The Rise of Superman

Written by Blade_1582

Author's Note: Okay, so I've revamped the story and made various changes to some of the already posted chapters. Nothing major, just some cosmetic and continuity stuff. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville, Superman or anything related to DC Comics other than a cache of comics and a handful of old action figures. Please don't sue me, I'm broke enough as it is.


On the doomed planet of Krypton, a wise scientist placed his infant son in a spaceship and launched him to a distant world. As the once proud Kryptonian race was obliterated by its own hubris, his noble sacrifice would forever change the course of human history.

Raised by a kind farmer and his wife, the boy would one day grow to become our world's most stalwart guardian, a bastion of hope in times of disparity. Before he was the Man of Tomorrow, he was a young man at war with himself; his destiny and the forces that sought to corrupt and destroy him.

His rise to power was a difficult one; a perilous journey fraught with sacrifice and betrayal. As the world around him fell into turmoil and his life was at its most dark, a human woman, strong and brave; changed him for the better. Their love gave him the strength of heart and certainty of spirit he needed to cast off the chains that bound him and allowed him to finally soar.

This is their story, the story of Superman…


Part One
Changes

If it were possible, the Daily Planet's bullpen was more chaotic now than it had ever been before. Reporters, interns, photographers and all manners of copy boys skittered around the bustling newsroom, clamoring about the cataclysmic events that had taken place over the last twenty four hours. The news media had given General Zod's failed attempt at world domination the dubious title of 'Dark Thursday', a naive but insightful moniker to say the least.

Clark Kent grimaced inwardly as he forced his way through the seemingly endless throngs of reporters. 'Only here would an alien invasion be good for business' he mused as he scanned the faceless crowd, frantically searching for any sign of a certain fare haired reporter. It really shouldn't have surprised him that she would be here of all places. After all, it was indicative of Chloe Sullivan to throw caution by the way side and leap head first into a story, no matter how dangerous it was. In fact, he was beginning to wonder if her self-preservation instincts were strictly limited to a hefty dose of verbal judo when a flash of motion caught his eye and drew his attention to the far left hand corner of the room. He found her there, aimlessly chatting with a coworker behind a mile high stack of back issued copies of the paper. His heart thundered in his chest as he took in the sight of her.

Her corn silk hair was tucked behind her ear, held in place by a dull and freshly gnawed pencil. Her lips were pursed into a thin line in concentration and her olive eyes never left her computer monitor as her coworker continued to prattle on and on incessantly. Clark stood frozen for a moment as he watched her in wide-eyed wonder. 'This is it' he told himself, 'the point of no return'. If he didn't summon the courage to speak to her here and now, then he never would. He dug deep and drew a ragged breath before calling out to her.

"Chloe!" he bellowed, a bit more forcefully than he'd intended. His voice carried over the newsroom commotion as he pushed through the frenzied crowd with renewed fervor. Chloe's head snapped up and she scanned the room for the source of the familiar voice that had called out to her, stopping short when her gaze locked onto a pair of piercing cerulean eyes. In one fluid motion she was up out of her chair and practically running across the packed newsroom towards a pair of waiting arms.

"Clark" Chloe whispered as she threw herself into his arms, burying her face in his broad chest. Clark pulled her small frame against his and rested his cheek against her hair. He let a sigh of relief slip through his lips once he had her safe in his arms. "Thank god you're alright" Chloe murmured into his chest, her eyes welling with hot tears that threatened to fall at a moment's notice. "I thought I'd lost you" She said in a muffled sob, burying her face deeper into Clark's chest as stinging tears blazed hot trails down her cheeks. Clark felt the burning tears sear his soul as they began to fall and he drew in a quick, ragged breath of air and fought to calm his frazzled nerves. He'd come here for a reason and now, with her nestled so comfortably in his arms, sheer unbridled panic cut through his steel resolve like a hot knife through butter.

"Chloe" Clark breathed thankfully, his voice shaky and uneven. He sucked in another ragged breath and the euphoric honeysuckle smell of her skin wafted up to him, lulling him into an uneasy sense of peace.

