Chapter 2: Kal-El and Clark Kent

Prince Kal-El, with his friends, Laurel Lance, daughter of the king's body guard, and Oliver Queen, the son of the Earth ambassador in class listening to their teacher Professor Irons.

"So to review everyone, all triangles have three sides." Irons said simply. "And the relations between these sides are known as ratios."

As Irons talked, Kal-El looked out the window and saw several small children having a snowball fight outside. Kal-El would give anything to be outside with Laurel and Oliver having fun instead of all these tiresome duties.

"Now sire," Irons said, interrupting Kal-El's thoughts. "If you could give me your full attention like Oliver and Laurel, name the three sedimentary trigonometric ratios. You may begin."

Kal-El smirked at Oliver who smiled back, and they pulled out spit balls and straws.

"Oh no." Laurel groaned.

"Cotangent." Kal-El said as he blew a spit ball that landed right on Oliver's face.

"Ouch!" Oliver called out in a loud whisper.

"Secant." Kal-El continued as he blew another spit ball at Oliver that caught him in the forehead.

"Oh, that's nice." Oliver whispered.

"Oh, what is it?" Kal-El muttered. "What is it?"

"My turn." Oliver said as he blew a spit ball that Kal-El dodged and blew back at him.

"Conical." Kal-El finished.

"Oh, grow up you two." Laurel groaned.

"Now sire," Irons said as calmly as always. "We've been over this time and time again. It's hypotenuse. Hypotenuse."

Laurel then smirked and grabbed her own straw, finally landing one on Kal-El.

"Nice." Kal-El said.

"Yes Miss Lance." Irons said. "You all made very nice shots at each other, but play time's over. Hand them over, you three."

Kal-El, Oliver, and Laurel all handed Irons their straws.

"You can have these back after lunch." Irons said plainly. "In the meantime, Kal-El, you know your father is ill and needs rest and quiet. Now I know it's hard to only have time to yourself when you go to sleep, but that's the sacrifices required for a king to be fully capable of ruling a kingdom."

Suddenly, he heard a scuffle outside. He opened the door to see Zod holding a boy down.

"Now, I believe trespassing is worthy of maybe a year or two in the dungeons." Zod said calmly.

"Captain!" Kal-El called out. "What's the meaning of this outrage?!"

"Just some riff-raff who managed to crawl into the grounds, sire." Zod said oily.

"Captain Zod, my father always taught me that even the lowliest subjects of this kingdom deserve respect." Kal-El countered. "Have him brought to me at once."

Kal-El then left for the hallway where he and this poor fellow would meet.

()()()()()

"Oh, the prince wishes to see you." Captain Zod said to Clark. "Allow me to get you started."

Captain Zod then kicked Clark right to the front doorstep of the palace.

Clark weakly walked inside as he groaned.

I'm gonna feel that in the morning. Clark thought. Today hadn't been his day.

()()()()()

Clark looked around a large hall filled with tapestries and suits of armor.

"Wow." Clark remarked in awe. He then looked down and saw his reflection in the floor. "Man, this place is clean enough for an operating room."

Clark smiled and walked around.

"I'm just a little guy. Give me a pizza pie." Clark hummed when he slid and crashed into two suits of armor with a helmet ending up landing on his head.

"Hey, what's going on out here?" A boy asked as a helmet landed on his head. "Oliver, if this is your idea of a joke, you need a new sense of humor."

Clark walked up to the boy and saw that they were of the same height. The two lifted up their helmets and took a peak at each other before Clark recognized not only the same blue eyes, but the same jet black hair. The other boy must have noticed too because he backed away also. Eventually, the two pulled the helmets off and looked at each other. They not only had the same eyes and hair, they looked perfectly alike. They walked around each other and starred in disbelieve.

"You look just like…" They both said at the same time and in the same voice. "I thought you were…"

"Wait, wait, wait a second." The boy said. "Let's get things settled down. I'm Prince Kal-El, and who are you?"

"Clark Kent." Clark said timidly. He'd never met the prince before, and he now understood why the guard had let him in. He had mistaken Clark for the prince.

"Well, Clark, I owe you one." Kal-El said with a smile.

"How do you figure?" Clark asked.

"I was about to die of boredom in my class this morning." Kal-El said with a smile. "Do you know what it's like to be the prince?"

"It's gotta be a lot easier than being a peasant." Clark remarked. "All I live in is an old shack with my best friend Roy, and my girlfriend Lois."

"Well I don't get a moment to myself." Kal-El said as he began rounding off what appeared to be his schedule. "Breakfast at seven. Lessons until lunch."

"Oh lunch." Clark groaned. "I haven't been able to have an actual lunch since I was seven."

"Fencing until tea time!" Kal-El continued on.

"Cool." Clark remarked. "Like the three musketeers."

