Back home.
"You're saying you saw Catherine, but Catherine might be dead?"
After hearing the accounts of his wife and two sons – the green skeleton, the transformation, the body, the money… Jonathan was momentarily confused.
"The person who served us in the antique shop must be the one who robbed the bank."
Combining what Clark had said earlier, David felt the situation was obvious.
"First Luthor, then Catherine. She has the ability to shapeshift and can turn into other people."
"Who could that person be?"
Martha was extremely uneasy, rubbing her arms. It was too terrifying; the other person could transform into someone familiar and approach you silently.
Just now, she hadn't realized at all that the person wasn't who she knew.
Clark furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Firstly, he could confirm the skeleton belonged to a woman, and secondly…
It seemed there were no other clues for the moment.
"It's Tina."
After a few seconds of furrowed thought, David suddenly spoke.
The three people at home directed confused gazes at him.
Clark asked, "Why would it be Tina?"
"She has that kind of ability. If she can become anyone, why not become someone who killed someone and then escape? Why transform into Aunt Catherine? The police would never find her.
Unless—Catherine is dead, and the police will definitely come looking for her."
He analyzed and deduced that it was Catherine's daughter, and said with a smile.
Only Catherine's daughter, Tina, would be questioned by the police no matter who killed Catherine, because she was the deceased's only relative.
"Tina stole the money and then killed her own mother. She's guilty, that's why she did it."
"Catherine!"
Martha was saddened by the passing of someone she once knew.
"Don't be so certain, son,"
Jonathan held his wife's cold hand to comfort her, frowning.
"The daughter killing the mother, this…"
Such a heinous crime that went against nature was too horrifying to believe!
David raised an eyebrow at his father's instinctive disbelief in such a tragedy and said nothing.
"I saw her skeleton was a bit unusual."
Clark carefully recalled his memory and finally remembered another clue, though he wasn't sure if it counted.
"It was emitting a strange green light, and the bone structure was a bit odd."
Unlike the smooth, natural lines of a normal person's ribs, that person's ribs were of varying thickness.
"Catherine was already quite old when she was pregnant with Tina, and Tina was born with a congenital bone disease."
Martha's face turned slightly pale as if remembering something terrible.
"She and her husband sought medical help everywhere. Doctors believed she wouldn't live to see first grade. They spent money to find channels to give her many experimental drugs that were still in development, but it was no use."
Jonathan picked up the conversation, his voice heavy. "Later, in their desperation, they brought Tina back to town. Somehow, a miracle happened, and Tina gradually got better."
He was now starting to believe his son's reasoning that the killer was Tina.
"Desperate people sometimes grasp at any straw."
David rubbed his chin and looked at Clark.
"I heard that when the meteor first fell, some charlatans came to town, claiming the meteor was a gift from God and that drinking water infused with it could cure all illnesses…"
The rest was unspoken.
One could imagine that Catherine and her husband, with no other options, would have persistently tried it. After discovering their daughter's astonishing improvement, they would have gratefully thanked God.
But Catherine likely never imagined she would die because of her daughter later on.
"David is right, that person might be Tina."
Clark's eyes widened.
After his brother's analysis and the information provided by his parents, all the clues connected.
No wonder that person's skeleton glowed like a meteor – she had been drinking water infused with the meteor since she was little, drinking it her whole life!
"Since you saw the body, call the police first."
Jonathan pondered for a moment, not wanting the killer to have a chance to escape, and picked up the phone to dial the emergency number.
He briefly explained the situation: they found what might be the money from the bank robbery at Catherine's antique shop, and there was also a smell of decay.
The police immediately dispatched, heading towards the antique shop.
"Alright kids, the police are gone."
She was caught red-handed, and even if Tina could transform into someone else, she wouldn't escape.
David frowned.
This wasn't safe.
The couple didn't know that besides her shapeshifting abilities, Tina's body was so tough it could withstand bullets, making her difficult for ordinary police to handle.