'Don't say it Clark' Chloe pleaded inwardly, 'please don't say it'. All she wanted at this moment was to stay wrapped in his arms and escape the utter chaos that surrounded them. He was safe, alive and for the moment, hers. Was staying this way too much to ask? As if in response to her unspoken query, Clark backed out of their embrace ever so slightly and Chloe bit her lip in anticipation as she dared to gaze up at him. A muffled sigh escaped her pursed lips as she looked deep into the shimmering cerulean pools nestled beneath his furrowed brow. Her heart sank as she read the worrisome expression that had so easily overtaken his handsome features. She'd seen this face before, too many times. This was the face he'd worn each and every time he'd broken her heart. A hauntingly familiar silence fell between them, and Chloe felt an icy chill run down her spine as the deafening silence between them echoed in her ears. The strain quickly became too much for her to bear. Before she could even register the change, her mouth opened of its own accord and moments later she heard the sound of her own voice.

"Clark, the world was literally falling down around us" She said curtly, her inherent sarcasm bubbling to the surface in a time honored tradition of self preservation. "It's not like I was expecting us to hook up…" Chloe trailed to a finish, wincing at the venomous tone of her words. No matter what her feelings were or how badly it hurt to see that look in his eyes Clark didn't deserve the verbal lashing she'd inadvertently given.

"You weren't" Clark said dejectedly, an edge in his voice. It hadn't been a question but a statement of undeniable fact. She hadn't been expecting anything. Wanting on the other hand, now that was a different thing entirely. Of course she'd wanted Clark to pull her back to him and crush his lips to hers but that wasn't going to happen on this or any other plane of existence. Still, something in the way he'd said 'you' had sounded inappropriately singular.

"Clark?" She questioned, daring a long gaze into his eyes before she leaned back into him, brazenly resting her hand on his chest. "Are you okay?"She probed, knowing full well that whatever was bothering him wasn't going to be divulged willingly. Information wasn't easily coerced from Clark Kent, A lesson that years of difficult friendship and an inexplicably awkward high school career had taught her very well. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" She reassured him, and he finally dared to look her in the eye.

"Not here" Clark said as he reached for the hand atop his chest. Chloe tightened her jaw reflexively and waited for Clark to try to nonchalantly remover her hand but he instead place his own large one over hers, eliciting a surprised gasp from Chloe's pursed lips.

"It's as good a place as any" Chloe quipped dryly, a blatant attempt to weasel some miniscule amount of information from him.

"This is something I'd rather keep off the record"Clark chuckled as he shot a sideways glance towards the huddled masses of reporters that had suddenly focused their undivided attention on the oddly intimate exchange that was beginning to unfold.

"Oh" Chloe said haphazardly. "Oh"She repeated, somewhat more exuberantly as the realization dawned on her. The way he'd said 'you', the way he was holding her in his arms right this minute. All of it fell perfectly into place like blocks in a game of Tetris. Clark had…

"Come by the loft later?"Clark asked, his voice snapping Chloe out of her reverie.

"Uh huh" Chloe answered blankly, her focus trained on the hand Clark held against his chest. She was completely and utterly mesmerized by the feel of his steady heartbeat beneath her palm, by the way he gently squeezed her hand as his fingertips traced invisible patterns across her skin. Her eyes dared to flutter closed for the briefest of seconds, just so she could lose herself in the feel of his touch.

"Well…" Clark sighed; "I'd better let you get back to work" He trailed off as he slowly began to pull away from Chloe's grasp. His fingertips tracked across the back of her hand as he backed away and established an uncomfortable distance between the two of them. Too close to be friendly, and far too distant to be intimate. They stood suspended in the awkward orbit Clark had created, gazing wordlessly at one another for a long moment. Chloe was the first to break the deafening silence with a muffled "yeah" as she cradled the hand he'd just been holding, her skin still tingling from his touch "Crazy news day".

"I bet" Clark said with a crooked smile as he turned to walk away.

'Say it, Clark. Please, for the love of god and all that is holy, say it. 'Chloe pleaded inwardly but only received a husky "see you later Chloe" as Clark disappeared into the faceless crowd of reporters, leaving her dazed and confused in the center of the newsroom. 'What the hell just happened?'Chloe asked herself as she watched Clark's retreating form. The shy and retiring Clark Kent had just put the moves on her, hadn't he? Or had it all been some evil trick of her subconscious? Her mind playing tricks on her the way it usually did whenever he was around. One minute she'd been making headway on an article and trying unsuccessfully to avoid the annoyingly effervescent Cat Grant and the next…

"Oh. My. God!" A high-pitched squeal, followed by the clacking sound of overpriced heels echoed through the bullpen, jarring Chloe from her Clark induced stupor. 'Speak of the devil…' She groaned inwardly 'Leave it to Clark Kent to give the local gossip monger something new to chew on…'Chloe mused dejectedly as she waited for hurricane Grant to make landfall.

