Chapter 1-1
=May 2005=
As Martha looked out of the window in the living room she could see the sun starting to rise. Both she and Jonathan had been awake all night waiting for Clark to wake up. Neither knew what was going on or what was wrong with their son. They had tried several times during the night to wake him, he was unresponsive.
Despite their worry, Clark didn't seem to be sick. They'd noticed his eyes rapidly moving which was an indication that he was dreaming. Whatever it was that was going on they'd both come to realise that he wasn't in any danger, at least physically.
What was worrying both the senior Kent's at the moment was that in a few short hours, Lois would be back. She'd stayed with Chloe the night before because they had been out late and she didn't want to disturb them. However they knew that Lois went for a run every morning and they were afraid of how she would react if she came back to the farm to find Clark in his current state. After all the last thing they needed was to worry about Lois learning Clark's secret.
"Here you go." She heard Jonathan say as he came in from the kitchen with a mug of coffee.
Martha turned to look at her husband and reached out to take the mug from him. "I don't know how much longer i can cope with this." She admitted.
Jonathan nodded his head in understanding as he sat down on the chair near the couch before glancing at Clark. "I'm going to go and talk to Jor-El. See if i can find out what's going on."
"Jonathan, we've been through this. You cant confront him. You don't know what he'll do to you this time." Martha said with worry in her voice.
"I'm not going to get into a fight with him." Jonathan said softly. "I just want to know if he is behind this, and why."
Martha understood what her husband was saying and a part of her wanted to do the same. However she was afraid that Jor-El would actually kill him this time. She didn't think she could survive having to go through loosing him again like she did the year before. "I just don't want to loose you. The last time you went up against Jor-El, I almost lost you."
Jonathan didn't have a response to that and all he could do was let out deep sigh knowing that ultimately, his wife was right.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Letting out a small groan, Clark opened his eyes slowly blinking as the world around him came back to him. At first he was confused as recognition of where he was began to sink in. Sitting up slowly he looked around to see that he was on the couch in the living room at the farm he grew up in. As he looked around he saw both his parents asleep in their chairs and he realised that they must have found him in the barn.
He remembered being in the barn moving some equipment around when he was hit with a pain unlike any he had ever experienced. He remembered grabbing hold of his head as he fell to his knees in agony before his world went dark. From there, his memories of the next twelve hundred years began flooding into his mind.
Standing up slowly so that he didn't disturb his parents, he had to fight to maintain control over his emotions. Looking at his parents there were so many things that run through his head. The memory of the night his father died, the guilt and pain he felt because of Jor-El bringing him back to life. He remembered the pain and anger he felt at himself and the world.
Looking at his mothers sleeping form brought another wave of guilt to him. He hadn't even been on Earth when she had died as he was off helping Maxima deal with a civil war that had broken out on her home planet. He hadn't even been there for the funeral. Even now he remembers the letter that his mother had left for him. She had known that she would probably be dead before he returned to Earth. She'd contacted Bruce and asked him to hold onto the letter until he had returned.
Not wanting to focus on those memories Clark pulled himself back into the present. Right now though he knew he had to wake his parents. They would ask a bunch of questions he knew that, and he knew he would lie to them. "Mom, Dad." He called out softly to wake them.
Both Jonathan and Martha heard Clark call them and instantly awoke. Neither was sure when they had fallen asleep, but they had and Clark had awoken while they were sleeping.
Martha however was the first one on her feet and went straight up to her sun and hugged him. "We've been so worried." She said as Clark hugged her while trying his hardest to maintain his emotional control.
"I'm sorry i worried you guys. I wasn't expecting that to happen." Clark said as he let his mother go.
"What happened Son?" Jonathan asked relieved that his son was awake.
"Neural overload." Clark simply answered only to get a confused look from his parents. "I'll explain later but right now I've gotta go." Without even giving his parents chance to say anything, he shifted into super speed and out of the house.
