Saving Me
Prologue
It was a sunny and bright day in the town called Smallville. A relatively new couple made an unusual break in their private lives to obtain some flowers.
A familiar red truck parked with a faint grumble outside the flower shop of Nell Lang, and the bright-eyed Martha and her husband, the down-to-Earth Jonathan Kent entered through the door. The bell's jingle alerted the clerk of their entrance, and she donned a smile, surprised by their venture outside the normal isolation.
She approached the counter, eager to help.
"So, what brings the Kent's to town?" she asked. "I don't usually see you two around."
She thought of the possibilities of what they might be seeking, and contemplated how best to use her savvy to help them.
"Tulips," Martha replied.
This slightly disheartened Nell, as she had hoped for something more exotic. "How about something for you two that's a little more out of the ordinary? Maybe some tiger lilies?"
"No," Jonathan confirmed, "she's got her heart set on Tulips."
She approached her usual set of tulips. "Well, they certainly are uncomplicated."
At that moment, Martha noticed and approached Lana. The costume she wore, quite regal in appearance, struck her as cute. She sat down across the table from her. "That's a beautiful costume, Lana," she complimented. "Are you a princess?"
"A fairy princess," the little girl corrected. "Want to make a wish?"
"I'd love to," Martha beamed.
Lana's eyes lit up. "Abra Cadabra," she said, waving her toy wand and touching Martha's forehead.
Being unable to bear children, Martha wished for a child of her own. Her husband read it on her face, and it bothered him just a bit that there would always be this emptiness in their lives.
Even as she got up and got her flowers, the young Mrs. Kent couldn't help but think about the desire in her heart for a baby. As she couldn't help but think about it, Jonathan did his best to hide his thoughts until he made it outside.
"Where are her parents?" He asked Nell.
"They're coming back from the game," she replied. "I'm watching over her, like a good aunt."
They gave their thanks and left the shop. Jonathan lifted the bags of feed he'd bought into the back of the red Dodge pickup, before stepping into the driver's seat.
"I know what you wished for, Martha." He hid his inner sorrow over the issue as best as he could. Martha just stared out the window, still holding the Tulips. The Sunny day didn't match her mood every well.
"I just can't help but wonder what it'd be like," she pondered out loud. "Hearing the sound of little feet, and what not."
Her husband wrapped his arms around her to comfort her as best as he could. Right as he kissed her, the sound of horns honking startled him into looking out the window. A car filled with cheerleaders drove by, the young girls shouting.
Other vehicles moving by signaled the situation; Jonathan welcomed the distraction from the negative thoughts.
"Looks like Smallville won again," he said, starting the truck.
Martha forced herself to ignore the way she felt for the moment and get back to her life. As they drove off, the sounds of thunder became more and more violent, as well as louder. And the lightning began to strike.
Nell smiled with Lana in her arms as a car drove up to a stop on the other side of the street.
"Lana!" the mother yelled for her daughter.
"Mommy!"
It was the last thing she would ever say to her mother. Not two seconds later, the first Meteoroid hit her husband and her. Lana's parents, the Lang's, were instantly incinerated when it hit them head on.
One by one, more than sixteen dozen Meteoroid strikes destroyed several buildings, throwing debris into the air and nearly killing several people. One major strike destroyed the town water tower.
Almost a mile from the center of town, the Kent's hadn't seen any thing different, enough that they weren't expecting a Meteoroid to cause a huge explosion not fifteen feet from their truck as it drove down the main road.
The vehicle almost lost power as the lights and dash flickered for a moment. Martha screamed.
"What's happening, Jonathan..." she managed to get out.
A moment later, a meteoroid landed, skittering across the road in front. The next instant the vehicle found itself jerked nearly off the road as a massive shockwave tore a huge gash in the ground for at least four hundred yards.
Jonathan did his best to hit the brakes as quickly as possible; unfortunately, they found themselves in the ditch dug by the blast. Neither of them knew what to think of it; the closest they could explain it as, would be like a ball of fire making a Long ditch.
A few seconds after the impact, Jonathan Kent was the first in his truck to regain consciousness. The first two things he noticed were, in order, that he still had all his limbs, and that he was upside down along with his vehicle. He quickly did once-over of his body, and neither saw nor felt any open wounds, which amazed him. He looked over and saw his wife was equally okay. He then turned the other way, and saw something he didn't believe to be possible.
Crouching in the ditch, completely naked, with short black hair and soft features, was a girl. From his estimation, she could not possibly be older than three.
"Martha," he groggily spoke. She turned his way upon his voice waking her up, and saw it as well.
Very hastily, they unbuckled themselves and evacuated the vehicle. While Martha took the girl in her arms, cradling her, Jonathan went past and inspected the ditch.
"Where do you think she came from?" he wondered out loud.
Martha found the white colored blanket she had bought while in town, wrapped the child in it, and carried her.
"I'm amazed she survived that huge explosion! I've never seen Meteoroids like that before."
Jonathan saw what looked like a metal arrow shaped thing that had an oval shaped indentationin the direct center of it.
"Martha," he replied, "I'm starting to think this is the cause of the Meteor Shower." He ran his hand over the outer surface of the ship, and had never felt a surface so smooth in his life. A second after he touched the Thing the indentation suddenly started to seal it's self up so that it now had an oval top. Martha stood next to him, as in awe of it as he was.
"I'm betting whoever her parents are," Martha answered, "they aren't from Smallville."
"We'll figure out what to do after we get out of this ditch," Jonathan spoke.
They exited the ditch and began moving down the road in search of someone who could assist them. About a half a mile up the road, Jonathan managed to find a vehicle parked by the side. He tried to ask the driver, an old friend of his, for help, but found a hole burned through the man's head.
He quietly mourned for the loss, but pulled the man from his truck. Right now, there were bigger concerns than personal feelings. A turn of the key showed Jonathan lights on the dash; a good sign. With a bit of gas, the engine turned over. His breath returned to him for a moment. This tragedy might have some good in it after all, he felt.
Back at the ditch, they dragged the object out and lift it upwards into the bed of the truck. A tarp provided an excellent cover for it as the Kent's prepared to leave the site of the disaster.
Both of them breathed a sigh of relief as they headed a different route back to safety. Quickly, though, more worry came as a man in a business suit came running out into the road, attempting to wave down some help.
"Mister!" Jonathan cried, stopping the vehicle and exiting. "What's wrong?"
The man could only stammer. "My…my son…"
Jonathan grabbed and mildly shook him. "Sir, where's your son?" He had to get the man focused. It seemed to work, as the chaos in his eyes departed.
"Over there," he led.
Acres of flattened corn they passed until they came across a boy in a suit, covered by several downed stalks of corn. Jonathan pulled him out from under the vegetation, and held him up. The man noticed the obvious.
"What…happened to his hair?"
Thirty minutes later saw both the Kent's and the man in the suit waiting at the Smallville Memorial Hospital. The new parents of the mysterious little girl found in the field approached the man.
"How's your son?" Martha asked.
The man cleared his throat. "He's going to be fine. He's just a little tired." He turned to Jonathan. "Mr. Kent, thank you for your help. If there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to call."
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing you wouldn't have done yourself."
The man did not back down. He handed him a LuthorCorp card identifying him as Lionel Luthor.
"I mean that, Mr Kent." Neither of them knew it at that moment, but the future events would be largely determined by this meeting.