The sunset painted the school bus a fiery orange as Dio sauntered up the steps, one hand in his pocket.
Clark followed close behind, clutching a paper bag stuffed with art class projects.
"Kent boys!"
Their teacher, Mrs. Green, poked her head out from the bus door, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Happy birthday!"
Clark's blue eyes lit up. "How'd you know, Mrs. Green?"
"Duh."
Dio didn't even glance back. "What's a school record for?"
"Plus, our birthdays are on the same day."
Clark nodded, realization dawning. "So, what do you think Uncle Locke's got planned for our—"
"A telescope," Dio cut in, shoving Clark into a window seat. "Custom-made from the Royal Academy."
"What?!"
Clark nearly bounced out of his seat. "How'd you—?!"
"Dad's been making transatlantic calls for two months straight," Dio said, rolling his eyes. "To some guy 'on vacation' abroad."
"Every time, it's—"
He mimicked Locke's voice perfectly: "'Anthony, my man, those two kids of mine, this year they—'"
"It's impossible to play dumb."
"Dio, you're evil for spoiling it," Clark grumbled.
"Who asked?"
"Oh."
Clark's shoulders visibly slumped, like a deflated Kryptonian balloon. He fidgeted with his fingers.
"Uh… Dio?"
"Don't even think about it," Dio said, not looking up from his notes. "I'm not using The World to punch you into amnesia."
"My Stand's fists would hurt, you jerk!"
Clark opened his mouth to protest, but the bus suddenly lurched violently!
He instinctively grabbed the handrail, accidentally bending the metal pole in his grip.
But worse…
"Hold on, kids!"
The driver, Old Tom, bellowed, wrestling the steering wheel. "Get the windows—!"
A piercing screech of brakes cut through the air.
Boom—CRASH!
With a groan of twisting metal, the bridge ahead collapsed right before their eyes.
The bus plunged nose-first into the raging river, the windshield shattering into a spiderweb on impact.
Old Tom was knocked out cold instantly.
"Ahh!"
Screams filled the bus.
Icy river water surged through the cracks like silver snakes, rising past their knees.
Clark's super senses kicked into overdrive—
He saw Mrs. Green slumped unconscious in the front row;
He smelled the sharp mix of diesel and river water;
He heard his classmates' heartbeats pounding so hard they might burst;
And he even tasted the salty tears of a terrified kid mixed in the water.
"This is…?"
Clark froze, his blue pupils shrinking to pinpoints.
But before he could process it, the water surged past the front seats, reaching his chest.
The bus kept sinking.
Crash!
Glass shattered.
An invisible hand yanked him by the collar!
Splash!
Clark's vision blurred, and when he came to, he was out of the water. Dio stood on the shallow bank, his blond bangs plastered to his pale face. On his other side, Mrs. Green floated above the water, held up by an invisible grip.
"Dio! The others—!"
"Shut up, idiot," Dio growled through clenched teeth, veins bulging at his temples.
Overusing his Stand was making his vision swim, but he still directed The World to drag the unconscious teacher to shore.
As for the rest…
Sorry.
Saving one person from a meteor was one thing, but a bus with twenty or thirty kids?
Unless he could lift the entire bus out of the water, there was no saving them.
This time, Dio was powerless.
But…
Clark took a deep breath and turned back to the river.
The bus was barely visible now, only half of it above water, bubbles gurgling to the surface.
Without hesitation, he dove back in, swimming toward the sinking bus.
"Clark!!"
Dio's furious shout was muffled by the water.
The underwater world was eerily silent.
Eyes wide, Clark saw a dozen kids trapped like insects in amber, struggling in the rising water.
Their hair, textbooks, and backpack straps floated in the murky current.
Deep in the bus, a girl's red hairband was slowly swallowed by the water.
Oxygen was running out…
Some kids had already passed out.
Bang!
The Kryptonian teen's fist smashed through the glass.
In the swirling current, he grabbed the nearest two kids.
Their skin was cold and soft, like the baby rabbits he and Dio had saved from a winter flood last year.
Pushing them to the surface, Clark turned back for a third, a fourth, a fifth—
Until he overestimated himself.