"What's going on?" Martha asked in confusion over the way Clark had just brushed her and Jonathan off.
"I don't know." Was all Jonathan could say in response.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
After leaving the farm, Clark quickly found himself at the caves. Walking up to the wall that had the slot for the key he placed his hand over it. Instantly the symbols around it began to spin around. As the symbols began to spin, Clark pressed three of them and they lined up together. Then a wall not far from him began to move revealing the hidden chamber.
Walking into the hidden chamber Clark smiled as he saw a duffel bag on the floor. "Your a genius Kara." He mused to himself as he knelt down to pick it up. Opening the bag he checked the contents and smiled again over the fact that nothing was damaged. Zipping the bag back up he left the hidden chamber that closed up behind him.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Lois arrived at the farm and smiled as she smelled coffee in the air. She'd already had two at Chloe's but she needed more. Walking into the house she saw that both the elder Kent's were up. That didn't actually surprise her as they were always up early. "Morning Mr and Mrs K." She greeted the pair that were sat around the kitchen counter drinking coffee.
"Morning Lois, how's Chloe?" Martha asked just before Jonathan greeted the young woman as well.
"She's good." Lois answered as she put her bag down and sat on the spare stool in the kitchen. "Where's Clark?" She asked noting that the farm boy wasn't around.
"Oh he got up early and said he had to go somewhere." Martha answered. "Coffee?"
"Yes please," Lois responded with a smile. "I'll grab a quick shower then go for my run."
"Would you like some breakfast?" Martha then asked as she began pouring the coffee.
"I had something to eat at Chloe's, thanks anyway." Lois responded. She had to admit that she really loved staying with the Kent's. And although she would never say it out loud, she liked living with Clark. He was that annoying little brother that she wished she had growing up. She also realized that he was probably the best friend that she'd ever had. "Speaking of Clark, is he all set for graduation tomorrow?"
Both Jonathan and Martha glanced at each other for a second before looking back at Lois. "I think so. I know he's been excited about it." Jonathan answered knowing that his son was excited about graduating. Although after what happened this morning he wasn't really sure what was going on.
"Don't worry Mr Kent, I'm sure he wont trip and embarrass himself." Lois quipped which brought a smile to both the elder Kent's faces.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Clark reached out towards the red ship that was at the bottom of the river and placed a small crystal on the nose of the ship. Instantly it juddered before a small rectangular object was ejected from it. Clark knew exactly what it was and grabbed hold of it before putting it in his pocket. Once secure he swan down underneath the ship and lifted it up. Slowly he rose up out of the water with the ship in his hands and after a few seconds breached the surface.
Once in the air, Clark glided himself and the ship to a secluded spot near the riverbank before setting the ship back on the ground. With the main power core removed he knew that the ship was running on emergency power. He also knew that without the main core, the activation system had also been disabled. A fail-safe to ensure Kara would survive.
With the ship safely on the ground Clark walked up to it and pulled another small crystal out of his pocket. Placing in on the side of the ship it glowed slightly before a hissing could be heard as the cockpit opened. Floating up into the air he landed next to the cockpit as it fully opened to reveal Kara's sleeping form.
Again Clark reached into his pocket this time pulling out two small metal objects. Once was octagonal shaped and about the size and thickness of his thumb nail. The second was diamond shape and about three inches in length and about two and a half inches wide. Taking the octagonal shaped disk into his right hand he reached down towards Kara and placed the small device just under her right ear. The device itself was designed to keep her asleep until he'd finished what he was doing.
Once the octagonal shape device was attached to her, Clark placed the diamond shaped device on her forehead. The second it connected with her skin it started to glow and Clark knew it was doing it's job.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Chloe Sullivan let out a deep sigh as she packed the last of the stuff that she kept in the Talon. Today was her last day at Smallville High before graduation and she had to admit that she was going to miss the place. So much of her life had been tied to the Torch and in many ways, it was hers. Yet she knew that it would fall into the hands of the next generation of Smallville High's students. She just hoped that they could do the place justice. "Have you seen Clark today?" The all too familiar voice of Lana Lang asked as she walked into the office.
