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Smallville, Luthor Mansion
Lionel Luthor sat in his office, watching a video feed from the lab with a furrowed brow. Although the Luthor chemical plant had been shut down, the secret lab within continued its research on kryptonite.
"This is the corpse of a coyote we found near the meteor—or rather, the spaceship—crash site," said Dr. David Harewood, who was handling the autopsy, addressing the camera as he examined the coyote's body.
A few days earlier, Smallville residents had reported seeing what looked like an unidentified flying object descending from the sky. After hearing about it, Lionel Luthor immediately sent his people to investigate. Though nothing valuable was found, they discovered the mysteriously dead animal at the scene.
In the video, David Harewood suddenly gasped. "This can't be!"
He looked bewildered. "The coyote still has body heat. Initially, its tissues were rigid, but now they're softening, and the temperature has returned to normal."
Using a scalpel, Dr. Harewood cut into the coyote, his expression growing more perplexed. "It almost seems like it's coming back to life."
He set down the scalpel, intending to record the findings, but suddenly, black tendrils emerged from the coyote's chest wound, wrapping around David's arm.
The sticky, black tendrils yanked his right arm toward the open wound in the coyote.
Caught off guard, David's arm was pulled into the bloody cavity.
"Oh my god! Help me!"
David cried out in pain, calling for help from his assistant and the nearby guards. Startled, the assistant quickly rushed over, and the guards outside the lab stormed in after hearing the shouts.
With help from the assistant and guards, David's arm was finally pulled free.
However, before anyone could catch their breath, a new horror unfolded.
David's right arm suddenly shot out, grabbing a guard by the throat, lifting him into the air, and throwing him across the room.
Boom!
The guard's body smashed against the equipment-laden lab bench, shattering glass and creating a deafening noise.
The assistant, paralyzed with shock, stared at David Harewood in disbelief. He couldn't understand how the once-gentle doctor had suddenly gone mad.
Realizing he had to escape, the assistant turned, only to find David blocking his path to the door.
In a heartbeat, David's blood-streaked hand gripped the assistant's terrified face, lifting him effortlessly.
The assistant felt an increasing pressure and could even hear his skull beginning to crack.
"Aaaaah!"
At the same time, he could see his own face aging rapidly, like watching time accelerate.
As David's face twisted with increasing malevolence, the assistant's screams grew weaker.
Thud!
Moments later, the assistant's lifeless body fell to the ground.
After absorbing the assistant, David Harewood turned his pitch-black eyes toward the camera.
Click!
Lionel Luthor pressed pause, freezing the image on the screen.
There was a knock at the door, and Lionel closed the video feed.
"Come in."
"Sir, the police have found a body near the Smallville River."
An aide entered, handing Lionel a file.
Lionel opened it and was immediately greeted by the emaciated corpse of Don Haggerty.
The horrifyingly shriveled face looked eerily similar to that of the deceased assistant.
After flipping through a few pages, Lionel asked, "Any news on David Harewood?"
After killing the guard and assistant, David had escaped the lab. Despite dispatching a team to find him, there had been no sign of him.
"Not yet, sir."
"Then increase the search."
Just as he was about to continue, the phone rang. Irritated, he picked it up. "What's the problem, Anna?"
His secretary reported, "Sir, Lex has arrived at the mansion."
"What?!"
A few minutes later, Lionel Luthor looked exasperatedly at the beaming, bald-headed Lex in front of him.
"Lex, you should have called me in advance."
"Dad, I wanted to surprise you. I missed you."
Lex explained that he had asked the driver to bring him from Metropolis because he wanted to see his father.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Lionel didn't share Lex's enthusiasm. Picking up the phone, he instructed, "Anna, arrange for a driver to take Lex back."
Lex looked at him with disappointment. "Dad?"
This wasn't what he had imagined.
The joy and excitement he'd felt about seeing his father were quickly dispelled.
Seeing the disappointment in Lex's eyes, Lionel hesitated, but thinking of the danger at hand, he ultimately had his men escort Lex out.
Evening, Podrick Farm
Peter was away, leaving Clark and Azu alone on the farm.
Clark was feeling down about Don Haggerty's death.
"This isn't your fault, Clark," Azu said, stacking logs in a corner of the farm. "You can't be responsible for every death."
Clark let out a sigh. "I know. My godfather once said that our lives are a series of events, each moment and action, whether a loving word or an angry gesture, is just a small tick on the clock of life."
He continued, "After countless ticks, one day something finally triggers the alarm, the clock rings, and our time ends."
Azu thought for a moment, finding the idea oddly profound. "Hmm, maybe Don Haggerty's clock just ran out."
"It's so sudden. Human lives are really fragile," Clark murmured. "What if my godfather's or my parents' clocks run out?"
Azu frowned, thinking Clark was being too gloomy. "Clark, you're so dark. Dad's never going to die."
"But Socrates said that all men are mortal."
"Dad's not an ordinary man!"
"Socrates was human, and so is my godfather. Socrates died, and my godfather will die someday too."
"Dad's not a human!"
Azu, slightly annoyed, started to argue back when Clark suddenly raised a finger to his lips. "Shh! Be quiet, Azu!"
Azu stopped, and with his super-hearing, he too heard strange noises coming from the barn.
The two exchanged glances and nodded.
With a burst of super-speed, Azu reached the barn in the blink of an eye.
Inside, the barn was eerily quiet, bathed in the reddish glow of the setting sun.
Azu scanned his surroundings cautiously, taking slow steps up the repaired staircase to the second floor.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed behind him.
