The late-night quiet of the barn was Kalin's sanctuary. He was lost in the pages of Robinson Crusoe, a borrowed copy he was carefully trying to enjoy. "You know, people usually watch videos on their phones," Lara's voice startled him, her smile lighting up the narrow staircase. "I thought I'd brush up on my political history," Kalin stammered, a blush creeping up his neck as he awkwardly stood.
"I'm glad to see you're okay, Lara." The recent incident with Lara getting lost and Kalin finding her was still fresh in his mind. "Thanks to you." "Nah, I just did what anyone would do." "But you did it. Really, thank you, Kalin," Lara said softly, stepping closer and enveloping him in a warm hug. "It was really no problem," Kalin managed, his voice cracking slightly. They held each other for a moment longer than necessary, a silent conversation passing between them.
The air thickened, charged with unspoken feelings. Then a car horn blared, shattering the fragile atmosphere. "That's my dad. I gotta go," Lara said, regret etched on her face as she turned and hurried downstairs. "Wow..." Kalin murmured to himself, his heart still racing. He sank back onto the hay bale, the tension making him jittery. He reached for the Robinson Crusoe novel, inadvertently ripping it in half.
"Oh, no, no, no! I borrowed this from Misty! She's gonna kill me!" Panic surged through him, replacing the earlier warmth with a cold dread. Meanwhile, down by the lake, a group of teenage boys huddled in the darkness. "Mark, hurry up and roll it," one of them urged. Mark carefully placed the collected weeds into a rolling paper. He noticed small, glowing shards mixed in with the foliage but shrugged it off, adding them to the mix.
He lit the joint, taking a deep puff. Suddenly, the wail of sirens pierced the night. "Oh, crap! It's the police! Run!" Mark yelled, dropping the joint. The dry grass ignited instantly, flames licking upwards. "Oh crap!" someone screamed as they scattered. Mark tried to follow, but the fire had already encircled him. "Help!" he cried, the flames growing higher.
"Just leave him!" one of the boys shouted, and the others, driven by fear, didn't hesitate. They piled into the car and sped away, leaving Mark to his fate. The fire intensified, black smoke filling Mark's lungs as his screams were swallowed by the roar of the flames. The next morning, Kalin walked through the school halls, a knot of anxiety tightening in his stomach. He noticed a cluster of flowers and notes taped to a locker.
"It's tragic what happened to Mark," Lara said, appearing at his side. "What... happened?" Kalin asked, a wave of nausea washing over him. "He got caught in that forest fire last night. It really shows that you should cherish your life because it can end tomorrow," Lara said, her voice somber. "Y... yeah," Kalin stammered, feeling sick. "You okay, Kalin?" Lara asked, concern etched on her face.
"Yeah... must have eaten something weird... I'll see you later," Kalin mumbled, offering a weak excuse and hurrying away, needing to escape the heavy atmosphere. "You okay, Kalin?" Caitlin asked as he practically ran into her. "Yep," Kalin replied quickly, then bumped into someone wearing a black hoodie, their face hidden in shadow. "Sorry," Kalin said. The hooded figure simply glared before walking away.
"Well, that was rude," Caitlin commented as Kalin brushed it off. They continued down the hall, heading for class. Inside the boys' bathroom, the boys from the lake huddled together, their faces pale with fear. "Remember, we don't talk about anything. We don't even know what happened to Mark," one of them said, his voice trembling. The others nodded in frantic agreement. "I like that idea because you won't even have thought," A voice spoke from the corner. The hooded figure stepped forward, pulling down the hood.
"Mark? You're alive?" One of the boys stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief. Mark didn't answer. Instead, he dissolved into a cloud of black smoke. The boys screamed in terror as the smoke surged towards them, forcing itself down their throats, enveloping their lungs. Kalin burst into the bathroom, drawn by the screams. The smoke vanished through the open window, leaving the boys writhing on the floor, gasping for air. "Help! Somebody help!" Kalin yelled, immediately starting CPR on one of the unconscious boys.
