Red Eyes!" Kara hissed. "What is wrong with you? They were only offering me a job." John waved her off. "Their intentions were honorable, Kal El, yet your destiny is far greater than working for someone else."
"Jor El sent you here to protect Earth from primarily rogue Kryptonians, and also any invasion force from other worlds." Clark nodded. "I realize that now, but what about Kara?"
"I have no idea what Kara's destiny is or was." John admitted. "Jor El and Lara thought that they were sending Kara here to protect you. Zor El's intention was to send Kara here to help repopulate Krypton on Earth, and kill you if you interfered." Chills ran down Clark's spine.
"Yes, well now no one controls Kara's or my destiny except us." Superman stated boldly. "We will have to adapt, Kara." Clark began. "John, we're going to need some kind of cover. I've been giving that a lot of thought lately. Kara and I need to create two separate identities for ourselves."
"We can neither rule Earth as my father Zor El intended, nor ignore our destinies any longer." Kara sounded much more grown up. "It's going to be complicated." John agreed. "I have created multiple identities over time. Humans tend to have multiple personas as well. Duplicity is common."
"Kara, we can no longer hide out on the farm content to live our lives in secret." Kal stated. "As one of my good friends recently said: I lie on the couch while a world of trouble swirls outside my door." Kara smiled, slowly warming to the idea. She had never liked the fact that they renounced their heritage.
"Eventually someone would catch us using our abilities anyway." Clark added. "As Marcus and Zara have. We should still hear them out, and go visit their place of business. John, can you delete some selected memories that they acquired? The way you did for Lois?"
"Yes, but keep in mind, human psyches are complicated. I will do my best." The Martian Manhunter presses one long finger against Marcus's head, another on Zara's. They will forget why they came here and how they got here as well. You'll have to take them back to Metropolis."
The human's heads sagged as John removed his touch. "Kara and Kal El, I cannot always be there to save you. You'll both have to be far more careful in the future." John backed away slowly. "Also, I believe that your new friends can help you."
"Oliver, AC, Bart, Dinah, and Victor have all invented duplicitous lives. Unfortunately, it seems that humans fall into duplicity far too easily. There are others..." John added cryptically.
He flew off, leaving them to consider his last words. Kara and Clark carried the humans to the den and sat them on the couch. Kara hurriedly threw on a pot of coffee, boiling the water with her heat vision. She brought them the hot steaming mugs. Clark sat casually across from the strangers.
Kara sat on the arm of the chair beside Kal. Marc and Zara came to, yawning and stretching. "What were we talking about?" Marc began. "I'm sorry, it must've been sodding jet lag." Zara said with her clipped British accent. "You were asking Kara and I if we'd like to tour your business facility."
"Yes, of course." Marc faltered. "It so happens that I've been offered a job at the Metropolis Daily Planet newspaper." Clark explained. "It would make a great first story." Zara nodded reluctantly. Kara cast Kal a sidelong glance. "You also said that you may be interested in hiring Kara."
The alien teen smiled brightly. "Why didn't you want to hire me?" Clark pressed. "That's because Marcus almost exclusively hires women for his Arizona facility." Zara said petulantly. "Really? Why is that?" Clark wondered, sounding more like a reporter than an alien super hero.
"I've found that women tended to be more responsible and trustworthy than the men I know." Marc defended. "Surely all men can't be irresponsible and untrustworthy." Clark commented. "True, but I have my reasons." Marc said defiantly. "Fair enough." Clark said diplomatically.
"Kara and I will think about it and get back to you." He asked for their business cards. "Miss Rolfe, you mentioned something about archaeology?" Kara hinted. "Yes, I'm looking to increase my archaeology staff this quarter."
"We've so many bloody digs around the world, that I'm sodding short staffed all the time. It's not Marcus's funding that gives me ills, it's the foreign governments that are always struttin' about with their hands out. Grease a palm here, grease a palm there..."
"That might be something that I'm interested in." Kara offered. "Clark, what do you think? It would be a good way to learn about the culture, travel to foreign places, see the various people of ...ear...uh...the world." She quickly corrected herself. "Is that what you want?" Kal inquired.
"Yes, I think that I would." Kara beamed. "Miss Rolfe, what do I have to do? I don't want any special treatment. What qualifications do I need?" Marc seemed pleased with the outcome, though something was still nipping at the back of his mind. Did I forget something?