Chloe turned from the box she was loading stuff into and shook her head. "No. He said he'd help finish packing with me. But he's a no show."
"Nobody else has seen him either." Lana stated. "He hasn't shown up at all today."
Hearing that Chloe became a little worried. She knew that Clark only got sick around the Meteor Rocks and that apart from that, he's pretty much unstoppable. "I'm sure he's fine Lana." She eventually said.
"Maybe. But I was hoping to talk to him. We've gone through a lot this year." Lana said. Things with Jason had started going really bad and she needed Clark, although she'd never say it out loud. At least not yet anyway. She was also hoping that when she tells him that she's staying in Smallville, that maybe things between them will change.
Chloe had to agree with what Lana had said. She'd seen the way her two friends started gravitating back towards each other. Personally she thought it was a recipe for disaster. "If he comes in do you want me to give him a message?"
Lana give Chloe a small smile and nodded her head. "Can you tell him to stop by the Talon later. You should come as well. I think it would be great for us to have one last group night before graduation."
"Sure. Sounds like fun." Chloe responded. "I'll bring Lois as well."
"Alright, I'll see you later." With that Lana turned around and walked out of the Torch leaving Chloe behind.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
The world around Kara started to come back to her as she began to stretch out. Letting out a small groan as she stretched she immediately became aware that she was not alone. Opening her eyes, she was immediately greeted by the sight of Kal who was looking down at her with a small smile. The second she saw his face all of her future memories came flooding back to her. However there was something that she immediately noticed, she couldn't feel him.
Since she and Kal had gotten together, they'd gone through the Kryptonian bonding process. It was a process where two Kryptonians minds become linked and allowed them to feel each other. "Something's wrong." She immediately said as she sat up.
Kal's smile slipped and turned to a look of concern. "What do you mean? What's wrong?" He asked.
Kara looked into Kal's eyes and could see the worry. "I cant feel you." She simply said as if it was obvious.
Hearing Kara's words, Kal let out a sigh of relief. "Kara, we're in our younger bodies. We may remember the future, but these bodies aren't bonded."
It took a few seconds for Kal's words to register. She'd gotten so used to feeling him in the back of her mind that him not being there was unsettling. "I don't like it." She finally said.
"What do you remember? Your future self and I didn't know if her plan would work." Kal asked as he didn't know if all the memories would take. Kara had come up with the idea of using a modified memory pendant to capture all her memories from her future self. It took a little work to get it to function in the way they were hoping it would.
Kara sat there for a few seconds going over her memories. As she did she could remember a lot about her future life. She remembered being woken up in her ship and finding Lex in a cop car. She remembered searching for Kal and learning the truth that Krypton had been destroyed. She could remember the next year before she became trapped in the Phantom Zone before Kal found her and they escaped. "Your my home." She could still remember those three small words that came from his lips when he wouldn't leave her behind.
As Kara went deeper into her memories more came flooding back to her. Her trip to the future after Jor-El all but ordered her to leave Kal. Kal coming to the future during the short war between New Krypton and Earth. Returning to the past for a few months before going back to the future. The next century before Kal returned to Earth. Everything that her future self had experienced she remembered. "I remember everything. What happened in the future, why we came back. My idea of using the memory pendants. Everything." The second those words left her mouth she noticed Kal letting out another sigh of relief and she could tell that he was afraid that her plan wouldn't work.
As she looked at Kal she suddenly realised that she was sitting on a blanket and that he was sitting there leaning against the base of a tree. So with that she got to her knees before turning around and sitting back down between his legs. Once she was sitting she leaned back into him and he instantly wrapped his arms around her. "You were afraid that it wouldn't work." It wasn't a question, but a statement as Kara knew that he was afraid of loosing her again. It had taken a long time for him to learn to feel again after spending so many centuries in isolation. "Even if it didn't work Kal, all you'd have to do was find me and tell me everything. I'll always be here."
