"When I first fell here, I was overwhelmed by the rapid turn of events. Am I Superman now? Have I been transported to the DC universe? But why me? Will I become the superhero? I mean, there's no reason for me to save people, but if I gained the ability to help, why wouldn't I? I'll help people in times of need, but the rest of the time I'll use my powers for my own benefit. Considering the monsters and creatures the original Superman fights, sitting idly by and trying to live a normal life is impossible."
Leo, whose name was now Clark Kent, sat at the dining table, contemplating his future, a serious look on his face. Martha looked at the child before her and smiled; he was so sweet. Jonathan and Martha had grown accustomed to the child's behavior, which seemed far beyond his years. Clark had spoken and started walking just a few months after landing on Earth, but the couple had simply attributed it to him being a different child from others his age. Given his origins, it didn't seem strange.
Jonathan sat at the table with his family of three.
"Shall we eat?"
He said with a smile.
….
After eating, Clark helped his mother carry the dishes and talked to her about various things. In his previous life, he had learned how to blend in with people and how to get close to humans. It was simple for him, especially with these two parents who adored him.
"These two are so kind. No wonder Superman lived his childhood peacefully and without problems. But what about me? What kind of person will I be?"
Clark thought about it a lot because he had discovered his first power, which was super speed. He could run 100 meters in a minute. Although the great Superman would approach the speed of light, that was in the future.
Clark stood outside.
"Martha, Jonathan are taking a nap. This is the best chance to experiment."
He started running. In an instant, he moved at top speed.
After an hour of running, he could move more than 6000 meters in one hour. Fortunately, he didn't go far from the Kent farm, but he was running in the nearby areas.
"My current top speed isn't bad for the body of a child who is almost a year old. This speed is incredible. Of course, this is just slow movement compared to the speed I will gain in the future, but I still don't know what to do with it. Should I become the king of the world?"
Clark muttered to himself as he walked down the street near the Kent farm. At that moment, he heard a loud scream.
"Help! Someone help me!"
Clark ran towards the sound at top speed. The sound was coming from an old man who lived in a nearby house named Wallace Luthor, a senile old man who lived with his teenage grandson Lex, who took care of him.
When Clark arrived, the old man was standing precariously on the roof of the house. It was clear that the old man was alone at that moment and there was no one else in the house.
"How did this old man get up here?"
Clark said as he looked at him, then looked around and didn't see anyone, but he decided to save the old man. So, in order not to be recognized, he put a cloth mask around his face and ran at top speed. In an instant, Clark approached the house, and without any warning, he jumped and reached the roof of the two-story house. Although he broke the roof due to his strength, it wasn't serious. Clark grabbed the old man, who was about to fall, lifted him, and then carried the old man like a father carrying his sleeping child. The sight was strange because Clark's height barely reached the old man's knee. After carrying him, Clark jumped to the ground and gently placed the old man on the grass and sped away.
The whole thing took less than a minute.
From a distance, someone was watching the whole thing. Lex Luthor, the teenager who was looking at the surveillance cameras located in all parts of the house, had seen his grandfather being saved by a strange thing.
"Wait, what is this? Is... is this real?"
Lex was fifteen years old and had come to Smallville as a kind of punishment from his father, who had ordered him to live with his senile grandfather in this remote town because of the problems he had caused in Metropolis.
On his first day, he decided to get rid of the old Wallace and return to the city. So, he planned to make the old man go up to the roof, fall, and die. It was one plan among many.
"Heh, I guess I found something good in Smallville."
Lex Luthor was replaying the video showing how his grandfather was saved, sitting in an abandoned warehouse far from Wallace's house, surrounded by a group of laptops that showed different parts of the house.
Lex, with his long red hair, kept pressing the replay button, watching the image of the strange thing that had saved his grandfather.
….
Back home, Jonathan and Martha had woken up from their nap, and at the same time, Clark arrived home. Clark didn't want them to know anything about his abilities, so he always tried to gain their trust in order to reduce their monitoring of his actions. Playing the role of the intelligent and dutiful son would reassure them more and thus make them trust him to stay alone, even if only for a while.
"Hello, Clark."
Martha said as she stretched and yawned. Jonathan, on the other hand, was rubbing his eyes as he came down the stairs.
"Hello, Mom, hello, Dad. Did you sleep well?"
In fact, he felt a little scared that they might have found out about his outing, but fortunately, nothing happened.
…
An hour later, Clark was playing with children's toys. Specifically, he was holding a small spaceship. Jonathan had gone to town to get some things for the farm, while Martha was playing with her son with the toys.
"Clark, do you want to buy new toys?"
"Huh? But I have a lot of toys… After thinking about it, I want to get a phone like the ones in the TV shows."
"I want a phone, what do I do with these stupid toys?"
Clark thought internally.
"Maybe… no, you're too young, and a phone will make you stupid. So instead, how about you make some friends?"
"Do all mothers hate phones?"
Clark muttered.
"How will I make friends, Mom?"
"You will go to kindergarten like the rest of the children. I trust that my sweet boy will have many friends."
"When will I go?"
Clark smiled as he said this. It didn't matter to him at that moment. He decided to live like a normal child, and if there was danger, he would help, but otherwise, he wouldn't care. This is what he realized when he saved the old man. He wasn't the righteous hero who would always save people, and at the same time, he wasn't a pragmatic, selfish person who cared about nothing but his own interests. He would save people, but he would never become Superman, the righteous hero who loves to help others and always protects people.
"You will go next week. Make new friends and have fun, understood?"
She said this while playing with Clark's hair and smiling.
At that moment, Jonathan came in carrying bags and some household items.
"Martha,"
Jonathan called as he entered the house.
"Your father has arrived."
Martha got up, holding Clark's hand to help her husband, and began carrying things with him. Jonathan seemed to be thinking about something. When they finished with the things, Martha asked him about it.
"It's nothing, I just heard that the old Wallace had a small accident and was taken to the hospital. Fortunately, his grandson was there, otherwise it could have been… never mind, everything is fine now."
"Oh, what happened?"
"I heard he fell down the stairs and broke his leg, but his grandson Lex took him to the hospital."
"Dad, who is this Wallace?"
Clark wasn't interested in the people of Smallville. From his knowledge of Superman, there weren't any important people in this town other than Martha, Jonathan, Lana Lang (Clark's first love), and Pete (Clark's childhood friend).
"Oh, his name is Wallace Luthor. He's an old man who moved here five years ago to live. I heard he used to be rich but retired and came to live here."
Clark had noticed something.
"Wallace Luthor and his grandson Lex… Lex, Lex Luthor, oh damn me, will I face this devil from the beginning?"
He muttered, looking at the ground. He had begun to feel dizzy.