He glanced at his watch and realized that they'd been here...wherever...for well over an hour. "Then it's settled. You'll both come out to tour the facilities and learn about the business." Marc decided.
Zara stood up. "I've an archaeology lecture at the Metropolis Museum of Natural History this afternoon. You're both invited to check it out. Here's two backstage passes. We can talk more then."
"Sounds good." Kara said pleasantly. Clark's cell phone rang. He snapped it up. It was Lois. "I have to take this call. Excuse me." He headed to the back porch. "Yeah Lois?" Meanwhile, Marc and Zara finished their coffees, and still couldn't shake the feeling that they were missing something.
Was John's memory manipulation effective enough? Only time will tell. Lois was excited. "You should've seen it Clark, Lex was fried by the Board of Directors. They unanimously voted against his closure of the Daily Planet deal. Perry White was offered the Publisher's job...he refused it!"
Clark wandered alongside the backyard foliage petting Krypto / Shelby at random intervals. Lois was rattling on. "Perry accepted the Editor's job instead. He wants you to come in for an interview as early as tomorrow. That's assuming that you're willing to get up off your butt from the farm."
"I'll sell the remaining forty acres to our neighbors." Clark sighed. He knew that it was time to let go of the past and that included his Earth father's land. His Earth mother, Martha, had already said that he could leave the farm anytime he wanted. She moved on to Washington.
"Thanks Clark." Lois eyes began to tear up. She was glad that he couldn't see her. "Thanks? For what?" Superman wondered. "Just for putting forth the effort." Lois downplayed her emotional state. "You'll see! It'll be great! Lois and Clark, Daily Planet Reporters!" She was really amped up.
Clark chuckled. "I don't have the job yet, Lois. Hey, here's some breaking news for you. Kara may be leaving for a new job as well. This old farmhouse will be empty without us." Lois considered something that she hadn't believed was possible. Could she and Clark start a relationship?
"Hello? Lois?" Kal noted her unusual silence. "Sorry Smallville, I think my caffeine and sugar buzz is wearing off. Anyway, I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning? Perry will want to schedule the interview with you. Bring your razor thin resume with you." She teased.
Marc and Zara were ready to go. Kara was just getting some last minute information from them. "Hi, um...that was Lois. She said that I'll probably get the job at the Planet. We'll be in touch?" Clark asked hopefully. He felt bad that Marc and Zara had to be zapped by John, but it was necessary.
No one man or group should have that kind of power, he mused, quoting some of the logic behind the Traveler fiasco, and Lex's attempt to control or kill him. Kara and Clark escorted the humans to their car. "Thanks for your time." Clark commented diplomatically. "Bye." Kara waved as they left.
Marc and Zara drove off in the general direction of Metropolis. "What were we tracking on the way out here?" Zara glanced at their small high tech locator device. "I'm not sure." Marc admitted. "Maybe we just left the GPS going." He said, though that seemed like a lame explanation.
"Remind me again why we were interested in those kids from Smallville." Zara said. "I mean they seemed nice, but why would we put forth such a grand bloody effort to meet them?" Marc watched the GPS, retracing their route to Metropolis. "I have no idea."
Kara and Clark headed up to the barn loft to gaze out at the sunset over the Kent Farm. "I guess things will change forever, now." Kara commented depressingly. "It's for the best, Kara." He hugged his little cousin.
"We still have a lot to do. I mean Lex is still out there, and now he'll be twice as angry with me, and Lois for that matter." Kara rested against his shoulder. "The whole planet will one day be watching us, Kal." She remarked, with some wisdom beyond her years. "It's inevitable, I guess."
"If I qualify and accept that job with Mr. Worthington and Zara, will I still have time to locate Kandor?" Kara asked rhetorically. "You'll find a way, Kara, I know you will." Clark said with confidence. "Meanwhile, i'll be spending more time in Metropolis."
Kara's bright blue eyes sparkled. "Yeah, with Lois!" She teased, playfully hip checking her cousin away from the window. "She's a good person, Kal. She seems tough enough, and responsible enough to learn our secret."
"I hope you're right, Kara." Clark smiled, again hugging the teen alien.
Beyond Smallville: The Legend of Kara
Kara Zor EL Kent flew merrily above the bright amber Kansas cornfields, admiring the diversity of wildlife, plant life, and of course, the people of Earth. Each farm looked different to her. Back on the now extinct Krypton, asteroid Argos, and City of Kandor, the ending of the planetary lives forced the remaining residents underground…before it all was destroyed in a devastating explosion.
