The moment he finished speaking, the entire Kent Farm kitchen fell silent.
Aunt Martha's kind smile visibly froze for a moment.
Clark had just picked up his coffee cup when he heard this, his hand trembled, and coffee spilled all over him.
But he didn't care.
As for Kara, the expression on her face underwent a rapid transformation from pink to pale, then from pale to ashen.
The entire process took no more than three seconds.
Three seconds later.
"Ah ah ah ah ah ah—"
A piercing scream echoed through the farm.
Kara sprang from her chair, her eyes bloodshot.
"Tel-Rol!"
"If I don't beat you today until even your mother doesn't recognize you, I'm not Kara Zor-El!"
She charged at Tel-Rol with an aura that threatened to overturn the house.
Tel-Rol was still innocently gnawing on a chicken wing.
He dodged Kara's powerful punch.
"Are you crazy? What did I say wrong?"
Tel-Rol sidestepped a sweeping kick.
He was agile, weaving through Kara's furious barrage of attacks.
"That's how it's always shown on TV! This is the optimal solution!"
"I'll give you an optimal solution!"
Kara's attacks grew faster and fiercer with anger.
"You muscle-brained bastard!"
"Do you understand what it means to respect women!"
Clark covered his face with his hands, letting out a pained groan.
"Oh... my Deleted!"
Only Aunt Martha quickly calmed down after her initial shock.
She picked up a frying pan from the table and walked to the edge of the fight.
"Children, don't fight in the kitchen."
Her words made Kara, who was attacking wildly, pause.
Tel-Rol seized the opportunity to jump out of the fight, still clutching half a roasted chicken.
"Aunt Martha, she started it."
Kara was panting, pointing at Tel-Rol, her hand trembling.
"He... he told me to..."
She really couldn't bring herself to say the rest.
Martha sighed, walked over to Tel-Rol, and took the roasted chicken from his hand.
She spoke in a very gentle, yet serious tone.
"Tel, that kind of talk is very disrespectful to girls."
"That's not a joke, and it's not a solution."
"You can't talk to Kara like that, and you can't talk to any girl like that."
Tel-Rol scratched his head, looking at Martha's sincere eyes, then at Kara, whose eyes were red with anger.
"Oh..."
"Alright, I'm sorry, Kara."
Tel-Rol shrugged, abandoning his terrible idea.
He sat back down at the dining table, looking at the messy table and then at the worried Clark and Kara.
Tel-Rol pouted and sat back down at the dining table.
"So, what are we going to do about those twenty billion?"
Just then, a low engine sound came from outside the farm.
They stopped arguing and all looked out the window.
A silver sports car they had never seen before, with sleek lines, stopped on the muddy road of the farm.
The car door lifted upwards.
A woman stepped out of the car.
She was wearing a black business suit and extremely high heels.
She walked on the soft muddy ground, yet her heels didn't sink at all; she walked steadily and quickly.
Her long golden hair was pulled back in a bun, making her look professional and sharp.
Martha opened the door.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
The woman had a professional smile, just right.
"Hello, Mrs. Kent. My name is Pepper Potts, CEO of Mr. Tony Stark."
As she spoke, her gaze had already swept past Martha, scanning the three people in the house.
When her eyes fell on Tel-Rol, who was shirtless, muscular, and had oil stains on the corner of his mouth, her eyelids merely twitched slightly, without any other expression.
Pepper Potts, Pepper.
A woman who could make Tony Stark obedient.
She walked into the house, and the atmosphere of the farmhouse kitchen changed.
Clark and Kara unconsciously stood up, their expressions a little uneasy.
"Miss Potts."
Clark greeted her somewhat awkwardly.
Pepper just nodded at them, even skipping the pleasantries.
Her goal was very clear; she walked directly to Tel-Rol.
She directly opened the tablet in her hand.
"Mr. Tel-Rol."
"Mr. Tony Stark asked me to show you something."
She turned the screen towards Tel-Rol; the screen only showed a playing video.
In the video, a burly man with long blonde hair and a red cape held a square-headed hammer.
He stood in a thunderstorm, crackling electricity wrapped around him, and with one hammer blow, he sent an alien beast as big as a mountain flying.
His movements were grand and full of power.
