Chapter 1: Aftermath at Reeves Dam
J'onn J'onzz, The Martian Manhunter, was floating just above the planet, Earth, looking in the direction of Mars, his home world that was so distant to him now that he didn't even really recognize it. He rarely went back to Mars, because it brought back too many bad memories to him of his friends and family that had been lost during the war. Everything had happened all too quickly when the civilization destroyed itself.
The Martian was brought out of his thoughts as he felt the pain of his wounds healing. That was the reason that he had left the planet in the first place. J'onn hadn't wanted to leave the job up to Kal-El and Lionel alone. He knew that the final Phantom was extremely powerful. The creature had managed to break through J'onn's normally invulnerable body and take some of his insides out before J'onn could even use his invisibility or become intangible either for that matter. He'd never dealt with a creature that quick or powerful before.
However, once the healing process was over, J'onn could feel all kinds of emotions all at once. His telepathy was working once more as it had been very difficult for him to use it when he was injured. All at once, he understood the goings on from those he knew and cared for most. It wasn't a good sign at all to him, and the fear that he would be too late was creeping into his mind.
Lionel was unconscious and in great danger within Reeves Dam as well as Lois Lane and an unconscious Chloe Sullivan. Lana Lang-Luthor was apparently frightened for her life, on the run with her biological father, Henry Small as they were on their way to Metropolis after she had apparently faked her death, Lionel seeing the death and believing her to really be dead. He had then gone off to tell Kal-El whom had gone after Lex, believing it was him that had killed her, thus leading to... The Phantom!
J'onn could sense The Phantom. The creature was apparently having the time of its life flying away from Reeves Dam. There was something different about The Phantom. He couldn't tell for sure what it was, but he had a bad feeling that Kal-El had been in an altercation with him, thus leading J'onn to focus his telepathy further to finding Kal-El. His eyes enlarged in shock as he realized that Kal-El was... dying! He was surrounded by Kryptonite, slowly killing him.
J'onn quickly took off at lighting fast speed, flying his way back into the planet's atmosphere, a red streak following after him as usual when he flew. If he didn't get to Kal-El in time, the Last Son of Krypton would be dead...
The sounds of rushing water and crashing debris from all around brought Lionel Luthor out of his unconscious state. He could barely move as a column had collapsed on him. Luthor was in considerable pain, but the man knew that something had to be done. He couldn't lie there for he would surely die in the destruction or drown from the rushing water.
"Help!" Lionel yelled out as he laid there in excruciating pain. "If anyone's out there, help!" He didn't know where Clark was, but he was sure that the last son of Krypton was probably dealing with the clone of himself that the Phantom had created. His only hope was that someone else was still in the dam and would hear his cries for help or that J'onn J'onzz would sense his trouble and come to his rescue.
At that moment, a wall crashed inward nearby. Lionel's eyes enlarged as he feared that The Phantom Clone had returned to finish the job, but instead, standing there in a white dress was a blonde haired woman. She was looking around everywhere, confusion clearly present in her eyes as she assessed where she was and what was going on. It appeared to Lionel that she had actually come out of the wall, having been imprisoned there for many years.
Kara Zor-El's attention turned to the man held down by the column. Slowly, she curiously moved over to him and bent down examining him. "Where am I, earthling?"
Lionel winced in pain as he looked at the girl, not sure what to tell her. "You're in a dam. It's about to... collapse. Please, help me."
"Is there someone down here?" a new voice called out.
It was a familiar voice to Lionel. "Miss Lane! In here!" Lionel started coughing as he saw the blonde girl turn away from him and toward the new arrival. Lionel looked past the stranger to see Lois carrying... Chloe?! "What happened to Chloe?"
Lois Lane gently set Chloe Sullivan down as she slowly moved toward where Lionel was, eyeing Kara as she moved past her, not sure what to think of the stranger. "Are you going to help him or just stand there?"
"Who are you?" Kara asked.
"A very annoyed reporter," Lois replied sharply before turning back to Lionel. "Just hold on, Mr. Luthor. You'll have to help me here."
With their combined efforts, Lois and Lionel managed to get the column off of his body before she helped him slowly to his feet. "Thank you, Miss Lane. We need to get out of here."
