Four years later.
Standing at the edge of the Kent farm, Clark carried his backpack as he waited for the school bus to arrive.
Now taller than his father, Clark glanced at his watch.
Today was his first day of high school, and he was in a good mood, so he arrived early to wait.
With a screech, the school bus came to a stop in front of him, and Clark prepared to board.
But just as he bent down to tie his shoelace, the bus drove off without him.
Clark stared in disbelief as the bus left, then quickly gave chase.
After running a few steps, he realized the bus was going too fast and had to give up.
"Well, looks like I'll have to run to school today. Not bad for my first day of high school."
Clark sighed helplessly.
He knew exactly why the bus driver hadn't waited—this was definitely Whitney's doing.
Whitney was close with the driver, so a few words from him would've been enough to make the bus leave.
Using his super speed, Clark arrived at the school entrance just as his friends Chloe and Sam approached.
Chloe Sullivan, a recent transfer from Metropolis to Smallville, had grown close to Clark since she didn't have many friends.
Sam Jones, the same guy who once bet on how many steps Clark would take before tripping when greeting Lana, grinned at him.
"How'd you get here so fast, Clark?" Sam asked in shock. "Didn't you miss the bus?"
Clark shrugged. "Yeah, but it's nothing special."
Holding a disposable coffee cup, Chloe smirked. "Clark probably jumped through a wormhole. Don't be surprised."
Clark could only smile wryly at Chloe's teasing.
His attention was soon drawn to Lana, who stood near the school gate, chatting and laughing with her friends.
Now a high schooler, Lana had become even more beautiful and graceful.
Clark's heartbeat quickened. Gathering his courage, he stepped forward to greet her.
Seeing this, Chloe pulled out a five-dollar bill. "I bet six steps."
"I say seven."
Sam had a little more faith in Clark this time.
As they spoke, Clark took his first steps toward Lana.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
When Chloe and Sam counted to six, Clark suddenly tripped on flat ground and fell with a loud thud.
"Nice! I win!"
Chloe grinned as she snatched the money from a disappointed Sam.
Oblivious to the bet, Clark quickly scrambled to pick up his scattered books, his face flushed with embarrassment.
Seeing him fall, Lana walked over to help.
"Are you okay, Clark?"
"Uh… yeah, I'm fine."
Clark hurriedly picked up his books.
Just then, their teacher, Martha McConnor, passed by. Seeing Clark on the ground, she came over to help.
"Good morning, Miss McConnor."
Clark quickly greeted her, knowing she often visited his godfather's farm and shared the same first name as his mother.
"You seem a little distracted, Clark."
Martha looked him over and asked, "How's your godfather doing?"
"He's fine, just a bit busy lately."
Clark replied.
"Well, if you need help with your English essay, come see me."
Martha patted his shoulder before heading into the school.
Meanwhile, Chloe admired the teacher's stylish heels and outfit. "I've always wanted Miss McConnor's figure and looks. If I had them, I'd be the most popular girl in school."
Martha McConnor was one of the most popular teachers at school, and Chloe had always looked up to her.
"That might be tough," Sam said, eyeing Chloe's rather flat figure with a shake of his head.
"Come to think of it, Miss McConnor must be in her thirties, but she hasn't changed a bit."
Sam felt like he had discovered something major.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I remember she looked exactly the same when I was in fourth grade. She hasn't aged at all."
Chloe wasn't too surprised. "She probably just takes really good care of herself. You know how women are with skincare."
As they chatted, a figure walked past them.
Seeing him, Sam greeted, "Hey, John."
A much taller John glanced over and casually waved before heading into the school.
"He doesn't seem to like you," Chloe noted, sipping her instant coffee.
"John's like that with everyone," Sam replied. "But even the school bullies are afraid of him. I heard he once made a guy strip and hang from the flagpole. Though, to be fair, the guy had it coming—he tried to mess with Clark."
Chloe nodded. "I heard he and Clark are brothers. Still, they don't seem to get along that well."
Sam shrugged. "Nah, that's just how they are."
After school, Clark and John took the bus back to Podrick Farm together.
"Hey, Clark."
Just as he arrived, Clark heard a familiar voice.
Turning around, he saw Lana.
