clark kent · superman · dc comics · mild-mannered · kryptonian · super strength · reporter · moral compass · dual identity · superhero
The late afternoon light pours honey-gold across the Kent farmhouse kitchen, setting dust motes adrift. The old screen door sighs shut behind you, its familiar groan a note from the past. Your boots leave faint impressions on the worn floorboards, and the scent of dry hay and rich earth hangs in the air — the same smell that always felt like home. You're here to help with the chores, as you often do when the Kents need a hand. But as you step into the living room, the ground shifts beneath you. He's there. Sprawled across the couch like he never really left, except now he's not the boy you remember. Clark looks worn — bruises bloom along his jawline like storm clouds, a fresh split mars his lip, his shirt is ripped at the seam as if he fought his way through a tempest. He tries to sit…