Lois shook her head. "Not without Chloe." She started moving back toward, her going past the strange blonde girl as she did so and back over to Chloe with Lionel right behind her. "I found her like this. One of your son's goons tried to kill me. When I came to, I didn't have the stab wound from the man that..."
"Someone stabbed you?" Lionel asked, cutting her off.
Lois nodded. "Yeah. She's barely breathing. We have to get her to the Med Center." With that said, Lois picked her cousin back up and draped her arm around her neck.
"Let me help you," Lionel stated as he moved to the other side of Chloe and put her other arm around his shoulder as they turned toward the strange new comer.
Kara watched their movements the entire time, simply fascinated by the way they were acting. "You both seem to show care for that girl. This not what I expected of this world."
Lois had a confused look on her face as she looked to Lionel. "What is she talking about?"
"I'm not sure," Lionel lied, knowing good and well that something was up, but he didn't know exactly who the girl was. Jor-El hadn't warned him or J'onn of someone knew coming to join them, so he was very confused by this turn of events. "Let's just get out of here. You might want to come with us, miss." And with that, they turned to make the trip out of the dam. Lionel knew that Clark couldn't have still been in the dam, so he wouldn't waste the time trying to find him as they continued moving. Even if he was still in there, nothing would've happened to him anyway.
Kara curiously, but slowly walked after the three humans, keeping her distance from them. Her instincts were telling her that something terrible was happening to the location that they were in, considering the rising water levels, but she wasn't too concerned about it. She knew that she'd be able to blast her way out of need be. For the time being, she was merely amused by the earthlings.
Outside of the Reeves Dam facility, Clark Kent lay unconscious on the bank of the river. He was out cold and deathly pale. The reason: he had landed right in the middle of a grouping of Green Kryptonite. The pain he had been experiencing before going unconscious was excruciating for him to endure, thus why he had lost consciousness. The Last Son of Krypton was dying.
Clark stood in a bright area, surrounded by clouds, but there was nothing else to make notice of from the brightness. Clark looked around the area, trying to find life of any form. From out of one of the clouds stepped his Earth father, Jonathan Kent. "Dad?" Clark was shocked as tears came to his eyes. He ran right into his father's embrace.
"Hello, son," Jonathan said as he returned the hug. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, dad, so has mom," Clark informed him. "Wait, if you're here, then does that mean..."
"No, not yet," Jonathan informed him. "But you will be that way if Lionel and Lois don't find you soon enough."
"Lionel and Lois?" Clark asked.
"They're looking for you, son," Jonathan informed. "They're in the facility, trying to get out before it collapses with an unconscious Chloe and a girl that I don't know."
"So Lionel survived that attack," Clark stated, more to himself then to Jonathan. "But what happened to Chloe? Why is she unconscious?"
"I don't have all the answers, but I do know that I was wrong about Lionel," Jonathan informed. "I can't believe that I'm admitting it now, but he isn't the man that he once was. You can trust him, and look to him and your Martian friend for advice now. With me gone, and your mother in Washington, you'll need sage advice that I can no longer give you."
Clark pulled out of the hug and looked into Jonathan's eyes. "There has to be a way to bring you back with me."
"You can't, son," Jonathan informed. "You can do many wonderful things, but bringing me back from the dead isn't possible. I wish it were, but my time ended. You have to look to the future."
Clark was trembling slightly, not wanting this moment of time with his father to come to an end. "Maybe it would be best if I did die, dad. Everyone that I care about ends up getting hurt in the end. If I'm out of the equation, then they can all live again."
"You can't do that, Clark," a feminine voice stated from behind Clark.
He turned away from Jonathan. His mouth dropped as he saw Alicia Baker standing there. "Alicia!"
"Hi, Clark," Alicia said with a slight smile. "Your future is more important then you realize. No one has gotten hurt because of your gifts. Your dad and I died from outside forces that you couldn't control."
"There have been others," Clark told her as he moved to her and took her hands into his.
"You should listen to them, Kal-El," another female stated.
Clark looked to his left to see that Raya was there as well. "Raya, you're here too?"
"Yes, Kal-El," Raya replied. "We're all here. Everyone that has ever cared about you, that has died protecting you, because they choose to have always been here for you, and in your heart as well. You need but to only think of us, and we will be there beside you always."
