The bus rolled through endless fields of corn, flat Kansas landscape stretching to the horizon in every direction. Bruce sat near the back, watching his classmates complain about the wifi signal and the lack of Starbucks for the past hundred miles.
Gotham Academy students were not adapting well to rural America.
"This is hell," someone muttered three rows up. "Actual hell. There's nothing out here but farms."
"That's kind of the point," their teacher, Ms. Rodriguez, said with strained patience.
"Cultural exchange means experiencing how other people live."
Bruce tuned out the complaints and pulled out his tablet. On the surface, he was reading a book for English class.
Underneath that innocent screen was something else entirely.
His encrypted files on Clark Kent, updated with fresh intelligence from the past week.
*CLARK JOSEPH KENT - COMPREHENSIVE PROFILE*
Basic Information:
- Age: 17 years, 4 months
- Height: 6'3" (still growing, will likely reach 6'4")
- Build: Naturally muscular despite claiming he "doesn't work out much"
- Adoptive Parents: Jonathan and Martha Kent, family farm 3 miles outside Smallville
- GPA: 3.8 (could be 4.0 but deliberately underperforms to avoid attention)
Personality Assessment:
- Genuinely kind, almost painfully so. Helps elderly neighbors with chores without being asked. Volunteers at local food bank every Saturday.
- Socially awkward with peers. Stands apart from groups, rarely initiates conversation.
- Severe people-pleaser tendencies. Apologizes constantly, even when not at fault.
- Strong moral compass instilled by Jonathan Kent. Believes in doing right thing regardless of personal cost.
- Conflict avoidant to a fault. Will absorb bullying rather than fight back, even when he could easily defend himself.
Social Dynamics:
- Small friend group: Pete Ross (best friend since childhood), Chloe Sullivan (school newspaper reporter, close confidant)
- Romantic interest: Lana Lang, junior class. Crush ongoing for approximately 4 years. Has never acted on it due to crippling shyness and fear of rejection.
- Lana currently dating Whitney Fordman, football quarterback. Relationship appears stable but sources suggest Lana notices Clark more than she admits.
- Bullying situation: Whitney Fordman and two teammates (Mark Hendrix, Travis Cole) regularly antagonize Clark. Physical intimidation, verbal mockery, occasional minor violence. Clark endures it passively.
Emerging Powers - Current Manifestations:
- Super Strength: Lifting tractor engine blocks alone, moving hay bales that should require two adults. Constantly holding back in gym class, intramural sports.
- Invulnerability: Witnessed via satellite surveillance walking away from farming accident that should have caused serious injury. No visible wounds.
- Super Hearing: Covers ears in crowded spaces. Flinches at sounds no one else reacts to. Learning to filter but still overwhelmed.
- Heat Vision: Three confirmed incidents in past month. Two in barn (attributed to electrical fires). One in school bathroom (melted soap dispenser, blamed on faulty plumbing).
- Super Speed: Not fully manifested yet. Shows occasional burst movements he can't fully control. Tripped and crossed hallway in 0.3 seconds according to security camera timestamp analysis.
Psychological State:
- Knows something is wrong with him but has no framework to understand it
- Parents likely know truth but haven't told him yet (waiting for "right time" that never comes)
- Growing fear of hurting someone accidentally
- Isolating himself more as powers intensify
- Depression symptoms: withdrawn behavior, loss of interest in activities, sleep disturbances
Optimal Approach Strategy:
- Befriend through shared experience of loss and feeling different
- Demonstrate trustworthiness through actions, not words
- Never push, let him open up naturally
- Position myself as safe person to confide in when powers inevitably spiral
- Avoid mentioning anything about alien heritage until he discovers it himself.
Bruce closed the file and looked out the window. They were getting close to Smallville now. Population 45,000 according to the welcome sign they'd just passed. Small enough that everyone knew everyone else's business. Large enough to have a proper high school and some basic infrastructure.
Perfect setting for Superman's origin story.
The bus pulled into Smallville High School's parking lot twenty minutes later. The school was smaller than Gotham Academy, more practical than prestigious. Red brick, simple architecture, a football field that had seen better days.
Smallville students were already gathered outside to greet them, a welcoming committee organized by teachers trying to make this cultural exchange work. Bruce scanned the crowd with practiced efficiency, cataloging faces against the research he'd done.
There.
Clark Kent stood near the back of the group, taller than most of his peers, broad-shouldered in a flannel shirt that was very Kansas. He had dark hair, blue eyes, and a face that would be handsome if he didn't look so uncomfortable in his own skin. His posture was slightly hunched, like he was trying to make himself smaller.
Next to him stood a shorter boy with an easy smile. Pete Ross, Clark's best friend according to the files. And nearby, a blonde girl with a camera around her neck. Chloe Sullivan, school reporter and Clark's other close friend.
Further up, separate from Clark's group, was a girl with long dark hair and delicate features. Lana Lang. She stood with a muscular boy in a letterman jacket who had his arm around her shoulders possessively. Whitney Fordman, quarterback and bully.
Uncontrollably a song came up in his mind, 'Somebody saaaaavvveeeee meeee.....'
Bruce felt a bit nostalgic but quickly dismissed it and focused on the plan.
Bruce committed every face and position to memory. The social dynamics were exactly as his research had predicted.
"Alright everyone, off the bus," Ms. Rodriguez called out. "Remember, you're representing Gotham Academy. Be respectful, be open-minded, and please don't act like you've never seen a farm before."
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