This first section was just unnerving (like, in a good way? ...please take that as a compliment).
The idea of the farmers lacking control over their surroundings and livelihood is a brilliant seed here, for Clark to... 'manage,' as you put it. But otherwise, I feel like I need to pull a blanket up over my head after reading the first half of this! (Somehow also meant as a compliment.) The Luthor pathology is just worse and creepier on Clark.
Loooooove the spin on power from CreepoClark to BenevoLex. Also just brilliant in how you're shaping them as foils.
He stretched out his hearing, grateful for the powers that allowed him to hear her heartbeat from a distance.
But it wasn't enough.
So, so poignant. The repetition/parallel sentence structure you set up and capitalized on in here is gripping.