Minutes pass the air crackled with unease. Cops swarmed the school grounds, their flashing lights painting the brick facade in strobing red and blue. Paramedics rushed past, stretchers at the ready. Inside, Caitlin approached Kalin, her face etched with concern.
"You said there was smoke in the bathroom?" Kalin nodded, his brow furrowed. "Yeah, it was weird. As soon as I went in, the smoke just...disappeared." "It's a good thing you did," Caitlin said, a hint of relief in her voice. "You saved them just in time." She turned and walked away, leaving Kalin to his thoughts. Unseen, high above on the school rooftop, Mark watched the scene unfold below, his fist clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
His eyes burned with a furious, simmering anger. Later that day, Kalin walked into his modest home. The smell of dish soap hung in the air. "Hey, Kalin. You have a good day at school?" Isabel, his mother, asked, her hands busy washing dishes. "Yeah, you could say that," Kalin replied, setting his bag down heavily on a chair. "Where's Dad?"
"Outside, trying to fix that tractor again," Isabel said. Kalin walked outside, past the barn, and found his father, Garrett, wrestling with a massive red utility tractor. He was underneath it, grease smeared across his forehead. "Need a little help there, Dad?" Kalin offered. Garrett sighed in relief. "Would you, please?" Without a word, Kalin effortlessly lifted the entire tractor with one hand, holding it steady as Garrett worked underneath.
"Dad," Kalin said, his voice serious. "Something weird happened at school today." "Oh yeah? What's that?" Garrett asked, his attention still focused on the engine. Minutes later, after Kalin had recounted the events in the school bathroom, Garrett straightened up, wiping his hands on a rag.
"I see. Well, let's not jump to any speculation. What you should do is question those boys, figure out what really happened." "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Kalin said, a troubled look on his face. "I don't want another super-powered person incident like yesterday. I hope it's not what I'm thinking." "Yeah, and make sure..."
"To stay safe, I know, Dad," Kalin finished, setting the tractor down gently as Garrett finished his repairs. Meanwhile, back at school, Misty was in the science lab, her brow furrowed in concentration. She held a small scrap of fabric, a piece of a torn shirt, and meticulously placed it under a powerful microscope. "Smoke just doesn't appear out of nowhere. There has to be some residue left behind," she muttered to herself, peering through the lens.
"Hmmm?" A look of confusion flickered across her face as she examined whatever she found. At the hospital, Kalin strode through the sterile halls. "Excuse me, I'm here for Eric Balle," he told the receptionist. "Sure, he's in room 23. Are you a family member?" she asked, her eyes scanning the computer screen.
"Uhhh... yeah, I heard he got hurt," Kalin improvised, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions. "Okay, if you can give me a name..." The receptionist looked away for a second. When she looked up, Kalin was already gone. Inside room 23, Kalin was shaking Eric, trying to wake him up.
"Eric! Eric!" "K... Kalin? The hell are you doing here?" Eric mumbled, his voice groggy and confused. "I need you to tell me what happened in the bathroom," Kalin demanded. "How about i show you instead?" A voice said behind them. A cloud of black smoke materialized in the room, swirling and coalescing into a human figure. The figure wore black jeans and a hoodie. He pulled the hood down, revealing his face.
"Mark! He did this!" Eric yelled, his eyes wide with panic. "Time to finish what I started," Mark said, stepping toward Eric. Kalin moved to stand between them. "You don't want to do this," he warned. "Actually, I do." Mark lunged for Kalin, but Kalin, with a swift, almost casual movement, shoved him against the wall.
"I didn't want to do this to anyone else," Mark hissed, his eyes burning with malice. He then transformed into a swirling cloud of black smoke, which quickly filled the entire room. Kalin and Eric both began to choke, gasping for air as the smoke enveloped their lungs. Kalin fell to the ground, his vision blurring. He crawled desperately toward the wall, his body screaming for oxygen.
