Chapter 7: CH-5
"Ultra divine water… What a terrible shame that it is an empty teapot… Did Goku drink it? Or did a random guy die giving chugging some a try?"
"If so, he didn't need to empty the teapot, did he? This is the definition of being wasteful. Dying while wasting things."
Wherever this teapot came from in the Dragon Ball universe, the plot was most likely set in the early days.
Right?
Without the Z.
Or maybe even before that.
Before Goku even lands on the planet.
"Well, at least I got this… Don't spit in the chowder, even if this one isn't the most appetite-riveting."
"..."
Nate enjoyed low and mid-tier chowder and casserole. It also made the stomach full. He was not a complicated or picky eater.
Before storing his great fireball jutsu scroll, he stared at it. Others, in addition to him, could study it. Without the limitations of the chakra system.
Naturally, anyone who isn't as strong as a Kryptonian would struggle to learn and use it. It would be taxing for them.
He had no idea who owned this fire technique scroll, but had the suspicion that the majority of the items he received were most likely looted from their rightful or unrightful owners.
Not that it mattered at all.
It wasn't like he could return them.
Not that he wanted to, either.
Nate went to sleep. With peace of mind. But first, he made sure to store the devil fruit that had already been bitten into, as well as the empty and useless teapot.
He did not underestimate the world, nor did he understand the origins and birth of devil fruits.
The last thing he wanted was for his trash to end up in the hands of something like Luthor Corp and pique their interest through a Kryptonite accident or something.
Kryptonite had an extraterrestrial, alien effect on many things, so it could possibly have one on devil fruits. Eaten or not.
Nate had no intention of collecting all the kryptonite available since the first meteor shower incident, even if he had the means to do so (which he did not). If he did, this world would be uninteresting and without a plot.
It was fine to collect some on occasion, but he was not going to stop people from this wonderful town and world from obtaining Kryptonite at any cost.
Nate was here.
Clark also had enough plot armor, as well as people like Jor-El and Martian Manhunter lurking in the shadows, to keep him safe.
'John Jones?'
'I almost forgot about that guy…'
About to fall asleep, Nate did not directly snap his fingers this time. Neither John Jones nor Jor-El were bad guys. If knowing his secret, this specific one, caused him any problems, Nate could still snap his fingers at any time.
XX
Late at night, in the caves, a man named John Jones communicated with a voice emanating from the deep, luminescent crevices.
It was a time of night when most people in town, including Nate, were already asleep since long.
"A kryptonian unresponsive to green rock radiation under a yellow sun?"
"Jor-El, are you sure you're not mistaken? I've never heard of anything like this, not even in the ecclesiastic and occasionally spine-tingling Kryptonian epics passed down to frighten and awe the people and children of your planet."
(AN: In case you were unaware, Krypton had churches and gods. I believe the churches held monotheistic beliefs, though.)
"Are we talking about a child the age of Kal, or an ancient god of Krypton?"
The voice responded,
"This child is no god of our people. Even the God of the Red Sun and the Goddess of Arctic Desolation were presumed to have phobias and blind spots. He should be a mutation-prone Kryptonian."
"I witnessed his birth with my own eyes; there is no doubt about his origins."
"..."
John Jones remained silent for a moment before asking,
"I will investigate that discreetly, but if this is true, what do you believe caused it? Will it have an impact on his growth?"
John Jones was a Martian who was friendly with a Kryptonian. His great friend was Jor-El. Jor-El instructed him not to show himself to this child for the time being. Just like for Kal. Unless absolutely necessary.
Being very loyal and very trustworthy, he had absolutely no doubts about his friend's claims, but he was too surprised. He needed to see for himself.
The voice said,
"Even I cannot make a random guess. We can only wait and see if it is permanent or temporary, and if there are any side effects to this advantage. What appears to be a blessing could be a huge burden on him."
The voice was aware that it was mostly artificial intelligence, and that even if it was the real Jor-El, the response would be identical. The voice was actually more intelligent and resourceful than the dead Jor-El. However, even its densely packed program of vast knowledge contained no relevant or helpful information about the strange condition of his friend's child, Moro.
If Jed was alive right now, maybe he would have the answer to why his son was different.
John Jones said,
"If the child is a friend, as you claim, let us hope that it does not become another weakness for him, and if it does, that it is not a major one."
The voice replied,
"The future holds the answers; this child comes from a house with strong ties to fate and destiny. The answers will reveal themselves over time."
"Whatever the outcome of the case, his goodwill toward my son proves to be even stronger than yours. Even if he becomes a mere mortal, he will remain a valuable friend to us."
It had been programmed to easily detect such things. Plus, the House of Am had always been one of the most strongly attached to the House of El.
It was a house full of bright and talented, brave men and women, even if this youngest child was proving to be quite unusual.
The child's ancestors were among the first to set foot on Earth in antiquity, leaving friendly Kryptonian knowledge behind.
In many ways, being on this planet was his birthright.
