Damn it, I’m surrounded by those who kill their fathers!

At the critical moment, just as the car was about to crash into her, Martha let out a startled cry and leaped to the side.

The speeding car, with the accelerator floored, barely missed her by an inch.

Clutching her arm, which was aching from the fall, Martha watched the departing car in shock and disbelief.

She never could have imagined such a scene—not even in her worst nightmares. Clark had just tried to run her over with a car.

That was her son, the one she had raised since childhood!

Half an Hour Later – Kent Farm

Peter, John, Clark, Star-Lord, and Loki were all gathered there.

Loki, after being lectured by Peter, looked somewhat dejected.

Clark, sitting in the middle, was now the subject of an "interrogation."

"I swear it was you, Clark," Martha said as she looked at her son. "You stepped on the gas and came straight at me at full speed."

Clark sighed helplessly. "Mom, you know I would never do that."

Loki smirked and turned to Clark. "Well, now you know what it feels like to be falsely accused, don't you?"

"Falsely accused?"

Martha, still confused, looked toward Loki. "What happened, Loki?"

"Nothing."

Peter quickly changed the subject and asked Martha, "Why did the person have the keys to your car?"

"I don't know. I just went to the antique—"

Martha suddenly stopped mid-sentence as a realization struck her.

"The antique shop… Yes, that was the only place I went."

As she spoke, she recalled something odd.

"Mrs. Chris… she seemed a little off."

Jonathan turned to her. "What do you mean by 'off'?"

"She just didn't seem like herself. And I found a stack of money under the counter, bound with a bank's paper strap. She told me a customer had paid her with it."

"You mean…"

Peter's brows twitched as he asked, "Mrs. Chris was the bank robber? She took your keys, transformed into Clark, and then tried to run you over?"

Martha shook her head, finding the idea absurd. "No, that's impossible. That's too crazy."

"Not necessarily."

Peter, well aware of the bizarre abilities Kryptonite mutants could develop in this town, stood up and turned to Clark.

"Clark, John, you two come with me to check out the antique shop."

At the Antique Shop

To their surprise, the antique shop was closed.

"Great," John sighed. "According to every cop show I've ever watched, this is the part where the trail goes cold, and we have to start all over again."

Peter ignored John's remark and stepped forward, raising his hand. A rune briefly flickered in his palm.

With a faint click, the lock on the door opened.

Peter pushed the door open and stepped inside. Clark and John exchanged glances before hurrying after him.

A strange odor lingered in the air.

Though faint, it was noticeable to their superhuman senses.

John activated his X-ray vision, scanning the room. Soon, he noticed something unusual inside a wardrobe.

He quickly walked over and yanked the door open.

With a heavy thud, a corpse tumbled out, landing stiffly on the carpet.

Clark gasped at the sight of the lifeless body, eyes wide open in eternal shock.

"It's Mrs. Chris," Peter observed after inspecting the body. "And she's been dead for quite a while."

"But… Mom just talked to her."

Clark was dumbfounded.

Peter glanced at the body and explained, "It's simple. The 'Mrs. Chris' your mom spoke to was an imposter. As for who took her place, that's still unclear."

"But one thing is certain—after your mom found the money, the imposter transformed into you and tried to silence her."

As Peter spoke, his gaze shifted to a framed photograph on a nearby shelf.

It was a picture of Mrs. Chris, smiling and embracing a young girl.

"Tina?"

Clark pointed at the girl in the photo, his expression one of shock.

"Mrs. Chris was Tina's mother?"

"You know her?"

Peter turned to Clark.

"Yes, Godfather. Tina is Lana's classmate. The two of them are best friends," Clark explained.

"I remember Lana mentioning that Tina was very frail as a child. She had a condition that made her bones weak, and she had to take experimental medication every day. The doctors said she wouldn't live past first grade."

Peter's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess—she was caught in the meteor shower when she was in first grade?"

By now, he was almost certain that Tina had undergone a Kryptonite-induced mutation.

Clark scratched his head. "I don't know… but she did recover completely after that."

"Mm-hmm, that makes sense now."

Peter thought for a moment before saying, "Tina was likely the bank robber. She probably took your form, Clark, and tried to run over your mom."

His eyes fell back on Mrs. Chris's corpse.

"As for Mrs. Chris… maybe she found out about her daughter's crimes and tried to stop her. In the end, Tina either killed her intentionally or by accident."

Having a daughter like that… what a tragedy.

"Call the police."