"Who's there?!"
Without hesitation, Azu whirled around, instinctively throwing a punch.
Boom!
To his shock, the figure calmly caught his punch.
Azu stared at the man before him, astonished, and accidentally blurted, "N—N?"
Although he stopped himself just in time, the man knew what he meant.
What a rascal!
"Ah-hem!"
A man of African descent cleared his throat, signaling his presence to Azu. "Hello, I'm John Jones."
Azu took a deep breath, eyeing the imposing figure before him warily. His mind raced with confusion—how had this man managed to stop his full-strength punch so effortlessly?
The tall, broad-shouldered man with thick, dark brows seemed to sense Azu's inner turmoil. He stepped forward, speaking calmly, "No need to be so guarded. I'm not here to cause trouble."
Just then, Clark arrived, noticing the stranger in the barn. Instinctively, he stood beside Azu, his gaze filled with suspicion.
Seeing the wary expressions on both boys' faces, the man pulled out his credentials. "I'm John Jones, a member of the FBI. Relax, kids. There's no need to be so tense."
Azu wasn't buying it. He'd recently had a run-in with a man impersonating a police officer, and who knew if this guy was another fake FBI agent? He didn't even recognize the badge.
Deciding to investigate further, Azu focused his super-hearing on Jones' heartbeat.
Odd… his heartbeat was steady.
Following Peter's advice, Azu then watched Jones' eyes. His dad had once told him that people often blink or look up and to the right when lying, as the brain activates creative thought. Dilating pupils or twitching eyelids could also signal deception.
Surprisingly, Jones' gaze was steady, showing no signs of lying or nervousness.
"Dad isn't home," Azu finally said, still cautious but unwilling to probe further. "Maybe you should come back when he's here."
Jones glanced at Clark and Azu thoughtfully. "I would like to meet Mr. Podrick, but how about we have a little chat first?"
He looked over at Clark, "Clark."
Clark's eyes widened in surprise. "How do you know my name?"
Jones smiled. "And I can guess what you're thinking."
Clark's jaw dropped as Jones continued, "You're wondering if I came here to arrest you. Maybe even curious about how much you'd be worth in prison cigarettes, right?"
Clark was taken aback. How had Jones guessed his thoughts so precisely? He'd actually been worried the agent was here because of Don's death.
"And you…" Jones turned his gaze to Azu, reaching out with his telepathic abilities to see what was on the boy's mind.
His expression darkened as he realized the chaotic, unconventional thoughts running through Azu's head. Despite the boy's strong abilities, his thoughts were rather offbeat. Azu was imagining forcing Jones, who had superpowers, to stay and work on his family's farm for free, as if it were the 18th century!
This kid's father—Peter Podrick—must be quite the character, Jones thought, mentally labeling Peter a "scoundrel" even before meeting him.
"Ah-hem…" Jones cleared his throat, trying to shift the conversation. "When is your father expected back?"
"Not sure," Clark replied, barely noticing the odd expression on Jones' face. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Mr. Jones, are you here to investigate the alien spaceship?"
"What?"
Jones paused, looking confused.
Clark continued excitedly, "Everyone's talking about a UFO landing! Our class even formed a Science Investigation Team to explore the alien rumors. Are you here for that?"
"No." Jones shook his head, his expression turning serious. "There's no alien spaceship. It's a kind of parasitic organism that's arrived here. Tell your friends to stay indoors at night—these creatures are dangerous."
"Dangerous parasites?" Clark gulped, looking nervous.
"Yes, to stay safe, it's best for everyone to remain home." Jones looked up at the fading sunset. "Well, kids, I've got to go. Good luck."
Waving goodbye, Jones headed downstairs. As he disappeared into the night, his appearance began to shift.
His dark skin faded to a deep green, his eyes glowed red, and he donned a cloak. Exuding a powerful presence, John Jones—also known as J'onn J'onzz or the "Martian Manhunter"—took off, hovering over Smallville. Closing his eyes, he activated his super-senses, scanning for anything suspicious.
J'onn J'onzz, from Mars, possessed abilities including super strength, speed, endurance, telepathy, and shapeshifting. His guise as an FBI agent was just one of his forms used to combat crime.
His mission in Smallville: capture the alien parasites. But he had unexpectedly encountered two remarkable kids along the way.
He knew Clark was Kryptonian, but what was Azu?
Contemplating, he continued scanning the area, searching for traces of the parasite.
After a while, he opened his eyes, finding no clues about the parasite or Azu's origins. Shaking his head, he turned and flew off.
Meanwhile…
"Huff! Huff!" Lex Luthor, panting, hurried along the road. Frustrated about having to leave Smallville for Metropolis, he had impulsively snuck out of his mansion.
Initially, he'd just intended to hide out briefly before heading back, but he'd somehow gotten lost.
With a flashlight in hand, he wrapped his coat tighter, glancing at the road ahead. Pushing down his rising fear, he forced himself to keep moving forward.
As he walked, he occasionally glanced up, catching glimpses of stars through the dark treetops. Branches of dense shrubs snagged his shoulders as he made his way through the overgrown paths.
Switching the flashlight from one hand to another, his fear grew with each step.
He could feel something following him from behind.
Swallowing hard, Lex mustered the courage to spin around.
A rustling noise suddenly came from his left rear side, and a foul odor filled the air.
Filled with terror, Lex immediately broke into a sprint.
Thud!
In his haste, he stumbled over a tangle of vines and fell flat on the ground.
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