Chapter 2

Today was a normal weekend. Normally my parents sold at the town's organic market, but my day started very early. I took care of feeding the animals, fixing the fences, and even used my basic knowledge of mechanics from my previous life to repair the tractor and harvester.

And why this newfound zeal for work? Well, it seems the Kents liked to take things slowly because their father was always working or fixing something, while Clark, who should be able to do it in a tenth of the time, was sleeping or something like that. By the time my parents woke up, I had already loaded the truck with the boxes we would take to the market.

Turns out my parents' farm not only grew corn; my mother had a variety of gardens with rare vegetables and fruits. We're one of the most famous farms for this, but our market is limited to the town itself, creating a closed loop in terms of money coming in and going out of the community. I plan to change that, but it's still a work in progress.

While we were setting up the stall, Pete arrived, who normally helped out more for the company than anything else. Another early visitor was Lex; it seems he wanted to buy a few things and meet my parents. I think he's quite pleased with his first friend, hahaha.

"Hi Clark, how's everything? Yesterday n..."

"Everything's good, Lex. The dance was better than I expected," I interrupted while giving him a meaningful look he understood.

"By the way, let me introduce you to my parents."

At that moment, we heard footsteps approaching us.

"Clark," said a soft voice I recognized. Turning around, I saw Lana coming with Whitney.

"Clark," Whitney said.

I smiled at him and ignored him.

"Hi Lana, I saw you at the dance, dance queen and all."

"Thanks, Clark. I noticed you too, but you seemed very focused on your dance partner. Where's Chloe, by the way?"

"Jealousy, perhaps? If you had asked, I would have danced with you," I said with a smile. "As for Chloe, I haven't seen her since last night; maybe she's very tired. If you want, we can go..."

"Clark," Whitney said, grabbing my shoulder trying to appear familiar but exerting some force.

Before anyone could react, I gave him a punch that knocked him to the ground, although it was basically a light tap for me.

"Clark, what the heck is wrong with you?" my mother exclaimed, surprised, almost shouting.

"We're even now, Whitney," I said as I turned around. I could only see him from the ground, incredulous, but he didn't look directly into my eyes. My gaze went over everyone present; Pete and my father looked surprised, somewhat curious. Lana, to my surprise, had a worried look instead of anger, but not towards Whitney, more like she was asking what Whitney had done to provoke the classic Clark to act like that. Lex just looked amused; I could almost see him raising his wine glass, toasting to me.

"Sorry, Lex, Lana distracted me," I said casually. "As I was saying, let me introduce you to my parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent; the one on his right is Pete Ross, and this lovely girl here is Lana Lang."

Understanding the hint, Lex acted normally and introduced himself as if nothing had happened. I only caught Whitney, from the corner of my eye, getting up angrily and heading towards his truck.

After that episode, everything continued as usual, although I'll need to have a talk with my parents later. It turns out the reason Lex came to see me was to invite me to his house later, so now I'm in a sports car heading towards Luthor Castle.

"So, Lex, what's with all the mystery?" I asked as we sat in the living room.

"Nothing worrisome. Yesterday my father visited me; he wasn't very convinced about the adjustments I made at the plant, but when he saw that not only would we reduce losses but also increase productivity and income, he was not angry, shall we say," Lex replied.

"Haha, that's excellent for you."

"And for you too," he said, handing me a folder.

"This, my friend, is your pay, a bit more than your local hero's pay."

Opening the folder, I saw a series of bank account papers in my name with $200,000 available.

"Lex... I dont" 

Haha, I know, it's very little compared to your ideas, but since you're not on the payroll, I can't access company funds. This comes from my private trust. Your payment as a private consultant just needs your signature."

"Only you could say it's little; you know, with this amount, I could probably drink myself to an early death in a Mexican town."

"Well, if you keep bringing ideas, soon you won't need to move countries to do it."

"Great, thanks Lex."

As Lex drove me home on the deserted suburban road, I heard in the distance the sound of tires screeching violently.