Kara considered herself very lucky. She'd escaped the end of her home world, fled to Earth, found her cousin Kal El, and now enjoyed the hospitality of her new adopted planet. There were always problems, to be sure, yet here she was, alive and well.
Kara soared into the broken, low hanging levels of clouds, following a flock of geese, gathered in a standard 'V' formation. The super girl began to appreciate the little things of her new life. Clark and Lois had helped motivate her to leave the Phantom Zone, and now she had given herself a second chance. Additionally, rumors of Kandor still persisted within the tortured minds of the dark ghouls.
The wraiths, or 'Zoners' had let it slip that Kandor had been miraculously saved. Kala Grel, a well-respected Kryptonian scientist had been experimenting with miniaturization. Legend held that Kala found away to use the technology present in the Phantom Zone to create a type of multidimensional storage facility, and she'd managed to save most of Kandor within it.
Kara knew that it was a shot in the dark, but what else did she have to go on? Faith, and only faith, was currently motivating her. She called it 'her destiny' that night when she'd last spoken with Kal El at the family barn loft. Kara decided to start investigating the area of her crashed space ship.
She'd surfaced at Reeves Dam, during the battle of Bizarro and Clark, nearly a year ago. There could very well be a clue that she'd missed hidden beneath the lake. Kara extended her arms like an airplane and began to lower her flight path nearer to the now repaired dam.
Suddenly, something grabbed her ankle, bringing her enjoyable flight to an abrupt halt. She turned to face…BRAINIAC! Kara gasped as she twisted in the Kryptonian Artificial Intelligence's grasp. "You! Let me go!" She growled, attempting to kick the AI in his celluloid head.
"You're a hard girl to find, Kara Zor El." BRAINIAC said, pulling her towards him. Kara still struggled in his ironclad grip. "I see that you're disobeying your weak cousin Kal El's directives again, flying out and about where all of the pitiful humans can see you." He taunted.
"Why don't you just stay dead?" Kara hissed, flipping him over her head with her leg. The AI still held her shoulder, threatening to dislocate it or tear off her thin arm. "What do you want?" She snarled, having fought for her life in the Phantom Zone, Kara was in no mood for the AI's insolence.
"I wish to offer you a choice." BRAINIAC sneered, in a very human like expression. Kara switched positions, getting the AI in a chokehold, though he struggled mightily. "What makes you think that I'd be interested in anything you had to say? I should drag you back to Kal El, and let him deal with you." She snapped. BRAINIAC shifted his weight, flipping Kara over his artificial shoulder.
The two opponents hung in midair, squeezing each other as much as their immense strength would allow. "You can either join me in completing your father, Zor El's mission, namely to rebuild Earth in Krypton's image…or die." BRAINIAC stated with conviction. "You dare threaten a daughter of the House of El?" Kara scoffed. "You owe your very existence to us!"
"My father and uncle helped create you!" Kara ranted. "You were to help Krypton, not turn against us! You were created to serve us!" She shoved BRAINIAC off of her a short distance. He spun in midair and returned to get back in her face. "You're not programmed to kill another Kryptonian." Kara scowled. BRAINIAC 's celluloid lip curled. "I got over it."
"I am serving your father." The AI argued. "Zor El's plan all the long was to repopulate Earth with Kryptonian DNA, and call it New Krypton." Kara didn't buy it. "I'll reprogram you myself!" She snapped. "Or turn your rotting mechanical insides into scrap!"
"You can't, Kara Zor El." BRAINIAC countered. "You don't have the access codes." He lunged for Kara's thin waist, and she barely sidestepped his advance. "I can always shut you down, and figure it out later." She bluffed. "Humans are poor liars, as are you. I can see their influence on you already."
BRAINIAC and Kara continued to square off, rotating around each other like two lions approaching their prey. "You need to find a new mission." Kara threatened as she readied for the AI's inevitable attack. "Besides, Kal El will never let you harm the humans."
BRAINIAC growled, an unusual sound for an android. Apparently he'd increased his ability to mimic human sounds as well as their appearance. "Kal El will one day become irrelevant, and you can rule Earth." The AI tempted the girl of steel. "I don't want to rule Earth." She retorted.
"I intend to help the humans by any means necessary." Kara defended against the first swing of BRAINIAC's robotic fist, deflecting it with her elbow. The shockwave of the two titans hitting each other reverberated down to the ground. "Then you will die in humiliation, as will Kal El!"
