Chapter 3:
"Where have you two been?!" Clifford exclaimed in a panic. "You should have been back anhour ago!"
Cheryl and Jason had finally arrived home, still wet from their fall as both of them chuckled nervously. They would have to break the news to their dad sooner or later, so might as well get it over with.
"Well, we decided we wanted to walk home, get some exercise and all that..." Jason started
"...When something happened that we needed to take care of." Cheryl finished rather sheepishly. Clifford crossed his arms, an irritated look on his face as he looked at his children.
"Like what, exactly?" He asked with a frown.
"Uh..." Jason looked around everywhere, trying to buy some time for some kind of miracle to happen. Cheryl on the other hand just sighed.
"I got hit by a car when I tried to cross the bridge, and we both fell into the water." Cheryl admitted.
Clifford's eyes were filled with shock and panic as he rushed over to his daughter. He looked all over her to find any wounds or damage whatsoever on her.
"Oh my god, are you ok?!" Clifford asked, speaking at a million miles per hour. He knew his girl was tougher than most, but he had no idea what her limits were. And being rammed into by a speeding car was new on the list.
"I'm fine dad, really." Cheryl stated. "Honest, there's not a scratch on me."
Clifford sighed in relief, hugging his daughter tight as she returned the gesture.
"Thank god for that..." Clifford smiled as he broke the hug. "But what about the car and it's passengers? Are they ok?"
"Oh yeah, we saved them." Cheryl smiled brightly, although Clifford wasn't smiling quite as bright. He was proud of his children for saving innocent people, but at the same time he was afraid of how they saved them.
"What did you do, exactly?" Clifford asked.
"Well we dived in, saw how many people there were, Cheryl tore the roof off, we each grabbed one-" Jason was inturrupted by his father.
"You did what?!" He asked in shock, looking at his daughter. "You tore the roof off of a car?!"
"I had to! The doors were locked shut and the whole thing was flooding!" Cheryl defended herself. "I thought that if I tore the doors off, it would look even more suspicious! Now they can think the roof scraped against a big rock and came off or something!"
Clifford turned from his kids, running a hand through his hair as he tried to compose him. Cheryl was right, doors don't just come off during car sinkings, especially multiple ones. He just didn't like the thought of people asking too many questions, not after all they've done to keep this a secret. Clifford went to the kitchen to pour himself a drink. It wasn't in his habits, but tonight he needed it.
"And who did you save?" He called out. "Anyone we know?" If it was someone they knew, that would make things even trickier to explain.
"No, no one we knew." Cheryl called out. "Although she is pretty famous. Penelope Lodge. Just like Veroni-"
The sound of glass breaking could be heard from the kitchen as Cheryl and Jason ran towards it. There they saw Clifford, standing in a puddle of whisky and broken shards as white as a sheet, not moving the slightest muscle. It was like he had seen a ghost.
"Did... Did you say Penelope?" He stuttered. Both children looked at each other confused; they had no idea what had gotten into their father.
"Do... Do you know of her?" Jason asked.
"Know of her?.." Clifford started as he stared at his left hand, his gaze landing on his ring finger. "Yeah... I used to know her well..."
Suddenly Clifford marched towards his coat resting on the chair, and picked up the car keys on the counter.
"Come on. I have something to show the both of you." Clifford told his children rather sternly as he walked in between them to the car. Both Cheryl and Jason looked at each other in confusion. They had never seen their father like this before, never this... serious. Not wanting to make him wait both kids made their way to the car, anxiously wondering what was going on.
The Blossom's Wrangler came to a stop at a lakeside after a long and silent car ride. Clifford turn the motor off and took a deep breath; there was no turning back now.
"Why did you bring us here?" Jason asked looking outside the window. The full moon was rising in the sky as the twins looked all around them. It looked like a nice place for holidays and camping, but not the sort of place they expected after their father's reaction.
"And what does it have to do with you knowing Penelope Lodge?" Cheryl asked. Clifford couldn't help but chuckle at the name.
"Lodge... Yeah, that was the guy she dumped me for..." Clifford shook his head. Cheryl and Jason looked at their father in disbelief.
"Dumped?" Jason asked. "You mean, you were dating Penelope Lodge?"
