Summary: What if Clark got rescued by a different alien? An alien who then proceeded to give him a good long look at things to come.
Notes: Crossover with 'Doctor Who'. If you don't know who that is, then shame on you! You can turn in your Geek Status Badge on the left...
Disclaimer: Lord, but I wish I owned 'em. I'd go swimming in all that lovely money...
IT'S ONE OF THOSE DESTINY... THINGS
By screaminheathen69
As Clark slowly woke up, he had pretty much just one thought running through his muddled mind: Arrows hurt. A lot.
The muddle cleared a bit more, which led to the next thought: Hey! I'm not dead!
And then: Why am I not dead? Wait a second... Who cares why, I'm not dead!
Which in turn led to the very natural action of opening his eyes. After all, wouldn't the first thing you'd do upon realising you're not dead be to open your eyes? See the beautiful world all around you?
Yup. You know you would, just admit it.
Anyway, Clark wakes up, Clark realises he's still among the non-dead, Clark opens his eyes, ready to celebrate the whole non-dead thing...
And finds himself staring straight at the surface of the sun. Which isn't all that far away. Maybe a few thousand miles. He could clearly see a solar flare looping up past the open wooden doors he was looking through. Wait a minute! Wood doors? In SPACE?!
He rolled over and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. He was feeling better by the minute, but he was still weak. He grabbed hold of the door frame (which was, in fact, wood) and pulled himself up onto shaky legs. He blinked and shook his head, thinking that maybe, just maybe, he was still unconscious. Nope. Sun's still there. Where am I? And why don't I feel any heat?
"Hello, Kal-El. Feeling a bit better are we?"
Clark eeped (yes, he actually eeped) and spun around towards the voice. He found himself staring wide-eyed at a tall, smiling, rather skinny man in a blue suit and tan overcoat. And sneakers. Red sneakers. "Umm, yeah. Sure. Much better." Clark took a few steps toward the stranger, using his x-ray vision to confirm what his super hearing had already told him. Two hearts. I think I just met another alien. An alien that wears red sneakers. "How do you know my name?"
The stranger waved a hand. "Oh, I've known you for years." He stopped, frowning just a bit, and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Well, I say I've known you for years. Which is true, mind you. Just not yet. My past, your future, it gets complicated..."
"Sorry?" Clark was well and truly confused by now.
The stranger shrugged and laughed. "I'll explain later. It's a timey-wimey thing. Time travel can get confusing, even for a Time-Lord." He stuck out his hand. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."
Clark shook his hand. "Apparently you already know who I am." He glanced back over his shoulder. "Where are we?"
"Solar polar orbit, tucked nicely into a pothole in the Sun's magnetic field. Best place for you to catch a few rays." The Doctor walked over and leaned against the doorframe. "Had to get in close to let the solar radiation heal you. Only way to bring you back."
The Doctor looked Clark square in the eye. "If I hadn't, you'd have been gone for good, this time."
Clark mirrored the Doctor's position. "Thanks. I thought I'd had it." He stared out at the Sun. "How did you know? I mean, that I was gonna die?"
"I was in Metropolis, about ten years from now. The time-line shifted, everything went wonky. The bad guys were running amuck, no Justice League to be found, it was chaos. Even Batman couldn't seem to do anything about it. I traced it all back to today. The day you died trying to save Chloe Sullivan."
Clark looked up, worry written on his face. "Is she okay? Or Lois, for that matter? Oliver?"
"They're all fine. I'll drop you off a few minutes after I took you, they'll never even realise you were gone."
Clark sighed and nodded. "Thank God. I keep thinking one of them is going to get killed because of me. Just like my dad."
He sighed again, staring out at the Sun forlornly. "I keep thinking I need to get away from them all. That maybe they'd all have a chance at a normal life without me around."
The Doctor snorted. "Nonsense." Clark shot him a surprised look. "Chloe, Lois, Jimmy, they're... Well, I don't want to say magnets for trouble, but it does rather fit, doesn't it? More importantly, they're all seekers of truth. Righters of wrongs." He poked Clark in the chest. "Just like you. And, believe it or not, they'll continue to be that way whether you're around or not. So better for them if you're there to sweep in for the rescue, eh? Trust me, Kal-El, you're doing what you're destined to do." Clark groaned. He was so tired of hearing about his destiny.
The Doctor leaned back and crossed his arms, smug grin firmly in place. "Like it or not, you're a hero. In every sense of the word. Best I've ever known, in fact, and that's saying something." He was something of an expert, after all. He had spent much of his long life in the company of heroes.
Clark stared out for a long time, mulling it over. Mulling it all over. Everything that had happened the last few years. "I know."
"Sorry?" Clark had spoken so quietly that the Doctor couldn't quite hear him.
"I know. I figured it out a while back." He shrugged, looking lost. "I just didn't want to admit it. And then I finally got together with Lana. I tried to put it all aside, to live a normal life. I finally had everything I wanted. Thought I wanted. I never asked for any of this..."
"I know. Doesn't change the way of things, though. I've seen the world without you in it. It's not pleasant."
Clark frowned. "I'm that important? Does so much really hinge on me? On me being here?"
The Doctor nodded. "It's not just what you do. It's the lives you touch. It's like the ripples in a pond. The things you do have an effect on everyone around you. One person can mean the difference between life and death. Sometimes on a wider scale than you can imagine."
The Doctor paused for a second and took a breath. "Remember that little bit of fun a few months ago? When Earth got pulled into the Medusa Cascade and the Daleks invaded?" Clark nodded. He'd managed to take out several Daleks, but it had been incredibly difficult. He'd spent most of the time running around at super-speed, snatching people out of the path of Dalek energy weapons. Or getting hit by them. Those Dalek death-rays really stung. "The only reason we're standing here right now, the only reason the whole of Creation is still here in fact, was because of one woman. The Most Important Woman In Creation. Without her, well..." He trailed off, lost in the memory. It had been that close.
"You lost her?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Did you lose her? You had this look..."
"Did I? Huh. No. Well, yes, I did lose her. She's not dead. Would have died. But I... saved her. Has her whole life ahead of her. Just no memory of her life with me." He shook himself. "But this is about you, not me. You, my son, need to accept what needs to happen. And number one on the List Of Things Clark Needs To Deal With is this whole 'I don't like to fly' thing. What kind of superhero is afraid of flying?"
The Doctor slammed the doors shut, bounced up to the console, started flipping switches and throwing levers. "Little trip into the future. Just the thing. There's this group you ought to meet. Legion, actually. You'll like them."
Five years later for Clark, one week later for the rest of us mere mortals...
It had been an amazing five years for Clark. The time he spent working with the Legion of Superheroes had been wonderful. He had learned more than he had thought possible, and forged lifelong friendships. And he could fly. Turned out he loved it. Go figure.
Not long after the battle with Omega (the Legion of Superheroes' Omega, not the insane Time-Lord), the Doctor had shown up and quietly informed him it was time to go home. Destiny awaits, and all that. So here he was, standing in the doorway of the newsroom at the Daily Planet, brand new id badge tucked in his back pocket. This should be fun...
"Hi, Lois..."
'To thee no star be dark..."