Reforged in the Sun: Clark Kent Reborn SI

The hum from earlier still lingered in my ears as I stepped off the festival grounds and into the quiet of the woods. The distant sound felt wrong—not just loud or sharp, but alive, almost like a heartbeat pulsing beneath the surface. It had a faint, unnatural rhythm that sent goosebumps crawling up my arms.

I couldn't shake the feeling that it was connected to Kryptonite.

Normally, I would've shrugged it off as my imagination playing tricks on me, but there was no mistaking the subtle pressure building behind my temples—the same kind of pressure I always felt when I got too close to meteor fragments. I hadn't brought my half-functional finder to the festival, but I didn't need it. Something was out here, and it wasn't friendly.

I adjusted my hoodie, making sure no one could see my face, and slipped into the tree line. The sounds of the festival faded behind me, replaced by the crunch of leaves underfoot and the occasional snap of a twig. The deeper I went, the more the hum seemed to grow, resonating in my bones.

The woods were darker than they should've been this close to midday. The canopy of orange and red leaves filtered the sunlight into dim, shifting patterns, and the chill in the air deepened, biting at my skin. It wasn't natural. Something was wrong.

The hum led me to the edge of a rocky outcrop overlooking Crater Lake. The still water below shimmered faintly, reflecting the autumn sky like glass. For a moment, I thought I'd lost the sound—it seemed to disappear into the breeze—but then I felt it, stronger this time, vibrating beneath the soles of my boots.

I knelt down, pressing my hand against the cool earth. My fingertips buzzed faintly, like they were brushing against a live wire.

What is this?

As I concentrated, a faint glint of green caught my eye just a few feet away. Beneath a patch of dry leaves, a sharp fragment of Kryptonite poked out, its sickly glow pulsing faintly in rhythm with the hum.

But this wasn't just one fragment. As I dug deeper, I uncovered more—jagged shards scattered across the ground like broken glass. This wasn't a single piece of meteor rock. It was a deposit.

A vein of Kryptonite.

The realization hit me hard. A deposit this large could explain why I'd been hearing the hum from so far away, but it also meant trouble. Big trouble. If anyone else found this—people like Lex Luthor or the meteor-infected—there was no telling what they could do with it.

I stood up, brushing dirt off my hands, and glanced back toward the festival. I needed to tell someone, but who? Chloe would dig too deep and put herself in danger. Pete wouldn't know how to help without freaking out. And Mom and Dad… this wasn't their fight. It was mine.

For now, I'd have to keep this to myself.

When I got back to the festival, the hum still thrummed faintly in the back of my mind, but I forced myself to focus. The last thing I needed was for Chloe or Pete to notice something was off.

Chloe was easy enough to find—she'd parked herself at the stage, snapping pictures of the band and chatting with a few classmates. Pete, on the other hand, was at a booth nearby, his arms full of fried food and his grin as wide as ever.

"Clark, man, where'd you go?" Pete asked, shoving a corndog in my direction. "You're missing all the action."

"Just needed some air," I said, dodging the corndog. "What did I miss?"

"Well," Chloe said, stepping up beside him, "other than Pete making it his mission to try every deep-fried thing here? Not much. Though, I did hear that Lex Luthor's been walking around. He's got one of those perfectly pressed suits and everything."

That got my attention. "Lex is here?"

"Yup," Chloe said, popping the 'p.' "Probably making a big show of being the town's friendly billionaire. You know, smiling for the cameras, shaking hands, kissing babies—classic political pregame."

Pete chuckled. "You sound like you've already got a conspiracy theory."

"I don't need a theory," Chloe replied. "It's Lex. He is the conspiracy."

I smiled faintly, but inside, my mind was racing. Lex showing up at the Fall Festival wasn't exactly unusual—he liked to remind everyone he wasn't just the guy who owned LuthorCorp—but if he got even a whiff of the Kryptonite deposit, he wouldn't stop until he had it.

And knowing Lex, that would only be the beginning.

As if on cue, Lex appeared at the edge of the square, flanked by two well-dressed assistants. He moved with that same effortless confidence, his sharp gray suit somehow managing to look both casual and expensive. When he spotted me, his expression flickered—something between amusement and curiosity—before settling into a familiar smirk.

"Clark," he said, making his way over. "I was hoping I'd run into you. Enjoying the festival?"

"Yeah," I said, keeping my tone neutral. "It's nice to get out of the house."

He nodded, glancing at the booths around us. "Smallville has its charms. I always liked this time of year—the colors, the traditions, the sense of community. It's a good reminder of what's worth protecting."

His words sounded friendly enough, but there was an edge to them, a quiet calculation in his tone that set me on edge.

"What about you?" I asked. "What brings you here?"

Lex smiled faintly. "Just business. I like to stay connected to the people. You never know what opportunities might present themselves."

The hum in my mind seemed to spike, and for a second, I wondered if he could hear it too. But if he did, he didn't show it.

"Well," he said, clapping me lightly on the shoulder, "don't let me keep you. Enjoy the festival."

As he walked away, I couldn't shake the feeling that he knew more than he was letting on.

That night, after the festival wound down and the streets emptied, I found myself back at Crater Lake. The woods were quiet now, the shadows stretching long and thin beneath the pale light of the moon. But the hum was louder than ever, reverberating in my chest like a drumbeat.

I stood at the edge of the outcrop, staring down at the lake. The Kryptonite shards I'd uncovered earlier still glowed faintly, their sickly green light casting jagged shadows across the ground. I needed to figure out how to contain this before anyone else found it.

As I reached for one of the shards, my fingers brushed the surface, and a sharp jolt of pain shot up my arm. I stumbled back, clutching my hand. The Kryptonite wasn't just sitting there—it was reacting. Pulsing. Spreading.

And then I heard it—a low, guttural growl that sent a chill down my spine.

Something was watching me.