John Jones nodded and departed with a relieved smile, saying,
"If you say so. Let us see how the fate of humanity unfolds. I'll keep an eye on him, too."
The voice responded with a simple farewell to its old friend.
Alone, it secretly thought to itself in Kryptonian,
'Raya, it is a tremendous disservice that you aren't here to lend a helping hand as well. I couldn't do anything but send you there back then... Our conflict-torn home was doomed to crumble.'
'The House of Zod and its sympathizers were undoubtedly one of our most devastating scourges. Even now, I need to prepare Kal in case he fails to follow my instructions and allows them to make their treacherous way here.'
Moro was not a concern for AI Jor-El; he had other plans to carry out. It had one main regret, which was that it could not currently access the phantom zone.
There was another old friend of his, a woman and close coworker, in whom he placed a high level of trust. She was also sworn to stand by and look after the house of El in the event that it required it.
However, opening the Phantom Zone was too risky because it could always unleash its wrathful, vengeful prisoners on Earth. Jor-El did not have the means to open it right now, and even if he did, he would not do it or tell Kal how to do it.
If he was truly helpless and had to induce Kal to go there one day, he would first have him accept his Kryptonian training and teach him how to kill.
The council and Jor-El did not like killing, as evidenced by the number of people they and his wife had to send into the Phantom zone, but in the fate of humanity that he predicted, killing appeared to be a necessary evil. Especially when it boiled down to threat from extraterrestrials who are not from here.
XX
The next morning.
Nate awoke with a burning question in his mind about Smallville.
If Jor-El and his wife had observed the Kent family before sending their son to them, why did they still send Kal-El, knowing full well that he would dislike AI Jor-El?
The Kents were people who would rather sacrifice the fate of the entire Multiverse than kill someone evil. All for the sake of not turning into the villain.
If billions of lives were at stake, on the line, and there was no other option but to kill, they would turn down the chance to do so. They would be willing to sacrifice everyone to maintain their high moral standing.
You can tell how deranged the Kents were by the fact that Clark not only never intended to kill Lionel and Lex, but also repeatedly saved them. He was even advised to avoid taking irreversible actions against them.
'Maybe the answer is in the next volumes of the Encyclopedia I will most likely receive, because apart from the fact that Clark needed to be excessively morally upright, I don't see the reason…'
'With such advanced scouting and data sorting technology available on Krypton, finding a family better suited to Clark's morals would have been simple with some observation.'
'Or are the Kents just like Jor-El and his wife? This seems to be the only reason they would value them so much.'
'AI Jor-El is a cold computer program, so in such a case, it isn't really a big shock that he would be more practical and machine-like in logic.'
'If that computer in the fortress could cry out in frustration and exhaustion, it would have... Clark has been extremely dumb several times throughout the story.'
'Prior to watching Smallville, I had no idea Superman was such a rebel in his youth.'
Nate yawned as he walked down the stairs. He wasn't concerned about Jor-El. He simply wanted to deceive Jor-El for as long as possible.
He didn't know what plan Jor-El had for him, but Nate only liked Clark. He had no intention to be a sort of servant for Clark.
'Hmm?'
Someone stood in Nate's kitchen with a polite smile.
The person, a young man around the age of 21, was standing next to Lindsay, who was most likely of similar age. Lindsay wore the same dress as yesterday, and Nate needed to go buy her clothes. And some shoes.
"Good morning, Nate. You have a friend visiting, it seems..."
"I found him knocking on the door just as I was about to start trying to cook you up some breakfast."
Lindsay explained as Lex Luthor stood beside her. He was dressed nicely, as usual, with his coat draped over his shoulders, hinting at his wealth.
Nate smiled in understanding at her and approached Lex.
He extended his hand, shook the guy's hand, and said,
"I believe we met yesterday. Can I do anything for you?"
Lex seemed pleased with the polite handshake.
He smiled broadly as he said, "Yes, I wanted to meet you, and thank you for yesterday in person. I'm new in town and hope to make friends with you and your friend, Clark. I will probably make a stop there tonight after sending a gift, will you join me?"
This was still the period when he appeared to be a genuine nice person, with a pleasant smile that concealed no darkness.
Nate offered the guy a seat on the living room couch before asking,
"A gift? To thank Clark for yesterday, I assume?"
Lex gladly sat alongside Nate.
He said,
"Yes. I wanted to express my gratitude with a simple gesture. I was wondering if I could make the same gesture towards you. I'm not sure if we started on the right foot."
Nate chuckled inside and said,
"I'm always looking for good new friends, especially with the famed Lex Luthor. I'm not sure what gift you had in mind, but if you're so eager to send me a gift, I won't say no; in fact, if it's not too much trouble, I'll make my own request. I think you and I would get along very well."
Nate didn't mind demonstrating that he wasn't exactly a good person, so his behavior was not particularly hygienic or filtered. Lex was not raised to be good, and he had already caused the death of someone in a nightclub. Accidentally or not… Lex was desperate to make friends with people from this town.