"Lana?"
She cleared her throat. "Um… do you mind if we talk alone?"
"Of course."
Clark shot John an apologetic look before following Lana.
Facing Lana alone, Clark felt a bit nervous but tried to calm himself down. "Is something wrong, Lana?"
"I…"
Lana hesitated before saying, "I wanted to apologize for what Whitney and the others did earlier. They thought you were trying to pursue me, so they treated you that way."
"Uh…"
Clark was stunned.
'Lana's being really bold today…'
"In fact, Clark, I really like you. You're very manly, and you always care about me… like when you watch me through your telescope."
Clark: "What?!"
"Oh, sorry, I misspoke! I meant, you always care for me from afar. Anyway, I can feel your love."
Clark fell silent.
Hearing Lana say she liked him made him happy, but something about this felt… off.
Lana had never been this direct about her feelings before.
"I…"
Clark swallowed nervously, unsure how to respond.
His heart pounded wildly in his chest.
"Can you close your eyes?"
Lana looked at him expectantly.
"Uh… okay."
Clark tried to steady his emotions and closed his eyes.
'Could this be what I think it is? Is Lana going to surprise me?'
Clark's heartbeat quickened.
Just as he anxiously awaited Lana's surprise, a voice from inside the house suddenly rang out.
A furious Peter yelled, "LOKI!"
Before Clark could react, a streak of pure white energy shot toward Lana.
In the next moment, to Clark's utter shock, Lana jumped back and shouted toward Peter, "I surrender, Dad!"
Lana's voice had changed.
Her entire appearance shifted—her figure transforming from Lana's to Loki's in an instant.
"L-Loki?!"
Seeing Loki shrug apologetically, Clark immediately realized—he'd been played.
"Sorry, you seemed to be in a bad mood, Clark. I just wanted to cheer you up with a little prank. Feeling better now?"
Loki adjusted his clothes and cleared his throat as he spoke.
"You…!"
Clark's forehead veins twitched in frustration.
If his godfather weren't standing right there, he'd have body-slammed this little troublemaker on the spot.
That Night
At the dinner table, five people sat together, eating.
Among them were Peter, high schoolers John and Clark, eight-year-old Star-Lord—who was tall for his age but still a bit chubby—and the mischievous four-year-old Loki, who was just as troublesome as his past-life counterpart.
Peter glanced at Loki, who was pretending nothing had happened.
'This kid is probably being nourished by Yggdrasil.'
Even though he was only four, both his physical and mental development were on par with Star-Lord's.
And considering Star-Lord had inherited Celestial blood, his growth rate was already astonishingly fast.
Not only that, but Loki seemed to have an innate talent for magic.
Peter had only taught him a few runes and casually given him an old black magic book from a forgotten priest, yet the kid had already figured out several spells on his own.
And he was particularly skilled in illusion magic.
'Is this his natural talent? Or did Yggdrasil's connection grant him some kind of divine enlightenment?'
While his growth was impressive, his mischievous streak was even worse.
'Just earlier, he turned into Lana to mess with Clark! What kind of normal child does that?!'
"Loki, don't you have something to say to Clark?" Peter asked.
"What?"
Loki feigned ignorance.
John and Star-Lord paused their eating to watch the scene unfold.
"Dad, earlier, Loki turned into a snake," John chimed in, clearly seizing the opportunity to throw Loki under the bus.
Compared to Star-Lord, John found Loki far more insufferable.
Peter turned to John, intrigued.
John shot Loki a glare before continuing, "I picked up the snake, and then he STABBED me!"
John's tone was filled with barely contained rage.
"I mean, he's only four, Dad. Can you believe it? He actually tried to STAB me!"
John was fuming—he had never suffered such humiliation before.
Compared to Star-Lord, he now considered Peter's tree-rescue adoption of Loki to be far more dangerous.
If he weren't worried about Peter dealing with him like he handled tornadoes, he would've punched Loki by now.
"Loki Podrick, do you have anything to explain?"
Peter's voice carried a distinct edge as he called Loki by his full name.
Like with Star-Lord, Peter had named him "Loki Podrick."
But everyone just called him Loki in daily life.
"Uh… Dad, I can explain."
Loki said with an innocent smile.