"Something's wrong with Clark."
Just as Pete entered The Torch's editorial office, he said to Chloe.
Chloe, holding a stone, didn't notice Pete's words. Seeing him enter, she excitedly said, "You won't believe what I found, Pete! The rings the school sold us are actually fakes."
"We can talk about the fake rings later, Chloe. Clark has been acting really strange lately."
"What?"
Chloe asked, puzzled, "What happened to Clark?"
"The motorcycle, the conflict with his father, his personality seems to have changed completely. I just spoke with Mr. Jonathan, and they even considered the worst-case scenario, like drug addiction."
Chloe shrugged, "Clark has always been strange, it's just that his strangeness might have increased recently. Besides, Clark would have to take drugs to get addicted, and I don't believe he would do something that foolish."
"I hope so."
Pete sighed, "I don't know the reason, so I can only guess. By the way, what was that thing you were holding just now?"
He directed his gaze to the stone on Chloe's desk.
"That's exactly the news I just discovered, this ring!"
Chloe showed the ruby ring in her hand to Pete, "These graduation rings sold by the school are fakes. The truth is that the jewelry company is replacing rubies with worthless meteorites to save costs."
Pete looked at the ring on his own hand upon hearing this, "Chloe, as much as I want to believe you, I have to remind you that the gem in the ring is red, while meteorites are green."
"Not the meteorites near Smallville, but the ones found in Hobbs Lake. The meteorites there are entirely red, and this one in my hand is a sample."
Chloe handed the red-glowing stone in her hand to Pete, "Look at the patterns on it, they're the same as on ours. Tomorrow, I'm putting this fact on the front page of The Torch."
Pete, holding the red meteorite, looked serious, "Do you think Clark's personality might have been affected by this red meteorite? I know he acts very strangely when he's around green meteorites."
"Hmm, just like Akins's enchantment, the red meteorite also enchanted him?"
Chloe frowned and said, "There is indeed such a possibility."
Meanwhile, at Kent Farm.
Martha was wiping her husband's body.
Her shirtless husband's back was red and swollen. He leaned on the railing, letting his wife apply a hot compress to the wound.
"I can't believe Clark would do that."
Martha's eyes showed distress for her husband.
Jonathan gritted his teeth and let out a breath due to the pain, "He looks like a changed man."
"Then what can we do to persuade him to come home?"
"I don't know."
Jonathan shook his head, "If he wants to do his own thing, there's nothing we can do."
"If this continues, I don't know what Clark will eventually do. If we want to stop him, only Eric can."
Martha said worriedly, "Eric's talents awakened earlier, and he also utilizes his abilities more."
"That will only make things worse."
Jonathan put on his jacket, interrupting his wife, "We've seen it with our own eyes, Eric learned to fly. He can even fly at supersonic speeds in the air. He's a fighter jet now. And Clark has just mastered the ability to emit heat from his eyes under Eric's guidance. If they clash, I don't think Clark can easily resist."
"They are not ordinary people. If a conflict breaks out, I don't know what kind of astonishing destructive power they would inflict on the town."
Taking the towel from his wife's hand, Jonathan applied it to the injured part of his chest and continued, "Besides, you know, once a dispute begins, it won't end easily. Whether for Clark or for the town, I don't agree with calling Eric back now."
"But Clark won't understand."
Martha looked at Clark's "Secret Fortress" not far away, and said with some distress, "He's like he suddenly became someone who doesn't understand others overnight. I don't know why just one night can bring about such a big change?"
"Martha, he's Clark. His superpowers all appeared suddenly overnight."
"Do you think this is part of his growth?"
Martha asked her husband.
Jonathan hesitated slightly, "I don't know. The things he said, I think those emotions must have been brewing in his heart for a while."
Seeing her husband's dejected expression, Martha stroked his shoulder, "No, Jonathan, Clark loves you. He loves you just as much as Eric. It's just that this isn't simple rebellion; there's some problem we don't know about."
"I don't consider myself rebellious."
In the base beneath Wayne Manor, Bruce clasped his hands together against his upper palate, staring at the screen in front of him.
His hair was slightly disheveled, and his eyes were red, clearly having been up all night.
Bruce stared unblinkingly at the screen and said to Alfred, who was walking over with coffee, "I know what I'm doing, and I clearly understand the consequences I can cause, which is merely a temporary physical collapse, but believe me, I won't be that fragile."
As he spoke, he operated the computer in front of him, "Second processor, perform voice retrieval."
"Voice retrieval failed!"
"Damn it!"
Bruce slammed his fist on the table.
He had fought the mysterious person in the alley yesterday and only saw the person's exposed chin.
Yes, what bothered him was that even though they fought, he didn't even get a clear look at Eric's face.
Even though he recorded the other person's voice with equipment, no matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't match it to any data to confirm the person's identity.
"I've placed the coffee by your hand, Master."
Alfred placed the coffee by Bruce's hand, "If I may, Master, I'd like to say a few words. I read an article in the science column of The Gazette. German ornithologists recently discovered that Batman needs the sunset to fly long distances."
"Which means, Master Bruce, if you are willing, Batman also needs some sunlight to continue flying."
Bruce re-analyzed Eric's voice, "I know enough about Batman, Alfred. Do you know about Owl?"
"I don't know any more than you do, Master."
Alfred was silent for a moment and said, "I've prepared medicinal black coffee for you; it's good for your late nights and injured body. Perhaps you need a day of rest."
Adding some coffee to the cup with the coffee pot, Alfred added, "Oh, and one more thing, Mr. Cobblepot has suddenly organized a dinner party, inviting many celebrities and politicians from Gotham, including you, Master."
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