also a result of the recent meteor shower.

"Aaaaand up we go!" Martha's voice sounded out as he walked into the main house's living room to see his wife lifting little baby Clark in her arms. "Yes, you do! Yes, you do!"

"Having fun?" Jonathan asked as he leaned on the archway that led into the living room from the hallway. A smile danced across his face as he looked at the baby giggling in his wife's arms, hands stretched out enjoying the feeling of soaring through the air.

"Oh, look who's back!" Martha brought the baby back down and turned him to face Jonathan, whose heart missed a beat as the innocent boy's eyes lit up upon seeing him. "Yes, it's daddy!"

Jonathan couldn't bring himself to say that Martha shouldn't be calling him daddy in front of the boy, as the youthful laughter and gaze of admiration stilled his tongue. There was also the fact that a week had gone by and no one had shown up looking for him; no distraught parents, no scientists, no superheroes and no government agents. This despite the fact that the town was crawling with FEMA personnel and even a superhero Vought had sent from Kansas City to help out.

"Have you been good?" Jonathan stated with a smile as he moved in closer, pushing off of the archway and moving over to the boy, who replied in baby gibberish and giggles. "You have?! Well, that makes you the best little tyke in the world."

Jonathan took the small babe out of Martha's hands, brought him up to his face, and planted a soft kiss on his rosy cheek, resulting in even more giggles and even hand clapping. Jonathan then moved over to the couch and sat down feeling the energy starting to leave his body he placed the boy back into Martha's arms as she sat next to him.

"Busy day?" She asked her husband as she sat Clark on her knee and started bouncing him slightly, watching him as he cooed and waved at the motion.

" 'Busy' is an understatement." Jonathan sighed letting out an exhausted groan. "We finally got all the cattle rounded up and sorted, helped that Superhero from Kansas City clear the last load of rubble from Old Johnson's place, and we lent a hand so the FEMA guys could sort out the power lines."

"Our hero," Martha stated proudly turning Clark around, who gurgled something that Jonathan took as agreement. "So did we lose any of the herd?"

"We didn't, but the Langs lost a few of their heifers and the Millers lost more than half of theirs. Fortunately, that's the worst of it." Jonathan sighed before he added. "Well, apart from the harvest. Looks like nobody's fields survived."

"Oh god, what are we going to do?" Worry entered Martha's voice. The farm was already suffering, and the harvest accounted for most of their income.

"It's not too bad." Jonathan leant in and gripped his wife's hand reassuringly, a small smile on his face that eased her worries. "The mayor accepted the FEMA relief money, and Mark's worked out the costs for everyone. He says it'll be tight, but we should make it through this year. Won't be easy, but we'll do it."

Martha nodded her head. Mark Braverman was the local bank manager whilst also being on the town council and basically ran the finances for both Smallville and the surrounding townships. His brother-in-law was also a farmer and both Martha and Jonathan had gone to school with him, so she trusted him if he said the relief money would be enough. However, as she was thinking about the farm and what they were going to do she noticed her husband had gone silent and had a pensive look on his face whilst looking at Clark.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked in a worried voice but kept a smile on her face for Clark's sake who was looking between the two of them as if trying to figure out what was being said.

"Ethan, Rogers, Nell and even Susan were asking about you." Jonathan let out a deep sigh, as he ran a hand through his hair. "I told them you were resting up and looking after the farm, but that's not going to last, we've got to come up with some sort of story and figure out how to get everything legal if we're going to keep Clark."

"What are you thinking?" Martha asked quietly as if someone was listening in, as she knew her husband already had an idea within his head.

"I was thinking…What about your sister Mary? She works for Vought, right? And she just got that big promotion?" Jonathan explained slowly as he was clearly piecing his plan together as he went.

"Yeah?" Martha stated, recalling that her sister had just been made regional director or managing director or regional manager or something like that for some division of Vought in the Midwest. From what she recalled of her sister's comments, Mary was supposed to be quite important, or so she said.

"Exactly." Martha's confirmation caused Jonathan to lean forward and start talking earnestly as his plan started coming together. "Well, Vought runs all those charities, children's hospitals and clinics, like those Samaritan's Embrace ones. So if anyone could get us the right documents and make Clark legally ours it would be her, right?"