Nightfall

The search for Tina continued, but the police still couldn't find any trace of her.

Meanwhile, Lana remained unaware that her best friend was now a fugitive.

In the cemetery, she stood before her parents' graves.

She preferred coming here at night when no one else was around, talking to them whenever she missed them too much.

Gently, she pulled out the diary her mother had left her from her backpack.

Facing her mother's grave, she spoke with mixed emotions, "Mom, I found your high school diary. I never realized how close we were. We're the same… The struggles you went through—I'm experiencing them too."

"Hey, Lana!"

She was still talking when a familiar voice suddenly called out to her.

Looking up, she saw her best friend Tina approaching.

"Hey, Tina. What are you doing here?"

"I went to the stables, and your aunt said you took your horse out for a ride. I figured you might be here, so I came to check. What are you up to?"

Lana quickly adjusted her emotions. "Just talking to my parents."

Hearing this, something seemed to stab at Tina's heart. Her expression darkened as she stepped onto the cemetery's soil, moving closer to Lana.

"Lana… They're dead."

"What?"

"I said—they're dead. You have such a wonderful life now, yet you don't appreciate it. Honestly, I don't think you even deserve it."

Lana stared at her friend in shock, suddenly finding Tina completely unfamiliar.

"What are you talking about, Tina?"

"I'm saying—you don't deserve your life!"

The moment those words fell, Tina lunged forward, wrapping her hands around Lana's pale, delicate neck and lifting her off the ground.

"You have no idea how much I envy and resent you. Since you refuse to cherish your life—then I'll take it for myself!"

As she spoke, her entire body began to shift and distort. Her muscles and skin twisted unnaturally, and within moments, she had transformed into a perfect copy of Lana.

Lana's vision blurred. Unable to breathe, she blacked out before she could even process what was happening.

Watching her unconscious form collapse to the ground, Tina turned and walked toward a nearby grave. She retrieved the tools she had prepared in advance. Using the superhuman strength granted by her Kryptonite mutation, she easily pried open the burial site.

With a creaking sound, the coffin lid lifted, revealing the decayed remains inside. Without hesitation, Tina tossed Lana into the coffin, closed the lid, and buried her under the soil once more.

After successfully burying Lana alive, Tina—now disguised as Lana—walked home.

As soon as she arrived at the stables, she spotted Clark approaching.

"Hey, Lana! Have you seen Tina?"

"No, I haven't seen her all day."

Feigning ignorance, "Lana" asked, "Did something happen?"

"Tina was the one who robbed the bank. She's also suspected of murdering her own mother."

Clark explained everything he and his godfather had uncovered.

Hearing this, "Lana" gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Is that true? I always thought Tina was such a good person."

"Well, you never really know. Some people are just good at pretending."

A voice came from behind Clark.

Startled, both of them turned to see Peter walking toward "Lana."

"You agree, don't you… Tina?"

Before she could react, Peter moved like lightning, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her into the air.

A sharp pain shot through Tina's throat. She tried to fight back, only to realize she couldn't summon her strength at all.

She turned desperate, pleading with Clark. "Clark, help me!"

Clark, stunned by Peter's sudden action, hesitated. "G-Godfather?"

With a loud thud, Peter showed no mercy as he slammed her to the ground.

"Use your vision, Clark. Look at what she really is."

Still in shock, Clark activated his X-ray vision. What he saw left him utterly speechless—beneath her familiar appearance, Tina's skeleton was entirely different.

Even more alarming, traces of green Kryptonite remained in her body.

"This…!"

Clark was completely stunned.

Peter stepped closer, looking down at the fallen "Lana."

"Now—tell me where the real Lana is."

Under the weight of Peter's imposing presence and the fear in his eyes, Tina immediately broke down and revealed where she had buried Lana.

Whoosh!

Clark raced to the cemetery, his heart pounding. He feared that Lana might not have survived.

But as his gaze swept across the graveyard, he suddenly realized—Lana wasn't in the coffin at all.

She was lying unconscious on an open patch of ground not far away.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Loki was watching from the shadows as Clark and his godfather arrived at the graveyard.

The truth was, he had been secretly investigating the suspect all along. Having already identified Tina as the culprit, he had kept an eye on her.

When he saw her burying Lana alive, he had stepped in at the last moment to rescue her.

Even though he had once impersonated Lana to mess with Clark, he didn't actually want Clark to lose her.

"...But seriously—why do I have to do good deeds in secret?"

Loki grumbled in frustration.