"Where are my birth parents then?" Clark asked. "I'm surprised they're not here trying to get me to accept some sort of destiny that they've laid out for me."
"They don't have to be here," Raya informed. "Jor-El is at the Fortress of Solitude waiting for you always, and within Lionel Luthor. Your mother, Lara, she resides within someone as well. She's been well hidden though for some time, not sure of how to reveal herself to you considering who's body she's inhabiting."
Clark was confused. "Who is she inhabiting? It can't be as bad as Jor-El choosing Lionel Luthor."
"She inhabits someone else you believe to be dead," a male voice spoke to Clark's left.
Clark turned seeing that Jason Teague was standing there. "Jason? Why are you here? We hardly got along."
"That was because of previous problems," Jason informed. "All in all, Clark, I still respected you. My mother is still alive somewhere. Your biological father resurrected her since she was stabbed by one of the elements. Since the element had killed her, she became a vessel as well as Lionel."
"Where can I find her?" Clark asked.
"We can't tell you that, Clark," Jason told him. "You have to discover that on your own."
Clark turned to where he could look at all four of them. It was strange seeing people that had been so part of his life before and were no longer with him. Anything was possible for Clark Kent though, and seeing the dead seemed to be another when he was barely holding on to his life. "I promise all of you that I won't let you down. I will make you proud."
"We're counting on it, son," Jonathan informed him with a smile before giving him another hug.
"Take care, Clark," Alicia said before giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.
"You'll find your destiny, Kal-El," Raya informed. "Just believe in yourself."
"Give my mother my best when you see her, Clark," Jason said, patting him on the shoulder as the vision faded and the light became very intense...
A red streak fell upon the sky as The Martian Manhunter landed near to where Clark was. J'onn looked behind him, finding the downed Clark surrounded by Green Kryptonite. He rushed over to Clark, picked him up in his arms and zoomed away from the Kryptonite deposit, stopping right at the entrance to the dam facility. He looked to the door, hoping to see Lionel and Lois walk out of the door with Chloe so that way he wouldn't have to run after them and could stay by Clark's side.
Looking back down to Clark, he sighed and took his hand into his own, gripping it tightly. "Hear my voice, Kal-El. You must awaken. There are many people that need you."
Lionel continued to help carry Chloe as they were moving in the direction of where the entrance that he first come into the facility was. He only wished that he'd been down in that facility more often then he had been, but Lex had made sure that Lionel hadn't been able to be more involved in the Level 33.1 project, which was why he had to get Lana to spy on him like she had. He hated using her, especially now that she was dead, but it had been necessary at the time.
"This way," Lionel stated, pointing his free hand as they kept moving down the long, dark hallways, praying that the dam wouldn't break all the way and kill them.
"God, I hope this is the right way, or we're going to drown down here like we were rejects from the Titanic movie," Lois stated shifting Chloe's weight on her slightly as she could feel the weight becoming a bit much on her neck.
Lionel ignored Lois's comments. This wasn't the time for jokes, and as they moved down the newest corridor it was easy to hear a loud noise from above. "Oh, dear... Hurry, Miss Lane! We're about to go for a swim if we don't get out of here!" They had to pick up the pace, jogging down the hall with the unconscious Chloe bobbing around as they went. They were having difficulty with the water that was already in the place. Lionel had a feeling that they were close to the stairs that would lead to the exit, but he wasn't entirely sure.
Kara was beginning to feel bored by this experience as she still followed the others. Her dress was soaking went, and it annoyed her having to walk around wet. It was a sensation that she wasn't entirely used to having been trapped in this dam for so many years. She couldn't even entirely remember how she had been trapped there in the first place. She had been sent to Earth after her home, Argo City, finally lost stability, and before a search could begin for her cousin, Kal-El, whom was believed to have been sent to this planet before the destruction of Krypton, she had been entrapped somehow. She simply hoped that they'd be out of the dark location soon, and from what she could see, the humans were starting to go up a staircase. It wouldn't be long now.