He punched the wall with all his remaining strength, barely managing to create a small crack. "Come on, Kalin!" he thought, urging himself on. With a surge of adrenaline, he slammed his fist into the wall again, this time creating a large hole. The smoke vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Cough... Cough... Eric, you okay?" Kalin wheezed, struggling to sit up. He looked over at Eric, who lay motionless on the bed. Kalin checked for a pulse, but found nothing. "Damn," Kalin said, his voice filled with a mixture of frustration and grief.
Kalin was lost in thought in the barn when his phone buzzed. It was Misty. "Yeah?" Kalin answered, a little distracted. "Kalin, quick! Come back to school!" Misty yelled, then abruptly hung up. "Okay…" Kalin said, surprised by her urgency. He couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit café, Mark sat nursing a coffee, his eyes glued to the muted TV screen. A weary-looking worker placed the cup down. "Will that be all?" he asked. Mark pulled down his hoodie, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "Just your life," he whispered. The color drained from the worker's face.
"Mark... Wait! I swear it wasn't my idea to leave you there, I swear!" he pleaded, his voice trembling. "But you still left me," Mark hissed, rising to his feet. Panic seized the boy, and he bolted from the café, leaving bewildered patrons in his wake. Mark, fueled by rage, gave chase.
The boy darted into a narrow alleyway, desperately trying to hide behind a overflowing garbage dumpster. Mark slowly stalked down the alley, his footsteps echoing ominously in the confined space. "You know it hurt!" Mark's voice was a low, menacing growl. "As the smoke began to enter my throat, burning it. Then enveloping my lungs, suffocating me..." He peered around the dumpster, his eyes burning with a spectral light.
The boy, driven by desperation, lunged out, throwing a wild punch. But his fist passed right through Mark, who had momentarily dissolved into swirling, grey smoke. The smoke reformed behind him, enveloping the boy completely. He gasped for air, his body convulsing as the smoke invaded his lungs, suffocating the life out of him.
"And that's two," Mark said, his voice now a chilling rasp. He walked out of the alley, leaving the lifeless body slumped behind the dumpster. Back at school, Kalin found Misty in the science lab, furiously scribbling notes on the chalkboard. "So, why did you call me? You know it's almost seven. You really shouldn't be here," Kalin said, concerned.
"Yeah... yeah. Look at this," Misty said, gesturing for him to peer into a microscope. "Okay... what am I looking at right now?" Kalin asked, squinting at the image. "What you're looking at is the shirt of one of the boys you saved," Misty replied, her voice tight with a mixture of excitement and worry. "I don't get it," Kalin confessed.
"Okay, I analyzed the smoke and found out it isn't just regular smoke. It's, like, made from a body. I found protein remnants and biological markers in the smoke, so it's not purely just smoke; it's kinda like there was a body in it, but in a disrupted state. That's why I found it so unstable. The molecules in the smoke aren't like normal smoke—they're not just made of carbon or whatever. They're more like a weird mix of human cells and gas, which makes it behave unpredictably." Kalin's eyes glazed over.
"This is the part where I say, uhhh. And you explain it in layman's terms." Misty rolled her eyes, but indulged him. "So, whatever this smoke is, it's weird because it's not just regular smoke. It's kind of like a body turned into smoke, but there's still some of the body in it. I found pieces of cells mixed in there. That's why the smoke is so unstable. Because of that, the smoke can fall apart or even turn back into a regular form if it gets too cold or too thick. It's not normal smoke, so it's very unstable." Understanding dawned on Kalin's face. "So he can't stay in that form for too long. My god, Misty, you're a genius! Thank you!" He grabbed her in a quick, excited hug before rushing out of the lab. "Yeah, anytime..." Misty said, still a little bewildered by his reaction.
The humid Smallville air vibrated around Kalin as he blurred through the familiar streets, stopping abruptly near the yellow tape of a crime scene. Police milled about, their voices hushed, as they investigated the grim aftermath of Mark's latest act. A young boy lay still beneath a white sheet. Kalin watched from a distance, a knot of frustration tightening in his stomach. "Wish I could hear them," he muttered.
