"I've got superpowers."
Olivia and David looked at one another across the table. Their eyes shared the same uncertain, worried look. They knew their son, he looked completely serious.
Olivia forced a smile, she reached across the table and held her son's hand, "How do you mean honey?"
Clark could easily see through his parent's attempt to seem calm. He could understand their concern. He was just an ordinary teenager, and they were ordinary people. It was more likely that he'd developed severe psychosis than actually gotten superpowers.
David cleared his throat, "Son, if there's anything going on, you can always talk to us about it. Just tell us, and we can help."
They were being supportive, and kind. Clark had thought it might be funny to be mysterious, but the deep concern in their eyes made him drop that idea.
Clark smiled awkardly, he squeezed his mom's hand then gently let go. He put his knife and fork down on his plate and stood up, "It's easier if I show you."
Clark reached out to the sensation in his mind. The response was instantaneous. After his hasty thirty minutes of practice out in the woods, he'd gotten a little better at controlling his new powers. He still felt like an infant in a god's body, but at least he could manage to not immediately destroy everything he touched.
Olivia and David stared at their son with bulging eyes. Their jaws dropped.
"Am-am I dreaming?" David mumbled to himself.
Olivia pinched her forearm as hard as she could. The painful feedback was immediate. She had been thinking the same thing as her husband.
"Clark-honey-how did this happen?" Olivia asked, her voice quivered.
The teenage boy in front of her, with a clean-cut jawline and dark black hair, smiled awkardly. He scratched the back of his head, "It just happened. I was taking the chemistry test, then I suddenly had a headache and then bam."
The teenage boy didn't look like the Clark she knew. Her son had brown hair and chubbier cheeks. His voice didn't sound like her son earlier. The only thing that remained the same was his accent, and familiar intonations.
"Who is this, Clark? This body, who you look like now?" David questioned. The words came out colder and more interrogatory than he'd wanted.
Clark wasn't bothered by his father's tone. He knew that it was a lot to take in. His parents looked concerned, and worried, but they didn't show any fear towards him.
"It's a guy in my class, his name's Mark, I think. I've never even spoken to him. I think he must be a superhero, in disguise or something, when I change into this body I can do so much more." Clark answered.
Olivia and David silently digested their son's answer. The tension in their faces gradually faded. It was replaced by an awed kind of curiousity.
"What can you do? When you change into this Mark boy in your class?" Olivia asked.
Clark grinned. Without saying anything, he reached over to the table and grabbed the knife and fork from his plate.
Creak!
The metal whined. It deformed like clay in Clark's hands. He crushed it effortlessly, squishing and molding it into a tiny ball.
Clark placed the ball down on the table. He hadn't strained, or pushed himself, it was as easy to reshape the metal as it was to run his hand through the air.
Olivia picked up the tiny ball with a trembling hand. She turned it over, feeling the lingering heat from the forceful compression. After a few seconds, she handed it over to her husband.
"I don't even know how strong I am. I practiced in the woods, I can tear apart stone or wood like it's nothing." Clark offered some more information.
David squeezed the tiny ball with all his strength. It didn't budge. He could feel the hardness of the material, it wasn't a trick.
"Can you do anything else?" David asked.
Clark nodded, "Yeah, I'm stronger, and faster, and tougher. And-"
Clark's feet rose off the ground. He hovered in place. He had to focus to keep his position stable. The thirty minutes of practice in the woods was nowhere near enough to qualify him even as a novice flyer. He felt like an uncoordinated child trying to swing a tennis racket.
"-and I can fly."
Olivia and David exchanged a look. Both of them were frantically trying to think of how to handle the situation.
Olivia was the first to speak, "Clark, honey, could you sit down, and turn back please?"
Clark floated back down to the ground. He sat down in his chair. His appearance shifted from Mark's back to his own. He recognised his mum's tone, it was the same one she used to talk about safe sex or the importance of studying.
Seeing that Clark was still listening to her, Olivia felt a wave of silent relief. Her confidence in what she was about to say increased significantly, "When you were little honey, you always wanted to have superpowers."
David smiled and added, "Flight was your favourite."
Olivia nodded, "We're happy for you Clark, really."
She paused. When she started to speak again, her tone was firmer, "Your father and I want you to be safe. You're still a child, our child.
We can't stop you from doing anything, not physically. But we want you to get a good education, and be a normal teenager. Or at least, as normal as you can be. Once you turn 18, then you can make your own choices about your future."
Clark listened seriously. He didn't talk until his mum had finished speaking, "Thanks mum. Don't worry, I'm still going to finish high school and go to college."
Clark's voice became more emotional, "I'm still your son."
David rested his hand on his son's shoulder. He smiled, "You'll always be our son kiddo, superpowers or not. You've got a place to stay with us as long as you need it."
