Chapter 32: Memories of the Talisman

With a swoosh, following Clark's departure, he vanished in a flash, quickly moving beyond Robert's sensory range and also out of Kara's sight.

"Alright, Clark wants some alone time. Let's all head back home," Robert sighed helplessly as he watched Clark leave, wishing he had gradually introduced Kara's story to Clark instead of all at once.

But Robert hadn't expected Kara to reveal such significant information upon seeing Clark. He thought Clark and Kara were merely related and neither had memories of their home planet.

"No, wait!" Kara quickly stopped Robert, "Didn't we agree to visit your house? Let's go..."

"No, I meant bringing you home was for meeting Clark. Now that you two have recognized each other, what's the point of going to my place?" Robert asked, puzzled.

"Because I want to see my cousin's living environment! And also meet your parents, to thank them for raising my cousin, even though he hasn't called me cousin yet..." Kara's eyes twinkled mischievously as she confidently said.

"Hmm? That seems reasonable. Martha and the others would be happy to know Clark has a relative like you. We could have a nice dinner tonight!" Robert brightened up at the idea, then regretfully added, "Ah, if only Clark wasn't feeling down, we could've planned for two big meals..."

In Robert's plan, the recognition between the two Kryptonians called for a celebration, ideally involving both families having dinner together, maybe even two dinners.

But with Clark in low spirits, Robert had to cancel those plans. Still, bringing Kara along seemed like a good opportunity for a nice meal.

"We could still have two meals!" Kara quickly added with a smile, "Though, the one at our place might need to wait a bit since we've run into some trouble and need to move..."

"Moving? Was your sudden departure today to deal with your family's issues?" Robert asked instinctively.

"Yes, my sister found something called a talisman, just a broken stone, and I don't know what it's for. But it attracted a mysterious organization's attention!" Kara sighed, "I couldn't just eliminate them all, so we had to prepare to move..."

"Talisman?" Robert felt he had heard of it somewhere, but the memory was too distant and vague.

"Yeah, it even has a mouse drawn on it..." Kara nodded, "It's just a small toy, really. I could crush it easily. I don't understand why so many people are after it!"

"Talisman! The Mouse Talisman!" As Kara continued, Robert finally recalled some pre-transmigration memories.

It was from a fascinating animated series he used to watch secretly during dinner, risking a knock on the head if he got too absorbed.

Robert couldn't remember the exact plot, but he remembered key characters like Jackie, Jade, Uncle, Tohru, a villain who shouted about crows flying planes, and a character named Shendu...

"And why would this world have talismans?" Robert initially wondered but quickly got excited, "Never mind, the existence of talismans at least suggests there's a Shendu, and he has demon brothers. Looks like I'll have suitable opponents in the future!"

"What are you thinking about? Why do you seem so excited? Do you know about the talisman?" Kara asked, noticing Robert's silence and growing excitement.

"Yeah, a bit," Robert nodded, not being modest.

"What's the talisman for?" Kara's eyes lit up, eagerly inquiring on behalf of her sister, Alex.

"Uh..." Robert was momentarily stumped, trying to recall the animated series, then dryly said, "Some talismans let people fly, others increase strength, and some even let eyes shoot lasers... kind of like your and Clark's heat vision!"

"Are you making this up? There's more than one talisman?" Kara looked at Robert skeptically, doubting his reliability.

"Of course not, that's all I remember!" Robert rolled his eyes in response to the skepticism, "There are twelve talismans, each corresponding to a different animal of the Chinese zodiac. You know about the zodiac, right? The symbols on the talismans are zodiac animals..."

"Which zodiac animal shoots lasers from its eyes?" Kara asked, looking forward to Robert's answer.

"Pig!" Robert remembered clearly since it was his zodiac sign before transmigration.

"You're the pig! Hmph!" Kara scoffed at Robert's response and walked away, heading in the direction Clark had come from.

Robert: (_???) Kryptonians really are a bit off!

"Aren't you leading the way? I don't know where your house is!" As Robert stood there, Kara's voice rang out again, prompting Robert to shake his head and lead the way to the Kent farm.

Robert and Kara moved quickly, with Robert noting Kara's displayed speed seemed much stronger than her ki, yet still far behind Clark's.

Suddenly, Robert realized, with Clark being too powerful at 27 to spar with, Kara, who had only been on Earth for 15 years, might be a perfect sparring partner.

Even if Robert wasn't a match for Kara now, he believed it wouldn't take long to reach her level with ki, then by teaching her control during sparring, he could continuously improve through battle...

Thinking this, Robert looked at Kara with shining eyes, planning to discuss this with her after they had eaten.

"Hmph!" Kara, feeling Robert's intense gaze, smirked slightly, feeling somewhat proud but pretended to be annoyed.