"Sullivan!" Cat bellowed as she sauntered up to Chloe. "Who was that and where can I get one?"

"He's a friend" Chloe said dismissively as she trudged back to her desk, visibly irritated.

"This friend got a name?" Cat questioned as she trailed behind Chloe, breezing her way through the crowded walkway betweens desks. "What's it matter to you?" Chloe asked as she plopped down into her uncomfortable desk chair, groaning as the ancient wooden chair let out an awful creak.

"MrrrRrrow! Ffft! Ffft!" Cat hissed as she clawed the open air between them in an alarmingly accurate feline impersonation as she hiked up her already short skirt and sat down on the edge of Chloe's desk, eliciting an annoyed groan from the blonde reporter as she began to massage her temples in an attempt to alleviate the coming headache. "Somebody sure is defensive" Cat purred and Chloe sighed responsively "you never answered my question…" She said as she drummed out the Jeopardy theme on the wooden desktop with her finely manicured fingernails.

"Clark" Chloe groaned as she continued to massage her temples. "His name is Clark"

"Is he seeing anyone?" Cat asked as she haphazardly extended her fingers to examine her nails in the light. "Would that stop you anyway?" Chloe asked.

"No, probably not" Cat said with a laugh, and Chloe clenched her fists into tight balls, her knuckles cracking in response. "Looks like someone's nursing a crush on that gorgeous hunk of man" Cat said flippantly and Chloe tightened her jaw. Why was she letting Cat Grant get under her skin like this? Every time that woman opened her mouth, Chloe wanted to staple it shut.

"I do not have a crush on Clark" Chloe said from behind clenched teeth as she gave her stapler a wistful glance.

"You know," Cat droned on insipidly as the toyed with a lock of her hair. " I've never really been a big fan of the whole farm boy thing but hot damn!"

"Dream on Cat" Chloe groaned as she shook her mouse to bring her computer out of its hibernation. "No way is Clark Kent going to be the newest notch on your bedpost" Cat hissed and clawed the air once more and Chloe couldn't help but let out a giggle. "Don't you have a column to write?" Chloe asked, desperate to find a way to end this uncomfortable line of conversation.

"Nah, gossip is in short supply at the moment." Cat said gleefully and Chloe let out an exasperated sigh. Ditching this rousing session of girl talk was going to be harder than she thought. "So how long have you been strung out on this Clark guy?" Cat asked dryly.

"It's not like that with me and Clark" Chloe said flatly, eyes trained on the game of minesweeper she was toying with. "We're just friends. End of story"

"If you say so" Cat said wryly. "You can't kid a kidder Chloe. Relationships are what I do and-" Chloe threw her head back and erupted into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. "I didn't realize a string of one night stands was grounds for a bachelor's degree in 'relationships' "Chloe choked out between gasps of air.

"Oh ha ha" Cat scoffed dryly. "Chemistry isn't just a class in high school, sweet cheeks. You kids have it" Cat said as she slid off the edge of Chloe's desk and onto her feet. "And as for being just friends, I'd be willing to bet that Clark's looking for something more than friendship. " Cat said flatly before turning on her heel and sauntering away, leaving Chloe to stew in her own confusion yet again.

'She's right.' Chloe thought to herself as she nervously drummed her pencil against the desktop, her racing thoughts falling in time with the crashes of wood against wood. ' Clark had clearly wanted something more than friendship, and so did she, but now? After everything that had happened to them over the last few months? After Lana falling in with Lex, and his father's death? God, Clark was an emotional wreck right now. It was only natural for him to try and reach out to someone close to him, and the kiss…that earth shattering kiss had made everything even more confusing.' Chloe leaned forward and rested her heavy head in her hands. She'd made a royal mess out of everything…and got her own hopes up in the process. She wouldn't, couldn't let herself fall into the old pattern of being Clark's consolation prize another time. Her heart, and her sanity couldn't take it again.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" She questioned in vain, knowing full well that this whole situation was of her own making. She lifted her head and stole a glance at the clock; Three O'clock, two hours until quitting time. Two very, very long hours.

It was just before sunset when Clark returned to the farm and began the arduous journey up the stairs towards his room, haphazardly examining the torn and scorched jacket he held in his hands along the way. After his visit with Chloe at the planet, he'd hand an over abundance of nervous energy and opted to run a sweep through Metropolis. Zod had left him one hell of a mess to clean up. 'It's my mess' Clark reminded himself in an attempt to write off the sporadic aches and pains that shot through his extremities as some sort of penance for releasing Zod to begin with. Two thousand people were without water and even more were without power. Repair crews and emergency vehicles were cut off by debris in almost every borough, or at least they had been until Clark had taken it upon himself to jump start the repair efforts. He'd consider himself lucky if anyone who saw him wrote it off as post traumatic stress or some other delusion.

