Whoosh!
It was a gloomy afternoon, and a cold wind was blowing low through the small town's streets.
Mother Martha had gone out shopping, and Clark and David went along to help carry things.
With signs of impending rain, the townsfolk hurried along the street.
Just as he placed two large detergent bottles, bought on sale, into the car trunk, Clark's vision blurred. The scenery around him turned black and white, as if entering a silent film. The people walking on the street were no longer residents, but skeletal figures.
A woman carrying a basket of groceries casually passed by. Clark instinctively flinched, trying to dodge her.
David knew his super-vision had gone out of control again. "Control your gift with your mind, don't be afraid or resist it."
Zod had adapted to various abilities that suddenly appeared within a minute of exposure to Earth's sunlight, although this was related to him being a well-trained elite warrior.
But as Kryptonians, Zod didn't have any extra organs or legs compared to Superman, and his potential wasn't as great as his.
"Think about why you could always control it before gym class."
Seeing Clark's troubled expression, David suspected it had something to do with Clark's psychological state.
He resisted his emerging abilities, which made him feel like an anomaly, constantly reminding him that he was an alien, causing them to work sporadically.
"I..."
Just as Clark was about to speak, a strange skeleton suddenly appeared in his line of sight not far away, instantly capturing his attention.
Everyone else appeared as if seen through X-rays, in a black and white vision, but that skeleton was emitting a faint green fluorescence, like...
"A meteorite?"
This immediately reminded Clark of something that had caused him trouble many times.
For some reason, even though those meteorites had come to Earth with him, they were his nemesis; he felt weak whenever they were near.
"What's wrong, Clark, did it happen again?"
Martha came out of the supermarket and saw that her elder son wasn't right, suggesting they go home immediately. "Let's go home."
"No, I'm fine."
Seeing the green skeleton walk into a small shop by the street, Clark shook his head, took a deep breath, and tried to control it. After two seconds, he actually managed to turn off his ability.
"David was right, as long as I don't resist it, I can do it!"
He was overjoyed, but when he looked at his calm younger brother, he felt a sense of frustration.
Even though the talent was his, his brother understood the knack of it better than he did.
David wasn't surprised by this.
"As everyone knows, Superman is a somewhat idealistic being."
Seeing that her elder son was showing signs of being able to control his newly emerged abilities without worry, Martha was somewhat pleased.
"Mom, didn't you say we were going to the antique shop just now?"
Clark had seen the green skeleton enter the antique shop on the street earlier.
"The lamp in our bedroom is broken, so I'm having Aunt Catherine help fix it."
After walking a few steps, Martha led her two sons into the dilapidated antique shop on the street.
Ding-a-ling.
The door opened, and the welcoming bell rang.
The shop was a dazzling array of items, with porcelain and horn products displayed in glass cabinets, oil paintings, antique clocks, and embroidered pictures hanging on the walls.
There were also some palm-sized statues with a strong African tribal style casually placed in the corners...
It was called an antique shop.
David looked around, wondering if there were any real antiques inside.
An antique shop that had fallen to repairing appliances, he couldn't say for sure.
"Most of it is probably from last week."
"Miss Kent... I mean, Martha, how have you been lately?"
Catherine emerged nimbly from the back of the shop, a flicker of nervousness in her eyes, and a ritualistic smile on her face.
"How's business?"
Martha didn't suspect anything; after all, this was the Catherine she was familiar with, her eyes, nose, and even the slight wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were identical.
"It's going well."
"I'm here to pick up the lamp." After chatting for a bit longer, Martha smiled and got to the point.
"The lamp?"
Catherine looked confused.
Clark secretly wanted to activate that special perspective again.
He strained the muscles around his eyes, and after seven or eight seconds, he finally succeeded.
Behind the counter, a fleshy skeleton glowed with meteorite fluorescence.
"But... why is it so much shorter?"
The skeleton was different from what he had just seen. It had been a young woman moments ago, but now its figure was stooped.
"Could there be two?"
He remembered that Aunt Martha's daughter, Tina, also attended the town's high school, though not in his class.
"That redwood desk lamp Jonathan broke."
After Martha's explanation, 'Catherine' seemed to finally recall and turned to go inside to retrieve it.
"What's that smell?"
David sniffed. A faint, elusive odor tickled his nose.
Clark also sniffed but detected nothing.
Kryptonians, besides super hearing and vision, possessed other senses far beyond those of ordinary people, though he might not have awakened them yet.
Martha, as an ordinary person, detected nothing either.
"I'm sorry, Martha, let me see. That lamp isn't repaired yet. Can you come back next week?"
'Catherine' emerged with an apologetic expression.
"Of course."
Martha, always easygoing, chuckled softly.
As she turned to leave with her two sons, she noticed a corner of a wad of cash peeking out from under a cabinet near the stairs.
She bent down to pick it up.
"What's this?"
"Thank you, Martha, I'm such a fool," Catherine said, hastily tucking the wad of cash away, her voice slightly stiff.
"A customer paid in cash, and I've been looking for it all day. It was here."
"You're welcome, Martha. That's no small amount. You should keep it safe, Catherine."
A flicker of unease crossed Martha's eyes as she smiled.
After her reminder, she quickly left with her two sons.
Outside the antique shop, walking down the street, Martha said in a low voice.
"The wad of cash had a band from the town's Savings and Loan."
The town bank had just been robbed, and yet a wad of ten thousand dollars from the bank appeared in Catherine's shop. It was hard not to make assumptions.
"Catherine said it was payment from a customer, but we both know her antique shop hasn't been open for business in a long time..."
"I don't think the circumstances of Aunt Catherine's family would allow them to just carelessly throw around ten thousand dollars."
David had noticed the panic on 'Catherine's' face when the wad of cash appeared.
"The robber is very likely connected to her."
"I saw it too."
Clark said, turning back to glance at the antique shop, where he witnessed a shocking sight.
Inside the shop, a previously hunched figure seemed to stretch and grow, its bones elongating as if being pulled. Its back straightened, transforming into the appearance he had seen earlier.
More importantly, inside a cabinet in the shop, a female corpse was placed.
Aged, stooped, with a heart that no longer beat and blood that had already coagulated.
"I don't think who we saw was Aunt Catherine," he opened his mouth.
"Then who was it?" Martha asked, confused.
"I don't know, but..." Clark explained his findings.
Someone he had known for years might be dead, and her body had been right behind her.
Martha was somewhat startled and decided to go home first to discuss with her husband, Jonathan, how to handle the situation.
Even if her eldest son possessed extraordinary abilities, she didn't want him to get easily entangled in this matter.
Closing the door, Tina's flesh flowed like clay, reverting to her original form.
Thinking of Martha's unnatural expression after discovering the money, she emotionlessly hung up a "Temporarily Closed" sign. A chilling voice echoed through the shop.
"No one can stand in the way of my happiness!"
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