Prequel

They say when a son loses his mother, his heart shrinks and grows cold. Any one of Clark's friends could agree with that statement. But Clark had an added grief to his burdened heart. Clark had been the driver when the wreck occurred.

Martha Kent was a wonderful mother. She had the will of steel, those who knew the truth about the Kent's could say that Martha's will of steel rivaled Clark's skin of steel.

Clark had been born during the meteor shower in Smallville seventeen years ago. Martha had gone into labor and Jonathan was rushing her to the hospital when a meteor crashed on the road, miles ahead of them. The blast tossed their truck off the road and into another crater. In that crater, Clark Kent was born and from the radiation, Clark Kent became a god among men.

Clark was a miracle. He could lift a tractor over his head when he was only seven years old. And that strength continued to grow. He could outrun a bullet that his father would shot out of his rifle. Even outrun the fastest sports car. He could put his arm through a wood chipper and only his shirt would tell you he had just done that. He could catch bullets in his hands, or not catch them and they would bounce off. And as he reached puberty, he continued to grow in his abilities and even develop more. No one knew why or how, but as long as Clark didn't use his abilities to hurt other people, then they dealt with each situation as a family.

The Kents kept the family secret among themselves but Clark had only two people he trusted with his life and his secret. His best friends, Lex Luthor and Oliver Queen.

Both were spoiled rich boys but they had taken Clark under their wings when he joined Metropolis High. Lex and Oliver ruled the school with their fancy toys and loads of money. Clark didn't have much other than his special abilities, and keeping that secret and distrust of others lead him to be a social outcast. Till the two decided to make him one of their own.

The friendship was solid and they were friends not by what each other could benefit but by the bond they had. Lex and Clark were more of brothers than anything else. Oliver and Clark were the best of friends. They all could simply tell when something bothered the other and they knew each other so well they could tell what that something was.

But the day of the accident changed everything. Clark, who was the heart of the trio, and the smile and laughter of the school, was no more. Martha had been teaching him to drive. She knew it was a rite of passage for every teenager. Even though Clark could run faster than a speeding bullet, never really needing to drive anywhere, Martha wanted him to have as normal a childhood as she could possibly give him.

But neither of them saw the barreling out of control big rig that sped towards their car. The car was stopped at a light and Clark was telling Martha about his girlfriend Lois and how he wanted her to come for dinner later that week. Martha couldn't believe he was already dating but chuckled and said he was just like his father.

The screeching brakes then reached Clark's ears. But it was too late. Clark moved as fast as he could to pull his mother out of the car but as he reached for her, the big rig slammed into the side of the car. Martha looked her son in the eyes as the rig slammed into her side of the car. Over the sound of tearing metal and screeching tires, he could hear the words that his mother was trying to say.

"I lov…."

The next thing Clark knew, he was pulling himself out of the rubble, not a scratch on him. His ears rang, he could hear everything, the clock ticking as seconds passed, the only clock in a house a mile down. The faint heartbeat of the driver of the big rig. The racing breaths of the witnesses, the pounding of feet on concrete as people rushed to their sides.

The ringing stopped in his ears but he didn't notice as he rushed to his mother's side of the car. He was able to push aside the big rig enough to see in but not enough for those rushing to help to see his strength. The sight before him wrecked through his chest and he fell backward. His chest heaved and his eyes closed but the sight wouldn't leave him.