'Speaking of delusions…' Clark mused as she took the last step up into the upstairs hallway and tossed what remained of his blue jacket in the direction of his room, honestly not caring whether it made it or not. Chloe would be arriving soon and despite the fact that she was all he'd been thinking about all day long he still had no idea what he was going to say or do. His relationship track record wasn't exactly stellar. In fact, it was positively horrible, downright terrifying when he thought about it. Despite the year or so during high school where he'd yo-yoed back and forth between Chloe and Lana there had been Kyla and Alicia. Both of whom were dead largely because of him and he would never forgive himself if he put Chloe in anymore danger than she was already in. Begin close to him was a sure fire way to end up in danger's sights. 'How many times has she literally put her life in his hands since she discovered his abilities?'Clark asked himself as he strode into the bathroom 'too many' he sighed as he kicked the door shut behind him.

'She's not Lana' he chided himself as he stripped out of his filth laden clothes, remembering the day when Lana lay broken in a hospital bed because he'd unwittingly placed her in harm's way. Clark tried valiantly to shake free of the memory but only managed to back burner it. He was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to have a relationship that wasn't doomed to fail because of his abilities. Yes, he was Kal-El, last son of the planet Krypton, but he was also Clark Kent.

'Whatever that's supposed to mean' He groaned inwardly as he started the shower and waited impatiently for the ancient water heater to surge to life so he could wash away the stench of Hob's Bay that seemed to hang just above his skin. For Christ's sake he could practically taste it in his mouth, and there was only one word to describe it – noxious. He may have had no idea what he was going to do when Chloe got here, but one thing was for certain. He absolutely refused to meet her with the stench of sewage coming off of him in waves.

"About time" he sighed thankfully as he hurriedly dove into the steam filled shower, nearly moaning in pleasure as the searing water pelted his back and soaked his unruly curls. He turned and let the water cascade across his chest and down his arms, washing away the echoes of pain that still pulsed through his muscles. His stent in the phantom zone and his tussle with Zod had wreaked havoc with his powers, and lifting a few metric tons of rubble on less than half strength hadn't helped the situation much at all. In fact, he hadn't felt this completely drained since his first day on the farm without powers, way back in his freshman year of high school. How off was it that he found himself missing those simpler days. The days when all he really had to worry about was fighting the freak of the week and finding a date for the school dance.

"The dance" Clark chuckled as he leant back against the tile wall and let himself be carried away in a flood of bittersweet memories, back to one of the few bright moments that stood out in his mind right now. He found himself standing at the center of the brightly decorated gymnasium amidst so many of his forgotten classmates, his attention focused on the gorgeous creature in his arms. She was a vision in bright coral, a color that should forever be reserved for her and her alone. Her golden locks were swept up, and her eyes glistened like emerald in the silvery moonlight. His hands snaked tighter around her trim waist, moving completely on their own accord as they swayed to the music that played in the distance. Time slowed to an infinitesimal crawl as he studied her in wide eyed splendor. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, and though he knew them to be tears of joy, the mere idea of her crying sent a spasm of pain through the core of his being. He pulled her closer and rested his cheek against her upswept hair, his tense shoulders relaxed as she settled herself against his chest as they danced. The music began to build towards its climax, and they both stilled, knowing what was happening. Clark dared a downward glance just as she turned her eyes upward, and their gazes locked. Clark's eyes shifted to her rose tinted lips and he tensed. Her eyes fluttered closed, as did his, and in the darkness he could feel them drifting closer together. He could feel her breath on his lips, the scent of her perfume washed over him, lulling him.

A sharp, biting cold shot across his back, snapping him out of his reverie. Clark let out a frustrated grunt and ran a hand through his wet hair. He wondered what things would be like now if he had kissed back then. Would anything have changed? Really changed? Could something as truly simply as a kiss change everything? 'It could' He told himself, his feelings at this very moment where a testament to that fact. Chloe had kissed him and everything had changed because of it. What was left to be decided was whether everything had changed of the better or not.