"I'm taking the afternoon off from school."
David suddenly said.
Kryptonite was undoubtedly the reason why some people in the small town had gained abilities.
"So, if one stays near Kryptonite for a long time, is exposed to Kryptonite radiation, or even consumes Kryptonite, will their powers become stronger?"
His eyes flickered. Was this how Tina, who had drunk water from meteorites since childhood, became powerful?
"I want to take time off too."
Clark followed immediately, his guard still up, his gaze serious. He wanted to protect his parents from any harm.
David glanced at Clark.
If it were any other place, and a superpowered individual from a random small town appeared, making him, with his Thanos-level physique, unable to easily protect his parents from even a single scratch, he would find it absurd.
"But sometimes Superman encounters enemies who even he finds troublesome or dangerous."
Better safe than sorry. It was best for both him and Clark to stay and protect the couple together to ensure their safety.
Even if it turned out to be a false alarm, it would be better than something he absolutely didn't want to see, something that would make him regret it for the rest of his life.
"Why?"
The couple was confused by their sons' strong reaction.
"Are you afraid Tina will attack us?"
Knock, knock!
Just as they were about to explain, there was a knock on the door.
Looking through the glass door of the outer door, Lex Luthor stood outside in the dim sunlight, a polite smile on his face, his voice friendly: "May I come in?"
Jonathan and Martha immediately became nervous and stood up from their stools. David and Clark stepped forward, blocking their parents.
David secretly gave Clark a look.
Clark tried to activate his X-ray vision again to examine Lex's skeleton outside the door.
But due to nervousness, he couldn't activate it.
"What's wrong?"
Lex Luthor opened the outer door, playfully asking in confusion, "It's me, not my evil twin. I'm not holding a gun either."
He raised his hands to show the family.
"Clark, David, Mr. Kent... you know I'm innocent."
"Hurry up."
Clark concentrated, struggling to control it. Finally, the scene in his eyes turned back into an X-ray image. He scanned Luthor from head to toe, breathed a sigh of relief, and then spoke, subtly signaling his brother and parents, a smile appearing on his face.
"Lex, what are you doing here?"
His skeleton was normal, it was the real Lex Luthor.
Jonathan and Martha also relaxed.
David subtly eased the tension in his body.
If he were facing them alone, even ten superpowered individuals wouldn't make him this nervous. But his parents were behind him.
"I came to thank Mr. and Mrs. Kent.
Without your testimony, I still couldn't clear my name."
Luthor smiled, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes at the Kent family's strange reaction.
"Please come in, Mr. Luthor," Martha invited.
"I watched the CCTV footage. I don't know how that person did it, but they look almost exactly like me. If it weren't for the different signature, I might be penniless right now."
Luthor expressed his genuine surprise and confusion.
"It's a strange feeling to see someone else wearing my face in broad daylight, frantically robbing a bank."
He had intended to visit under the guise of thanking them and become friendly with the Clark family.
But upon arriving, Luthor suddenly felt that the atmosphere of the family was rather somber and strange, and it didn't seem like a good time to visit. His plan had gone awry again.
This time, he didn't show his sharpness and intelligence by offering help if they were in trouble.
"If a person dislikes someone, the smarter they act, the more they'll be guarded against and resisted."
After a brief chat and expressing his sincere gratitude, he glanced around, then took his leave.
Hum!
Leaving the farm, Luthor got into the silver-gray convertible sports car. He glanced at the Kent family inside the house, frowned, and drove away, lost in thought.
...
He told his parents that Tina might be a powerful superpowered individual.
Jonathan thought for a moment, then took leave for his two sons, citing the common spring flu as the reason.
He didn't let David go to school, fearing he would be attacked alone.
"David, you'll stay home with us. Clark will protect us. I'll ask around later for the police's findings. Maybe the police can catch Tina, who knows."
The update is a bit late; I added an extra six hundred words.
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