Chapter 24 – Better safe than sorry


Back home.

“You’re saying you saw Catherine, but Catherine might be dead?”

After listening to his wife and two sons’ descriptions, Jonathan was a little confused by the green skeleton, transformation, corpse, money…

“The person who received us at the antique shop should be the one who robbed the bank.”

Combining what Clark had said earlier, David found the situation obvious.

“First Luthor, then Catherine. She has the ability to transform into someone else.”

“Who could that person be?”

Martha was extremely uneasy, rubbing her arms. It was terrifying that the person could transform into someone familiar and silently approach you.

She hadn’t noticed that the person just now wasn’t the person she knew.

Clark frowned and pondered. First, he could be certain that the person’s skeleton was female, and second…

There didn’t seem to be any other clues for now.

“It’s Tina.”

Frowning and pondering for a few seconds, David suddenly spoke up.

The three of them at home looked at him with confusion.

“Why would it be Tina?”

“She has that ability. It doesn’t matter who she transforms into, she can kill someone and easily escape. Why would she transform into Aunt Catherine’s appearance? The police wouldn’t be able to find her.

Unless… Catherine is dead, the police will definitely find her.”

Based on his analysis and speculation, he believed it was Catherine’s daughter, Tina, and smiled.

Only Tina, Catherine’s daughter, no matter who killed Catherine, the police would come to question her because she was the only relative of the deceased.

“Tina stole the money and killed her own mother. She did it out of guilt.”

“Catherine!”

Martha mourned for the person she used to know.

“Don’t be too certain, son.”

Jonathan held his wife’s cold hand to comfort her, frowning.

“A daughter killing her mother, this…”

Such a heinous crime that defied the laws of nature was too shocking!

David, instinctively unwilling to believe such a tragic event, raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

“I saw that her skeleton was different.”

Clark carefully recalled his memory and finally remembered another clue that he didn’t know if it could be considered a clue.

“It emitted a strange green light, and the skeleton’s lines were a bit strange.”

Unlike the smooth and natural rib lines of an ordinary person, the thickness of that person’s ribs varied.

“When Catherine was pregnant with Tina, she was already quite old, and Tina was born with a bone disease.”

Martha seemed to recall something terrible, her face slightly pale.

“They went to various doctors, and the doctors believed she wouldn’t live past first grade. They spent a lot of money searching for experimental drugs in the developmental stage for her, but it didn’t work.”

Jonathan furrowed his brow and took over the conversation, his voice heavy. “Later, they had no choice but to bring Tina back to the small town. Somehow, a miracle happened, and Tina gradually improved.”

He now somewhat believed his son’s reasoning. The culprit was Tina.

“Desperate people sometimes resort to desperate measures.”

David rubbed his chin and looked at Clark.

“I heard that when the meteorite first landed, some charlatans came to the small town, claiming that the meteorite was a gift from God and that drinking the water soaked in it could cure all diseases…”

There was no need to say the rest.

It could be imagined that Catherine and her husband, who had no other options, would definitely try it after discovering their daughter’s astonishing improvement. They would be excited and grateful to God.

But Catherine probably didn’t expect that she would die because of her daughter in the future.

“David is right. That person might be Tina.”

Clark widened his eyes.

After his younger brother’s analysis and the information provided by their parents, all the clues came together.

No wonder that person’s skeleton emitted a glow like a meteorite, because she had been drinking water soaked in it since she was young!

“Since you saw the body, call the police first.”

Jonathan pondered for a moment. They shouldn’t give the culprit a chance to escape. He picked up the phone and dialed the emergency number.

He briefly explained the situation, that they found money that might have been stolen from a bank in Catherine’s antique shop, and smelled a stench of a corpse.

The police immediately dispatched officers to rush to the antique shop.

“Alright, kids, the police are on their way.”

Even if Tina could transform into someone else, she wouldn’t be able to escape being discovered on the spot.

David furrowed his brow.

This wasn’t safe.