There was a faint smell of burning rubber; a black truck was overturned at the roadside. Lex stopped the car, and both of us hurried over to offer help. At that moment, a shadow swiftly passed through the fields, moving away from the accident.

"Lex, call an ambulance. I'll try to help," I said as I ran towards the truck. Then I saw Whitney trapped under the truck, unconscious.

I carefully crawled through the broken windshield, freed Whitney's seatbelt, and carefully pulled him out, carrying him back to where Lex was waiting.

I recalled a scene from the show with Clark using his body to shield an explosion. Thank God cars don't tend to explode from accidents like in the movies. No need to use my body as a barrier today.

"Looks like your hero quota started early this week, Clark," my bald friend joked as we waited for the ambulance.

"Haha, although I doubt they'll give me a truck this time, but as I said, it's all part of the job."

"Clark, you might say I'm crazy, but I swear I saw something running away from here."

"Haha, Lex, welcome to Smallville. Stranger things are happening around here than you think.

"A farmer saving people every week, you ask?"

"Especially that handsome farmer," I said as we both laughed.

Under the starry sky, there's a large warehouse where farm machinery and tools are stored. The breeze passed through, and the farm's wheat fields rustled, making people feel comfortable and at peace. Everything seemed frozen.

On the second floor, through the open window, I sat in front of the astronomical telescope, looking through it at an unobstructed view a kilometer away, a smile unconsciously appearing on my lips.

"Imagine buying such a powerful telescope just to spy on Lana. The original was a simp, I thought."

In front of a house in the telescope's view, a beautiful figure with black hair sat on the steps and the porch, blowing in the afternoon breeze and writing a report in English.

Most importantly, the green necklace was no longer around the figure's neck, which made me think... I hope Lex has it, but if not, oh well, it works too.

Suddenly, before my eyes, a figure stealthily approached Lana's house and secretly took some photos of her from behind the bushes. After taking the photo, they stashed the camera away and disappeared quickly like a shadow.

Lana was puzzled and opened the gift box.

Several colorful and beautiful butterflies with bright green powder on their wings flew out, like a scene from a fairy tale.

She covered her mouth in surprise and looked down the street, trying to spot the person who had given her the gift.

Okay, that was dark, seems more like a stalker than anything, but well, spying with a telescope isn't far from that, I thought as I put away the telescope and headed towards some new mechanics books I borrowed from the local library.

Days passed, and I was getting a bit more used to the school routine. As I expected, I didn't even get a thank you for saving Whitney, but his father agreed to sell me Whitney's semi-wrecked truck at a bargain price. Once I fix it up, I'll be able to retire Betsy. Currently, my dad uses the red truck, and I'm still walking or taking the bus, so having an extra truck would be great and could get me back my gift.

While buying parts and tools online, I realized this world is far behind in cutting-edge technology; nothing like the comics with deadly flying machines. Apparently, that's a good thing; the world isn't as dangerous as the original DC.

Things have been awkward between Chloe and me, which is quite evident to someone like Pete. Pete was about to inquire with interest about what was happening when we heard an argument.

"That necklace is very important to me," a weak voice came, and Lana's face not far away looked sad and distressed. By her side, Whitney continued to console his girlfriend and explain.

"What happened to the couple of the year?" Chloe asked.

"Maybe they realized we're having a secret affair? Haha," I joked, waiting for Chloe's reaction.

"That necklace was carved from a meteorite that remained after my parents died in a meteor shower when I was a child. My aunt left it to me so I could remember my parents, but you lost it."

Someone drunk at the bar looking for trouble deliberately; we got into a fight with them, and after the scuffle, we discovered the necklace had disappeared. I promise to recover it.

Clark's extraordinary hearing allowed me to overhear the conversation between the two.

"Come on, guys, it seems it's just a lover's quarrel," I said as I walked away from my locker. In the corner of the hallway, a sudden sound of footsteps was heard.

"Lana!" shouted an angry Whitney. He looked nervous and wanted to reach his girlfriend when I turned to see what was happening. Something bumped into me.

