"David, Clark, we're taking fruit to sell at the market outside town today. You two will help load the truck later."
On a rare day off, their mother's call came from downstairs.
As he walked down the wooden stairs after answering his mother, David casually recalled what had happened yesterday.
Gregg, whose image at school had changed drastically, seemed to have undergone a genetic mutation as well.
"His heartbeat is much slower than a normal person's."
But there were quite a few genetically mutated people in this town. As long as he did not provoke him, it would be fine.
He sat at the dining table.
Jonathan was having breakfast, soaking cereal in milk.
David did not like cereal. He ate warmed bread, spreading blueberry jam over it with a butter knife.
"Clark!" Seeing that her eldest son had yet to come downstairs, Martha called up again.
Thump!
A muffled impact sounded upstairs, accompanied by the noise of wood snapping.
"Since when did Clark have such bad morning temper?"
Jonathan froze for a moment and said.
It sounded as though something had been broken by Clark.
"Are you all right, Clark?"
Knowing her husband was only joking, Martha called upstairs.
"I'm fine, Mom. I'll be down in a second, it's just..."
Upstairs, Clark's voice sounded a little flustered.
Before long, he sat at the table with an expression as if he had seen a ghost. Like a child who had gotten into trouble, he awkwardly said,
"The bed in my room needs fixing."
"Your bed broke? What happened?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Jonathan's eyes.
Puberty was a time when the body developed rapidly. Could it be that his son's strength had increased again, to the point where he could no longer control it?
"When I woke up just now, I found myself floating in midair. I got startled, fell down, and broke the bedpost."
Clark frowned, looking somewhat resistant.
How could a person fly? Another ability that set him apart from ordinary people had appeared, and it made him feel terrible. It once again reminded him that he was an alien, that he did not belong in this family.
And would something else uncontrollable happen to him next?
"Floating?"
From Super Strength and Super Defense to Super Speed... even though the couple had experience with this by now, they could not help being surprised.
Since ancient times, flying had always been humanity's dream.
The attentive and perceptive Martha noticed his mood. Taking her son's hand, she spoke gently. "Clark, no matter how many extraordinary gifts you have, you are still our son."
"Since it's a gift you were born with, you can master it, son." Jonathan's tone carried a hint of sternness as he tried to give his son confidence. "Don't be afraid. You aren't the only one in the world who can fly. Countless birds enjoy the sky freely as well."
The young Superman seemed to be beginning to awaken his ability to fly. David was not surprised at all.
"I thought it was something else."
"What?" Clark could not help asking.
"Nothing. When I got up, I heard some sounds from next door, like someone talking in their sleep and repeatedly saying someone's name."
David swallowed his bread, his casual tone leaving Clark at the table greatly embarrassed.
Because before waking up, he had been flying in his dream too. He had flown all the way to Lana's house, hovering above her bed as he admired her lovely sleeping form.
He swore he had not done anything before being woken up. It was just that the dream had been rather alluring.
I actually said it out loud?
It must have been because he had unusually spent a long time talking with Lana on the way home from school yesterday, wanting to comfort her, that he dreamed of her at night.
"Someone's name?"
Martha looked puzzled. "Clark, did you have a nightmare?"
She remembered how Clark had nearly been beaten up by Whitney last time.
"It was nothing, Mom.
It's getting late. Let's finish breakfast quickly, load the truck, and head to the market."
Clark's face turned red. He choked on his milk and coughed twice, guiltily changing the subject.
"Otherwise, we won't get a good spot."
After breakfast, they came to the entrance of the farm. Clark and David carried crates of packed fruit out of the warehouse.
The crates of fruit weighed dozens of pounds, yet in Clark's arms they were as light as feathers. Without effort, he swiftly carried one crate after another onto the pickup truck.
But when he turned around, he saw that by the time he had moved seven or eight crates, David had only placed the second one on the truck, moving at a leisurely pace as if he were out for a stroll.
"Can you hurry up?" he could not help saying.
"Clark, your brother doesn't have your strength. Don't rush him," Martha gently scolded.
"He doesn't have strength..."
Clark opened his mouth, recalling how he had been unable to bend even one of David's hands with both of his own.
Though that was partly because he had not dared use his full strength.
All this time, he had practically served as a human tractor, fence-post driver, and plow at the family farm, saving the farm quite a bit of expense.
Clark had never minded. He was more than willing to help ease the burden on the parents who had raised him and were growing older by the day.
But after discovering that David was extraordinarily strong too, he became extremely annoyed whenever he thought of how David had leisurely watched from the side while he did all that work.
Especially now, when David was lazily slacking off in comfort.
The most infuriating part was that he could not tell their parents.
Clark's frustration +4, +3...
Unmoved by the resentful look Clark sent his way, David only carried the last crate of fruit onto the truck after Clark had moved another seven or eight.
He climbed into the pickup truck.
"It's a little crowded, and it'll be inconvenient for Dad to drive. You sit in the back."
Clark had just finished working and was about to climb in when David waved him off.
The cab of the pickup truck only had one row of seats. It was just right for three people, but a little cramped for four.
"Why not you?"
Clark, blocked from getting in, widened his eyes.
"It wouldn't be right for an older brother to take his younger brother's seat, would it?"
David glanced at him, sounding puzzled.
"You..."
Looking at David's completely matter-of-fact expression, which did not resemble that of a younger brother in the slightest, Clark gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and helplessly turned toward the back.
Jonathan and Martha were a little confused. Whenever this happened before, Clark would always climb into the back first, afraid David might fall out and get hurt.
What was going on today? Had the two brothers had a disagreement?
Vrrr.
Jonathan turned the key, and the car started.
In the back of the truck, the future Superman Clark sat in the truck bed with a basket of apples in his arms, looking slightly disgruntled.
They arrived at the market.
The Kent family found a spot near the center, put up a tent, and arranged crate after crate of sweet, tempting fresh fruit.
Clark pressed a nail directly into a wooden stake with his thumb and hung up a sign that read Kent Farm Fresh Fruit.
"You're using your abilities in secret like that. Aren't you afraid someone will see?"
Sitting inside the stall, David looked up.
This area on the outskirts was a great place for an outing, which was why a temporary market made up of tents had sprung up there. On the lush green grass were stalls selling flowers, hot dogs, fruit, and more. People came and went, and the place was bustling.
"When it comes to hiding my abilities, I really am no match for you."
Clark, who had specifically checked earlier to make sure no one was watching before secretly using his abilities, sat beside him and watched the stall with him.
"All these years, Mom, Dad, and I never noticed."
"Clark, I didn't expect to see you here."
Suddenly, a clear voice carrying a smile sounded out.
The two looked up. In the sunlight, David saw a bald head reflecting light like a lightbulb.
"Lex Luthor?"
Before you continue