Kal tightened his hold on Kara as she rested the back of her head on his chest. "You brought me back Kara," He said softly. "If it wasn't for you, I'd sill be living in isolation away from everyone. You taught me how to feel again. I don't know if I could cope with loosing you, loosing everything that we have."
"I remember our first time like it only just happened. Rao, I got you so wound up that morning." Kara said with a smile on her face as the memory came back to the front of her mind.
Kal let out a small chuckle as the memory came back to him. "Yeah, there I was trying to have a shower in peace before a certain blond that shall remain nameless decided to join me."
"Well I got fed up of us doing that stupid dance around each other. It took what, nearly four years after Brainiac told us the truth." Kara responded. Four years just to get him into bed. Well they didn't actually use a bed that time, although it took a few hours to repair the shower in the Fortress after they had finished.
Again Kal let out another chuckle at that knowing that she was right. "Yeah. In the end all you had to do was walk into the shower and tell me that we were going to have sex, and that I didn't have a choice."
"I got tired of you over analysing everything." Kara said with contentment in her voice as she snuggled more into her mate while letting out a small yawn as her eyelids began to get heavy. "Rao why do I still feel so tired. It was like this last time. I remember waking up and seeing Lex in that cop car. After i rescued him, i flew off only to find myself needing to sleep again."
"You've been in stasis for almost sixteen years. Even with the effects of the yellow sun, your mind still needs time to adjust." Kal answered honestly. "Plus you just got downloaded with your future self's memories. It's going to take a lot out of you." As Kal finished speaking all he got in response from the blond Kryptonian was a few soft mumbles and he knew that she was falling back to sleep. Dipping his head down he kissed her gently on the top of her head. "Sleep Kara, I'll still be here when you wake up."
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
As Chloe walked out of the main door of the school she looked around and saw all the others laughing and joking around while throwing toilet paper everywhere. She couldn't help but start to wonder what the future held for her now that school was finally over. She'd be going to Met U in the fall leaving Clark and Lana behind and she didn't know if she was ready to say goodbye.
On one level she was glad to be getting away. She still loved Clark but knew that he didn't feel the same about her. She didn't blame him or anything and knew that you cant help who you fall in love with. It was just painful knowing that she wasn't the one that he wanted. Despite this though, there was another part of her that was glad that she and Clark never got together. She knew that they had a chance during that spring formal a few years back until she put a halt to the whole thing by pulling the friends card. While she did regret that decision sometimes, she'd come to learn that maybe they just weren't meant to be. Part of her was glad because she knew that if they had gotten together and it fell apart, she'd probably end up loosing his friendship. That meant more to her than anything else. She didn't think she could survive if she lost Clark's friendship.
"Hey, Chloe. You heading home?" Lana asked as she came up next to the blond reporter.
Chloe turned to look at Lana while still holding the box that contained the last of her stuff from the Torch. "Yeah." She answered with a bit of sadness in her voice. "I cant believe that it's finally over."
"I know what you mean." Lana commented. "So much has happened over the last few years and i don't know if I'm ready to let go of it yet."
As the two friends started to walk away from the school Chloe looked at Lana with a curious expression. "I thought you'd be the first one that would be heading out of town."
"I think I'm going to stick around Smallville for a while. I did the whole traveling thing when I went to Paris last year." Lana responded before a small smile formed on her face. "I was called back here for a reason and I'm not ready to give up on it yet."
Chloe had this feeling that Lana's words were in reference to Clark. She knew that he would probably jump at the chance to get Lana back and she was still convinced that in the end it would lead to nothing but heartbreak for the pair of them. That said she'd vowed to stay out of it. If they needed help and advice, she give it. But she was not going to get in-between the pair of them. She was also worried about Clark's future. Since learning about his powers she couldn't help but feel that Clark was going to sacrifice a lot of himself trying to make Lana happy. She could only hope that everything worked out alright in the end. "Are you sure about not going to college next year? I mean you can still get in on late admissions."