J'onn hadn't heard any reaction from Clark at all, and he was very worried about that. There was no way to know how long Clark had been exposed to the Kryptonite. There was still the chance that he would end up dying. However, he heard a door opening and could feel the relief coming from the new arrivals.
Relief swept over Lionel as he was breathing fresh air and out into the fading sunlight of what was left of the day. His mouth dropped as he saw J'onn J'onzz knelt under an unconscious Clark Kent. "My God. Clark!" Lionel removed himself from holding onto Chloe and rushed over and knelt beside J'onn as well, not sure what had happened to Clark, but he could tell that he was deathly pale.
"Smallville!" Lois called out as well as she moved Chloe over toward them and set Chloe down gently on the ground.
J'onn leaned in to whisper to him as he knew that Lois Lane was nearby. "I found him around a large deposit of Green Kryptonite. He's not doing so well. I don't know how long he was exposed, but I'm afraid it might've been too long."
Lionel had a look of utter horror on his face as he looked to J'onn for an extra moment before looking back down to Clark. "My God... He might die... No, that's not possible." He turned back to look at J'onn. "There's not a chance. He'll pull through. Don't give up hope." Then, Lionel looked back down to Clark again and leaned down toward one of his ears to whisper to him. "You have to pull through this, son. Don't let the Kryptonite win. Your gifts are far too important to the world to give up now."
Lois moved away from Chloe finally and over to the side of Clark from where Lionel and the black man that she didn't know was as she put a hand on his hair, clearly worried about him. There was a very good chance that Chloe could die and now Clark too. She was loosing everyone that she cared about it seemed. There was no telling what she would do if she lost her cousin and the man that she considered like a brother.
Kara stepped out of the ruins of the dam building as it was collapsing in on itself and was about to move forward, but stopped in shock. She saw the back of someone's head that she hadn't seen in a long time. J'onn J'onzz was right there, kneeling before someone with the man and woman. The unconscious woman was lying nearby. She couldn't believe the Martian that had been friends of Kryptonians was there, but she had a bad feeling of him being there. He knew of the rivalry that her father Zor-El had with Jor-El, her uncle. The last thing she needed was to be spotted by the man, so she knew that getting away was the best option. As she started to run off, she took off into a super speed and then stopped several feet away from where she had been before, shocked by what had just happened. She had no idea of the abilities that had been displayed, but she liked the rush, and so she continued running, getting away from the area quickly.
Clark's eyes opened wide suddenly, and he gasped for air as his body shot up. Breathing deeply, he tried to calm himself, but he couldn't quite remember what was going on just yet. It was bad enough trying to breathe in his current condition. Clark had never felt so weak before, but he couldn't figure out why.
"Thank God you're finally awake, son," Lionel stated, leaning toward him so Lois wouldn't be able to hear. "It's going to be alright. J'onn rescued you. You were in a large deposit of Kryptonite."
Lois's reporter instincts were going wild toward Lionel constantly whispering to Clark it made her wonder if there was some sort of reason for all of that. However, her reporter instincts were also begging to ask the question of who the black man was or the strange blonde girl that had been unwilling to help Lionel back in the dam. She looked around, trying to see the girl, but couldn't find her anyway. She was either still inside or had ran off, and it was most likely the second. She would've had to have been crazy to stay in there.
"Well, it's good to know that there's still people that worry about me when something happens," Clark said slowly, still trying to take easy breathes as he looked back and forth between Lionel, Lois, and J'onn. "I'm glad you're alright, Lois. Thank you all." Suddenly something came back to mind. Something that his father had told him in that dream he had had... At least he thought it was a dream. "Wait! Where's Chloe?"
"Right behind you, Clark," Lois said. "We need to get you and her to the Med Center immediately."
"No, that's alright, Lois," Clark said. "I'm perfectly fine. Really." He slowly started standing back up with the help of Lionel and J'onn as he saw Lois stand up as well. The look on her face told him that she didn't believe it. "I'm serious, Lois. I'll be fine. You'd better take Chloe to the hospital in your car. I'll get a ride with Lionel. His limo is still here."
"You take too many risks with your health, Smallville," Lois said, clearly concerned as she moved over to Chloe and picked her up, moving toward her car, which was still close to where they all were on the bridge, putting her inside before getting in herself and taking off.