Suddenly, a conversation drifted his way. "Did you see that? Weird smoke surrounded the area, then it just… disappeared," one man muttered, pointing to the space where Mark had vanished. Kalin approached cautiously. "Uhhh, excuse me, but did you see which way it went?" The man, startled, pointed north. "I think it went that way." Kalin nodded curtly, suppressing the urge to unleash his full speed. He needed to be careful. He broke into a normal run, heading in the direction indicated.
Meanwhile, inside a dilapidated house on the outskirts of town, Mark meticulously crossed another name off his list. Two down. One to go. Former friends, now victims of his twisted vendetta. Kalin, fueled by a growing dread, was a whirlwind. He raced from house to house, peering through windows, a desperate search. Finally, he stopped at the last house on the street. "This better be it," he muttered, his heart pounding. He cautiously peeked through the grimy window. Empty. A wave of frustration washed over him, quickly replaced by grim determination.
He moved to the door, checking his surroundings. Satisfied he was alone, he ripped the handle off with unnerving ease and stepped inside. "Mark! You here? Look, I just want to talk!" he called out, his voice echoing through the silent house. He pushed open the door to a living room and recoiled in horror. Two bodies lay lifeless on the floor. An older man and woman. "My god," Kalin whispered, kneeling beside them. He checked for a pulse, his fingers finding only cold, unyielding flesh.
"He killed his parents? I have to stop him before he hurts anyone else." He moved through the house, drawn to a room that screamed "Mark." A messy desk, posters peeling from the walls, and a notebook lying open. Kalin picked it up, his blood running cold as he saw the list: Mark's former friends. Russell was the last name. "So he's been going after his friends, and now he's going after Russell. Not if I get to him first." The resolve hardening in Kalin's eyes, he burst from the house.
In Russell's house the clatter of plates and silverware echoed through Russell's kitchen. "Russell, make sure to wash the dishes, please!" His mother called down from upstairs. "Okay," Russell mumbled, plunging a soapy sponge into a greasy pot. He was halfway through when he noticed something odd. A tendril of black smoke, thick and oily, was curling up from the drain. Confused, he took a step back. Before he could process what he was seeing, the smoke solidified.
Standing before him, grinning mischievously, was Mark. "Sup, Russell," Mark said casually. Russell's eyes widened. "Mark? Wait…now come on, you're not gonna kill me over that, right? We've been friends since elementary!" He slowly backed away, frantically scanning the room for anything he could use as a weapon. His fingers closed around a heavy fireplace poker. He swung it at Mark, but the poker passed right through him, stirring the smoky form like a breeze.
"Well, it wouldn't be fun if he didn't attack at least," Mark chuckled, the smoke swirling around his face like a cruel smile. Meanwhile, miles away, Kalin skidded to a halt. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He answered it impatiently. "Misty, I don't have time…" "Kalin, I found something crucial," Misty's voice crackled with urgency.
"About that smoke… I analyzed it more. Every time they turn into smoke, their molecules start to break apart at a cellular level, like their body is becoming a gas instead of a solid. Their organs and tissue are trying to function like they normally would, but they can't maintain the same structure. Essentially, it's like the human body was never meant to be in that state. So every time they shift, their cells become more unstable, and they decay faster. It's like the more they do it, the more damage it causes to them internally."
"Crap, I gotta stop Mark, fast," Kalin said, his mind racing. "So Mark is the one who's the smoke?" Misty asked, her voice laced with worry. "I can't explain right now. I have to find his final target. It's Russell," Kalin said, already turning to run again. "I know his address. I'll send it to you," Misty said quickly. "Thanks, Misty," Kalin replied, hanging up and checking his phone. The address flashed onto the screen. He took off, a blur of motion.
Back to Russell's house. A swirling cloud of black smoke dissipating from the gaping maw of Mark lifeless expression. "Please... Mark... don't..." Russell had begged, his voice choked with the encroaching darkness. But Mark was beyond pleas, his heart a wasteland of vengeance. "Say hello to the rest," he'd snarled, before Russell vanished in a blur to safety.
