"Or maybe Clark is just avoiding the awkward silence," Adrian said as he folded the newspaper on the table.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "Awkward silence?"
Adrian's expression was calm. "He sneaks out at night, waits until you and Mom are asleep before coming back. He thinks it spares him the silence around here. Clark feels like he shouldn't be punished for having talent."
Martha, who was wiping her hands on a dish towel, frowned. "Did Clark actually tell you that?"
"No," Adrian replied, his voice flat but edged with quiet superiority. "He doesn't open up to me. Especially not when he thinks Dad and I are on the same side."
Jonathan's patience ran thin. He grabbed Adrian's jacket from the hanger and handed it to him. "Enough of this. Go look outside. I don't believe Clark would just wander off without saying a word."
Adrian slid into the jacket without protest and stepped into the night.
The Kansas sky was a dark canvas scattered with stars. The farmlands stretched endlessly, flat and open. Perfect terrain for his eyes.
He activated his Super Vision, scanning the surrounding miles. The Kent farm, Smallville High, Lana's farm, even the glowing neon sign of the Wild Coyote Bar—all passed under his scrutiny. Every place Clark could have gone.
Nothing.
Adrian's jaw tightened. Clark wasn't anywhere he should have been.
---
Miles away, hidden deep within a cornfield near LuthorCorp's Third Fertilizer Plant, the silence broke with ragged breathing.
"Huff… huff…"
Clark was bound to a wooden cross in the clearing. Shirtless, arms stretched wide, the ropes bit into his wrists. A crude red "S" had been spray-painted across his chest, mocking him. His head hung low, sweat dripping into the dirt beneath him.
Around his neck hung the small meteor rock necklace—Kryptonite. Its poisonous glow leeched the strength from his body, reducing him to gasps and tremors. He pulled at the bindings, but even the effort of lifting his head sent sharp pain through his chest.
He was powerless.
From the shadows of the corn, a curly-haired teenager watched. Hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on Clark's suffering, his expression flickered between disgust and sympathy.
A gust of wind tore through the field, bending the cornstalks violently. The boy raised his arm to shield his face. When he lowered it, a stranger stood beside him.
Adrian.
His sudden arrival shook the air itself, the displaced wind knocking down rows of corn. His boots crunched against the soil as he took a single step forward, eyes narrowing at the sight of Clark crucified on the cross.
"Did you do this?" Adrian's voice cut like a blade, directed at the curly-haired youth.
"Me?" the boy said quickly, shaking his head. "No. It was the football team. They… they've been doing this for years. Before every big game, they pick a 'Scarecrow.' Tie someone up out here and humiliate them."
Hatred clouded his voice as he spoke. "I thought they'd stop after what happened before, but they just got worse. Evil doesn't disappear—it festers."
Adrian studied him. His eyes flashed faintly red. "Sounds like you've been up there yourself. What's your name?"
The boy gave a strained smile. "Jerome. Does that ring a bell?"
Adrian's gaze sharpened. "Yeah. Three years ago. You were the unlucky one tied up here. And then… you vanished."
Jerome's smile faltered, but he didn't deny it.
Adrian turned fully toward him, the air between them suddenly charged. "Jerome… I think you've heard of me too."
Jerome frowned. "Why would I?"
Adrian's lips curved in a cold smirk. "Because when you stole from me, you saw the name on my locker. Adrian Kent."
Before Jerome could answer, Adrian's eyes erupted with crimson beams.
The blast of Heat Vision seared through Jerome's shoulder, hurling him backward into the stalks. His scream echoed across the field as his body plowed a furrow into the dirt. Corn snapped and splintered under the force.
Jerome coughed, clutching his scorched shoulder. Blood flecked his lips as he struggled to rise.
And then Adrian was there, standing in front of him, looming.
"You're tougher than a normal kid," Adrian said, his voice low and merciless. "Even after that hit, you're still standing. That means you've been dosing yourself with Kryptonite."
Jerome's eyes widened. "You—"
Adrian cut him off with a brutal punch to the gut.
The impact folded Jerome in half. He spat blood as he crashed onto his knees, gasping like a fish out of water. His organs felt rearranged, crushed by the sheer force.
Adrian crouched slightly, his tone clinical, almost bored. "I can smell it. The Kryptonite's in your body. You stole my locker key. You took my Kryptonite."
Jerome's glare burned with hatred, but before he could spit a retort, his body convulsed.
A surge of energy burst out from him, silver-white arcs of lightning snapping into the night sky. The ground crackled under his feet as raw electricity poured from his veins, surrounding his body like a living storm.
"Die!" Jerome roared. His eyes glowed with silver light as the storm surged outward. Bolts lashed across the cornfield, tearing through stalks, burning the earth. The sheer voltage made the air itself shudder.
And Adrian stood in the heart of it.
The lightning wrapped around him, splitting the ground at his feet. His shirt ripped at the seams, sparks dancing across his skin. But his face—calm, unflinching—never changed.
With a single movement, Adrian raised his hand and clenched his fist.
The lightning vanished, snuffed out like a candle.
Jerome's eyes went wide.
Adrian leaned closer, his voice dripping with cruel certainty. "Pathetic."
_____
Milestone
100 Power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
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