The couple didn’t know that besides having the ability to transform, Tina’s body was also strong enough to withstand bullets. Ordinary police officers might have a hard time dealing with her.

“I’m going to take the afternoon off and not go to school.”

David suddenly said.

There was no doubt that the kryptonite was the reason why some people in the small town gained abilities.

“So, if I spend more time with the kryptonite, receive more radiation from it, and even consume it, will it make me more powerful?”

His gaze flickered. Was this how Tina became so powerful from drinking water soaked in the meteorite?

“I’m also taking the afternoon off.”

Clark immediately followed, not relaxing his vigilance. His eyes were serious. He wanted to protect his parents from any harm.

David glanced at Clark.

If it were in any other place, an ability user who suddenly appeared in a small town could make him, who had the physique of Thanos, unable to easily protect his parents from any harm when facing the other person. He would find it absurd.

“But sometimes even Superman encounters enemies who give him trouble, even danger.”

Better safe than sorry. It would be best if both he and Clark stayed behind to protect their parents.

Even if it turned out to be a false alarm, it would be better than something happening that he absolutely didn’t want to see and would regret for the rest of his life.

“Why?”

The reactions of the two sons were a bit exaggerated, and the couple was puzzled.

“Are you afraid that Tina will attack us?”

Thump thump!

Before they could explain, the door was knocked.

Looking through the glass door of the outer door, under the dim sunlight, Lex Luthor stood outside the door with a polite smile on his face and a friendly voice. “Can I come in?”

Jonathan and Martha suddenly became nervous, stood up from their chairs, and David and Clark stepped forward, blocking their parents.

David secretly gave Clark a look.

Clark tried to activate his X-ray vision again to observe Lex’s skeleton outside the door.But due to some nervousness, they hesitated to open the door.

“What’s wrong?”

Lex Luthor opened the outer door, jokingly said, “It’s me, not my evil twin, and I’m not holding a gun.”

He raised his hands to show the family.

“Clark, David, Mr. Kent… you know I’m innocent.”

“Hurry up.”

Clark concentrated and tried to control his nerves. Finally, his vision returned to its x-ray-like state. He scanned Luthor from head to toe, breathed a sigh of relief, hinted to his brother and parents, and smiled.

“Lex, what brings you here?”

His skeleton was normal, it was indeed Lex Luthor.

Jonathan and Martha also relaxed.

David secretly relaxed his tense body.

If he were alone, even ten metahumans wouldn’t make him this nervous, but his parents were right behind him.

“I came to thank Mr. and Mrs. Kent.

Without your testimony, I would still be under suspicion.”

The Kent family’s strange reaction made Luthor suspicious, but he laughed it off.

“Please come in, Mr. Luthor.” Martha invited.

“I watched the CCTV footage, I don’t know how that person managed to look almost exactly like me. If it weren’t for the different handwriting, I might be penniless by now.”

Luthor expressed his genuine surprise and confusion.

“It’s a strange feeling to see someone robbing a bank in broad daylight with my face.”

He had intended to use this opportunity to visit and get to know the Kent family better.

But upon arrival, Luthor suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit heavy and strange, as if it wasn’t a good time to visit, and his plan had gone awry again.

This time he didn’t show his sharpness and intelligence by offering help if there was trouble.

“If someone has a grudge against someone, the smarter they appear, the more they will be guarded and resisted.”

After chatting for a while and sincerely expressing his gratitude, he excused himself and left.

Buzz!

Leaving the farm, Luthor got into his silver convertible, glanced at the Kent family in the house, frowned as if thinking about something, and drove away.

They told their parents that Tina might be a powerful metahuman.

Jonathan thought for a while, took a leave of absence for his two sons, citing the high incidence of flu in spring.

He didn’t let David go to school, fearing he might be attacked alone.

“David, you stay at home with us, Clark will protect us. Later, I’ll ask some acquaintances about the police’s findings. Maybe the police can catch Tina.”


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