The Owls of Metropolis

"Son of a bitch!"

Jonathan cursed, clutching his bleeding left thumb with a pained expression.

Eric was reading the newspaper in the living room. Hearing his father's cry, he set it down and rushed to his side in an instant.

In the barn, Jonathan covered his bleeding finger and said helplessly to Eric, "An owl was hiding in the haystack. It pecked my finger while I wasn't paying attention."

"An owl?"

Eric had not expected there to be something like that in the barn.

"There are plenty of mice in the barn. Owls that feed on them sometimes come here to hunt."

Jonathan explained it to Eric.

Although Jonathan called it an accident, Martha still could not help giving him a thorough scolding.

"If you had worn gloves, the owl wouldn't have pecked you."

"I don't think it's about the gloves."

Jonathan said as he bandaged himself, "No matter how thick the gloves are, an owl's sharp beak could still pierce them. But the owl showing up isn't a bad thing. At least half the mice and bats in the barn have disappeared."

"You always have your reasons, Jonathan."

Martha said to her husband over her shoulder as she cleaned the kitchen sink.

"There's always a reason in nature, isn't there, Eric?"

Jonathan, his hand bandaged, winked at Eric.

Eric smiled but said nothing.

"Sometimes your father really can talk his way out of anything, Eric."

After finishing with the sink, Martha walked out of the kitchen and said to Eric, "The reason I moved from Metropolis to Smallville wasn't for some dazzling future. It was because someone told me we would never make a fortune or travel the world, but he would love me for the rest of his life. Faced with such sweet talk, I forgot to say no."

"Sigh."

Jonathan put on a show of sighing. "Looks like someone misses the sights of Metropolis."

"Well, sometimes I do."

Listening to his parents bicker, Eric's lips curled into a faint smile.

"By the way, Clark still isn't back?"

Martha suddenly brought up her eldest son.

"He's practicing football at school."

Jonathan spread his hands helplessly. "Now I believe he's deliberately lingering with the team to avoid seeing me, just so he can escape that awkward silence."

"Don't say that, Jonathan."

Seeing her husband's dejected mood, Martha took his hand and comforted him. "Clark will understand your intentions eventually."

"I hope so!"

Jonathan sighed helplessly.

After dinner, the reporter Eric had been tracking with his super vision finally made a move.

Having waited for his prey to emerge, Eric stood up and stretched.

Whoosh!

The curtains by the window fluttered as if blasted by a violent wind.

The next second, he vanished from the spot.

Reporter K, Chris, left Lex Luthor's residence and drove toward his own home.

The car bumped along the uneven road, intermittent dim streetlights falling across his calm face.

After half an hour of driving, the car stopped at a detached villa on the outskirts of Smallville.

Chris got out and entered the old villa, shrouded in darkness and an oppressive heaviness.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

His footsteps rang especially clearly through the silent night as they fell upon the corridor, which smelled of rotting wood.

Several paintings hung on the gloomy corridor walls.

The first depicted an owl perched on a branch outside a window, its eyes glowing with an eerie red light as it watched the scene inside.

The middle painting showed the classic scene from the Epistle to the Hebrews: "Aaron's Sons Die for Blaspheming God."

In the painting, Aaron's sons—Nadab and Abihu—had taken unauthorized strange fire and thus blasphemed the divine. Heavenly fire sent down by God consumed them.

The final painting in the corridor was a simple depiction of a black owl mask decorated with ancient patterns.

Creak!

Chris pushed open the door and entered the room.

He set down his briefcase, took an owl mask remarkably similar to the one in the corridor painting from a cabinet, and put it on.

He then opened his laptop and connected to a projector.

The remotely linked image was instantly projected onto the wall.

On the other end of Chris's connection was a small council chamber with an air of grandeur.

The chamber walls were decorated with stained glass and several murals bearing religious and knightly motifs.

The black seats inside were arranged in staggered tiers. Several aristocratic-looking men and women in black formalwear and owl masks sat upon them.

"Chris."

A figure seated in the chair of honor, dressed in a black robe and wearing a black owl mask, asked Chris through the video call, "You were ordered to monitor Lex Luthor of the Luthor family. Have you summoned every member of the council because you have important intelligence to provide?"

The black-robed figure's voice was deep and magnetic, carrying an air of inviolable authority.

"Yes, Mr. Speaker. I have gained Lex Luthor's trust."

"Excellent! We have been rooted in Metropolis. Once, we stood behind every wall and hid within every shadow. A mere whisper from us made Metropolis tremble; even a falling leaf required our permission. In that golden age, we stood at the pinnacle of Metropolis! We were the masters of this city as well, but—"

The Speaker's tone changed. "The rise of Luthor Enterprises has severed the council's path and set itself against us. Little do they know that our first blood comes before all else! Only destruction awaits the Luthor family!"

After the Speaker finished delivering his declaration of war against the Luthor family, Chris continued his report. "Lex Luthor previously asked me to investigate the Smallville High School dance incident, but a few days ago, he suddenly ordered me to investigate two high school students."

"High school students?"

"Yes, Mr. Speaker. And he seems deeply wary of those two students. He even appears to fear them."

The black-robed Speaker on the other end of the video call fell silent for a moment before asking, "Something that can make Lex Luthor afraid? Didn't you previously tell us that Lex is calm and intelligent, a man whose heart is almost entirely ruled by reason? Even such a person has something he fears?!"

"Though it may sound unbelievable, that is indeed the truth."

Chris replied respectfully.

"Tell me the names of the two people Lex fears."

"Yes. They are from Smallville—"

Before Chris could finish, the laptop's remote connection was suddenly cut off.

The projector shut down at the same instant.

"Interesting! The Council of Owls?"

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