"And every night, banquet after feast after banquet." Kal-El ranted.

"Bet you never go hungry." Clark countered as his stomach growled again.

"And then nine o'clock on the button, bed time!" Kal-El finished.

"Oh, bed." Clark groaned as he laid his head on the prince's pillow. All he, Roy, and Lois had were ragged blankets and a couch cushion a piece.

"Say what you like, but I envy your freedom." Kal-El sighed.

"I envy your diet." Clark countered as he walked up to a mirror Kal-El was staring at.

"Yes, but you can hang out with your friends all day long." Kal-El retorted, and Clark couldn't deny that. "No studying dreary old books. Staying up as late as you like and eating junk food. Oh, if I could take your place for just one day, I'd be content… Hey… Wait a minute."

"What?" Clark asked.

"That's it!" Kal-El remarked.

"What's it?" Clark asked again.

"Don't you see?" Kal-El asked. "I'll take your place while you take mine. I'll hang out with your friends in London while you'll be the prince."

Kal-El took Clark aside and quickly switched clothes with him, and Clark found himself in Kal-El's clothes. A blue shirt with a red cloak and blue pants with red boots. On the chest was a red S in a yellow background. Clark looked at Kal-El, and he was wearing Clark's clothes.

"But I can't be the prince!" Clark protested. "How would I act?"

"Don't worry." Kal-El said. "The only things you absolutely have to say for the day are, 'That's a great idea. I'm glad I thought of it.' And, 'Guards, seize him!'"

"But your father." Clark continued to protest. There were so many things that could go wrong with this idea. "The king!"

"I'll be back by tomorrow morning." Kal-El assured Clark. "And if there's trouble, all will know my by this.

Kal-El held up his ungloved hand to show a golden ring with the same S design on Clark's chest.

"Wow." Clark gaped. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"You'll do fine, Clark." Kal-El assured Clark. "You're looking like a prince already. Good-bye Clark."

"Uh… Good-bye… Kal-El." Clark said nervously. "You won't forget to come back, right?"

()()()()()

Kal-El smiled at Clark before hopping down and walking off whistling as he walked past Zod.

"Hello Captain." Kal-El said calmly.

Zod grabbed Kal-El by his shirt and held him up.

"Well, if it isn't the prince's little double." Zod said as he held Kal-El up. "I'll teach you to embarrass me in front of the prince."

"Actually Captain Zod, I am the prince." Kal-El said quickly as a test to see how well the switch had gone off.

"Heh." Zod smirked. "Sorry little man, but I'm not as gullible as Lieutenant Ursa."

Zod tossed Kal-El over the wall, and Kal-El landed right on the ground.

"Sayonara sucker!" Zod called out.

"Wow." Kal-El remarked. "That was easier than I thought. I'm free! I'm free! I am good."

"Clark!" A girl's voice called out, and Kal-El saw a girl about his age with purple eyes and long black hair run up. "Clark, are you alright?! When Roy told me you'd gone into the castle, I was afraid I'd never see you again. Now-"

The girl starred at him.

"Who the heck are you?" The girl asked in suspicion.

"Oh." Kal-El said nervously. This had to be Clark's girlfriend, Lois. "Why Lois, I'm Clark of course."

"Then how come you're holding yourself so differently?" Lois asked. "Clark's always so relaxed, and you're so stiff."

"Clark, there you are!" A slim boy with brown hair called out as he rushed up. "I thought you'd be dead, pal."

"Oh… Yes." Kal-El said as the boy looked like that Little John fellow from the Robin Hood stories. "That's me. Clark Kent."

"Now my dear man, I'm pretty bad with names at the moment." Kal-El said, hoping this wasn't one of Clark's friends. "Could I have your name?"

"What's the matter with the one you've got, Clark?" The boy asked. "It's me, Roy."

"Oh of course, Roy!" Clark said. "How have been, dear fellow?"

"Did Zod throw you out on your head or something?" Roy asked.

"Uh…" Kal-El said as he tried to think up a good alibi.

"Oh, don't worry pal!" Roy said with a smile. "I know it's a joke. You always use a smile to get out of bad situations."

"Well, I've got to get going." Kal-El said. "I'll meet you back here around 7 or so to head back home."

"Hey Clark, wait!" Roy called out as Kal-El walked off quickly. Clark's girlfriend was already suspicious, and he didn't want to risk Roy catching on unless he had to.

()()()()()

Lois watched the boy and Roy go off. She then looked back at the castle.

"Clark, where are you?" Lois asked as she stayed there to think.

She had known Clark for three years, and she had been Clark's girlfriend long enough to know that something was up, and that boy definitely wasn't Clark, so that meant that Clark was still in the castle, somewhere.

Well, that was a nice meeting, wasn't it?