[Third Person's PoV]
Clark turned away, adjusting his glasses over his face before slowly turning back toward them again. "Superman? Who's this Superman you're talking about?" he asked innocently, his posture slightly slouched as he pushed his glasses further up his nose, feigning confusion.
"..."
Peke stared at him blankly, then turned to Lala with a bewildered look. "Who exactly does he think he's fooling?"
Lala, meanwhile, glanced around in visible panic. "What?! Where did Superman go!? He was just standing right here!" She turned to Clark and grabbed his sleeve. "Mister! Have you seen Superman? I really need his help—it's important!"
Clark and Peke exchanged a long, slow glance. Both of them stared at Lala afterward, stunned by the sheer sincerity in her eyes. It was painfully obvious she truly had no idea.
With a sigh of resignation, Clark reached up and slowly pulled his glasses from his face.
"Superman!" Lala shouted, pointing at him with gleaming eyes.
Clark, without saying a word, placed the glasses right back on.
Lala's expression narrowed. "Wait… Who are you?"
Clark lowered his glasses again slightly.
"Superman! There you are! Stop disappearing like that—" Lala began, only for Clark to push his glasses back up once more.
"You again?" Lala asked with a straight face. "Can you call Superman for me? I want to speak with him about something very important. Please"
Krypto, lying in the corner on his dog bed, groaned softly and buried his face beneath his paws, whimpering in frustration.
"Lala…" Peke said gently, "That is Superman. They're the same person…"
"Don't be ridiculous, Peke," Lala scoffed, waving him off. "They look nothing alike. Are you feeling okay?"
Clark looked toward Peke and, in a rare moment of emotional solidarity, did the only thing he could in that moment—he offered his condolences.
"I'm so sorry," Clark said sincerely, his tone carrying the weight of pity of any hardship that Peke had to have under someone like Lala.
"Thank you…" Peke replied softly, accepting the gesture with grace and quiet resignation.
Lala tilted her head curiously, then turned back to Clark, her expression serious once more. "Anyway, will you please call Superman now? It really is important"
Clark rolled his eyes and removed his glasses again. Lala let out a breath of relief, as if everything had suddenly made sense again. Clark rubbed his temple wearily and finally addressed her properly.
"That bracelet you're wearing—it's designed to teleport you to me, isn't it?" he asked, his tone now laced with genuine curiosity, remembering her words from earlier. "Mind explaining from the beginning? And for the love of decency, could you please put on some clothes? Your robot or whatever it is is here."
"Oh, right!" Lala said cheerfully, snatching up Peke from the air. "This is Peke, a universal costume robot that I personally invented!"
Without warning, she flung her towel away, leaving her stark naked once again.
Clark sighed and placed a hand firmly over his eyes, turning his head out of respect. "You really need to learn what the word modesty means..."
Unfazed, Lala turned to face Peke. "Peke, if you would, please."
"Yes, ma'am!" Peke responded with enthusiasm. A pink glow surrounded him as he shouted dramatically, "Dress form change!"
When the dazzling light finally dimmed, Clark cautiously peeked through his fingers—and immediately regretted it.
Lala now stood proudly in what could only be described as an absurdly whimsical outfit. It featured a large, floppy hat adorned with Peke's swirling eyes, and two tiny wings flapped from its sides.
"Tada!" she exclaimed, striking a playful pose. "How do I look?"
Clark stared flatly at her ensemble. "You look ridiculous. What the hell are you even wearing?"
"Wha— I do not look ridiculous! That's completely preposterous!" Lala pouted, cheeks puffed out like a balloon.
"Whatever," Clark said, dismissing the debate with a wave of his hand. "Now, can you please answer the questions I asked earlier?"
"Well…" Lala's demeanor suddenly shifted. She now looked shy, almost bashful. She pressed her index fingers together nervously before speaking. "I suppose I'll start by saying… I'm a really big fan of yours…"
Clark blinked. "How in the world would someone from another planet even know who I am?"
Lala lit up. "Oh! That's thanks to an invention of mine—the Looksie-Looksie Omni-Scope! It lets me observe anything in the universe up close in real time. I created it while I was looking for a safe planet to hide out on. That's when I stumbled across Earth, tucked away in the corner of the galaxy. I happened to catch you saving people… It was really inspiring." She sighed dreamily, placing a hand over her heart. "You were so heroic... so noble…"
She paused and frowned. "Although, there was definitely something wrong with the device… It kept randomly switching to that guy with glasses who was just here a few seconds ago… That's strange"
'Lala,' Peke thought with a heavy mental sigh, 'that might have been one of your few rare inventions you've ever built that worked flawlessly.'
