Chapter 41: Template Fusion 99%
It was unimaginable that Father Jonathan had sold the farm he had managed for half his life without consulting anyone in the family.
"Dad, who did you sell the farm and house to?"
Clark couldn't help but ask.
"We sold it to Rick Rickman of Rickman Enterprises. He plans to build a chemical plant here." Martha couldn't understand why her husband would do such a thing.
He hated factories that discharged pollutants the most.
"I don't know what happened."
Jonathan's name was clearly signed on the contract printed in lead type. As he rubbed the contract in his hand, Jonathan's eyes were a bit dazed, feeling as if he were in a dream, recounting the bizarre events.
"I was working in the barn when he and his men walked in and offered to buy my farm again. I sternly refused him."
"He looked regretful and shook my hand before leaving."
"After that..."
Jonathan tried hard to recall, but his memory was like a piece had been dug out, leaving his mind blank.
"Somehow, I seem to have signed this."
"Seem to have?"
David keenly grasped the key point.
"I don't have any memory of that part, but this is indeed my signature."
The handwriting was exactly the same. Jonathan shook his head in distress.
"What are we going to say in court?
My husband was possessed by an evil spirit?"
Mother Martha was very angry, her chest heaving violently. She turned to her two sons and said sadly.
"I sent the original contract to a lawyer and consulted him. He said there were no loopholes in this contract and we had almost no chance of winning a lawsuit. We can only move out within three days."
"But this is our home. We've always lived here, on this land."
Clark's eyes widened, unable to imagine leaving the home and farm where he had grown up.
"Not anymore."
Jonathan said with a hint of annoyance.
"I inherited this ancestral land from your grandfather, and I ended up selling it for a hundred thousand dollars. I can't understand it."
He was sure that no one had held a gun to his wife and children to force him to sign this contract.
Having to move out of the farm and land where the Kent family had lived for generations within three days was a sudden devastating blow. The family was caught completely off guard, and the atmosphere was extremely somber. No one cared about lunch anymore.
"Maybe I can find someone to help and see if they have a solution."
Thinking of something, Clark's eyes lit up slightly, and he looked at his parents.
"I saved Lex's life. Although you taught me from a young age not to expect repayment just because I helped someone, I think now is not the time to be reserved."
After speaking, he glanced at David, who was frowning in thought, his eyes showing seriousness.
This time, he wanted to prove to his younger brother that he wasn't the only one who could protect their family. He could too, and he would resolve this matter through gentle means.
No one would be harmed unjustly!
"I don't want any dealings with the Luthor family."
Father Jonathan instinctively resisted.
"Do you have any other options now, Jonathan?"
Under his wife Martha's slightly angry retort, Jonathan, the head of the household, opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.
"It's a metahuman."
After thinking for a moment, David suddenly said.
With such a bizarre occurrence, he couldn't think of any other possibility.
"Rickman is a metahuman?"
Hearing the word "metahuman," Clark's expression changed. He thought carefully.
He and his brother had already encountered several strange metahumans, some who could generate electricity, some who were like insects, some who could shapeshift and absorb heat.
Now, having a metahuman who could confuse people didn't seem too surprising.
"Like the one who attacked the school and Tina?"
The couple exchanged glances, recalling the metahuman who could generate electricity their sons had mentioned last time, as well as Tina. They looked surprised.
"What else could make Dad sell the farm he loves so haphazardly without even discussing it with us?"
Facing his parents, David shrugged.
"But how should we solve this now?" He deliberately adopted a relaxed demeanor, but it didn't affect them. The couple remained deeply worried.
Even though they knew the root of the problem, could they tell the judge in court that Rickman had superpowers and had bewitched their entire family, voiding the contract's legal effect?
"Mom, Dad, don't worry, let me go talk to him."
David narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly.
"With this secret, Mr. Rickman might change his mind."
His tone was gentle, as if he were truly going to reason with the other party, and he turned to leave.
Clark's expression changed. Recalling the previous cases where people had ended up in a vegetative state, he was certain that David's look was far more than just a simple chat.
"I'll go too."
"Clark, David, you have to be careful."
With Clark accompanying him, Jonathan and Martha felt much more at ease and repeatedly warned their two sons.
"If it really doesn't work out, our family can find another place to live in town. It won't delay your schooling; the completeness of a family doesn't depend on where we live."
David nodded, reassuring his parents not to worry, and walked out the door.
Not long after, Clark, who had caught up, glanced back at the farm as they walked.
"Mom and Dad don't know that you don't actually need my protection.
On the contrary, I need to protect others from you."
His parents had no idea of David's true, troublesome nature, yet he couldn't reveal the truth and had to help David, who was driving him mad, cover it up.
"Protect from what? Protect the person who used his powers to trick us out of our family farm and house?"
Sensing he was hinting at something, David glanced at him.
"David, you don't have to be so rough and ruthless every time you do something."
Hearing the animosity towards Rickman in David's tone, Clark reached out and stopped him, lowering his voice seriously.
"Rickman is wealthy. If something happens to him, all the major newspapers in Metropolis will pay attention."
Unlike their small town of Smallville, even if something happened here, it wouldn't make the papers.
"If you turn someone into a vegetable again this time..."
Fearing he still wouldn't be able to persuade his strong-willed brother, he gritted his teeth.
"I absolutely will not take the blame for you in front of Mom and Dad again!"
"What do you want me to do?"
Clark was actually threatening him with this, David raised an eyebrow, as if seeing him for the first time.
After he had crossed that line and killed someone, Clark had truly started to panic, and his attitude towards David's methods was no longer as gentle.
"But thinking about it, what Clark said is indeed a problem.
Rickman is quite well-known. His companies and factories almost monopolize the insecticide production business in Metropolis and several surrounding cities. If he suddenly becomes a vegetable, the Metropolis newspapers won't miss this news."
[Template fused 99%]
It had been 99% for the past two days. He hoped this new template would be one that allowed him to freely display his abilities.
Even though he had the strength to protect himself, he still had to worry his parents. David was momentarily distracted.
"Let's see who can resolve this safely and properly first."
Hearing his brother's words, Clark secretly breathed a sigh of relief and, without revealing the plan he had already formulated, said in a deep voice.
Last time he had almost caused trouble for the family and implicated his father. This time, he wanted to use this incident to surpass his brother and make him realize there were areas where he was inferior, so that his words would carry more weight with David in the future.
"Your suggestion is excellent, but I..."
David's expression was blank, finding the suggestion rather boring.
"No refusal!"
Clark, tall and imposing, guessed what he was about to say and preempted him with a forceful "No refusal!"
His body stood firm like a rock, his eyes resolute and powerful, yet tinged with worry, exuding an inexplicable strength.
"Your change is astonishing, Clark."
David surveyed Clark's new demeanor, raising an eyebrow. "Are you planning to start establishing your authority as an older brother from now on, strictly disciplining the brother who is in danger of going astray?"
With his thoughts laid bare in a single sentence, Clark secretly clenched his fist. Without flinching, he met David's gaze and said sincerely, "I'm doing this for your own good."
Hearing this, David, experiencing a bit of an overreaction, was considering whether to pull out a piece of Kryptonite from his pocket and knock the assertive Clark back to his senses.
Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly.
"Fine."
"You agree?" Clark, who had been on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy, ready to retreat hundreds of meters at the slightest wrong move, was somewhat surprised.
-----------
Machine Translation by: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Read 777+ original & fanfic translations in English, Español, Português, Deutsch, Français, or Русский at: https:// randomtranslator.com/
Join our Discord: https:// discord.gg/NSWvfN7vua
-----------