"I suppose…" Martha stated quietly. It wasn't that she doubted if her little sister could be able to help, she just wasn't certain if she would. She and Martha had never been close, and what they were asking wasn't exactly something small.

Mary had followed in their father's footsteps and become a lawyer but unlike their father, who was happy to have a small practice in rural Kansas, she had immediately left Smallville and Kansas the first chance she got. She had landed a Vought internship during her college years and never looked back. She was now married with three kids and was a powerful businesswoman from what Martha understood. None of this was the issue. The gulf between them was that Martha had stayed in Smallville, and she sensed that Mary thought her crazy and backward for wanting to stay in their small rural hometown and marry her high school sweetheart.

While she never confirmed those feelings, the years had done nothing but strengthen them. Mary never visited them in Kansas, they always went to her. She never asked about anyone from High School when they talked, and as soon as she was in college she had done everything she could to hide her rural upbringing, including changing her accent. Mary had called after the disaster to make sure Martha was alright and had offered her help, but even now she hadn't actually come to see her sister. Oh no, Mary Clark would never be caught in Smallville again, not unless she was being paid to show up and even then, it would have to be a fortune.

"Hey, I know, but if we want to keep Clark and I mean really keep him, we have to get everything legal, and your sister is the only one we know that could possibly help," Jonathan stated in an understanding tone having guessed at what Martha had been thinking before he gestured to Clark who still sat in her hands. "Especially if he is going to keep doing things like that."

Martha looked down at the babe in her arms and saw that in his child-like curiosity had reached for the living room table which was made from an old, carved oak tree that Jonathan's grandfather had worked by hand. Whilst it was normal for children to try and grab things that looked interesting it was not normal for a baby that couldn't be more than a couple of months old to lift an oak table. Martha just stared in amazement as the set of tiny fingers had dug into the wood and were lifting the whole table a few inches off the ground.

"Clark, sweety," Martha said softly, placing one of her hands on his little arm. "Could you put the table down, please?"

She gently guided Clark's arm downwards and was thrilled as well as proud that he did so gently and appeared to be listening to her as he set the piece of furniture back on the floor. She gave him a little hug and kiss as a reward causing him to giggle and clap in appreciation.

"Okay." Martha sighed as she looked back up from the baby on her knee. "Should we call her, or…?"

"Call and say we are coming for a visit, I'll tell everyone we need to get away for a little while, not much of a sell given everything else that's happened," Jonathan spoke slowly as he planned out their next move. "Don't mention anything over the phone, I think it's best we explain things in person."

Martha just nodded as she passed Clark over to Jonathan then moved over to the phone, taking a deep breath as she prepared to take the first step down a dangerous road. She just prayed they were doing the right thing in trusting her sister, and that it would all end with Clark in her arms as hers and no one else's.

(Chicago – The Gold Coast Historic District – Luxury Penthouse - June 27th, 1995)

Mary Joan Clark was sitting in her apartment looking at the latest Vought revenue report from the Midwest branch she was now in charge of, whilst eyeing the small clock that sat at her desk. She had worked hard, incredibly hard, she corrected herself, to get where she was and although she had wanted to stay in New York she knew she was never going to be able to compete with Mr Edgar's golden girl Madelyn Stillwell. Just thinking about the stuck-up blonde bitch made her blood boil, as whilst she had worked for everything Madelyn had just been handed the New York Offices and full management of the East Coast Branch.

Mary was pretty sure that Madelyn had only got the position because of her relationship with Stan Edgar and was pretty sure she had also slept with Ross Elis, the current Senior Vice President of Vought International's Hero Management, to get the position. Or maybe it was because apparently, Madelyn had an in with Vought's up-and-coming newest Superhero, some guy the PR department was calling the Homelander. He wasn't going to hit primetime for another few years, but when you worked in the Hero industry, exposure and connection to the product mattered. Madelyn had it and Mary didn't.