"Dating?" Clifford smiled. "No, we were married... 12 years... Can't say they were my happiest, but they still happened no matter how much I wish they didn't."
"Penelope and I were childhood sweethearts." Clifford started. "She was the first woman I ever loved. Smart, strong character, and a smile as bright as the night sky... We built our lives together; I became CEO of a major airline company and she went into the news industry. As the years went on, something changed about her... I don't know if it was her job, her surroundings or just her but... nothing seemed to matter to her anymore. Well, nothing besides money. Money, power, influence.. That's what made her empire. Stepping on anyone she could to reach the top a little more, using any underhand means to get her way... All that mattered to her was her image, her wealth, and her authority... I can't remember the last time I saw that smile of hers... Only a smug smirk instead..."
Clifford felt a few tears well up in his eyes; the wounds were still strong from that relationship. Cheryl and Jason both stayed silent. They didn't know what to say, or what they could say.
"One day, the airline company I was working with went through a tough time. Major scandels, loss of profit... Problems just kept on pouring in. So the board of directors decided they needed to cut some staff off; my name got pulled. The second Penelope found out, her laywer was there five minutes later with divorce papers she prepared in advance... I couldn't believe what was happening... In one night I lost my job, my house... and the love of my life..."
"Dad... Why didn't you tell us about this?" Cheryl asked with a saddened expression on her face. Hearing her dad's perils, his life collapsing and everything Penelope did broke her heart. But she was also hurt her dad kept them both in the dark for so long. They deserved to know who their mother was.
"So how did you get custody of us?" Jason asked, venom coating his voice after hearing what Penelope did to his dad. "I'm guessing someone like that wouldn't want to be lumbered with kids."
"That's the main reason I didn't tell you until now." Clifford stated. He turned around, facing his kids with a forced smile. "Penelope isn't your mother."
"What?!' Cheryl exclaimed. How could Penelope not be her mother, her dad was seeing no one else back then!
"Penelope broke up with me a few weeks after I found you both..." Clifford said. Both twins picked up on that unusual choice of words; both wore terrified expressions on their faces.
"What do you mean... "found"?" Jason wanted to know. Clifford opened the door and stepped outside.
"It would be easier if I just showed you. Come on." He told his kids. Clifford made his way to the woods with both twins quickly following suit.
After a small trek through the woods while carefully tredding down a slope, Clifford stopped in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere. Cheryl and Jason looked around: there was nothing here but trees and vegetation, with a big bush in front of them.
"Why have we stopped?" Cheryl asked.
"Because we're here..." Clifford stated solemly. With vigour Clifford started tearing away at the bush much to his kids surprise.
"I made sure... to come back here that night!.. And hide this so no one found it!.." Clifford grunted. Jason grumbled in frustration; his dad was making no sense.
"Find what?!" He called out. Clifford stopped pulling on the branches and turned around to face his children once more.
"This." Clifford stated. Placing his hand in the hole he made, Cheryl and Jason were both taken aback by a sudden whirling noise, like machinery was starting up. The bush started glowing a bright silver as the branches fell apart slowly.
"HUMAN LIFE FORM DETECTED!" A robotic voice exclaimed as the mechanical noises grew louder. Clifford stood perfectly unfazed while Cheryl and Jason couldn't believe what they were seeing. The branches had all fallen to the ground, revealing a smooth, silver oval-shaped pod. A hatch in the pod opened up, letting out a small amount of steam as it did.
Clifford beckoned his children, who were wary as to what was happening. Slowly they approached the pod and looked inside. There were two seperate compartments, and seemed fit to hold a two babies.
"When I was here to say goodbye to Penelope, there was a huge meteor shower that ravaged the county." Clifford explained. "I ran as fast I could to try and escape it, but fell down the slope and knocked my head on a rock. When I came back to my senses... This was here along with the meteors."
Cheryl and Jason's minds were running at a million miles per hour. Cheryl clutched her head, trying to take in everything that her dad was telling her. This couldn't be real, this wasn't happening.
"So you're saying we... came in that... from space?" Jason asked, trembling with fear and confusion as Clifford nodded.
"Yes." He answered simply.
