Chapter 4
Lois and Clark both looked down at the glowing blue crystal in the silver bracelet he had just given her. "Where did you say this fortress was again?" Lois asked him.
"Near the North Pole," Clark replied absent mindedly. He couldn't take his eyes off of the bracelet. "Lois, I'm not sure you should go. Every time a human has gone to the Fortress, Jor-El has made it bad for them," he told her. "The bracelet must be telling him that I have found the woman that I have chosen to be my wife. He probably isn't too happy that you're human. I think he would rather I was monk," Clark complained. "Tell you what, I'll go there and tell him where to go stick his control crystal and be back before you know it. I don't want him anywhere near you," he said angrily.
Lois felt something from the bracelet that she knew was impossible to describe to Clark. "Something tells me it's going to be ok," she said. "Smallville, as long as we are together we can face anything. Besides, I'm not starting our relationship hiding from the AI of your dead father," she told him. Lois looked around for her shirt and put it on. She pulled her hair out of the collar. Clark leaned against the support beam and smiled at her. "What?" she asked.
Clark's smile widened. "It's amazing how many of those little things you do that I just love to watch; like you flipping your hair like that or how you storm into a room when you have a hot lead. I know this sounds crazy Lois, but I even love how you always put that same coffee mug down exactly 4 inches to the left of your computer monitor," Clark said.
Lois blushed and ran her hand down Clark's chest. "I love how that some farm boy magically makes that mug appear on my desk every morning, cleaner than a surgical ward," Lois thought. She was getting a little embarrassed from his compliments. Lois decided to change the subject, "Smallville, something is bothering me about our upcoming visit to the Arctic North. I know you can run there, but you told me that Kara and other people from your planet can fly. Why don't you?" she asked. "You said that you could when you where 'Kal'," she reminded him.
Clark stood there in nothing but his slacks, his shirt in his hands. He had thought about that question a lot. "Kara told me flight has something to do with confidence in one's self. When I asked her what to do after you gain confidence, she just looked at me funny. She told me you just … flew," Clark tried to explain.
"So for you to fly, you just have to believe in yourself?" Lois asked in disbelief. She walked behind Clark and smacked him in the back of the head. "OK, try it now," she said.
Clark got a case of the giggles. "All right, Lois," he chuckled. Clark stood with his hands on his hips and looked suavely at her. He gave her a sexy wink that gave her the giggles. He looked up at the ceiling and dramatically said, "FLY … aarrrrrghhhhh!" The last bit was cut off as he rocketed through the roof of the barn faster than the speed of sound. Lois stepped under the hole and looked up into the sky, unable to see any trace of Clark other than his pants which had gotten snagged on a jagged beam. Lois saw his boxers were still on his desk and wondered if this was the last time Clark was going to try going commando.
"OOoooohhhh … shiiiiiiiiiiittttttt," Clark screamed as he tore through the atmosphere at hyper-sonic speeds. He sensed rather than saw the business jet that was rapidly approaching. Clark shifted his awareness into hyper-speed and made the instinctive maneuvers necessary to avoid ramming through the wing. He took the opportunity to catch his breath and grabbed a hold of the cabin door for support.
Tess Mercer sat in the Queen Corporation jet and downed her 5th shot of tequila. The business deal in Japan had gone off all right, but her sources had told her that Clark had been seen kissing that infuriating reporter, Lois Lane, at a charity dance. She had thrown away her chance with Oliver to be with Clark who had made it clear that he wasn't interested in her. "Oh, well," she thought, "At least I can fantasize about that alien stud." Tess glanced out her window and saw a nude Clark Kent hanging on to the side of the plane. Their eyes met for a moment. Tess looked straight ahead of her, rubbed her eyes, and then back out the window. When she looked back, there was nothing on the side of the plane. The steward came by and started to pour another shot. Tess put her hand over the shot glass. "Thanks, I think I've had enough," Tess told him.
Clark had regained his bearings and let go of the plane. He free fell and obtained terminal velocity. He willed himself to go faster and to the left. As he rocketed downward, he again broke the sound barrier. He thought right and moved right. Clark thought up and shot up wards. His body moved to his every thought, defying the "laws" of gravity. Clark looked down and was grateful for taking the time to study satellite maps of the US. He shot back home and landed through the same hole he had made.
As soon as Clark landed, Lois rushed to him and threw her arms around him. "Thank god, you're safe. I didn't think smacking you on the head would actually work. I'm sorry," Lois rambled. She let go of him to look him over.
"Lois, relax. It wasn't the head smack that did anything. It was you believing in me that gave me the strength to believe in myself. It was amazing, Lois," Clark said.
"If you say 'better than sex' I'm leaving you," Lois warned.
"Not even in the same galaxy, Lois," Clark said as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He passionately kissed her. Lois felt and saw his excitement rise. The crystal tone rang again while her crystal illuminated the interior of the loft.
Lois sighed deeply. "Go get some clothes on. It doesn't look like we will be getting any peace until we answer these pages," Lois said. She walked past Clark and patted Clark, Jr. as she did. Clark super-sped off to the farm house and returned a moment later in his favorite jeans, blue tee shirt, and red denim jacket.
He had a large women's parka in his hand. "I took my mom to the Fortress once," he explained as he handed the coat to Lois. "Until I get a little more experience with the flight thing, I think I should run," he said. Lois nodded enthusiastically. She had no plans on showing up at the Fortress a charred hunk of reentry debris. Clark picked Lois up. "Whatever Jor-El says, I love you and he can't keep us apart," he told her.