BRAINIAC charged the teen super hero, as she grabbed his head with both hands and began to squeeze it. His artificial skull became misshapen but was too well built for Kara to crush it. The AI horse-collared the young alien, and began to punch her in the cheek. Kara took a few hits before spinning out of his grip. She backed away a few miles, intending to ram the AI.
"Take this, you overgrown hunk of junk!" Kara shouted as she accelerated to supersonic speed. The sonic boom echoed across the empty Kansas farm fields. Kara dove for BRAINIAC's midsection with both fists extended. The impact knocked them in opposite directions. The thunderous shockwave had been felt all the way to Metropolis. Clark picked up the sound and winced. "Now what?"
Clark and Lois had just returned from Marcus Worthington's Arizona Ranch. Lois had set her luggage down on the floor of the den within the Kent Farmhouse. "Thunder?" She glanced out the window. "Hmmm, not a cloud in the sky." Clark also found the noise suspicious.
Can't I get a moment's peace? Superman thought sourly. Lois fed Krypto / Shelby, and sat on the edge of the coffee table, digging out her laptop. "Okay, back to work, Smallville." She directed. "We have to finalize Worthington's story before tomorrow morning, per Perry White."
Another sonic boom echoes over the usually silent Kansas crop fields. "Something's not right." Clark mumbled. "Of course it's not right, that's why we call it 'finalizing a story' in the biz." Lois responded absently, as she flipped through page after page of her story's PDF File.
Clark ignored his best friend and colleague, instead opting to focus his attention on listening. He turned his head in the direction of the melee. He thought he heard an upset female's voice in the distance, nearly lost in the myriad of local sound waves.
Kara whirled head over heels just a few dozen feet above the farmland. The impact with BRAINIAC had knocked the super teen out cold. Gravity held her up as she spun across the state line. A young woman walked casually along an onrushing stream, following the yellow gold water towards its source. A thick layer of yellow orange sediment lay at the creek's base.
She speaks distinctly into her cell phone. "Hey Tim, just checking on my stash. You know I ran flat out of power yesterday evening. So we guessed correctly. Even I have my limits." The young man's voice replied: "That's good, I guess. That must mean that you can function normally…well, normal enough for you, anyway." Tim joked. "Funny, Tim-ster." She retorted.
Something soared over her head, landing with an Earth shattering thud, on the side of the muddy stream's bank. "WTF!" She shouted into the phone, making Tim wince. "Now what?" The teen gazed in disbelief at the sight. A blonde girl dressed in blue, white, and red lay motionless in a small crater.
The girl looked to be roughly the same age as she. "Laura! What's wrong?" Tim's panicked voice split the silent air. "What was that explosion?" Laura rushed over to the injured teen. "Tim, I'm okay. Let me check it out and get back to you." She flipped off the cell phone. "Holy crap! Are you okay, Miss?" Laura climbed into the crater and felt Kara's wrist looking for a pulse.
Her pulse was weak, her breathing was labored, and a small trickle of blood leaked from her mouth and ear. Laura bent down shaking Kara gently. "I better call for a paramedic." She muttered. "The trouble is that out here in the middle of nowhere, an ambulance would take forever."
She popped open the cell and it beeped. Kara's eyes fluttered open, and she coughed roughly. "No, no ambulance…I'll be all right." The alien super girl croaked. "Yeah, well you have a fairly narrow definition of all right, lady. Where did you come from, anyway?"
Laura was about to punch in 911 when a sonic boom shattered the air around her. "Whoa!" She glanced upward, expecting to see a fighter jet, or a large thundercloud in the sky. Nothing. Instead a single odd-looking man floated a few yards above her. "Now there's something you don't see every day." Laura commented.
"Hey flyboy! I don't know how you're defying gravity, but we could use some help down here." Laura instructed him. The alien's head jerked slightly, like it was out of synch with the rest of its body. "Run…go…now!" Kara muttered as her eyes closed once more. "Run? You're not going anywhere, sister." Laura carefully placed Kara's head back down.
She was getting the impression that the flying guy was responsible for the young girl's injury. "Do yourself a favor, lowly Earth creature, and walk away before you get hurt." BRAINIAC warned. "Are you threatening me…? Earth creature? Are you kidding me? Come on, pull the other one!" Laura snapped as she stood up. "Look genius…this girl needs help."