She let out a deep sigh as she tried to calm herself down, not wanting to let Stillwell's mere memory upset her. No, she needed to focus, she was in a good position. Sure it wasn't New York, but Regional Manager for Vought Hero Management for the entire Midwest was nothing to sneeze at, and it did come with real power. Mary smirked, relishing that she was one of the few people in the world that knew the whole story with Vought. She knew about Compound V, Samaritan's Embrace and even the inner natures of most of her 'clientele'. All she needed to do was play her cards right, and in a few years she could-

"Mrs Clark?" The intercom buzzed on her desk, causing her to swear under her breath and cutting off her fantasy of the future before it could fully form.

"Yes, Jace, what is it?" Mary pressed a button on her desk before snapping into her intercom; she had told her assistant not to bother her unless it was important. Her husband Jerry had taken the kids for the week to their house in the suburbs so that she could focus on work, so there was no reason for anyone to disturb her.

"Er, sorry about this, but there is a woman and a man here to see you." The unsteady voice of her young assistant sounded back over the intercom. "She, the woman that is, says she's your sister Martha. She says you were expecting her but I have nothing on the calendar."

Mary suppressed a massive sigh as her irritation flared up, she had been expecting her sister to turn up, just not here. When Mary had heard about the freak meteor shower in her hometown, she had called like any sibling would to make sure everyone was okay and offered her help in any way she could. Hell, Mary had done one better than most sisters and even sent a real-life superhero to help out, which was an easy sell as it was fantastic PR to boot.

However, when her sister had called her back suddenly out of the blue a week after the accident asking if she and her husband could come and stay for a while, that had been a surprise to say the least. She and Martha had never really been close. Mary was a modern woman of action, she had her own job and had kept her maiden name even after marriage while Martha was ...…. well, Martha, a good old traditional country lady, which is what she hated. Her sister could have been so much more, she had been not just the smartest girl in school but also the prettiest, and instead of blazing a trail like Mary had, her big sister had settled for being a poor clodhopper's wife.

So naturally, Mary had decided to be charitable, letting her big sister and her 'farm labourer' husband stay at her house whilst they got over the shock of the past week. She gave her sister her second address in the suburbs, which is why she had sent Jerry and the kids there to keep them company when they showed up. It was still a working week and only Tuesday, her trophy husband could take the time off and entertain the rural side of the family but she sure as hell couldn't, that wasn't part of the plan she had made to work till Friday and see her sister on the weekend.

So she was more than a little annoyed that her sister had ignored her instructions. Mary took a moment to compose herself, 'Martha's just likely stopping by' she thought to herself. 'Yes, she's likely called ahead, spoke to Jerry, and decided to drop in and see her little sister before heading to the house.'

"It's fine Jace," Mary stated calmly into the intercom not wanting to sound too irate in case her sister was nearby in the reception area. "I apologise, I forgot to mention she might be stopping by, please send them up."

As her hand left the intercom, she didn't bother listening to whatever response her assistant stumbled over. Instead, she immediately stood up and headed to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. As she did so she also adjusted her dress to make sure her curves were on full display, wanting to really flaunt to Martha and demonstrate everything had gone her way in life. Also, if she was honest with herself, she was also doing it to show up an old rival in front of Jonathan, for like every girl in Smallville she had had a crush on the ex-quarterback and Kansas dream boy until Martha, perfect Martha, had swooped in before she ever got her chance.

It was a few minutes before the Kents actually arrived. Mary's penthouse apartment complex that Vought had given her was on the top floor and it wasn't exactly a small building. Mary stood at the front doors ready to trot herself out and had even planned what to say, but she was cut off before the doors opened by a sound that every mother knew.

It was the sound of a child's troubled cry.

"WHAAAA! WHAAAA!" The noise pierced through the air even before Jonathan pushed her doors open bearing a look of frustration on his face.

"I told you he doesn't like enclosed spaces," Martha complained to her husband as she was bouncing a little red bundle in her arms. "I just knew the elevator was going to upset him."

"Well, it was either the elevator or we take three days just to get up to see your sister," Jonathan argued back playfully as he gestured behind them. "I mean seriously, this building has over a hundred floors."

Martha let out a small, exacerbated sight at her husband as she tried to calm down the small bundle of joy in her arms. Clark was mostly an unbelievably well-behaved child, and Martha suspected he understood a lot more than someone his age should. However, the one thing he hated was enclosed spaces, he had almost torn himself out of the car seat they had placed him in when they had closed the door, the only thing that had prevented it was Martha taking the seat next to him and talking to him for the 10-plus hour car drive.