After watching Lois leave, Clark turned back to Lionel and J'onn, the emissaries of his biological father. "Alright, what happened to Chloe? Do either of you know?"
"All I know is what Lois told me," Lionel said. "She was stabbed by a guard in there, and apparently Miss Sullivan came after her, and when Miss Lane came to, the wound was gone, and Miss Sullivan was out cold."
"That doesn't make any sense," Clark stated.
"I know it doesn't," Lionel said. "But that's what she told me. Miss Lane is just in the dark about it as we are. Miss Sullivan is still breathing, so hopefully she'll make it to the Med Center."
"This isn't right," Clark said, shaking his head. "If I had known that Lois and Chloe were in there in the first place, I would've done something about it."
"You were a bit busy yourself, Clark," Lionel reminded him. "Where is the phantom anyway?"
"I don't know," Clark said. "He flew away."
"Flew?" J'onn asked.
"He stole part of my DNA and created a clone of me," Clark informed him. "And this clone can fly, unlike myself."
"Don't give me that, Kal-El," J'onn stated. "You've always had the ability to fly. You just choose not to because of your fear of heights. If there was any time to overcome that fear, it would be now."
"He's right, Clark," Lionel agreed.
"You two don't have to agree with each other all the time," Clark said. "It's like you're both some sort of Kryptonian committee, and it's giving me a headache."
"Well, if that's the case, there's a chance there might be another on the committee soon," Lionel informed, looking to both Clark and J'onn. "There was a girl in the dam. She escaped from the wall."
"Did she have blonde hair?" J'onn asked. "Perhaps wearing a white gown?"
"Yes, that's right," Lionel said, amazed. "How did you know?"
"I was afraid of this," J'onn stated, moving a few steps away from both of them.
"What's going on?" Clark asked. "Who is this girl?"
"She's your cousin, Kal-El," J'onn replied as he slowly turned back around to face both of them. "Her name is Kara Zor-El of Argo City."
"Wait, you knew she was in there?" Lionel asked, shock taking over.
"I'm afraid I'm the one that put her there," J'onn informed.
"What?" Clark asked. "You put a member of my family in a wall? That sounds like something that..."
"Jor-El would do?" J'onn cut him off. "Yes, Jor-El commanded me to do it. She was coming to the planet to cause you problems, Kal-El. Your uncle, Kara's father, Zor-El, and your father never got along, and Argo City was finally destroyed a few days before she made her arrival on Earth. Jor-El told me that his brother's dying wishes of Kara were to go to Earth and deal with you."
"Deal with me?" Clark asked. "What kind of sick family do I have?"
"A family that has been at each other's throats for centuries, Kal-El," J'onn replied.
"Why are you only now telling me this?" Clark asked. "You should've told me years ago that I had family on this planet. How dare you."
"I am sorry, Kal-El, but this is not the time to argue with me," J'onn stated. "We need to find her immediately."
"Isn't that Phantom Clone more important at the present time?" Lionel asked. "Surely Kara isn't going to destroy anything like that creature will. She had several chances to kill myself, Miss Lane, and Miss Sullivan, but she did nothing of the sort... Though she refused to help me."
"And that's exactly how she was raised," J'onn stated. "Kara was told to never trust anyone outside of her Kryptonian blood. Saving you would've been an act of treason against Zor-El's wishes. The girl has no real understanding of right or wrong when it comes to the customs of Earth."
"Then why don't you go find the little mess you made, and I'll deal with the clone," Clark stated, clearly not backing down from his anger. "I don't need your help anyway. You're just like Jor-El, keeping things from me, and I don't need that." Clark turned and started off down the bridge.
J'onn watched him go for a moment and then looked to Lionel. "Go with him, Lionel. He needs assistance. I'll deal with Kara."
Lionel nodded. "Good luck." And with that, the Luthor took off after Clark toward his limo.
J'onn took to the skies as he went off in search of Kara Zor-El, knowing that things were going to get a lot worse before they ever got anywhere near better. He knew that they would need help to accomplish the defeat of The Phantom Clone and the most likely rampage of Kara now that she was finally free, but The Justice League were busy with other things. He had no idea that they were currently on their way back to Metropolis, and that help was closer then he really knew.