Radioactive Meteorite (Please Read On)

Standing beside the ridge between fields.

Locke and Lionel were having a pleasant discussion about this year's oat purchase price.

Anthony stood nearby with a calculator, occasionally chiming in with his half-baked market analysis.

"To be honest, Mr. Locke."

Lionel adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, admiration in his tone. "A man as insightful as you is truly wasting his talents working on a farm. LuthorCorp also has quite a few management positions in agricultural technology. I wonder if you would be interested."

"Thank you for the offer." Locke cut him off with a smile. His gaze swept over the golden wheat fields in the distance, and his eyes softened. "When I was younger, I might have agreed without hesitation. But now..."

"I've found something more important than career success."

Lionel froze slightly, then smiled in understanding. "I was presumptuous."

"Mr. Anthony." He gave Anthony a meaningful look. "Bring the subscription form. Mr. Locke, if you have no objections, we can now—"

"Of course."

Locke reached into the pocket in front of him for a pen, but the corner of his eye caught sight of the sky behind Lionel.

Several crimson arcs streaked across the azure heavens.

"Meteors?"

Locke muttered instinctively, unable to hide his surprise. Why would there be any at this time?!

Suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, and his face turned deathly pale.

Locke did not even have time to explain. He shoved Lionel away and sprinted toward the cornfield.

The move was so abrupt that the documents in Anthony's hands were knocked to the ground.

Lionel staggered several steps before steadying himself. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he heard the bodyguards cry out behind him. "Sir! That's—"

The entrepreneur spun around and looked in the direction they were pointing.

High above, a crimson trail was diving toward the farmland at an astonishing speed!

"A meteorite?!"

"F***!" His voice nearly cracked. "Get Lex out of there! Now!"

The bodyguards hesitated for a moment, but their training quickly kicked in, and they split into two teams.

One team protected Lionel as they retreated toward safety.

As for the other team...

They slowly circled around outside the cornfield.

For a few thousand bucks a month, why risk their lives?

Unlike them, Locke, as a father, was frantic with worry. He raced through the corn, thick stalks lashing his face and leaving thin bloody marks.

But he could not spare them a thought. Dio's face filled his mind.

"Star Platinum!"

The purple Stand materialized behind him and, at his command, smashed down every cornstalk in his path.

"Dio!"

His shout echoed through the cornfield.

But...

He could not find him.

The cornfield was simply too large.

Locke's heart was bleeding. Why the hell had he bought such a huge plot of land?!

He kept searching and searching, until—

The arc in the sky finally reached its end not far from Locke.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion erupted in the distance, followed by a familiar column of fire shooting into the sky. A wave of heat rushed toward him.

His heart nearly stopped as Locke charged madly toward the explosion.

When he finally burst out of the corn, the sight before him nearly froze the blood in his veins:

A charred crater several meters across still spewed thick smoke. The surrounding cornstalks had been flattened by the shockwave, leaving a radial stretch of devastation.

At the farthest edge of the crater, a small figure was kneeling on the ground, holding something in his arms.

"Lex!"

Locke rushed over and saw that the person in young Luthor's arms was the unconscious Dio.

The boy's blond hair was caked with mud, and a horrifying wound lay beside his collarbone.

"W-What happened?"

Locke dropped to one knee, trembling as he examined his son's injuries.

"Dio... he saved that person, and then..."

Following young Luthor's pointing finger, Locke saw a young man sitting collapsed on the ground nearby, bare from the waist up, his face still full of confusion and terror.

"And then..."

One lens of Lex's glasses had shattered. His face was streaked with tears and dirt, and most of his already thinning blond hair had begun to fall out. He trembled as he said:

"The meteorite fell."

"I saw rocks flying toward Dio, so I threw myself over him, but the rocks..."

"The rocks still cut Dio."

"We're leaving first!" Locke scooped Dio up in his arms and grabbed Lex with his other hand. "We have to get out of here immediately!"

But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly felt someone tugging at the hem of his clothes.

When he looked back, it was the young man Dio had saved.

"T-Take me with you," the young man pleaded. His legs seemed weak with fright.

Locke gritted his teeth, just about to speak, when the shriek of engines approached from afar.

Three black SUVs tore through the cornfield. In the lead vehicle, Lionel's expression was more grave than ever.

"Get in!" the entrepreneur ordered curtly, reaching out to pull his son into the vehicle.

Locke climbed into the last vehicle with Dio in his arms. Through the window—

All that remained was a desolate cornfield.

Under the stark white lights of the hospital corridor, Locke paced back and forth like a caged beast.

He drew a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

But the smell of disinfectant, mixed with the cold metallic scent of surgical instruments, only made the already heavy air even more suffocating.

"Damn it!"

Locke punched the wall, filled with anger he had nowhere to vent.

Who could have expected that eight years after Clark arrived, a meteor shower would strike the town again?

Tap, tap, tap—

Hurried footsteps shattered the silence in the hallway.

Clark was the first to rush into view, his curls a mess from running, his blue eyes overflowing with panic.

Martha followed close behind, her face pale as a sheet. Jonathan came last, and the face that was usually always cheerful was now frighteningly grim.

"Oh God..."

The moment Martha's gaze landed on the glaring red light above the operating room, her legs gave out.

Jonathan caught his wife quickly and helped her to a bench. Then he turned to Clark and said softly, "Kid, take care of your mom. The air's better outside."

Clark bit his lip and nodded. He had a stomach full of questions, but when he saw the bloodshot eyes of Uncle Locke and the tightly shut doors of the operating room, he ultimately just helped Martha up in silence. "Mom, let's get some fresh air outside, okay? The garden over there has better air."

Martha nodded dazedly and rose unsteadily with Clark's support.

But as she passed Locke, the farm woman, always so gentle and strong, suddenly grabbed his arm, her nails nearly digging into his flesh. "He'll be okay, won't he?"

Her voice was as soft as a feather touching the ground.

Locke opened his mouth, only to find his throat so dry that no sound would come out.

Jonathan finally gently pried his wife's hand away. "Give Locke some room to breathe, honey."

"That kid Dio is tough as nails. Did you forget when he fell from the second floor of the barn last time? He was bouncing around again the very next day."

That was what he said, but as soon as the footsteps of mother and son vanished at the end of the corridor, Jonathan's expression immediately changed.

"What did the doctor say?" he asked anxiously, no less worried than Martha and Clark.