"Clark, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. I'll go first," said a embarrassed Lana.

Lana didn't want to see him at that moment; her face changed, she greeted Chloe and Pete quickly, and then turned around and left.

Whitney, who was chasing after her, glanced at me as he passed by. Awkwardness crossed his face, and he left with embarrassment and anger in his eyes.

Next to us was a stair corner.

A figure watched all this with indifference, like the eyes of a cold-blooded creature, shifting between Clark and Whitney.

"Stay away from her, Clark," I heard a voice say, walking away without waiting for a response. Then I saw him: a man dressed in a black jacket with slicked-back blond hair, with a cold face, like an indifferent predator at the top of the food chain.

"Is that cool guy now Greg?" After waiting several seconds, Peter turned his head, with an expression of astonishment on his face.

"It took me a few seconds to recognize him." Chloe also looked surprised.

Previously, I had arranged to meet Greg to publish some articles about insect science in the Torch newspaper he sponsored. But now he was completely different from the one I had known before, who dared not look a girl in the eye. Not only did he take off his glasses and change his clothes, but his whole demeanor changed." Chloe rubbed her arms suspiciously.

"By the way, guys, Chloe found something else strange in the newspaper," Pete said as he pulled out another article.

"Look at this, Jerome Kerry, who was also a student at our high school over ten years ago, was found unconscious after a meteor shower. After an incident involving medical equipment leakage, he disappeared in the state hospital. He was found unconscious, seemingly unaware of how he got there. The interesting part is this vegetative state that no one had noticed before. After this incident, a doctor discovered that he hadn't aged in over ten years. The reason is unknown. I felt a little guilty for leaving him there on the sidewalk outside the hospital, but only a little."

"I'll add it to my 'strange wall,'" Chloe said, speaking to herself.

Then I remembered that Chloe has a 'strange wall' in the editorial department of activities assigned by the school, where she records all kinds of strange things.

"Strange wall?" I asked.

"Oh, right, you've never heard about it. It's one of Chloe's projects. Come on, let me show you, Chloe."

"Uff, alright. Follow me."

We entered the editorial office, but didn't stay there long. Chloe opened the inner storage room while turning on the light.

The entire wall was covered with newspapers and similar clippings, all related to strange events caused by meteor showers. Chloe placed the newspaper on the wall next to a magazine cover.

"Clark, meet the 'Wall of Weird,' my biggest investigation into everything happening in Smallville since the meteor shower."

The next day, after school ended, Chloe approached us looking worried. "The police came to investigate and found something. Greg's mother was murdered at home; her body was wrapped in something like a spider web, and Greg disappeared..."

She looked around and lowered her voice, and suddenly the atmosphere became strange.

"Do you mean... Greg killed his mother?" Pete asked.

"In general terms, it's impossible. The police have many suspicions," said Chloe, extending her hands. "Perhaps his drastic change in appearance is due to a mental illness, so I no longer consider it impossible."

"If there's a murderer on the loose, it's quite dangerous. You should be careful, Clark. I remember Greg threatened you to leave Lana," I pointed out.

"Lana," we all said almost at the same time.

"Chloe, Lana needs to know about Greg," I said urgently.

"You two go. I'll investigate Greg's house," Chloe said evasively.

"Be careful," I told her as I left The Torch with Pete.

Just as I was leaving school, I ran into Lex.

"Clark, Pete, good morning. Where are you rushing off to?"

"We're going to look for Lana. It seems she has a dangerous admirer," said Pete as we ran towards his truck.

"Explain to me on the way. Let's take my car; it's faster than your truck, no offense, Pete," I proposed.

As we headed to Lana's house, we explained the details to Lex.

"It seems it's always good to have one of these with me," commented Lex as he pulled a revolver from the glove compartment.

"Here you go, Clark, in case you need to shoot. I'll handle it," he offered.

"Don't worry, Lex. You keep it," I replied.

"I have mine," he said, patting his leg.

"Haha, an armed millionaire, why am I not surprised," I commented as I closed the glove compartment. We continued chatting until Pete spoke up after a long silence.