"We're... aliens..." Cheryl stood still, clutching her arms. Everything started making sense. Their powers, the way they were always different from everyone else... No wonder they felt out of place, they weren't even from this world...
Suddenly the pod whirled up again, causing the twins to turn to it once more. The circuler eye at the top of the machine started to shine blue before a hologram appeared. Cheryl and Jason walked up to the hologram, keeping their eyes on the woman in front of them. She was wearing a beautiful blue robe with strange golden symbols on it, as her own red hair cascaded down her shoulders.
"Greetings." The hologram spoke. "I am Alura of the planet Krypton. I come to you in the hopes that you will answer our call for help. Our planet possesses technology far superior to those of your race, but such power came with a great cost. Our planet is now dying, with no means of escape. My husband and I have sent our children in the hopes that someone can raise them in our place. But I must warn you, under the yellow sun, they will be much different to those of your kind. They will possess supernatural abilities that will change the world as you know it. I plea to you. Please raise them to use their abilities for the betterment of your people."
The hologram faded as the machine whirled down. Silence reigned across the forest as the Blossoms all stood still.
"So that was... our mom..." Jason stated slowly, clutching his fists as tears started welling up in his eyes. Clifford lowered his head, trying his best to fight back his own tears.
"Y... Yeah..." Clifford admitted. "After that message, I covered the ship so no one would find it. I meant to move it, but a tow truck is hard to get down here..." He chuckled, trying to find some humour in the situation.
"I can't... even begin to imagine how you two feel right now... Although I can imagine... a lot of things have changed... between us... But I want you to kno-"
"No." Cheryl inturrupted her father. Turning her eyes to Jason the twins nodded in sync, before approaching their father side by side.
"Nothing has changed between us..." Cheryl said with a smile, although tears still rolled down her cheecks. "You raised us, took care of us... I don't care who our biological parents are... You're still our dad."
"And no one is going to change that. No aliens, no spaceship, nothing. We love you, dad." Jason added with a smile.
Clifford was struck with surprise by their responses, before his tears finally broke free. Wrapping an arm around each one of his children he hugged them tight, thanking them over and over again as he cried. Jason and Cheryl joined in, wrapping their own arms around him in a tight hug.
"Too tight! Too tight!" Clifford called out, causing the twins to back off apologetically.
"Sorry! Sorry!" They repeated as all three of them couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Finally the truth was out, and they were still with him. He couldn't have been happier than on this very night.
"We should probably hide the ship better." Jason noted. "Maybe bury it or something." Cheryl nodded as she cracked her fingers, before turning to her dad with a smile.
"Don't worry dad. We'll handle this." She said with a smile as the twins got to work.
Penelope had finally been released from the Riverdale Hospital ward. Those tests took longer than she would have liked and it was now pitch black outside. Pulling out a cellphone she had bought inside Penelope dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.
"Yes?" A man answered on the other end.
"Hiram? It's Penelope." Penelope said.
"Penelope? Where are you calling from?" Hiram asked.
"Riverdale Hospital. Francis got us into an accident." Penelope responded.
"I hope the car isn't too damaged." Hiram noted. Penelope chuckled at the comment.
"Currently resting at the bottom of a river, my love." Penelope laughed. A sigh could be heard from the other end.
"And I just had a new paintjob done to it..." Hiram groaned. "If it ended up in a river, how did you get out of there so casually?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." Penelope told her husband. "Something is happening in Riverdale, and I want to find out what."
"What makes you say that?" Hiram inquired.
"There were two teenagers who saw the accident, and were the saviors to Francis and I. However, I played back the scene in my head; there is no concievable way they could have accomplished what they did normally. I want to find out who those kids are, and how they did what they did." Penelope told Hiram, a smirk on her face.
"Dear, don't you think it would be wise to just leave it alone?" Hiram sighed.
"And leave the biggest news story of my career. My dear Hiram, I thought you knew me better." Penelope laughed pompously. "No; something is happening in Riverdale, those kids are invovled, and I'm going to find out what it is. Those teenagers are the first step."
Hiram could be heard groaning on the other end of the line. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke up once more.
"Very well. I know a man who could help us..."