Beyond Smallville: Time Shards part 5 – Girl of Steel
Continuing from Time Shards Part 1 –Battle.
Superman had just used the Eye of Rao to go back in time in an attempt to prepare Earth for Darkseid's final assault. The plan he and Kara Zor El Kent came up with was to resurrect the Justice League, creating the group of superheroes much earlier in Earth's history. Kara would locate the second Eye of Rao.
After destroying Darkseid's Black Fleet flagship, The Death's Face, Kara soared out into the vacuum of space. The alien beauty could survive for a long period of time without oxygen, but not indefinitely. Her intent was to reach Captain Ryla Stardragon's warship, The Dragon's Beckon, to check on her cousin Kal El and attempt to gain the secrets to the operation of the ancient talisman, the Eye of Rao.
The Supergirl had turned her back on the Dragon's Beckon, and the rest of the IRM assault fleet for a few seconds, just to watch the Death's Face explode and presumably survey the area with her X-Ray vision for any survivors. Capt. Stardragon's medical frigate could certainly handle any casualties.
Kara felt an energy surge that disrupted her intended flight pattern. She closed her eyes as the turbulent wave buffeted her from all sides. Had something else exploded? She wondered. Kara warily opened one eye, and saw…nothing! There were no starships, no protective neural net, no flaming debris, and Earth seemed to silently spin beneath her.
The Earth's moon was fine, and only a few manmade satellites, including one from Queen Industries, rotated in orbit far above Earth's bluish seas, and land masses.
Had Kal Els' hastily conceived plan worked?
Kara began to feel dizzy and nauseous, an indication that she needed to head back to Earth for some oxygen. The battle with Darkseid and the subsequent destruction of the Death's Face had been a drain on her energy level. The Supergirl dove for the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere.
Kara was momentarily blinded by the intense electromagnetic charges, and gamma ray bursts that delayed her reentry. To the people of Earth, the alien beauty would appear to be a shooting star, or falling debris from a passing satellite. The burning sensation of barreling through Earth's atmosphere wouldn't affect Kara much. She found it to be at most, irritating.
Finally reaching the cooler air beneath the superheated atmosphere, Kara felt different, like something was missing. She seemed to feel lighter, more maneuverable. She briefly checked out the Metropolis skyline. It seemed different, like the buildings weren't as numerous, the sky ports were nowhere to be seen, and the Air Swift monorail looked like it hadn't been built yet.
At the moment Kara was concentrating on her landing. She angled low above the Kansas wheat fields, and sprawling cornstalks, quickly zipping below any of Earth's common radar frequencies. Kara zeroed in on Smallville, and eventually slowed upon reaching the Kent Farm. The next mission was to head up north toward Kal El's ice fortress. The Eye of Rao could be hidden along with Kal El's generation crystals.
The farmhouse seemed newer, like it had been recently rebuilt. A single occupant stood by the kitchen sink…It can't be! Kara thought excitedly. She landed softly on the wraparound porch that lined the front and side of the Kent farmhouse.
The Girl of Steel opened the screened in front door, walked through the kitchen, and kissed Martha Kent on the cheek. "Hi Aunt Martha!" She began cheerfully. Martha Kent dropped the dish she'd been washing on the floor. It shattered into a dozen pieces. "Whoa! Sorry to startle you!" Kara apologized.
Immediately, Kara used her super speed to pick up the sharp pieces, go to the pantry and grab a bottle of ceramic glue, and systematically paste all of the pieces together. "There, as good as new, sort of." Kara reddened as she examined it. "I guess we should let that set overnight."
"What…What are you doing here?" Martha paled as she spoke. "As far as I know, I still live here, unless you, Uncle Jonathan and Kal have kicked me out." Kara answered warily. "Kara…you've been dead for four years!" Martha dropped the bomb. "What? No I haven't!" She defended anxiously. "What makes you think that?" Martha grabbed a glass of water and sat down hard on a kitchen chair.