"That is not your concern." BRAINIAC's head twitched again, and Laura noted that the side of his face was suddenly distorted.
The Legend of Kara - pt2 - PG 13
Laura pretended to ignore BRAINIAC, turning her back on him. She flipped open her cell phone, set the disc camera to record, hit the mute button, and speed dialed Tim Servo's number. She placed the open cell phone on Kara's rib cage. At first Tim got an eyeful of Kara's ample chest.
Back at his home, Tim gasped. "This is better than Cinemax." He muttered as he watched Kara's chest heave up and down, as the fallen alien teen continued to breathe shallowly. "Laura? What the hell are you doing? What's that dude doing up in the air?" Tim's voice, of course, went unheard.
Laura faced the camera at her and BRAINIAC. "Stupid creature!" The AI yelled, showing a very anomalous human emotion. "Get out of the way! I will not ask again. Kara Zor El is mine." Laura grinned mischievously. Now it's time to see how indestructible I really am.
The AI ran out of patience. "Very well." He said and fired a quick volley of heat vision at her. Laura was still bending over Kara. The blasts of energy dotted her back and buttocks. To her it simply felt like a burning rash or moderate sunburn. She was about to turn and attack.
BRAINIAC fired a more intense burst of superheated air at Laura. This time it caught her square in the shoulder. She felt her shirt catch fire and peel off, sending smoldering fabric pieces to the ground.
"Now, you're just pissing me off!" She snarled, and stood defiantly before BRAINIAC. "Impressive!" The AI praised. "There may be some hope for this pathetic world after all." He pulled a fist sized piece of green Kryptonite from his stolen jacket's pocket.
That was how he had so easily defeated Kara, keeping her in a weakened condition. He shoved it at Laura, who just stared at it.
"Pretty. It glows." Laura quipped. "How...?" Before BRAINIAC could finish his sentence, Laura vaulted at him, with both arms extended, her hands balled into fists, and hit him in the mid-section, causing the AI to lose flight control and tumble down to the rocky river bank.
"What the hell are you?" BRAINIAC grumbled. "You're worst nightmare, freak." Laura countered, and leapt a good twenty yards to land beside him. The AI stumbled back up to a standing position. "That was your first mistake." Laura challenged as she used a Tae Kwan-Do move on him.
She swept low, kicking the AI's feet from under him. BRAINIAC fell onto his back as Laura closed for the kill. The AI attempted to jump into the sky, Laura was a hair too fast for him. She grabbed his arm, and body slammed the AI into the ground, with a tremendous thud, kicking the Kryptonite out of his extended hand. The green meteor rock flew into the creek, sinking to the river bed.
A small crater formed around BRAINIAC, who may have finally met his match. He wasn't down for the count yet, as the AI pushed straight up, managing to get a few feet above Laura before she caught on. He grabbed Laura by the throat, attempting to choke the life from her. It almost worked. Almost.
Laura jammed her elbow into his rib cage, which was actually just an encasement for the AI's inner workings. Electrical fixtures within the AI crackled, sparked, and shattered. Some were quickly repaired by an infusion of the black ooze, likely BRAINIAC's lifeblood.
She used the distraction to yank the AI over her shoulder in a classic judo move. Her toss sent the AI flying into the side of a nearby hill, embedding him in a layer or two of solid granite and limestone. By now, Kara was stirring, since the green K was no longer near her. The super girl was still weak.
She would still be no match for BRAINIAC. The rogue AI had nearly extricated himself from the hillside. Laura dashed to Kara's side, using her supernatural speed. "Okay, Space Girl Barbie, let's get you out of here, before it comes back." Laura urged as she helped Kara to her feet.
"Thank you." Kara managed to croak, spitting out a bit of blood. "Don't thank me yet, I still don't know what to make of this whole bizarre scene." Laura countered, grabbing her cell phone, flipping it off, much to Tim's dismay, and pocketing it. Kara wobbled a bit as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Let's get you home." Laura urged. "Uh...yeah, but I don't know where I am." Kara said. "Great. Let's start by you telling me where you're from." Laura helped Kara get walking again. "Smallville, Kansas." She muttered. "Yes, well you're not in Kansas anymore." Laura couldn't resist the barb.
"Ready?" Laura watched as a glazed expression crossed Kara's face. She super sped Kara away, heading back across the Kansas / Nebraska border. BRAINIAC staggered away from the hillside, making a few lame attempts to fly. Laura's beating had left him virtually powerless...for the moment.
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