Dio and Clark stood frozen at the door, their eyes wide, locked on the massive shadow slowly rising from the direction of the barn.
Rain whipped through the doorway, dripping from their hair, but neither bothered to wipe it away.
"Dad..." Dio's voice carried a hint of nerves. "What the hell is that thing?"
"Is that something that kid left for us?"
"Dio," Clark said, feeling like absolute crap. Normally, he'd be able to see that shadow clear as day through the rain, maybe even spot something off before they'd opened the door. But right now? It was like his senses were wrapped in fog.
"Uncle Lock..."
"I..."
Clark's lips went pale. "I'm feeling kinda..."
Before he could finish, a wave of weakness hit him like a truck, buckling his knees and sending him pitching forward.
"Clark!"
Lock's quick reflexes kicked in, his strong arms catching the kid before he hit the ground.
The second he grabbed him, Lock knew something was wrong—Clark's body was ice-cold, his muscles twitching uncontrollably.
This wasn't just a bad day.
In the rain, the shadow by the barn stood fully upright.
A flash of lightning lit up the scene, and Lock finally got a good look at it—a humanoid monster, over ten feet tall, pieced together from jagged metal scraps.
Worst of all? The eerie green glow radiating from it cut through the stormy night like a blade.
"Kryptonite..."
Lock's heart sank.
No wonder Clark was fading fast. No wonder his super senses hadn't picked up on this thing sooner.
That damn green rock was like Clark's personal kryptonite—literally made to take him down.
"Dad!" Dio's voice spiked with panic. "That thing's moving!"
Sure enough, the metal monster was taking steps now.
Its movements were clunky at first, but with every step, the grinding screech of metal on metal echoed, like it was getting the hang of its new body.
"Get Clark inside, Dio!" Lock barked.
Gritting his teeth, Dio summoned The World to drag Clark away.
But what was usually a piece of cake felt like hauling a mountain—Clark's weight seemed ten times heavier, and every step The World took was a struggle.
"You big idiot, could you maybe eat less?" Dio muttered, panting as he gripped Clark's arm tighter, his head spinning with the effort.
Bang!
"Uncle Lock..."
Clark lifted his head weakly, his blue eyes filled with guilt. "I'm sorry... I'm slowing you down..."
"Easy, Clark," Lock cut him off without turning. "This isn't anyone's fault."
Even as he said it, Lock caught a glimpse of Clark's fingertips turning an unnatural grayish-blue—kryptonite radiation was eating away at the Kryptonian kid's strength, fast.
Damn it.
Buzz!
A sudden hum stopped the monster in its tracks.
It tilted its head, its green eyes seeming to study the three of them from a distance.
The move was weirdly human, almost curious, and it made the air feel even creepier.
"Is... is it watching us?" Dio's voice shook.
Lock didn't answer.
His mind was racing, replaying Jotaro's warning before he left.
Was this what he meant? But why now? Why in the middle of—
Boom!
A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the sky, its pale light flooding the farm.
Buzz!
The lightning struck the monster, but it didn't even flinch—just shuddered once and kept moving forward like it was nothing.
In that fleeting flash, though, Lock's Stand, Star Platinum, caught a glimpse of something on the monster's chest, just below the glowing kryptonite—a faint, X-shaped mark.
Lock's pupils shrank, his heart skipping a beat.
Weapon X!
That "Reaper-9" he'd smashed to pieces a month ago—had it somehow pulled itself back together using kryptonite's radiation?
"Damn it..."
Lock clenched his jaw, his fingers tightening into a fist.
He could still picture that fight clear as day—the metal giant exploding, its silver liquid seeping into the soil, the weirdly writhing debris vanishing in the rain. The two suits from the cleanup crew had left empty-handed, and he'd thought it was over.
But no. It had just been lying low, waiting for a stronger power source to rebuild itself.
And now it had found one—kryptonite.
"Dad?" Dio's voice came from behind, tinged with rare unease. "You see where that thing's headed?"
Lock nodded, his eyes glued to the monster.
Dio was right. The creature was slowly turning, its metal joints screeching as its massive frame trampled through the wheat field, heading toward—
Wait.
Lock's breath caught in his throat.
"Jonathan... Martha..."
His voice was barely a growl, forced through gritted teeth.
Jotaro's words flashed through his mind:
"Watch the barn."
"Today's a critical moment, in this storm. My grandparents, Martha and Jonathan, who I've never met..."
It all clicked.
The monster wasn't after them—it was targeting the Kents.
Maybe it feared Lock, the guy who'd destroyed it once. Or maybe someone had programmed it with a specific target.
Either way, that WXR9 was nothing but a cold-blooded killing machine now.
"Dio," Lock said urgently, "remember what I taught you? When you're up against an enemy you can't beat..."
"Make sure you're safe first, then find a chance to strike back," Dio finished, a spark of understanding in his red eyes. "But right now—"
He didn't get to finish.
The monster let out a piercing metallic screech, the kryptonite in its chest flaring brighter.
Clark curled up in agony, his blue eyes half-closed, his breathing shallow and ragged. The radiation was tearing through the Kryptonian kid raised under Earth's yellow sun.
The rain poured harder, fat drops pounding the three of them, but it couldn't wash away the growing sense of dread.
Dio's blond hair clung wetly to his forehead. Clark's breaths grew fainter. And Lock...
Lock suddenly grinned.
"Dio," he said without looking back, "remember what Jotaro said about a 'critical moment'?"
Dio blinked. "You mean—"
"History's already changed."
Lock stood tall, Star Platinum materializing behind him, its purple form glowing faintly in the stormy night.
"But some things are meant to be handled by the Kents."
"Dad, let me fight with you—"
Dio extended a team-up invite.
"No way," Lock shot back, firm and final. "Right now, you take the tractor, get Clark to Jonathan and Martha before that thing reaches them."
"But—"
"No buts!" Lock's voice left no room for argument. "Do what I said!"
The words hit Dio like a sledgehammer.
He looked down at Clark, barely hanging on in his arms, then out at the lumbering metal giant in the distance.
A choice.
Dio's lips trembled. He stood frozen, watching his dad march alone toward the towering beast.
In the rain, Lock's silhouette looked impossibly huge. His cowboy hat was long gone, his brown curls plastered down by the storm, but none of it dulled his calm resolve.