Rain crashed down from the sky as dark clouds swallowed the horizon. Sheets of water poured over the Kent farm, turning the bright green grass into thick mud that clung to boots and wagon wheels alike.
Inside the warm farmhouse, Jonathan, Martha, and Victor sat around the living room table. Steam rose from their cups of hot tea while the fire in the fireplace crackled softly, offering comfort against the storm outside.
Heavy raindrops hammered against the windows, producing a constant rattling rhythm that filled the quiet room.
"Why hasn't Clark come back yet?"
Martha held her teacup with both hands, staring toward the rain-soaked fields beyond the glass. Her voice carried a trace of concern that she couldn't hide.
"I saw Chloe pull him aside after school," Victor said calmly after taking a slow sip of tea. "He was probably helping her proofread something for the school newspaper."
Jonathan frowned slightly, worry still lingering in his eyes. Despite Clark's unusual abilities, the thought of his son being caught in such a violent storm still made him uneasy.
"It's only heavy rain, not a flood," Victor added with a faint smile. "Clark will be fine."
Bang!
The sudden sound of a weak hand striking the front door shattered the quiet.
Everyone in the room froze.
Jonathan rushed forward and pulled the door open. A tall figure staggered across the threshold, drenched from head to toe. His clothes were torn and soaked with muddy water, strands of wet hair plastered across his pale face as he stumbled inside and collapsed onto the floor.
Crack!
A flash of lightning illuminated the room, briefly lighting up Clark's ashen face. A thin streak of blood ran down the side of his cheek.
"Clark! What happened to you?"
Jonathan and Martha were stunned. They had never seen their son in such a miserable state before.
They hurried forward, lifting him from the floor.
Martha pressed her hand to Clark's forehead, and her expression instantly turned pale with alarm.
"Why is your forehead so hot?"
"Are you okay?" Jonathan asked urgently.
Victor's expression shifted as he stepped forward quickly. His brows knitted together while he took Clark's heavy weight from their arms and helped him into a chair.
Clark looked exhausted and weak, his clothes dripping onto the wooden floor. The sight instantly reminded Victor of the symptoms Clark showed when exposed to kryptonite.
"You and Lana were hiding from the rain and ran into Whitney again?" Victor asked, narrowing his eyes.
"N-No…"
Clark slumped into the chair, barely able to keep his eyes open. Panic filled his gaze as he looked at Victor.
"Victor… I… my powers are gone."
The room fell silent.
Jonathan and Martha stared at him in shock.
"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked slowly.
Victor himself was momentarily stunned. Even with everything he knew, the idea of Superman completely losing his powers sounded impossible.
Outside the storm clouds still covered the sky, but it certainly wasn't a red sun—something that would weaken Kryptonians.
"I don't understand it either," Clark said weakly.
"I was struck by lightning before I came home… and after that, my powers disappeared."
He raised his hand slightly.
The skin on his palm was burned and reddened.
As he looked at it, a drop of blood suddenly fell onto his hand.
Clark blinked in confusion. When he touched his nose, his fingers came away red.
Blood.
His vision darkened instantly.
Clark collapsed forward onto the table.
"Clark?!"
Victor stepped forward quickly. He had been about to ask whether Clark might have inhaled kryptonite dust, which could temporarily suppress his powers.
But Clark had already fainted.
"Victor, we need to take your brother to the hospital!"
Martha's voice trembled as panic overtook her. She rushed toward the door, already preparing to drive through the rain.
Jonathan grabbed her arm firmly.
"Wait, Martha."
His voice was serious.
"If doctors run tests and find something strange… we could lose him."
Jonathan looked toward Clark with deep concern. He had raised this boy as his own son for years, and he wasn't willing to risk exposing Clark to the world.
"Maybe this is just a natural stage for him," Jonathan continued cautiously. "Clark isn't from Earth. Maybe his body goes through changes we don't understand."
He searched for an explanation.
"Like bears hibernating… or caterpillars forming cocoons."
"No, Mom."
Victor leaned closer to Clark, listening carefully to the rhythm of his heartbeat. His brows remained tightly furrowed.
"His heartbeat is still strong and steady," Victor said after a moment. "He probably fainted because of exhaustion and the fever."
He straightened up.
"Give him some medicine and let him rest."
"Really?"
Martha looked uncertainly at her younger son.
Clark's body had always been abnormal. Compared to ordinary humans he was incredibly strong, yet compared to a true Kryptonian his development still seemed incomplete.