"So, man, you and Chloe..." Pete began, implicitly completing the sentence.

"Yeah, something like that. What did she tell you?" I responded.

"Ohh, something straight out of a Chinese novel or something," Pete joked nervously.

"Haha, Pete, the reason I was so blunt with her is that she's been in love with me since fourth grade," I explained.

"Was it that obvious?" Pete asked, a bit nervous.

"As subtle as a goat, Pete. That's why I had to be clear; she doesn't deserve false hopes or to be led on, only to have her heart broken," I replied.

"Haha, and what about Lana? I thought she was your girl or something. If you're giving her up, count me in," Lex joked, laughing.

"Come on, Lex, I don't think bald guys are her type. Although I have plenty of cows in the barn if you're interested in someone younger," I teased.

"Hahahaha x3."

"I prefer supermodels, Clark, but if you want a harem, maybe you should consider cows. They'll give you fewer problems in the future."

We continued driving towards Lana's ranch, still joking around. However, the mood changed as soon as we entered the stables.

The stable was a mess; in one of the paddocks, we found Whitney unconscious.

"Greg," I murmured as I noticed many insects on the ground.

"Pete, stay with him and call an ambulance. We'll find Lana," I said as Lex and I ran back to the car.

"Alright, Clark. Any idea where he might have taken her?" Lex asked.

"I think I know. Greg and I used to play in a nearby treehouse; it's his safe spot from what I remember."

We arrived near the factory, and as soon as we got out, a figure jumped over the fence like a nimble flea and landed firmly on the ground.

"Black leather jacket, blonde hair, a familiar profile. Before the man fully turned around, I recognized him."

"Greg, where's Lana?!" I shouted.

He just laughed and ignored my question.

"I heard something happened to your mother. Was it you?" Lex asked, drawing his weapon and aiming.

"She blocked me, and you'll be next," he spat out with a sneer.

"Are you insane? She's your mother," Lex responded, incredulous. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could a person be so wicked?

"You and I are not on the same level anymore. Today, I'm not bound by any morals or rules!" he shouted, expressing contempt from the depths of his heart, raising his voice.

At that moment, Lex fired his revolver at Greg, hitting him in the leg. Enraged and somewhat fearful, Greg escaped towards the factory, but not as quickly as before.

"Lex, go around the back so he doesn't escape. I'll pursue him," I said as I climbed the fence.

"Alright, Clark. If you see him, don't hesitate to use it," he said as he ran.

What followed was quite fast; unlike the original Clark, I don't tend to take people and throw them aside to let them get back up. I waited for Lex to be out of my sight and quickly ran towards where Greg was before he could realize or defend himself. I grabbed him, broke his neck, and then dropped the same piece of machinery on him, causing him to disintegrate into colorful beetles.

The Kryptonite, you may wonder. Well, I spent part of the week gathering meteorites from all the areas I remembered where I felt weak. It's still a work in progress, but this was one of the first places I cleaned up. Currently, I have them buried about three meters underground, covered in lead, but I'm in the process of finding a way to lose or mitigate my only weakness.

I ran into Lex a few minutes later; no one said anything, and he didn't ask anything. After resolving that, we left the factory, and at that moment, Pete arrived in a truck.

"Clark, Lex, are you okay? Where's Greg?" he asked as he descended with a bat in his hands.

"He escaped; I shot him, and it looks like he ran from here," Lex immediately replied.

"Phew, I'm glad everyone's okay. Where's Lana?"

"Most likely at the treehouse."

"Excellent, let's go," Pete said.

"Wait a moment, Pete. It seems Clark can handle rescuing her. How about I take you out for something to eat in town?" Lex suggested.

"Haha, sure, but let me drive the car."

"Clark, I'll leave you the truck; take it to my house after rescuing Lana." With that, they both left in Lex's car, but before they left, Lex spoke.

"By the way, Clark, the reason I came to see you was to give you this," Lex said as he threw a box to me.

I caught it in the air and tucked it into my jacket.

"You won't open it?" Lex asked.