His oxygen was depleting fast, his lungs burning.
Through the distorted water, he saw more kids, pale and motionless, swallowed by the flood.
One girl, eyes closed, lips moving faintly—calling for her mom?
Yeah, I've got a mom too.
Clark regretted playing the hero.
Death loomed close.
Black spots crept into his vision, like a broken TV screen.
It was his and Dio's birthday, and he'd messed it up. Mom and Dad would cry; Uncle Locke and Dio would be heartbroken.
Was this… a wrong choice, Uncle Locke?
The river's pressure roared in his ears, but a voice cut through his memories:
"Growing up means making choices, Clark."
"When you make a choice, you're ready to take responsibility."
"There's a cost, but there's also a reward."
"Just keep growing, and nature's miracles will bring new life!"
Darkness surged like a tide, his consciousness fading…
Then—!
Clark's eyes snapped open.
At the river's depths, he braced his hands against the bus's front.
Boom!
A faint, almost imperceptible sound!
But it was the sun!
It was Clark's cells!
In that desperate moment, they erupted with solar brilliance!
A new energy surged from his fingertips, an invisible force field rippling outward!
Buzz!
The metal frame groaned under the strain.
The water trembled, fish scattered in panic, and the riverbed's pebbles quivered!
"Come on…"
Muscles tore and reformed under the strain, bubbles mixed with blood escaping through his clenched teeth, rising to the surface.
"Get up!!"
BOOM!
The river stilled.
A dazzling shockwave rocked the riverbed!
On the shore…
"Clark…"
"Clark!"
Staring at the water where no one else surfaced, Dio struggled to dive in, but the aftereffects of stopping time for who-knows-how-long left his head throbbing, his thoughts scrambled.
He'd barely managed to help Clark pull those kids out earlier.
Now, he couldn't even summon The World!
Dio pounded the ground, roaring, "Clark, you idiot!"
"You're ruining our birthday, you—"
BOOM!
His words were cut off as his jaw dropped. Propping himself up, he stared at the river.
A massive bulge of water rose from the surface!
The metal hulk, nearly submerged, was being lifted by an invisible force, breaking through the water!
Rainbows shimmered in the sunset as water droplets hung in the air, frozen as if time itself had stopped!
Was this Moses parting the sea?!
Stunned, Dio watched the parted waters as the mangled bus was hoisted back to shore.
Was there really a god?
Did the river god step in?
Bang!
The bus's front hit the shallows.
A soaked, blue-eyed teen climbed out from behind it.
Dio snapped back to his atheist roots.
Clark, pale as silver, flashed Dio a weak grin. "Hey, Dio… I didn't screw it up this time, right?"
"You moron! Who told you to play hero?!"
"Because…"
"Dio, if you had the power, I know you'd do the same. Like you think you could save someone from a meteor—"
Before he could finish, Clark collapsed like a marionette with cut strings.
In his fading consciousness, he heard Dio's voice, cursing but closer now:
"Clark, you idiot…"
---
In the wheat field, the sunset dyed the stubble a golden red.
Logan sprawled on a haystack, lazily poking at straws with his claws, muttering under his breath: "Locke, where's the birthday party? I'm starving, starving, starving…"
Locke chuckled, standing up. "They should be back any minute."
"Logan, thanks for the claws. You've still got time to whip up that Canadian honey cake."
Logan propped his head on his arm, grumbling, "It's maple cake, you tasteless farmer—"
He stopped short.
Locke's face had frozen.
The farmer sat up slowly, his gaze locked on something in the distance.
Logan followed his line of sight—nothing but swaying wheat.
"Uh, Locke?"
Wolverine swallowed, his claws retracting. "Honey's fine if that's what you want. I can make it—"
But Locke didn't seem to hear.
His eyes reflected words only he could see:
[Dio Kent, Age 9]
[Stand: The World]
[Ability Upgrade → The World: Time Stop, 1s]
[Loading Parental Privilege for Host]
[Stand: Star Platinum]
[Ability Upgrade → Star Platinum: The World: Time Stop, 5s]
Chapter 35 is unlocked, go check it out!
Man, that scared the crap out of me.
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