Template Fusion 99%

It was hard to imagine it. Father Jonathan had sold the farm he had run for half his life without discussing it with anyone in the family, not even a word.

"Dad, who did you sell the farm and house to?"

Clark could not help asking as well.

"To Rick Rickman of Rickman Enterprises. He plans to build a Chemical Plant here." Martha could not understand why her husband had done such a thing.

He had always hated factories that polluted through reckless dumping.

"I don't know what happened."

His name was clearly signed on the typed contract. Stroking the document in his hand, Jonathan looked somewhat lost, as if he were in a dream, and recounted the bizarre events.

"I was working in the barn when he came in with some people and again offered to buy my farms. I firmly refused him."

"He looked regretful and shook my hand before leaving."

"After that..."

Jonathan tried hard to remember, but it was as though a piece of his memory had been dug out. His mind was completely blank.

"Somehow, it seems like I signed this."

"Seems like?"

David keenly caught the key point.

"I don't remember that part, but this really is my signature."

The handwriting was identical. Jonathan shook his head in frustration.

"What are we supposed to say in court?

That my husband was possessed by Evil Spirits?"

Mother Martha was furious, her chest heaving sharply as she turned to her two sons and spoke sorrowfully.

"I sent the original contract to a lawyer for consultation. He said there were no loopholes in it, and we had almost no chance of winning a lawsuit. We can only move out within three days."

"But this is our home. We've always lived here, on this land."

Clark's eyes widened. He could not imagine leaving the home and farm where he had grown up.

"Not anymore."

Jonathan said with a trace of regret.

"I inherited this land, passed down through generations, from your grandfather. Yet I actually sold it for 100,000 dollars. I can't understand it."

Why had he signed that contract? He was certain no one had held his wife and children at gunpoint and forced him to sign it.

They had to leave the farms and land where the Kent Family had lived for generations within three days. The sudden bad news caught them all unprepared. The atmosphere was oppressively heavy, and no one cared about lunch anymore.

"Maybe I can find someone to help and see if he has a way."

Thinking of something, Clark's eyes brightened slightly as he looked at his parents.

"I saved Lex once. Although you taught me from childhood not to take helping someone as an excuse to demand repayment, I don't think this is the time to be restrained."

After saying that, he glanced at David, who was frowning in thought, determination shining in his eyes.

This time, he would prove to his younger brother that David was not the only one who could protect this family. He could do it too, and solve the matter through gentler means.

No one would suffer harm they did not deserve!

"I don't want anything to do with the Luthor family."

Father Jonathan instinctively resisted.

"Do you have any other options, Jonathan?"

Under Martha's slightly angry retort, Jonathan, the head of the household, opened his mouth but could not say anything.

"It's a Metahuman."

After thinking for a moment, David suddenly spoke.

He could not think of any other explanation for something so bizarre.

"Rickman is a Metahuman?"

Hearing the word Metahuman, Clark's expression changed as he considered it carefully.

He and his brother had already encountered several strange Metahumans. Some could shoot electricity, some resembled insects, and some could transform and absorb heat.

A Metahuman capable of confusing people no longer seemed all that surprising.

"Like the person who attacked the school and Tina?"

The couple exchanged glances, recalling the electricity-wielding Metahuman and Tina their sons had mentioned before. Their faces showed shock and uncertainty.

"What else could make Dad sell the farms he loved without even discussing it with us?"

David shrugged at his parents.

"But how do we solve this now?" His deliberately relaxed manner did not ease their anxiety. The couple remained deeply worried.

Even if they knew the root of the problem, could they tell a judge in court that Rickman had Superpowers, confused their family, and therefore invalidated the contract?

"Mom, Dad, don't worry. Let me go talk to him."

David narrowed his eyes and smiled softly.

"With this secret hanging over him, Mr. Rickman may change his mind."

His tone was gentle, as though he truly intended to reason with the man. He turned to leave.

Clark's face changed. Judging by the previous cases of people becoming vegetative state patients, he believed David's expression meant far more than simply talking.

"I'm coming too."

"Clark, David, be careful."

With Clark accompanying him, Jonathan and Martha immediately felt much more at ease. They stopped their two sons and repeatedly cautioned them.

"If it really doesn't work out, our family can find another place to live in town. It won't interfere with your schooling. A family's wholeness doesn't depend on what land it lives on."

David nodded, reassuring his parents not to worry before turning and leaving the house.

Before they had gone far, Clark, who had caught up, looked back at the farms and spoke as they walked.

"Mom and Dad still don't know that you don't actually need me to protect you.

On the contrary, I need to protect other people from you."

Their parents had no idea what David was really like, and Clark could not reveal the truth. He even had to help cover for the David who gave him such headaches.

"Protect them from what? Protect the person who used his abilities to swindle our family's farm and house away?"

Sensing what Clark was implying, David glanced at him.

"David, you don't have to be so brutal and cold every time you do something."

Hearing the hostility in David's voice toward Rickman, Clark reached out and stopped him, lowering his voice sternly.

"Rickman is very wealthy. If something happens to him, every major newspaper in Metropolis will cover it."

It was not like Smallville, where even serious incidents would not make the papers.

"If you turn him into a vegetative state patient again..."

Afraid he still could not persuade his overly independent younger brother, Clark gritted his teeth.

"I absolutely will not take the blame in front of Mom and Dad again!"

"What do you want me to do?"

Clark was actually using this to threaten him. David raised an eyebrow as if seeing him for the first time.

"Come to think of it, Clark is right. It really is a problem.

Rickman is fairly well-known. The businesses and factories under his name have practically monopolized pesticide production in Metropolis and several nearby cities. If he suddenly becomes a vegetative state patient, Metropolis newspapers won't miss that story."

Template Fusion 99%

It had already been at 99% two days ago. Hopefully, this new template would be one that allowed him to openly display his abilities.

Though he clearly had the strength to protect himself, he still had to make his parents worry. David's attention drifted for a moment.

"Let's compete to see who can resolve this safely and properly first."

Hearing his younger brother's words, Clark quietly sighed in relief. Without revealing the plan he had already devised, he said in a deep voice.

The last time had nearly caused trouble for the family and implicated his father. This time, he would use this matter to surpass his younger brother and make David realize there were things Clark did better, so that his words would carry more weight with him in the future.

"That's a good suggestion, but I..."

David was expressionless, finding the proposal rather boring.

"You're not allowed to refuse!"

The tall Clark guessed what he wanted to say and forcefully cut him off first.

His rock-solid frame stood firm. His gaze was steadfast and powerful, though it held a trace of concern. Somehow, it carried an undeniable strength.

"Your change is surprising, Clark."

Looking Clark's new demeanor up and down, David raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning to start establishing your authority as an older brother and strictly discipline a younger brother in danger of going bad?"

His thoughts exposed in a single sentence, Clark secretly clenched his fists. He met David's gaze without backing down and said sincerely.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

Hearing those words, David had an instinctive reaction. He was considering whether to pull out a piece of Kryptonite and knock the suddenly tough Clark back into shape.

Then his expression changed slightly.

"Fine."

"You agreed?" Clark had secretly been on high alert, ready to retreat hundreds of meters the instant anything seemed wrong. He was somewhat surprised.