Clark smiled and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. He felt his mum's arms wrap around his shoulders. She squeezed him tightly and planted a kiss on his forehead.
'I'm still me.' He thought to himself.
Clark stayed with his parents at the dinner table until it was dark outside. They laid down several ground rules and expectations for him. They also asked several questions that he hadn't thought of.
"Be back by 10!" Olivia called out to him as he left out the front door.
Clark turned and waved, "I will mum!"
This time, he walked instead of ran, to the forest. Yesterday he would've felt scared walking alone in the dark, but today he felt nothing at all. He could switch from being himself to Mark in an instant.
Once he got to the edge of the forest, Clark activated his powers. His appearance changed so quickly that it almost couldn't be measured.
Clark was most eager to practice his flying. He willed himself to rise into the air. Then, shakily, he flew forwards. He didn't have any special techniques or way of training, he just flew between the trees as best he could.
He repeatedly lost focus or made a small mistake and ended up crashing into a redwood. Fortunately, he was moving slowly, and the redwoods were large enough to take take the hit.
Clark quickly lost track of time. It wasn't until the alarm on his phone went off at 9:50 that he realised that it had been nearly two hours. In this time, his control over his flight had improved by a small margin.
The improvement wasn't huge, he still struggled to fly steadily, but it was tangible, and that was more than enough to leave him feeling satisfied.
Clark turned his key in the door. His mum was sat at the dining table with a book. She looked up too quickly to have actually been reading it.
Olivia hugged her son tightly. She and David had spent most of the time he'd been gone trying to wrap their heads around his newfound superpowers.
She smelled his hoodie. He still smelled like himself, "Good night honey."
Clark squeezed back. In his normal form, he didn't need to worry about accidentally crushing his mum's ribs.
It was exhilirating to be Mark. He had superhuman strength and speed. Not to mention that he could fly. Clark had tested his durability by smashing some rocks down on his arm. He'd barely even felt the impact. He doubted that a bullet would be able to do any damage to him at all.
When he turned into Mark, he felt indestructible. But if he had to chose, between being Mark for the rest of his life, and being himself, he would still chose to be ordinary Clark.
"Night mum." He replied.
Clark got into the shower. The hot water ran down his face. He thought for a moment, then shifted into Mark. He turned the temperature dial all the way up to the maximum. The boiling water that would've scalded him did nothing at all to Mark. Even when he lifted the shower head off its hook and pointed it directly into his eye, he still felt no pain at all.
Clark pulled the duvet up to his neck. Outside of his open window, he could hear cars going by. After a minute or so, the door opened and his dad walked into the room.
David smiled at his son and sat down on the edge of Clark's bed. He tussled his son's damp hair, "How you doing kiddo?"
Clark smiled, "Today's been kinda crazy."
David snorted and laughed at the same time. The combination caused him to cough loudly. After he'd cleared his throat he nodded, "Yeah, one of the craziest."
The father and son didn't say anything for a while. They just sat, listening to the cars going by and sharing the same space.
After a few minutes, David leaned forwards and softly kissed his son's forehead. He'd done the same thing every night ever since Clark could remember, "Night kid."
Clark smiled, "Night dad."
The door shut behind David. Clark was left alone once more in his bedroom.
He didn't fall asleep for nearly an hour. There were a hundred different thoughts racing through his mind.
He'd copied Mark's powers, could he do the same to someone else? Was the copying permaneant or temporary? What happened if he got injured while he was using Mark's body?
When he eventually did fall asleep, Clark dreamt that he became a powerful superhero saving earth from destructive supervillains and alien invasions.
While Clark slept, in a different neighbourhood, his classmate Mark was practicing his flight. His garden shook as he flew up and then crash-landed back down to earth. He did this repeatedly, his expression showed the frustration he was feeling.
Clark had copied all of Mark's powers. They had the same strength, speed and durability. The only difference between the two of them was experience. Natural talent also played a part.
Mark's powers as a half-viltrumite had manifested a week ago. After several training sessions with Nolan, and some late-night flying practice, he was way ahead of Clark at controlling his powers. The gap between them was natural.
Mark didn't see his father watching him out the window. Nolan's face was expressionless, but his eyes were cold and calculating.
Nolan loved his son, he loved Debbie as well, in a different way. Viltrum hadn't sent him to earth to explore the human concept of love or romance. His mission was clear.
Nolan's fists clenched at his sides. The conflict in his heart hardened forcefully. He had a duty, to Viltrum. He'd fullfilled this duty with honour for thousands of years. He would teach Mark to do the same.
And if Mark could not be taught...
Muderous intent simmered in Nolan's eyes. If Mark was unwilling to pledge loyalty to Viltrum and his own people, then he would do what needed to be done.