"Mark, you have to stop this!" Kalin's voice sliced through the oppressive atmosphere. Mark turned, his eyes burning with a fanatical light. "So, you can move fast too? Full of surprises, Kalin." "Listen, you don't have to kill anyone else. You need help," Kalin pleaded, trying to reach the flicker of humanity buried beneath the layers of rage. "I need! Revenge!" Mark roared, his body dissolving into the very smoke that consumed his victims.
He lunged, a swirling vortex of malice, forcing Kalin to retreat, his super speed the only thing keeping him alive. He burst from the house, the oppressive air inside replaced by the chilling night. "Mark, don't do this! You'll only kill yourself!" Kalin yelled, weaving a desperate dance to avoid the relentless tendrils of smoke.
"I don't care! I have to kill him, or else more people will take advantage of me! My parents! Everyone!" Mark's voice echoed, laced with pain and resentment, the smoke intensifying with each syllable. "Is that why you killed them? Because they took you for granted?" Kalin shouted, dodging another deadly strike. "You wouldn't understand! You probably had the perfect life! Your family never put any expectations on you, and when you couldn't live up to them, they tossed you aside!" Mark screamed, the smoke swirling around him like a shroud.
"You're wrong! I'm always wondering if I'm making them proud by using my powers to help others, like they taught me. And sometimes, I wonder if they would toss me aside. But now I know that no matter what, they'll always love me!" Kalin declared, standing his ground, his voice ringing with conviction. "Ahhhhhh!" Mark shrieked, the smoke engulfing Kalin, a suffocating embrace.
"That's not the same treatment I got! We're nothing alike! I didn't have anyone!" "You're wrong! There must have been a time when someone loved you!" Kalin gasped, coughing, the smoke burning its way into his lungs. Suddenly, a flicker of memory crossed Mark's face, a ghost of warmth in the swirling darkness. A young girl, laughing in the sunshine.
"When we grow up, let's get married!" she had declared. "Fiona..." Mark whispered, losing control, the smoke surging uncontrollably. "I think he's lost control! If this keeps up, he'll kill himself... and others," Kalin thought frantically, struggling to stay conscious, coughing as the smoke infiltrated every pore. Summoning his remaining strength, he channeled his speed, creating a vortex around the raging smoke, trapping it in a spinning tornado for a desperate five minutes.
"Ahhhhhh!" Mark screamed in agony, his body reforming, materializing within the churning vortex. Seizing the opportunity, Kalin slammed into him, knocking him unconscious. He bent down, checking for a pulse. Weak, but present. "Good." He scooped Mark into his arms and, with a burst of super speed, raced to the hospital.
Hours later, Kalin sat in the sterile waiting room, exhaustion weighing heavily on his shoulders. A woman with dark hair, accompanied by her parents, approached him. "Excuse me... are you the one who brought him in?" she asked, her voice filled with anxious hope.
"Yeah," Kalin replied. The woman rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you. I'm Fiona." Kalin felt a pang of recognition. Fiona. The girl from Mark's memory. A doctor emerged, his expression grave. "Mark will make a full recovery, but he's suffering from a head trauma. He doesn't remember anything in his life." Fiona burst into tears, her shoulders shaking. Kalin placed a hand on her arm.
"Then you better make new memories with him." Fiona nodded, her eyes filled with determination, and followed the doctor inside. The next day, Kalin walked through the halls of school with Caitlin. "I can't believe Mark was the smoke guy," Caitlin said, shaking her head in disbelief. "But it's good he's getting the help he needs. Plus, he has a special someone who's standing by him," Kalin replied, a hint of hope in his voice.
"Speaking of a special someone..." Caitlin said, nudging him and pointing towards Lara, who was walking towards them. "Everyone deserves a happy ending, you know," Caitlin said, encouraging him to finally talk to Lara. "Hi, Kalin," Lara said, her eyes meeting his. "Hey," Kalin replied, a genuine smile spreading across his face.
A/N Stay tuned I'm thinking Kalin is soon gonna unlock a new power but which one 🤔