"I don't know to be honest." Lana answered truthfully. "I kinda like the idea of just taking the next year off. You know, see what draws my passions."
See what Clark does you mean. Chloe thought to herself but didn't say it out loud. "I just hope you know what your doing. I mean your art work was amazing and personally I think you should pursue it."
"Thanks," Lana said genuinely touched by Chloe's words. "Maybe I will go back to study art eventually. I do miss it." She then admitted.
The two teens came to a stop as they reached Chloe's car. Putting the box down she pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket and opened the trunk. Picking the box back up she put it in the trunk and closed it. "Do you want a ride?" She asked.
Lana shook her head in response. "No, my car's just down the road." With that she started to back away to start walking towards her car. "I'll see you at the Talon later."
"Ok." Chloe said as she opened the drivers side door before getting in. Once comfortable she started the engine and drove off, giving Lana a quick wave as she did.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Genevieve Teague was not a happy lady. In fact she was furious. For the last few hours she'd been trying to get hold of her son without any luck. As a courtesy to him, she hadn't gone to Lana directly. However since he was not answering her and the Luthor's had escaped, she knew a more direct approach was needed. Her ancestor dealt with Isobel before and she had no doubt that she could handle Lana Lang, even if Isobel was still around.
She'd wait until nightfall before confronting the young woman and one way or another she would get her hands on that stone. Her idiot husband was still blindly following Virgil Swann's belief that the stones belonged to the Traveler, well he or she wasn't here and even if they were she would still possess the stones. He family had dedicated the last few centuries to finding them, and now finally they were within her grasp.
One thing she was curious about though, why hadn't Lex or Lionel gone to the police after she and her son kidnapped them. It would be the easiest way to get her out of the way so that they could find the other stones.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
Kara walked towards the Kent Farm alone as Kal had gone off somewhere. All he said was that he knew where one of the other stones were that would form the Fortress. Knowing that he wanted to deal with this situation alone, she'd agreed to go back to the Farm. However she also knew that things could get a little awkward.
She'd never met Jonathan Kent and only had a few encounters with Martha. In fact she didn't meet Martha until after Clark had gone public as Superman. From what she had seen of the woman, Kara had to admit that she liked her. That aside though, Clark had also warned her that his 'parents' were inadvertently a cause behind a lot of his problems growing up.
From what Kal had told her, the Kent's had raised Clark in the only way they could and that was as a human. However because of Jor-El's actions, they feared anything Kryptonian and did everything they could to deny Clark's heritage. In truth Kara could not blame them for this as they were only human after all. They had no knowledge or understanding of how Kryptonians were raised. On top of that there was also the fact that Kal hid a lot of who he truly was, even from them.
Coming to a stop just before reaching the front porch, Kara turned on the spot and looked around. While she'd never told Kal this, she had missed the Farm. She was saddened when he told her that he had sold it when he moved to Metropolis with Lois. Although he did admit that it was one of his biggest mistakes, especially after the two broke up. From what Kal had told her, while he'd been off world, Lois had gone to see about a divorce. Then he had learned that she'd gotten involved with somebody named Richard White. He'd never really gone into details about what actually happened except to say that when the end came, he was actually glad.
Closing her eyes, Kara allowed the smells of the farm to start bombarding her. She could smell the grass, the hay in the barn and the general cleanness of the air. It had been so long since she'd been on the farm and it amazed her how much she realised she'd truly missed it. Then as those thoughts hit her she also realized that in reality, she's only actually been to the farm once before. She was so glad that she had the maturity to actually handle what's happening to her. Having her future self's memories was both a blessing and a curse. She was however glad that she still had Kal and she would never take that for granted.
So with that in mind, Kara turned towards the front porch of the house and made her way up the steps.
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/
\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/\S/