"Hey, Clark."
Lana hadn't expected to see Clark here. She paused for a moment before greeting him.
"G-Good morning, Lana."
Clark's face gradually turned red.
Although the two had become somewhat familiar with each other, Clark still got nervous whenever he saw her.
Noticing his growing awkwardness, Lana also started feeling a little uneasy.
As they stood facing each other in silence, Lana was about to say something to break the awkwardness when Peter stepped outside.
"Hey, Uncle Patrick."
Seeing Peter come out, Lana let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"These are cookies Aunt Nell baked."
As she spoke, she handed a basket to Peter. "Aunt Nell specifically asked me to bring them over to thank Uncle Patrick for helping us apply for the subsidy fund."
Peter had heard from Nell yesterday that the horse ranch wasn't doing well, so he had mentioned Lionel Luthor's subsidy fund to her.
"There's no need to thank me, Lana. I just mentioned it in passing."
Although Peter said it was no big deal, he still accepted the cookies without hesitation.
"Well, I'll be heading back now, Uncle Patrick."
Lana spoke politely.
"Go on. Clark, walk Lana home."
Peter turned to Clark, who was standing off to the side, looking dazed.
"Oh—okay, Godfather."
Clark snapped out of his daze and hurried to Lana's side.
Watching the slow-witted boy, Peter sighed helplessly.
At this rate, with Clark's sluggish reaction time, winning Lana's heart in this lifetime might be a challenge.
He'd be better off waiting for his destined soulmate—Lois Lane.
Thinking about Lois Lane and comparing her name to Lana Lang's, Peter suddenly noticed something—both names had the initials "LL."
Could it be that Clark was naturally drawn to "LL" names?
Rubbing his chin, Peter suddenly realized that Lex Luthor also had the same initials.
No wonder Clark and Lex would have such a complicated relationship in the future.
That evening, Peter stood before the white ash tree in the yard, observing its mystical presence.
Hesitating, he was just about to reach out and place his hand on the tree to enter its inner world once more when—
"Dad!"
Star-Lord came running toward him, his face swollen like a pig's head, with tears in his eyes.
Seeing his miserable state, Peter froze.
A few minutes later, he had a general understanding of what had happened.
Dipping a large cotton ball into a pink calamine lotion, Peter gently applied it to Star-Lord's reddened wounds.
This little troublemaker had somehow decided to mess with bees and ended up getting stung all over.
"I told you not to go back there," Peter scolded helplessly.
"They never bothered me before."
Star-Lord insisted it was just bad luck.
Peter explained, "Those were yellow jackets in September. They know winter is coming, and their time is running out, so they become aggressive."
"I think my fingers got fatter," Star-Lord whined.
"That's because they're swollen."
Star-Lord: "..."
He watched as the fluffy cotton ball, looking like a rabbit's tail, dabbed the calamine lotion onto his arm.
The moment the sting flared up again, Star-Lord instinctively tried to pull away.
Peter's hand immediately came down with a firm pat.
"OW!" Star-Lord nearly burst into tears again and quickly pulled his hand back.
"Don't move," Peter scolded.
"But it really hurts, Dad."
Peter merely frowned and continued applying the lotion.
"So… you deliberately provoked them, didn't you?"
Peter asked.
Star-Lord hesitated before nodding. "Not exactly, Dad. I was in the woods behind the house when I found a hole beneath a rotting stump. There were bees inside—they kind of reminded me of those tiny evil fighter jets from cartoons. Their entrance was blocked by something, so I tried to pull it away."
Looking dejected, Star-Lord continued, "And then… suddenly, they were everywhere—they swarmed me, got inside my shirt, and started stinging me."
Peter nodded. "And then?"
"Then I ended up here."
Star-Lord's eyes now carried a hint of newfound wisdom.
"You shouldn't have interfered," Peter said.
"I was trying to help them, Dad."
Peter shook his head. "There's an apocryphal gospel—The Gospel of Nazareth—where Jesus says: 'Those who harm God's enemies will themselves become prey.' You thought you were a benevolent hunter, but in reality, you became the hunted."
"I'm sorry, Dad."
