"Ms. Aikins! Ms. Aikins—wait!"
Several male teachers hurried after the beautiful new biology teacher as she walked across the parking lot. One even chased her while holding two concert tickets, stubbornly refusing to give up after being rejected.
Aikins didn't slow down once.
She slipped on her sunglasses, climbed into a bright red Mustang, and drove straight out of the school gate. The wind whipped her orange hair as the sports car accelerated onto the quiet streets of Smallville.
Her hand rested loosely on the steering wheel while her eyes carried a faint look of disdain.
"I didn't come back to this town just to date a bunch of high school teachers who can't even afford a decent house," she muttered.
In the entire town, there was only one man worth her attention.
Lex Luthor.
The billionaire heir.
A spark of excitement flickered in Aikins's eyes as she pressed the accelerator harder.
"I hope Lex Luthor can surprise me," she said softly. "A man like that must have some priceless treasures hidden in his collection."
The Mustang roared down the road toward Luthor Manor.
…
Inside the study at Luthor Manor, Lex Luthor sat behind his desk with a slightly dark expression.
That morning's experiment with the wish stone had produced mixed results.
Martial had indeed been promoted to captain of the bodyguards. But before noon arrived, something humiliating happened.
Another guard who envied Martial exposed several embarrassing photos online.
The photos showed Martial drunk in a bar, hugging and kissing a filthy toilet bowl while other patrons laughed around him.
"Martial is probably still celebrating his promotion," Luthor thought coldly. "Completely unaware that he's become a joke."
He folded his hands under his chin.
"Coincidence… or a price?"
Luthor wasn't the kind of boss who worried about his employees' dignity. The only thing that interested him was whether this incident proved something important.
Was the wish stone simply unpredictable?
Or did every wish carry unavoidable consequences?
His eyes darkened.
Bang!
The study door suddenly burst open.
"Who are you?"
A woman in a tight pink miniskirt walked in confidently. She ignored Luthor entirely and began examining the room as if inspecting a house she had just purchased.
"The decoration is so outdated," she commented casually. "I didn't expect the study of Gotham's famous playboy heir to look like this."
Luthor's expression hardened.
"And who are you?"
His cold gaze shifted toward the guards standing outside the door.
"Martial," he said calmly, "I don't pay you more than a hundred thousand dollars a month so that strangers can wander into my office."
His voice carried a clear command.
Remove her immediately.
But the guards didn't move.
Instead, they stared at Aikins with intense admiration, as if she were a goddess who had descended from heaven.
"Mr. Luthor," one of them said stiffly, "we suggest you speak politely to Miss Aikins."
The tone carried open displeasure.
How could anyone treat such a perfect woman rudely?
Aikins laughed softly.
"You don't seem to like me."
She sat directly on the edge of Luthor's desk and leaned down slightly, her beautiful face hovering close to his.
Luthor frowned.
"Madam," he said with a sneer, "there's a difference between being sexy and being vulgar."
The strange reactions of the guards already irritated him.
"Is that so?"
Aikins chuckled carelessly.
"You misunderstand."
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes glowing with amusement.
"If I want a man to die for me, all I have to do is curl my finger. I don't need to sell my body."
Her smile resembled that of a succubus.
A faint fragrance drifted toward Luthor.
The scent was sweet—too sweet. Almost overwhelming.
For a moment, Luthor felt dizzy.
His gaze returned to the woman in front of him.
Suddenly every part of her seemed flawless.
From her hair to her lips to the curve of her waist, she looked like a perfect creation sculpted by God himself.
His throat went dry.
"I…"
Luthor began to speak.
Part of him wanted to apologize for his earlier tone.
Another part of him sensed that something was wrong.
His brows furrowed.
"But… I'm willing to make an exception for you."
Aikins smiled slightly.
Before Luthor could react, she leaned forward and kissed him.
At first he tried to pull away.
But the softness of her lips quickly dissolved his resistance. The sweet warmth of the kiss spread through his mind until he looked at her again with absolute devotion.
It felt as if she had become the center of his world.
"Miss… may I know your name?"
Luthor gently took her hand and kissed it like a perfect gentleman.
"I don't want to spend the rest of my life dreaming about a woman whose name I don't know."
"Of course."
Aikins smiled sweetly.
Capturing Luthor's loyalty had been easier than she expected.
"For now," she said softly, "I just want to see something."
Her eyes sparkled with greedy curiosity.
"To prove your sincerity… why don't you show me the most precious treasure in your collection?"
Luthor immediately turned toward the guards.
"Leave the room."
The guards hesitated until Aikins waved them away.
Only then did they obediently close the door behind them.
Luthor carefully opened a small safe hidden beneath the desk and removed the crystal wish stone.
"What's that?" Aikins asked curiously.
"A statue carved from topaz?"
She picked it up, examining the yellow crystal cluster resting on the gray stone base.
The crystal looked slightly cloudy.
"No," Luthor said quietly.
"The material is ordinary citrine."
"But this is my most valuable treasure."
He lowered his voice as if protecting a priceless secret.
"It can grant wishes."
Aikins stared at him.
Then she looked at the stone again.
"…Are you joking?"
"No," Luthor said seriously.
"It's real."
…
Back at the Kent farm, summer heat had settled across the countryside.