Krypto's ears suddenly perked up, his entire body tensing as a low growl rumbled from his throat. His eyes locked onto the window as two shadows moved outside.
Without warning, two men dressed in sharp black three-piece suits and sleek sunglasses slid effortlessly through the window, landing with unnatural grace. One had messy sandy blond hair; the other, slick jet-black hair that shone. From behind their suits, long devil-like tails flicked and curled, swaying with a predatory rhythm.
They straightened themselves, their presence dominating the small room as they stepped forward in perfect sync, surrounding Lala from both sides.
"Well, well…" the blond one said with a sigh, shaking his head. "you're a real trouble-maker, we should have restricted your movements, even if it meant tying up your hands and legs until we left earth"
"Peke," Lala said sharply, her voice taking on an uncharacteristically serious tone.
"Y-Yes, Ma'am?" Peke replied with a gulp, his mechanical voice tinged with fear.
"I told you to make sure you wouldn't be followed!" Lala snapped, her hands on her hips.
"Erm… Y-Yes, I remember… I just—well…" Peke shrunk slightly, his eyes flickering in embarrassment.
"Arghhh!" Lala cried, flailing her arms like a furious toddler mid-meltdown. "You mechanical moron! You've ruined everything! Now they're here!!"
Meanwhile, Clark, until now quietly observing from the side, was growing visibly colder. His brows lowered, his jaw clenched, and a dark glint flickered in his eyes. Yet the two men didn't seem to notice—or worse, didn't care. Their focus remained solely on Lala.
"Now then," the dark-haired agent said smoothly, "are you ready to come with us without making this any more difficult?"
Before Lala could respond, the blond one stepped in and forcefully grabbed her wrist. "Enough stalling. Time to go."
"No! Let me go!" Lala shouted, struggling as she yanked at her arm. "I said release me!"
Suddenly, another hand grabbed the blond man's wrist—one with far more force behind it. He looked up, startled, only to find Clark Kent staring him down at eye level. Gone was the mild-mannered expression. In its place was something ice cold.
"Oi," Clark said in a low, gravelly tone. "Let me ask you something simple: who the hell do you think you are? What made you so confident that you could just break into my room and start acting like you own the place?"
"Ghhh—!" the blond man grunted as pain exploded in his arm. Clark's strength was overwhelming, crushing his grip with ease. He had no choice but to release Lala, who stumbled back, clutching her arm and staring at Clark with wide, hopeful eyes.
"You… you have no idea who you're messing with, Earthling!" the jet-black haired man growled, placing a firm hand on Clark's shoulder in warning.
Clark didn't even flinch. He glanced briefly at the hand, then up at the man's face with total indifference.
The next second, both men went flying—launched out of the room like missiles. They crashed through the window they came in from, they spun and flipped through the air with grace and precision, they slid to a stop behind the back road of the shrine.
Clark stepped up to the windowsill, both hands gripping the frame as he looked down at them.
"Let me teach you something about Japanese etiquette," he said, his tone cold and commanding. "Before you enter someone's home… you knock."
Without another word, he leapt down. His body cut through the air with effortless speed, his muscles flexing beneath the tight compression-shirt he wore. He landed before them in a crouch, kicking up a small gust of wind before rising slowly, his chest and chin protruding out.
The invaders quickly recovered and dusted themselves off, glaring at Clark.
"He's… not like the others," muttered the blond one.
"No," the dark-haired one agreed. "Earthlings are supposed to be weak…"
They both turned toward him, clearly reassessing the situation. "Kid, are you really going to get in the way of our mission? I would advise against it"
"If I have to," Clark replied calmly. "And from what I've seen so far… it doesn't look like I have any other choice."
The two agents shifted into combat stances, their demonic tails whipping behind them.
"Sorry Kid, Your funeral," the blond said grimly. "We warned you."
Clark grinned faintly. His eyes shimmered with a faint blue light, pupils narrowing into crescent slits.
"You have nothing to apologize for," he said. Then, in a blur of motion, his figure distorted, a mere after-image that quickly dissipated. Before they could blink, he was between them—his hands already clenched into claws at their faces.
"For an apology to mean anything," Clark whispered, voice razor-sharp, "your actions would need to matter."
A split-second later, the two men were smashed into the nearby winding road cliffside with earth-shattering force. The rocky wall cracked and caved, swallowing them in rubble. Their suits were torn, their glasses shattered, and they groaned in pain from within the crater.
From above, Lala peeked her head out the window, before leaping down. As she descended, demonic wings burst from her back, glowing slightly as she hovered above the scene, eyes wide in awe.
"Wow…" she breathed, watching Clark like he was a living legend. "That was… amazing."
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