"Oh Mary, it's so good to see you." Martha finally greeted her still shocked sister, managing to balance Clark on one arm to give her sister a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "You look great, doesn't she, Jonathan?"

"Yes, city living agrees with you Mary," Jonathan quickly agreed with his wife giving Mary a nod of his head, moving in to give her a quick hug too whilst adding. "It's great to be here again, it's been too long."

"Um yes, uh, great to see you as well." Mary managed to stammer as her brain decided to freeze whilst looking at the swaddled passenger in her sister's arms. "Would you like to sit down…?"

She led them to the living room in a daze as she tried to figure out the best way to broach the subject of just whose baby this was. Whilst not close Mary had known about her sister's difficulties in conceiving, and even suggested some of the clinics that her sister and her husband had attended. They were Vought-run clinics so she was very well aware of the fact that Martha couldn't have children, so the issue remained: who was in her sister's arms?

"Um, Martha," Mary stated as her brain finally started working again while her sister settled down on the sofa and placed the squirming baby in her arms on the floor, with a few toys to play with.

"Yes?" Martha looked up to her sister with a smile on her face whilst her husband decided to sit on the floor with the baby and play with him.

"I don't mean to be insensitive." Mary started off softly remembering how touchy her big sis could be at times. She was also slipping back into her native Midwestern accent like she always did when she was upset, which didn't help her limited patience. "... but how did you come by that baby?"

"Well, actually that's the thing," Martha said slowly, eyeing her husband who just gave her a nod of encouragement. "This little bundle of joy is ours, mine and Jonathan's, his name is Clark, Clark Kent and….we need your help to keep him."

Mary was silent for a few moments as she looked at the baby on the floor then at Jonathan and then at her sister Martha. A blank and unreadable expression on her face as she worked out what was going on before she decided to react. Mary suddenly let out a deep breath, gave a nod of her head and then immediately headed for the phone, picked it up and started to dial a pre-set number.

"Who are you calling?" Jonathan asked in confusion as Mary placed the phone next to her ear waiting for the ringtone to finish.

"Vought Legal. Whatever this is I am sure I can get you out of it. There's recent trauma from a natural disaster, learning that you can't have kids, I've got lawyers on retainer that can make this disappear." Mary casually said. Her Kansas accent was gone, replaced by the stone-cold East Coast businesswoman. "You obviously won't be able to keep the kid, but I'll make sure he's put somewhere safe."

"WHAT? NO!" Martha cried standing up and glaring at her sister, a reaction that caught Mary by surprise. "You can't take him from us, he's OURS."

Mary took a frightful step back from her sister and eyed Jonathan, she had dealt with Vought's shit long enough to know what craziness people were capable of when backed into a corner. However, before she could do anything it was Jonathan that calmed the situation down, standing up with his arms outstretched and speaking slowly.

"We didn't steal or kidnap him," Jonathan said slowly. He had correctly guessed what he believed Mary was thinking. "I swear to you. We found him and we have looked everywhere, everywhere. No one is missing him and no one is even looking for him."

The room fell silent as Mary just looked at her distraught sister and the much calmer husband, she even glanced at the baby, Clark, who upon spotting her gave her a little wave of his small hand. The silence of the room was broken when a voice sounded from Mary's telephone that was by her ear.

"Vought Legal Department, Midwestern Branch. How can I help you?" The pleasant secretary's voice sounded out from the other end of the phone and paused for a response.

"Please, just listen, we can explain," Jonathan promised, giving Mary his best honest look that he hoped still worked on her after all these years apart.

"Hello?" The secretary's voice sounded out from the phone again, confused when no one was responding.

"5 minutes. You have 5 minutes." Mary gave her ultimatum as she pressed the cancel button on her phone and placed it back on its stand.

Jonathan took a deep relieved breath and decided to explain everything he could, in order to get Mary's help. Well, not everything, he left out certain details like finding Clark in a real-life alien ship, the fact they were pretty sure he was also an alien, and how they'd hidden the aforementioned spaceship in the storm cellar. Jonathan instead went for the version of the story he and Martha had agreed to tell Mary hoping she wouldn't pick it apart too much.