Tel-Rol's eyes instantly widened.
He stopped gnawing on the chicken wing, leaning slightly forward, staring intently at the man wielding the hammer on the screen.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
That was the kind of look a wild wolf, hungry for three days, would have when it finally saw a fat, strong wild ox.
Only the roaring sound of Thor fighting in the video filled the kitchen.
Pepper watched Tel-Rol's reaction, her smile deepening slightly.
She turned off the video and asked.
"Tony asked me to ask you."
"Do you want to have a no-holds-barred fight with him?"
Tel-Rol's breathing grew heavier; he licked his lips, his voice a little dry.
"Is he... tough?"
"Extremely."
Pepper's answer was decisive, without any hesitation.
"His name is Thor, a god, one of the best fighters in the Avengers.
"Besides Hulk, his physical strength is the closest to yours on Earth."
"And he himself is very interested in having a friendly spar with you."
Tel-Rol's eyes were practically glowing.
He could feel his blood accelerating throughout his body, every cell screaming, "Fight! Fight!"
"When..."
"However..."
Pepper swiped her finger across the tablet, and the screen changed.
A document title appeared on the screen.
"Agreement on Mr. Tel-Rol's Debt Repayment and Special Talent Employment."
"There's a condition if you want to fight him."
Pepper's tone was still gentle, but the content was non-negotiable.
"Sign it."
"That twenty-five point seven billion debt will be written off."
Kara and Clark's eyes widened simultaneously when they heard this.
Just like that... they don't want it?
"And," Pepper continued to throw out incentives, "you can live in Avengers Tower as you please."
"Whatever gourmet food from around the world you want to eat, we'll get it for you."
"Most importantly—"
Her gaze returned to Tel-Rol.
"As long as you sign this agreement and become a special consultant for the Avengers."
"Whenever you want to fight him, we'll arrange it."
"Anytime."
"Done!"
Tel-Rol didn't even bother to read the densely packed contract, slapping his thigh with a crisp sound.
He had been very resistant to the word "working" before, but now, how was this working?
This was top-tier sparring VIP service that money couldn't buy!
And it included food and lodging!
"When do I start working?"
He asked impatiently, already planning how to pin that hammer-wielding guy to the ground and rub him.
Clark and Kara exchanged glances, both seeing a look of great relief in each other's eyes.
Pepper's efficiency was terrifying.
She directly pulled up the signature page on the tablet and handed it to Tel-Rol.
"You can do it now."
"Just press your handprint here."
Tel-Rol unhesitatingly extended his finger and pressed down firmly.
A clear fingerprint was left on the electronic contract.
"Alright!"
"Where's that guy named Thor? I'm going to find him now!"
"Tel, don't rush."
Clark quickly stopped him; he was genuinely afraid this guy would rush off Earth the next second.
Pepper retracted the tablet, her smile still in place.
"Mr. Thor is currently waiting for you at the Tower."
She said, glancing towards the door.
"The car is already waiting for you."
Tel-Rol looked at Clark and Kara.
"Alright!"
"Then I'll go live in that Tower for a few days."
"After I beat that hammer-wielding guy, I'll come back to see you."
He finished speaking and walked out the door with bare chest, striding quickly.
Clark opened his mouth, wanting to remind him to put on a shirt, but in the end, it turned into a helpless sigh.
Never mind, this guy was used to streaking.
Pepper followed behind him, and when she reached the door, she stopped and looked back at Clark and Kara.
"Mr. Stark will personally contact you regarding subsequent matters."
After saying that, she also turned and left.
The silver sports car door rose again, and Tel-Rol curiously climbed in, touching and looking around.
Soon, the sports car started silently, turned around, and disappeared at the end of the farm road.
In the kitchen, only Clark, Kara, and Martha remained.
Kara slumped back into her chair, feeling all her strength drained.
"Is that... it?"
Clark rubbed his forehead, his face showing neither joy nor worry.
"Probably."
The trouble was solved.
But for some reason, an ominous premonition simultaneously rose in both their hearts.
Letting Tel-Rol, this battle-crazed demon, join the already restless Avengers... was this really okay?
How did this feel like throwing an energetic, house-destroying husky directly into a flock of roosters that crowed all day long?