"No need, Lex. I suppose I know what's inside," I said as I walked towards the forest.

The box Lex threw at me was the same one containing Lana's necklace from the original series, apparently made from the armor of some Christian saint.

I climbed up to the treehouse where Lana was; there she was, unconscious, wrapped in a silk cocoon. The cocoon was stronger than I thought, but as soon as I managed to break it, Lana woke up as if she had been simply waking up from a light sleep.

"Clark," she said groggily. Immediately after that, memories of being kidnapped by Greg invaded her drowsiness, waking her up and making her tremble.

"Clark, Greg...he..." she stammered.

"Relax, Lana, you're safe," I said as I hugged her.

After a few moments of us staying embraced, she calmed down.

"Well, Sleeping Beauty, shall we climb down from here, and I'll take you home?"

"Hmm, can I go to your house? My aunt still hasn't arrived, and I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, I'll take you."

After that, I drove silently to my house. Upon arrival, my parents received Lana with the characteristic kindness of the Kents. Since neither of us felt like chatting with my parents, we went to my attic to hang out.

While we were in my fortress of solitude, sitting with coffee to talk, neither of us touched on the subject of Greg; apparently, Lana was still processing it.

"You know, it's funny. The last time you were here, we were still kids."

"Yeah, I remember we used to play together a lot. What changed, Clark?"

"Everything, both of us did. You became the school's popular girl, and I, well, I continued being just your neighbor, the farmer."

After that brief exchange, we stayed silent for a while longer.

"You know, Clark, Lex told me what Whitney did to you, and yet you saved him."

"It was nothing; I just pulled him out of the car."

"But you could have just called emergency services; you risked getting hurt."

"I want to apologize on his behalf."

"Shouldn't it be you apologizing? Seems like saving people is sort of my profession, so no biggie. Plus, now he and I are even. You know, the punch and all," I joked to lighten the mood.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I said, turning to look at her.

"Of course, Clark, what's up?" Lana asked as she looked at me with those mesmerizing green eyes.

"There's a reason why I always seem clumsy when I'm around you," I said, avoiding her eyes.

"What is it, Clark? Are you so hopelessly in love with me that your legs turn to jelly?" Lana teased, looking at me with amusement and a hint of expectation.

"Haha, oh, you caught me! You read my secret diary while you were here?" I joked, pretending to be offended.

"Hahahaha x2."

"No, but seriously, it's because of this," I said as I took out the lead box from Lex.

"You see, I still don't know what it is or why it happens, but it seems like I have an allergy or something."

"I don't understand, Clark."

"Open it," I said, handing the box to Lana.

As soon as she opened it, I began to feel weakened.

"It's because of the meteorite," I said as I took the necklace out of the box and showed her my hand, which had green veins in it.

"Clark, your hand..."

"It's okay, don't worry," I said, putting the necklace back in the box and closing it. "I don't know what it is, maybe something similar to Greg's situation, except it seems like my 'superpower' is 'super weakness' or something like that, hahaha."

"Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Lana. Besides, it's not that bad. Come on, turn around."

"Okay," she replied curiously, standing up with her back to me.

Opening the box again, I took the necklace and, as I overcame the moment of weakness, I gathered her hair and slowly placed the necklace around her neck. I leaned on her shoulder as I kissed her head and spoke to her.

"There, see? Back in its place. Now you can say that my jelly legs are back."

"Clark, you don't have to do this."

"And you don't have to worry. It's part of your parents' memory, Lana. I don't want to take that away from you."

"..."

"It was good to see you, Lana. Thanks for coming," I said as I stepped away, leaving Lana alone with her thoughts.

__________________________

"Hello, readers.

Before you mention anything about revealing weaknesses and all that, he'll handle it separately. Remember that Kryptonite doesn't disable him completely; he could still be a sort of Batman without his powers, while people think they know his weakness.

And why Lana? Very simple. A large part of her fights and problems were due to too many secrets. Besides, I think she can help us get rid of the meteorites.

Well, that's all. Goodbye."