Three days passed.
Clark and Aaron fell into a rhythm. School. Side quests. Competition of abilities.
Lex Luthor was still searching. His people asked questions around town. Who pulled him from the river? Who swam that fast? He had literally hit them with his car. How were they both fine? No one answered. Smallville protected its secrets.
Clark kept his head down. Aaron did the same.
Then the news broke.
---
Chloe Sullivan ran into the cafeteria. Her notebook was out. Her eyes were bright.
"News! Fresh news!"
The television flickered above the lunch tables.
"Three Smallville High football players were attacked last night. All are in stable condition. Doctors say the injuries were caused by severe electrical burns. Police have named no suspects."
Aaron stopped eating. Clark looked up.
Chloe slid onto the bench across from them.
"You two hearing this? That's the fourth player this week. Someone is hunting them."
"Any leads?" Clark asked.
"Nothing official. But I heard one of them whispering a name before the ambulance came. Jeremy."
"Jeremy who?" Aaron asked.
"Jeremy Creek. He was a freshman last year. Bullied badly. Especially by the football team. Then one day he stopped coming to school. Everyone assumed he transferred."
"Or something else happened," Aaron said.
Chloe nodded. "Exactly."
---
Whitney Fordman came to Aaron after school.
His face was pale. His hands were shaking. The arrogance was gone.
"Aaron. I need your help."
Aaron said nothing.
"My friends are in the hospital. One of them has broken ribs and electrical burns all over his body. He might not play football again."
"Why come to me?"
"Because something is targeting us. My group. The guys I used to run with. We stopped the bullying. We did what you said. But someone doesn't care. Someone wants revenge."
"Jeremy Creek."
Whitney flinched. "How do you know that?"
"His name is in the air."
"I don't know what happened to him. He just vanished last year. We didn't... I mean, we did some stuff. But nothing like this."
"Nothing like this? What did you do?"
Whitney looked down. "We threw him in the river. Tied him to a scarecrow post. Left him there overnight. He was screaming. We thought it was funny."
"When was this?"
"During the meteor shower. The night of the meteors. That same night. He was out there all night. Next day he was different. Quiet. Then gone."
Clark stepped forward. His face was hard. "He was exposed to the meteor rocks."
"What?" Whitney asked.
"Nothing," Aaron said. "Go home, Whitney. We will handle this."
"You will help?"
"Not for you. For Jeremy."
---
That night.
The football field was empty. Lights off. Goalposts shadows against the moon.
Whitney and his remaining friends stood in the center. Aaron had told them to be there. Bait.
Aaron waited behind the bleachers. Clark stood beside him.
"Jeremy has powers. I can see him," Clark whispered.
His eyes flickered. Focused through the metal stands like they were glass.
"Clark, does your power increase more? Now you can even look inside buildings?"
Clark's face twisted. "Yeah. It's a serious problem, dude. Sometimes I see through walls. Lockers. Buildings. Or clothes. Unintentionally. I have to see people's junk, you know."
Aaron jumped two steps back. His face broke into a rare grin.
"That's disgusting! Bro, are you gay?"
Clark's ears went red. "You!"
Aaron laughed. Quiet. Controlled. But real.
The moment broke. A figure walked onto the field.
Thin. Stumbling. Electricity crackled around his hands. His eyes glowed faint green.
Jeremy Creek.
"J... Jeremy. My man." Whitney's voice cracked from across the field. "Listen. We are sorry. It was our fault. What we did to you was wrong."
Jeremy's face was blank. No expression. No anger. Just electricity.
"I heard you are the school alpha now," Jeremy said. His voice was flat. Hollow.
He raised one hand. Lightning burst from his palm. Whitney flew backward. His friends scattered.
Jeremy lifted his other hand. Telekinesis. Bleacher benches tore from the ground and slammed into the fleeing players. Bodies hit dirt. Groaning. Then silence.
Clark moved.
In half a second, he was between Jeremy and the fallen players. His hand caught the next bolt of electricity. It sparked against his palm and died.
Jeremy's eyes widened. "What are you?"
"Someone who wants to help."
Jeremy screamed. His power erupted. More lightning. More telekinetic force. Clark blocked it all. But Jeremy was losing control. The energy around him was building. Feeding on itself.
"Clark! Take him to the old barn. Three fields east. Isolated." Aaron's voice cut through the chaos.
Clark grabbed Jeremy. The boy struggled. Lightning wrapped around both of them. Clark held on. He ran.
---
The old barn stood alone in a dead field. No lights. No people.
Clark released Jeremy onto the hay floor. The boy's body crackled. His eyes were wild. The power was cooking him from inside.
Aaron entered. The serpent soul inside him stirred.
"What is the plan?" Clark asked.
"I will extract the abilities from him. But it will take time. Regular sessions. Until the power is permanently gone."
"Extract? How?"
Aaron knelt beside Jeremy. The boy thrashed. Electricity jumped toward Aaron's hand. He did not flinch.
"My soul spirit can devour energy. I will drain the meteor power from his blood."
Aaron placed his palm on Jeremy's chest. The serpent rose. Not fully. Just its head. Translucent. Pale gold. It opened its mouth.
The electricity flowed into Aaron's hand. Not painful. Warm. Like hot tea in winter.
The serpent soul flared and going in Jeremy body sucked the energy from blood cut area.The energy entered Aaron's blood. Filtered through the blood core. Absorbed.
Jeremy's body relaxed. The green glow faded. The crackling stopped.
Aaron pulled his hand back. His fingers tingled. A magical warmth spread through his chest and settled in his navel.
The panel pulsed.
Meteorite Energy Absorbed.
Radiation energy converting into body crystal of vampire. 0.0000⁰01
Progress: Initial crystallization detected in blood core.
Aaron stood. Looked down at Jeremy. The boy was asleep. Breathing normal.
"He will be okay," Aaron said. "But I will need to do this multiple times. The power is deep in his cells. It will take weeks."
" he will be normal again. No powers."