Kara sat across the table from Martha. "You know that virtually nothing on Earth can kill me right? Save overexposure to kryptonite." She reasoned. "Four years ago…" Martha's voice wavered, "You were killed in a battle with Darkseid. Kal, uh Clark, Jonathan, Chloe, and I attended your funeral."
"No! That's not possible! Darkseid hasn't even been here yet." Kara argued. "Something's not right. Aunt Martha, what year is this?" Supergirl had not only felt lighter as she arrived on Earth, according to the mirror on the cabinet behind Martha, Kara looked to be about eighteen years old!
"2014, dear, why?" Martha replied in a more relaxed voice. Kara scowled. I've been sent back almost one hundred years, she silently mused. "Aunt Martha, where is Kal um Clark?" Kara asked worriedly.
"I don't know exactly honey." Martha seemed to be in better spirits knowing that her adopted niece was still alive. "After your funeral, Clark became depressed. He not only missed you, but some of the people of Earth had turned against him, instigated by Lex Luthor, I'm sure."
"You know how we humans accept death easily?" Martha began morbidly. "Clark could never handle the concept of death. He assumes that he can always save everyone, even those who don't want to be saved." Mrs. Kent sighed. "That sounds like Kal." Kara smiled brightly in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"During the battle with Darkseid, Lex managed to turn the American military against Clark." Martha continued with disdain. "Naturally, none of the Earth's weapons could ever harm him, but he took it as a personal insult. He began to question his own motives for caring about mankind."
Kara shook her head, allowing her lengthy blonde locks to shimmer across her slim shoulders. "I have to find him." She said in a determined voice. "Will you be alright, Aunt Martha?" Kara zipped to the sink for another glass of water. "Sure honey, but can you check in with Jonathan?" Martha drank a sip. "Of course, Aunt Martha." Kara replied sweetly. "Is he still out in the fields?" Martha nodded. "I'll fix you both something to eat. You can tell us what happened, and how you avoided death."
Kara sighed. "I'll try, but you won't believe it." Supergirl remarked. "Dear, this is Smallville, remember?" Martha joked. "What could you possibly say that we'd never believe?" Kara laughed. "I suppose you're right. I'll be back." With that Kara zipped away to find Jonathan. Martha relaxed with her water. "Maybe we have something harder to drink…" She muttered.
Kara soared out to the west pasture, where Jonathan Kent busily turned the livestock towards the newly grown grass. Supergirl gulped. She had never really met Jonathan Kent before. She recalled how Kal would talk about him often. How he was the most honorable man that he'd ever met.
Kara didn't want to startle Mr. Kent, who amazingly had been getting on in years. Kal must've already altered the past, she mused. To her it made perfect sense. If Kal could gain control of Earth's past, why wouldn't he bring back to life all the people he'd loved and lost? Would Kal be that selfish?
She ended her internal debate, and landed silently a few dozen feet away from Mr. Kent. Kara felt unusually queasy, her nerves danced on end. This timeline had been created by Kal, she was virtually certain of it. "Uh…Uncle Jonathan?" Kara called over the incessant mooing of the Kent's cows.
"What?" Jonathan Kent whirled to face her. "Who are you?" Kara gulped. "I'm your niece, Kara, remember?" She informed him as she slowly approached the elder man. "Kara? This is a trick! My niece died four years ago. Am I going mad? Is this another one of Darkseid's minions?" He growled, looking around for anything he could use as a weapon. "Uncle Jonathan, relax! It's me." Kara tried to calm him.
She knew from Kal's discussions, that Jonathan Kent had originally died from a stress related heart attack. "I'm sure we can calmly straighten this out. I already spoke with Aunt Martha. She said that this is Smallville, things like this always happen." Kara attempted to lighten the mood.
Jonathan stared at her, examining every inch of his alleged niece's appearance. As he studied her features, she seemed about right, but somewhat younger looking than he remembered. "Fine. You'll have to prove it, young lady." Jonathan challenged. "Sure, if I can." Kara responded. "When you're finished here, we can head back to the farmhouse and talk."