"You found him?" Mary stated in slight disbelief, as she slowly reiterated the point that Jonathan would admit was the weakest part of his story. "In a cornfield, the night before the meteor strike hit?"

"Yes," Jonathan tried not to wince at Mary's repeating of his story, realising now how bad it sounded. "We need your help."

"My help with WHAT?" Mary asked incredulously, a rictus of disbelief crossing her face. "Helping you kidnap a child? What, do you think I'm stupid enough to buy that fairy tale?"

"We didn't kidnap him," Martha spoke this time with enough force and conviction that Mary almost believed her. "We did find him in a cornfield, that is true. Everything else is just complicated."

"Complicated?" Mary raised an eyebrow at her sister before she shook her head letting out a deep sigh, this was so fucked up she couldn't believe it was happening.

"Yes," Jonathan stated firmly, catching Mary's eye with a level of confidence that couldn't help but admire. "We want to keep him and you're the only one we know that can make it legal."

"Okay, even if I believed you and I'm not saying I do, what you are asking is a huge risk on my part and yours. Why do you even want -" Mary was cut off by the sound of metal tearing and stone cracking as everyone turned to look at the source of the noise.

Mary's eyes widened as she watched the little baby boy her sister had brought in lift up her custom-made sofa with one hand as he picked up a toy that had evidently slid beneath it. What made it even more impressive beyond the obvious was the fact that the sofa had also been bolted to the floor, with steel. Mary's eyes lingered on the boy for a few moments and watched as he tried to carefully put the sofa down, only for it to slip from his grasp to land on top of his head.

Mary had instinctively moved forward like anyone would when seeing a massive heavy couch threaten to crush a small boy but stopped herself as she saw neither her sister nor her sister's husband had moved. Both just gave each other a knowing look and turned back to where Clark was sitting completely uninjured, with the ruins of the broken sofa scattered around him. Mary just stared at the child with even wider eyes than before, all while Clark looked up from the debris that had bounced off of him and looked at his aunt.

He beamed innocently, then garbled something incoherent and offered her the toy he had retrieved from under the sofa.

As Mary slowly bent down to take it from her nephew, a smile formed on her face. . She no longer cared what the story was anymore. Madelyn Stillwell had gotten within spitting distance of the CEO's office just from knowing a hero, how far could someone go if they were related to one?

"I'll get Jace to make up the spare bedroom, and pick up things for the little one," Mary stated with the same frozen smile as she stood back up looking at Martha and Jonathan, the powerhouse businesswoman emerging before them. "We have a lot to do to make this all legit and have the world think he's your biological son."

"Biological?" Martha gave Jonathan an unsure look, before turning back to her sister. "We were thinking maybe just adopting him. Aren't there fewer questions that way?"

"No, won't work." Mary shook her head, a plan already forming in her head. "Adoption of a superpowered child puts too many wheels in motion, wheels even I can't control. What I can do is alter records, plant files at a local Samaritan's Embrace, and in a few months you take little Clark home and claim you came here to give birth."

"Will people buy that?" Jonathan asked, could that plan really work?

"Yes, I know the system well enough and have enough favours I can cash in that legally no one will ever know." Mary dismissed that side of doubt casually, fully knowing what cards to play when it came to Ezekiel and the rest of the morons in the system. "As for Martha, no one knows about her infertility in Smallville right?"

"No…...," The other woman confirmed, fidgeting slightly and not liking how flippantly her sister brought up the topic. "But we've been to those clinics you suggested, and they have records that will show -"

"I can deal with those, you guys just wait here a few months whilst I get this all sorted and when you head back just tell everyone Martha was already pregnant by a few months," Mary stated confidently with a dismissive shrug, as she was already working out in her head who she needed to call and either trick or blackmail to get this sorted.

"Are you sure that will work, what if people ask questions? Clark is already a few months old" Martha stated hesitantly as she looked at her sister unsure that this plan would work and was starting to feel uneasy about the whole situation.

"It is a risk," Mary admitted but whilst also giving a shrug as she moved over to the intercom to call her assistant. "but people are more gullible than you think, and everyone knows you in Smallville, trust me, that will help. Just be assertive, stick to the same story, and even if people doubt it no one will say anything. Yes, Jace, I need you to run some errands."