"'Sorry' isn't going to change the fact that you look like a swollen pig right now."
After finishing the treatment, Peter reassured him, "Alright, in a few days, the swelling will go down."
"Thanks, Dad."
Star-Lord expressed his gratitude.
Taking a deep breath, he then asked, "Dad, why can't I have strong defenses like John and Clark? If I did, the bees wouldn't have been able to sting me."
"You all have different abilities. Everyone has their own unique gifts. Besides…"
Peter fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Sometimes, having powers like John and Clark… is more of a curse than a blessing."
"A curse?"
Star-Lord blinked in confusion. Why would his father say that?
Wouldn't having that kind of power be cool?
He got his answer the very next day when something happened to Clark.
The Next Morning
The sky was clear.
Peter, along with Star-Lord and John, was busy stacking grain into the barn.
Nearby, Clark was helping repair the farm's fences.
He lifted a post and, with a slight push, drove it straight into the ground.
"Hey, Clark, give me a hand with the tractor. It's stuck on the forks, and I can't reach it."
John asked Clark to lift the tractor slightly.
"No problem." Clark dusted off his hands and smiled.
Walking up to the tractor, he bent down, reached under it, and lifted.
A deafening boom echoed.
In the stunned silence that followed, John and Star-Lord watched in shock as the tractor, along with clumps of dirt stuck to its tires, soared into the sky.
The three of them stood frozen, watching the tractor fly higher and higher until it became a tiny speck in the sky and finally disappeared.
Only then did they realize they had made a huge mistake.
"DAD!!"
Meanwhile, Peter, already mentally exhausted from dealing with the ash tree's mysteries, just wanted to relax. He turned on the TV.
The weather news was on.
"This is Ian Jones reporting from Kansas City, Kansas. Scientists say today's phenomenon is a once-in-a-century astronomical event."
Hearing the words once-in-a-century astronomical event, Peter became interested and turned his attention to the screen.
A meteor shower?
But he was quickly disappointed.
The host continued, "Due to intense solar activity, scientists say a meteor has collided with the Sun, causing changes to its surface. This may have a significant impact on Earth's magnetic field."
Peter frowned in thought.
Solar activity?
Before he could dwell on it further, Star-Lord's panicked voice rang out.
"Dad! Something bad happened!"
"What is it?"
Peter turned to see his son, whose head was still a bit swollen.
"It's Clark! He threw the tractor into the sky!"
Peter was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile…
On the highway leading into Smallville, Lionel Luthor stood by the roadside, talking on the phone.
"I told you, Lex, things didn't have to be this strained between us. I'm your father. I would never harm you."
Just as he was brooding over how to mend his relationship with Lex Luthor, a deafening boom shook the ground.
He turned around just in time to see his car crushed into a pancake—by a tractor that had fallen from the sky.
Stunned, he stood there for a long time before finally reacting.
He glanced up at the clear, cloudless sky, then looked around.
There was no one in sight.
What… just happened?
Did he just witness a supernatural event?!
Half an hour later, Peter arrived at the scene with John, Star-Lord, and the guilty-looking Clark.
Seeing Peter, Lionel Luthor's expression was unreadable.
A female officer approached, holding a license plate.
"Are you Peter Patrick?"
"I am."
Peter tried to maintain a calm expression.
"Can you explain why your tractor fell onto the highway?"
"Well, uh…" Peter's mind raced.
He needed a reasonable excuse.
Just then, Lionel Luthor stepped forward and said, "I saw what happened. It fell off a truck."
Catching on, Peter immediately added, "Yes, someone stole our tractor. We were chasing them when they must have panicked and lost control."
"You're saying… the tractor fell off a getaway vehicle?"
Peter nodded. "That's right."
Though skeptical, the officer couldn't argue when both men insisted on the same story. She asked a few more questions and left.
Once the coast was clear, Peter turned to Lionel. "Thanks, Lionel."
He knew exactly why Lionel had covered for him.
That man had always suspected Peter had powers.
Now that a tractor had fallen from the sky and wrecked his car, Lionel was definitely more suspicious than ever.
...
Join patreon if you want. patreon.com/GreekGreenGlass