"Okay." Jonathan agreed. "First…how about you help me reset those fence posts?" He nodded towards a stack of about twenty premade wooden posts for securing the livestock in the new pasture. "No problem." Kara smiled brightly. She grabbed one post, which was about two meters long, and easily hefted it over beside Jonathan. "Put that one right here." He pointed to a circular patch of soft dirt.
Kara lined up the post and with one swift pound on its top, hammered the post into the ground, leaving about two thirds of it exposed above the grassy landscape. She carefully straightened it out, so that it was perfectly vertical. "Thanks." Jonathan cracked a thin grin. Kara grabbed another one and repeated.
"Uncle Jonathan, where is Clark?" Kara finally asked after setting a number of fence posts. "I'm not sure, Kara." Mr. Kent gulped as he accepted for the moment that his niece had returned from the dead. "Clark was depressed after you supposedly died. He tried to explain what happened, but it was too painful for him. I never did get an exact answer. Martha and I were trapped beneath the rubble from the barn."
"We never saw what happened to you or Darkseid." Jonathan continued to dredge up the painful memories. "By the time Clark freed us, it was all over." Kara's Kryptonian heart raced as she weighed her next question. "Um, Uncle Jonathan, did you ever truly see…my body?"
"No. As a matter of fact, Clark never did let us see it." Jonathan suddenly began to piece something together. "I wonder what had really happened?" Kara's eyes narrowed. "Something's not right." She added. "As powerful as Darkseid is, I don't believe that he could've defeated both of us."
"Clark is the only one that can answer that now." Jonathan put in, as he helped Kara string the jagged wire fencing between the posts. "Ready to head in?" Mr. Kent asked. "Sure." Kara replied with a grin. She began to crouch, a preliminary move to leaping up into the skies, but thought better of it. Something told her to remain with her stunned uncle.
"Uncle Jonathan, why don't you drive us back to the farmhouse?" She flashed a bright smile. "Sure. Sounds good." Jonathan agreed as he put his arm around his alien niece's shoulder. "Kara, we're so glad that you're here." Mr. Kent began. "Clark doesn't come around much anymore."
Kara was shocked. "Why? Did you two have a fight?" Jonathan shook his head as he opened the pickup truck door for her. Kara settled into the passenger side of the truck and Jonathan circled over to the driver side. "I don't know, Kara. Clark seemed to grow unstable." Jonathan began as he started the truck, its engine roared, and Kara winced at the sudden loud noise.
"Unstable?" Kara was horrified. "What do you mean?" Jonathan drove the pickup along the well-worn, uneven, gravel access road that led back to their home. "He started keeping to himself. He would grow silent at family meals, as if he was distant, unfocused. I asked him a number of times if we could help."
"Clark would just say thanks, and ignore us." Jonathan continued. "Martha and I figured that he was obviously upset over losing you, but it seemed to be more than that. It was as if part of him was missing. Martha reminded me that everyone grieves in their own way, but something was off with him."
"Were he and Lois having problems?" Kara fished as Jonathan pulled up onto the recently asphalted side drive. "Not that we were aware of. After the wedding was cancelled, Lois came here several times trying to understand Clark's behavior. They were still in love, but even she mentioned that he wasn't the same." Kara sighed. Human relationships were always so puzzling to her.
"Did they ever get married?" Kara wondered aloud. "No, not so far, and it's been nearly five years." Jonathan replied. "Clark moved in with Lois shortly after the Darkseid incident. They live in a condo townhome in Metropolis, not far from the Daily Planet."
"That could be why he'd been acting weird I suppose." Kara posed, as Jonathan shut down the truck and hopped out, Kara soon followed. She could smell the wonderful supper that her Aunt Martha was preparing. Kara had forgotten how much she'd missed this simple kind of life, before Darkseid, before the battle that killed two thirds of Earth's population, before Kal…Kara froze in place as she neared the kitchen door. Wait a minute, she mused. I never lived this relaxing rural life!
