Titans

Summary: A year after Nor's defeat, his father comes to exact his revenge on Kal-El. Warning: There will be blood.

Disclaimer: I own pretty much none of the characters showcased in this story. They belong to DC comics and the producers of Lois and Clark, and anyone else with a stake in the Superman franchise. I just like to take out the characters every once in a while and play with them. I always return them to my toy box, sometimes a little worse for wear (mentally and physically).

I make nothing from this story, aside from the reviews that you, my dear readers, leave for me. It is my muse's lifeblood.

There will be 7 installments. I will post one per day.

Also: Please note that the random, unexplained infant at the end of "The Family Hour" does not appear in this story. It is the only major deviation that I threw into the story. And also note: Some of the ideas expressed here come from Superman II, like the Phantom Zone and the power crystals. And no, the name of Thor is not inspired by the Thor comic hero. I just like mythological names and wanted something that kind of mimicked the name of Nor.

And now, without further ado, on with the story!

~~~~~~~~ Superman ~~~~~~~~

Clark sighed as he raked his hand through his wet, disheveled hair. He leaned lightly against the mop in his other hand, careful not to splinter it like he had the last one, not ten minutes prior. His clothes clung to him wetly, uncomfortably. He stood in the basement of the house he and Lois had purchased a little less than a year before. Puddles of water still covered patches of the cement floor. He'd gotten up that morning and had turned on the shower only to find that there was no hot water. Investigation of the hot water heater in the basement had shown that the old appliance had finally given up the last of its' life, the bottom literally bursting, pumping water into the basement for who knew how many hours. He'd called the plumber and had the tank replaced with a new one, but the basement was still a mess. Moving at super-speed, he managed to finally get the worst of the water up off the floor. Thankfully, there had not been many boxes on the basement floor and what had been left on the floor had wisely been stored in plastic bins at Lois' instance.

Satisfied, he picked through the five cardboard boxes that had been down there. Books. He groaned as he realized that the books were complete losses. He gathered the boxes together and brought them up and outside to the recycling pail.

"Good look for you," Lois said, appreciatively eyeing the sodden clothing that clung to his body, leaving very little to the imagination. "What was in the boxes?" She lightly shut the top of her laptop, taking a break from the story that she and Clark were currently working on.

Clark flashed a brilliant smile at his wife. "Books mostly. A few magazines that I saved for some reason or another. No big loss. I haven't looked at them for ages. I think one of them has some of my college textbooks still." He shook his head as if to say he really didn't know why he'd been saving them.

He moved to head upstairs to the bedroom.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Lois arched her eyebrow.

"To change."

"That's what you think," she said, a hint of mischief in her eyes as she stood to follow him.

Clark knew the look and chuckled. How had he gotten so lucky to have this woman in his life and who eagerly returned the love that he had for her?

He headed up the stairs, Lois at his heels, swatting playfully at his backside.

"Hey, whatever happened to that harem outfit?" he teased.

"I burned it after I made a fool out of myself by coming to your apartment in it."

"Pity."

Kal-El, said a voice inside of his mind. He froze on the third step from the top, his hand gripping the banister tightly.

Zara? he thought back tentatively.

Yes, came the reply. I very much need to speak with you.

Uh, ok.

Ching and I know where to find you. We will be there in less than five minutes.

"What?" Lois said, her eyes searching his face.

Clark knew that he must have had that far-off gaze of his as he'd communicated with Zara. "I, uh, think we're about to have some company. That was Zara. And Ching, apparently."

Lois groaned as her stomach lurched. The last time she'd seen the Kryptonians, they had tried to take Clark away from her so that he could save New Krypton from civil war. He'd managed to return when Lord Nor had come to Earth and taken Smallville hostage. Clark had won his right to stay on Earth but had nearly died twice in the effort. Convicted of high treason, he'd only barely escaped having his molecules dispersed to the universe, and then Colonel Cash had released a gas bomb laced with Kryptonite as Clark and Nor had dueled. In both cases, Clark had escaped death by the skin of his teeth.

Clark saw his wife's face go ashen and tried to reassure her. "Hey, it's ok. I bet they're just coming for...a social visit."

"We don't get social visits, Clark. We get crazy people and psycho killers and aliens looking to kidnap my husband!"

She stumped unhappily up the stairs after him, unwilling to let him out of her sight, lest Zara and Ching steal him away while her back was turned. And yet, she had to admit, they had parted on good terms - as friends almost. Moments later, they made their way back down and into the living room, Clark showered and dressed in faded maroon shorts and an ash gray shirt. They stopped short as they took in the sight of people in their living room.

"Kal-El!" Zara exclaimed as she crossed the room to greet him. Ching did the same, coming over to clasp hands with him. They greeted Lois as well.

They repaid the pleasantries somewhat distractedly. Clark greeted the couple warmly - he truly had forged a friendship with them in the short span of time when they had fought side-by-side. In some way, it was good to see them again. It was good to be among people that were just like him.

And yet, there was still two others in the room. Clark blinked at the two who stood facing him now as they turned from examining the wedding photos that hung on the walls. Trey, he recognized instantly and wasn't in the least bit surprised to see. Where ever Zara and Ching went, he felt sure that Trey was not far behind, attending to the strongest ruling House on New Krypton. But the other...Clark shook his head, blinking, as though doing so would change what he saw.

The figure across from him held his opened his arms outstretched before him, inviting him into an embrace. A beaming smile lit the elder man's face.

"Kal-El. My son," Jor-El said.