Martha sat in front of a small electric fan while sorting through household bills. The hot air left her slightly exhausted.
"Honey, want a cold soda?" Jonathan asked cheerfully.
After spending the entire morning working outside in the sun, he looked completely refreshed.
"I don't understand," Martha said while wiping sweat from her neck. "The cows outside are lying down in the shade because it's too hot. Why aren't you affected at all?"
"Maybe it's the Dionysian Factor," Jonathan said with a grin.
He handed her a bottle of cold water.
Martha pressed the bottle against her forehead.
She glanced toward the remaining liquid metal Victor had left for her.
Immortality was a difficult concept to accept.
She wasn't sure she could bear watching all of her friends grow old and die.
But the thought of endless energy and freedom from heat and sickness was undeniably tempting.
"Hi, we're back!"
Victor opened the door as he and Clark returned from school.
Martha immediately stood up.
"How was school today?"
"Pretty normal," Victor said while grabbing a cold soda from the fridge. "Except for the fire in biology class."
"Fire?" Jonathan asked quickly.
"What happened?"
Victor pointed toward Clark.
"That's his story."
Clark scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"I might've started it."
Both parents stared at him.
"My eyes suddenly started heating up," Clark explained. "Then the curtain I was looking at caught fire."
"That sounds dangerous," Martha said nervously.
"What caused it?" Jonathan asked.
Victor smirked slightly.
"The new biology teacher."
Clark immediately glared at him.
"If Clark had stared at her any longer," Victor continued teasingly, "the entire class might have needed therapy."
"A female teacher?" Martha asked.
Clark coughed awkwardly.
"Yes… something like that."
Victor raised his hands dramatically.
"Hey, don't look at me. His eyes can literally kill people."
Jonathan and Martha quickly stepped between them.
"Clark, control yourself!"
"Relax," Victor said with a laugh. "The teacher isn't here."
Clark sighed.
"This time it's different," he said more confidently. "I've figured out how to control my abilities."
"Oh?"
Victor raised an eyebrow.
"You were right," Clark admitted reluctantly. "The trick is not resisting the ability."
"If I stop seeing it as something strange and just focus on controlling it… it's easier than I expected."
Jonathan and Martha exchanged surprised glances.
It felt like a huge burden had quietly lifted from Clark's heart.
"That's wonderful," Martha said warmly.
"We should celebrate with a big lunch."
…
Later that afternoon, a news report suddenly interrupted the television broadcast during their meal.
"Metropolis Midday News reports that the vault of a Smallville bank was mysteriously robbed last night."
The anchor spoke with a serious expression.
"No signs of forced entry or tunneling were found. Large quantities of gold bars and jewelry disappeared from inside the sealed vault."
The screen switched to a familiar face.
Officer Bob stood inside the bank vault explaining the situation to reporters.
"Based on the footprints discovered at the scene," he said uncertainly, "the suspects appear to have… entered through the wall."
"And left through the wall with the stolen valuables."
The bizarre explanation left everyone puzzled.
"Could it be someone with abilities?" Jonathan wondered aloud.
Fortunately, no one had been injured.
The family soon returned to their lunch.
…
Later, Clark practiced outside near the barn.
He focused his heat vision on various objects—a scarecrow pole, the wooden fence, and even a plastic water tank.
Under careful control, he melted stones and heated water without burning the container.
Victor watched with mild surprise.
Clark handled his powers as naturally as breathing.
"Well," Victor said casually, "at least Mom won't need to warm milk every morning anymore."
Clark laughed.
"Can't you do that too?"
Victor raised an eyebrow.
Clark remembered the moment when Victor's eyes released powerful energy capable of vaporizing the Lazarus Pool.
"By the way," Clark asked curiously, "where did you learn all those strange things? The Lazarus Pool… the Dionysian Factor…"
"Didn't I tell you?" Victor replied.
"The magician's diary I found in Gotham."
Clark rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Do magicians really exist?"
Victor glanced at him.
"If aliens exist," he said calmly, "why wouldn't magicians?"
Clark had no answer.
…
Back inside Luthor Manor, sparks flew as Aikins struck the wish stone repeatedly with a hammer and chisel.
Not even a scratch appeared.
She shook her numb hand in disbelief.
"This thing is incredible…"
Her eyes burned with greed as she caressed the stone like a lover.
"How do you make a wish?"
"Just hold it," Luthor said with a smile. "And speak your wish."
"I still haven't discovered all its limits."
He hesitated.
"There might also be—"
"You'll know after trying it."
Aikins had no patience left.
If this stone was real, it meant she could have anything.
Anyone would go mad with desire if such an object appeared in front of them.
"I want to become a true goddess," she whispered.
"Just like Aphrodite."
She held the stone tightly.
"I wish to become the goddess of love and beauty!"
For a moment, nothing happened.
No glowing light.
No heavenly music.
The crystal remained silent.
But suddenly—
A strange sensation spread through Aikins's body.
Something had changed.
…
That evening, Victor and Clark stepped off the school bus near the Kent farm.
After waving goodbye to Chloe and Pete, they began walking toward the house.
Suddenly a cold voice spoke from the shadows beneath a streetlamp.
"Clark."
A figure stepped forward slowly.
Whitney.
His eyes burned with anger.
"I told you to stay away from Lana."
He clenched his fists.
"But you clearly weren't listening."
....
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