Mary started talking into the intercom to her assistant, ordering them to immediately go out and start buying a host of things. Whilst this type of request wasn't unusual, they were confused at the list of baby care items, especially since the boss's own kids were fully-grown children.

"Jonathan I'm not sure about this," Martha whispered to her husband, doubt for the first time in a while entering her heart. She still wanted Clark but felt that maybe her sister had not been the best way to go.

"Hey, it's going to be alright." Jonathan moved over to hug his wife, dispelling her doubts with the gentle act while managing not to show he too was having his own qualms. "Mary knows what she is doing and if we want to keep Clark then this is the only way."

"I know." Martha sighed out nodding her head in acceptance. "I know you're right; it's just, I have this feeling that…..."

"It's going to be fine," Jonathan stated comforting his wife as she trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence. "Hey, I think someone wants you."

Martha looked confused at her husband's statement but then saw where she was looking and found all her fears and worries gone. Little Clark was looking up at them with his arms outstretched whilst opening and closing his fingers, evidently wanting to be picked up.

"Come here, up we go." Martha gave her son a loving smile that grew wider as that exact thought lingered in her head. 'My son' she whispered under her breath as she lifted Clark off the ground.

"Okay, my assistant Jace is going to get you some things. Now we need to talk about your compensation, and the NDA you are going to have to sign." Mary's voice cut Martha out of her happy thoughts as her sister walked back over to them.

"What compensation?" Jonathan asked, confused, before he also added. "And why do we need to sign an NDA?... What's an NDA?"

"It's a Non-disclosure Agreement," Martha explained to her husband, remembering her father talking about them as a child, as she eyed her sister. "Why do we need to sign one?"

"Well…" Mary was trying to make sure she worded this right, remembering how touchy the subject of Compound V was especially when you were first told about it, but she needed to do this. "… there are some things that I'm going to have to tell you about supes and how they are made if you want to keep Clark. Things a Vought agent might ask when Clark gets older and enters the heroism business."

"Heroism business?" Martha whispered under her breath as her brain suddenly connected all the dots and realised why Mary was suddenly so keen to help. She wanted the prestige of being a superhero's aunt.

"Like what?" Jonathan directed his question straight to Mary not having heard Martha's whisper.

However, his question was also accompanied by a slight yawn and rubbing of his eyes still exhausted from the drive up to her. He was feeling more exhausted since the start of this conversation and with every new sentence, Mary said he was feeling more and more drained.

"We can discuss all that later. For now, why don't you two get some sleep and I can spend some time with my new nephew." Mary offered her voice becoming soft and friendly again, her natural accent returning too, diffusing her sister and Jonathan's suspicions for the moment with the wide smile she gave Clark.

Martha looked at her husband, but she couldn't deny how exhausted she felt and gave him a small nod as her own yawn escaped her lips. With a long and loving look, she moved over to her sister and gently handed Clark over before she and her husband moved off to go to bed. Mary was left alone with her little nephew, and her eyes glittered as she looked down at her foot in the door to Vought's inner circle.

"Well hi there, I'm your Aunt Mary." She spoke softly in a baby voice to her nephew tapping him on the nose and causing him to giggle. "I'm going to take great care of you, yes I am."

Clark giggled at her actions, clapping his hands in joy, not understanding the look that entered Mary's eyes. She was already planning out everything. First, a wholesome farm boy upbringing, people loved that shit, then get him on the Capes for Christ circuit too, which will get him in with Vought nice and early, along with some participating in those Youth Superhero Sports events the company held to show off what he can do. Follow all that up with a junior superhero identity, some early saves, and then when the time came she would be the one with Vought's new up-and-coming Super-celebrity, not Madlyn Stillwell.

Oh yes, that was the ticket. With her in his corner, the public would adore him. No matter what his actual power level was, he'd be the Golden Son of the Sunflower State.

"What to call you? Steel Boy, Indestructible Lad, oh! How about Ultraman?" Mary asked the little powerhouse in her hands playfully but the look on Clark's face told her he didn't like that one, which caused her to chuckle. "No, okay, how about something simple like…... Superboy, yeah Superboy to start with, and then as long as marketing likes it, we can debut you as Superman, no, THE SUPERMAN."