At least for now, however, his life didn't appear to be in danger.
"I'll take him upstairs."
Victor exchanged a glance with Jonathan before the two of them lifted Clark carefully.
As they carried him toward the staircase, Victor's eyes flickered with deep suspicion.
What exactly had happened to Clark?
…
The rain continued pouring across the countryside.
Avery Reagan ran through the storm, his blond hair plastered to his forehead. His torn clothes flapped wildly as he hurried down the road toward home.
Suddenly—
His speed increased.
Without warning, Avery shot forward like a jet suddenly breaking the sound barrier. His body tore through the falling rain, producing a loud sonic boom as he streaked across the muddy road.
Bang!
He slammed directly into a massive roadside tree.
The impact sounded like a rocket striking its target. The tree exploded into splinters, wood fragments scattering through the rain like shrapnel.
For a moment everything was silent.
Then Avery slowly pulled himself out of the shattered trunk.
He stared down at his own body in shock.
"What… just happened?"
He flexed his arms and legs.
Not a single injury.
"If a truck crashed into a tree like that, the entire front end would be flattened…"
Yet he was perfectly fine.
"Was that really my speed just now?"
His breathing grew faster as excitement filled his chest.
"I looked just like Angel Warrior from the comics!"
Angel Warrior was an incredibly popular comic series that had been running for more than ten years. Many children had grown up reading it.
The story followed a superhero who possessed strength beyond imagination and speed faster than sound.
Avery raised his fist slowly.
Then he punched forward.
BOOM!
The air exploded violently like a pressure cooker bursting open. The thunderous sonic boom echoed across several miles, briefly drowning out the thunder in the storm clouds above.
Within several meters, the falling rain was blown away instantly. A visible shockwave surged forward through the air.
Ten meters ahead, trees were uprooted and shattered as if struck by a missile. The ground was torn apart in a wide fan-shaped blast zone.
For several seconds Avery simply stared in disbelief.
Then laughter burst from his throat.
The sound echoed wildly through the rain as he clutched his forehead, tilting his head back with a manic grin. One eye gleamed with rebellious excitement.
With power like this—
Nothing in the world could stop him.
"I can do whatever I want!"
During the earlier crash into the tree, the strap of his schoolbag had snapped.
The bag lay in the mud behind him, its contents scattered across the ground. Books, notebooks, and unfinished homework were soaked by rainwater.
In the past Avery would have hurried to gather everything. If he arrived home without them, his parents—especially his strict father—would scold him endlessly.
But now…
A contemptuous smile curled across his lips.
With the power of a god, why would he still need school?
His parents, especially his old-fashioned father, had no authority over him anymore.
Avery turned to leave.
As he passed the fallen backpack, a fist-sized meteorite rolled out from the mud. The stone glowed faintly green, as if responding to something nearby.
Suddenly Avery's legs buckled.
He collapsed into the muddy ground.
Pain burned through his body.
"My powers… they're gone again?"
Lying weakly in the puddle, Avery stared at the glowing meteorite with an ugly expression filled with shock and confusion.
"What is this thing?"
…
The next morning the storm had passed.
Bright sunlight streamed through the farmhouse windows, filling the rooms with warmth.
Clark slowly opened his eyes.
A cool towel rested on his forehead, and he felt far better than the night before.
His parents and Victor stood beside the bed, watching him anxiously.
Clark pushed aside the blanket and sat up.
"Clark, how do you feel?" Martha asked immediately.
Seeing their worried expressions filled Clark with warmth. He gave them a reassuring smile.
"I'm okay."
His eyes moved toward Victor.
Victor stood silently near the bed, his brows slightly furrowed as concern and curiosity filled his gaze.
"What happened to you?" Victor asked.
Jonathan and Martha both leaned closer. They were just as eager to hear the answer.
Clark rubbed his forehead as he tried to remember.
"After school yesterday…"
His memories slowly pieced together.
"It happened near the dam bridge."
"Avery… I tried to pull him down from the railing."
"There was lightning… and the meteorite in his bag."
Clark frowned.
"The lightning turned green."
Jonathan and Martha exchanged confused glances.
Neither of them could explain what that meant.
"It's definitely related to a meteorite," Victor said thoughtfully.
He shook his head slowly.
"Maybe the lightning reacted with the kryptonite and produced an effect similar to inhaling kryptonite dust."
....
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