Nate was not part of the Kent family. He had his own way of doing things. Talking to people like Lex Luthor suited him better. They could get comfortable and understand each other quickly, without pretense.
This young man in front of him was a risk-taking little billionaire who wasn't naive.
Nate did nothing to save him, but Lex still came to thank him, demoing that he was not naive. Nate was close to Clark, so Lex was distorting, rearranging reality a bit and approaching him to express his gratitude.
In fact, Lex saw Nate go into the river before the car was reported missing, so there was a good chance he knew Nate had done something strange, something not very human.
Nate had erased the memory of this event from many onlookers, but not Lex and Clark.
Lex's eyes shone with interest and gladness as he said, chuckling,
"Famed, huh? I'm not as infamous as people think I am... For years, miry Metropolis newspapers like the Inquisitor have targeted me. They are not always fair when passing judgment on corporate families like mine who take quantum leaps for the greater good..."
"As Lionel Luthor's son, I often face self-righteous trolls and slanderers who see an easy opportunity to malign my father…"
"But that aside, I will gladly fulfill your specific request. Thanking my benefactor is the least I could do to convey my deep appreciation."
"What did you have in mind?"
Nate said,
"I'll get to my point, but before I make any request of you, I'd like you not to question my motives… I would also appreciate it if you could commit to fulfilling my wishes without any hiccups and snafu in between."
Lex responded with a polite smile, demonstrating that he could be trusted,
"No worries, I'm not a meddler. Especially to meet a friend's demand. Isn't that what we are now? You can trust me."
Nate nodded and said,
"I need you to look into someone abroad for me. Her name is Lucy Lane. I would like you to offer her a full-ride scholarship to any college in the country. But first I want her to attend high school in Smallville or Metropolis, preferably close to where I go, which is here."
Lex was surprised, as evidenced by the look on his face, and couldn't help but ask,
"Lucy Lane?"
Obviously, he had no idea who she was or why Nate would make such an unusual request.
Nate smiled and said,
"No hiccups or snafus. Remember?"
Lex smiled in understanding and did not ask any questions.
He was probably itching to ask.
But Nate wasn't finished,
"Actually, I need you to look into someone else with similar criteria to meet for me; her name is Jessie Brooks."
Lex agreed and began smiling, noticing something,
"This isn't going to be a problem, but are you certain you're done making demands on me? If there are any other women you'd like me to look into, it's much easier and probably best if you ask me right now."
Nate smiled and said,
"It is always wonderful when people who understand each other start talking business. The final person is someone I simply need you to look into to sort out where she is. I need you to send me her information as soon as you track it down... She is an adult, so there is no need to send her here to study. Here or anywhere else. I'll find her and meet her myself."
Lex asked, amused, "Her name?"
Nate said,
"She may go by several names. Her legal record may not be the cleanest out there... I'll give you two possible names: Allison Sanders and Desiree Atkins."
Lex nodded and said,
"I won't ask... But, can I assume you like women?"
Nate replied,
"What do you think?"
He didn't care whether Lindsay heard him or not. She was currently looking at a cookbook. She was the type of woman who would not mind any of this.
For the time being, she was only his guest, one having lost her memories and attempting to recover them with his assistance anyway. There was nothing to conceal.
He wasn't dating Lindsay or anything.
Lex asked, glancing at the studious Lindsay's back,
"Whatever this is, she won't mind?"
Nate responded,
"We don't have that type of relationship, at least not yet."
He did not explain Lindsay's identity or why she was living with him. Lex could look into her or even fall for her. Groom her as he did with Lana. He'd only hurt himself. If Lindsay did not decide to kill him the moment he touched her hands…
Nate needed Lex, but he was living with someone dangerous. If Lex was tempting fate, there was nothing Nate could do. The guy could only rely on the villain's plot armor.
Perhaps having Clark visit his home more frequently would help with any potential problems. Nate needed to introduce Lindsay and Clark.
"Anyway, I am counting on you to deal with this quickly for me. I'll give you my phone number before you leave. Will you have breakfast with us?"
"I need to get to school, so I'll eat something in a hurry."
Nate said as he suddenly returned to the subject at hand.
Lex stood, with a friendly smile he said,
"No, thanks, maybe another day, but thanks for the offer. It's my first day of work here, so I'll have to get to the plant as expeditiously as you try to get to school."
Nate stood up and walked the guy out as he said nice to meet and goodbye to Lindsay.
XX
Nate missed the bus on purpose that day.
Lindsay was home alone after he left for school, using the blackhole he had discussed with Pete and Chloe.
She had a very interesting visitor.
It was John Jones.
When he asked her if she had any newsworthy reports from yesterday or this morning, she said,
"Nothing so far; he hasn't come into contact with meteor rocks since that time with the woman named Lana Lang. However, something else piqued my interest this morning."
John Jones inquired, eager to get the information and leave so he could report it to Jor-El,
"What is it?"
Lindsay smiled and said,
"He seems to like women. I'm not sure how much of a weakness this is, assuming it is one."
John Jones took note and left as soon as he arrived. In a red blur.
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