As Clark continued to ponder, downstairs Martha Kent strode through the back door of the farmhouse and into her kitchen. She stood frozen on the other side of the doorway and let the screen door slam shut behind her as she took a moment to just relish in the familiar scents and sounds. The sweet scent of vanilla that hung in the air, the way the floorboards creaked beneath her feet. After everything that had happened in the last day and a half, it felt good to be home. No matter what her troubles were, or how insurmountable they seemed, this farm, this home had always had a sobering effect on her. It was as if the simple act of her crossing the threshold would wash away every last one of her anxieties and leave her with nothing but a sense of serenity so intense that it bordered on tangibility. Sometimes it felt like these difficult times were incapable of dwelling within the confines of the Kent family farm. Sometimes, however, they came right to her doorstep.

The warm, comforting aura that seemed to emanate from every corner and surface of this house had faded away a little more every day since Jonathon's death. Days like these were when Martha felt her husband's absence the most. She needed him now more than she ever had before, their son needed him. Jor-El had praised the guidance that she'd given Clark, guidance that he was going to need more and more of. The world was changing fast, and not for the better. Soon the day she'd always hoped would never come would be upon her. The world would need Clark, and she had no idea how to guide him, but Jonathon would. Jonathon had always known what to say, and even when he didn't he made it feel like he did.

"I miss you" Martha said wistfully as she lifted a framed photo of her family from the end table beside Jonathon's arm chair. Gingerly she traced the lines of her husband's face with her fingertips, silent tears splashing against the glass pane as trailed down her cheeks and fell.

"Mom?" Clark's concerned voice echoed from the stairwell and Martha hastily wiped her eyes with the cuff of her shirt sleeve before turning to greet her son.

"Clark, I…I didn't know you were home" She said warmly, her voice shaky and uneven. Tears stung the corners of her eyes. Martha turned, not wanting her son to see her cry. "How was Chloe?" She asked as she returned the photo to its resting place and wiped her eyes on her shirt sleeve once more.

"She was…" Clark trailed anxiously, unsure of how to explain the heretofore unnamed shift in he and Chloe's relationship. "Actually, that's kind of what I'd like to talk to you about…"

"What's happened?" Martha questioned earnestly.

"Okay, you know how close I am to Chloe" Clark said, pacing behind the sofa in a nervous circle.

"She's your best friend" Martha answered flatly.

"Yeah, best friend" Clark said, more to himself than to his mother. "Well…things might have changed on that front…"

"Clark..." Martha trailed warningly, slowly sinking into her husband's chair as she waited for Clark to explain.

"We've been getting closer since things with Lana caved in…and when the world went pear shaped, she kissed me" Clark said, coming to a halt as he allowed himself to relive the moment where Chloe had crushed her lips to his in the single most blindingly passionate kiss he'd ever had. "She said she didn't know If she'd ever see me again and then kissed me, right out of the blue"

"People do strange things when the world is about to come down…" Martha said cautiously, side stepping memories of the lingering glances she and Lionel had shared in the barn.

"This wasn't just any kiss, mom…this was THE kiss. " Clark said flatly, whirling on his heel as to begin pacing anew. " I felt something…something between us just clicked"

"You've been down this road with Chloe before" Martha said warningly.

"See, that's just the thing" Clark said as he made yet another circle behind the sofa. "I've been on this road with Chloe…I've just never gone down it. I was always too scared to…scared that everything would change" He said, memories of his and Chloe's many failed attempts flashing through his mind as he spoke. "Everything has changed." He turned towards his mother, his gaze shifting back and forth between her and the photo of their family on the table beside her.

"Dad's gone, I can't talk to Lex. I don't know where I stand with Chloe…" Clark said sullenly, the weight of the world bearing down on him. "I don't know where to go from here"

"I didn't either when I was your age" Martha said as she rose from her seat and crossed the room to her son. "Just follow your heart, and you'll always do the right thing"

"Even if my heart is pulling somewhere I've never gone?" Clark questioned, side stepping around his mother. "Half the country is a mess because I screwed up and I don't know what to do."Clark said softly, turning to look back at his mother as he spoke. "The world needs more from me and I don't know if I'm ready for it"

Martha gazed long and hard at her son, taking in the first glimpse of the man he was becoming. Pride and fear dueled inside of her as she prayed to the ghost of her husband's memory for council on what to tell him. "Every world needs it's heroes, Clark" She said after a long silence "They inspire us to be better than we are, and they protect us from the darkness that's just around the corner" Martha said, coming closer to her son "You are your father's son" She said as she wrapped her arms around Clark's larger frame and pulled him into a tight hug. "You'll find a way"