Lois clenched and then unclenched her fist. "Let him try, Smallville. I doubt he has ever faced anybody like Lois Lane," she said menacingly. Clark kissed her cheek as she closed her eyes in preparation for the journey north.
(Earlier that day)
Martha Kent sat at the restaurant table with Chloe. Martha had insisted they eat somewhere other than the Talon. She wasn't sure he was ready to face that place so soon after the morning outburst. Martha had her laptop open and was showing Chloe the pictures she had taken the night of the charity USO dance.
Chloe was happily browsing through photos when she saw that one of the files had been renamed already. Instead of a numerical sequence, this one was named "Family". Chloe clicked on it to bring it up to full screen size. She looked over at Martha, a question on her face. The photo was the one where Martha had posed them with her in her yellow dress suit and Lois in her red dress sitting in front of the boys in their royal blue RAF uniforms. Martha looked around to make sure they weren't being ease dropped on. "At first I didn't realize what I had done when I posed you guys like that. Normally I would have had each couple standing side by side, but my subconscious had me frame this shot like this," she explained. "When I saw the picture, I just knew I had to name it 'Family'," Martha stated. Chloe still looked confused. "Chloe, you've been to Clark's Northern retreat more often than I have. What does this picture remind you of?" Martha asked.
Chloe looked at the picture again and tried to think about what she had seen in the Fortress. All of sudden it hit her. On one wall in the huge, white palace was a singular area of color. It was a blue pentagon shield with a smaller yellow pentagon in the center. The pentagon was outlined in red and there was a stylized letter "S" in the same color in the center of the shield, touching each side of the yellow pentagon. "The shield," Chloe murmured.
"I used to hate that thing, thinking of it as a symbol of Jor-el," Martha admitted. "But now, seeing the four of you together, something changed," she said. "Do you know what that shield is?" she inquired. Chloe shook her head no. "It is equivalent of Clark's family crest, his family name," she stated. "Clark is no longer my little boy, Chloe. That symbol no longer belongs to Jor-El in my mind. It belongs to Clark's now," Martha said proudly. Tears had started to form at the corners of her eyes. Like mothers had known for countless generations before her, Martha knew that one day her son would have to shoulder the responsibilities of being a man. Her son had to do it for 2 worlds. Chloe reached over and held Martha's hand. "Chloe, you and Oliver are not related to him by blood, but you are family, to him and me. Never forget that," Martha told the younger woman.
Lois opened her eyes to the harsh glare of the Northern sun. In front of her about a mile off was an amazing structure made of huge crystals that looked like they had grown straight out of the ice. The sunlight refracted through the crystals causing thousands of rainbows to dance around the base of the structure. Lois could feel the tension Clark was putting off. She remembered how he told her that the Fortress was created when he threw the primary control crystal into the ice. The alien technology then used the blueprints provided by his father prior to his death to build the structure. Lois reached over and grabbed Clark's hand. Even though she was completely in awe of the alien building in front of her, she decided to try to put Clark at ease a bit. She nodded her head in an exaggerated fashion and said, "It's sort of … ostentatious." This drew an appreciative chuckle from Clark. "Come on, let's get this over with," she suggested.
Clark picked her up again and Lois instantly found herself inside the building. The interior of the fortress was completely white. The supports that reached high into the sky above them were made from huge crystals. In the center of the room was what looked some sort of cross between a geode and a pipe-organ.
"Hello, Kal-El," said a pleasant feminine voice that came from everywhere in the room. "Welcome, Lois," she asked.
Clark took a defensive stance. Lois watched him and spun around to put her back to his. She also took up a fighting stance. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your dad has a really girly sounding voice," Lois said. She scanned the room, keeping her eyes moving, looking for an attack.
Clark spared an instant to glance behind him, giving Lois a dirty look. "That's not Jor-El," he told her.
"You're right, my son. I put him on hold for a while. He's a little cranky about it, but I don't give a damn," the woman's voice said. "I've wanted to talk to you for so long and thanks to Lois, I finally can," she said.
The voice triggered a memory in Lois. She vaguely remembered the voice from her recent dream. Lois's stance relaxed. She reached out and again took her lover's hand. Clark took the clue and no longer stood like he was ready for a fight. His grip on Lois' hand tightened slightly and she heard him whisper, "Mother?"
A hologram shimmered into existence in front of them. A slightly translucent woman wearing a white robe with the family crest of El was now smiling at them. Her blonde hair seemed to gently blow in a wind that existed only for her. "Yes, Kal, or least an AI programmed to respond like her," the Lara AI replied. She turned to face Lois. "My name is Lara-El, and I was Kal's mother. I can't begin to tell you how happy I am that he has found someone as strong and caring as you are who can be my his equal," she told her. Lois started to blush. The hologram of Lara held her hand to her mouth and did an aside to Clark, loud enough for Lois to hear, "Of course Kal, it never hurts that she happens to be beautiful as well." This caused Lois to blush even more and Clark to smile for a moment.
Clark's smile faded. "Forgive me for being suspicious, but you aren't acting at all like a Kryptonian AI," he said, even though he very much wanted to believe this was a representation of his mother. "If you are who you say you are; why are you only contacting me now?" Clark asked.
"I will answer those questions," boomed Jor-El's voice arrogantly.
"Oh, there's the prick," Lois muttered.
The hologram snickered. "He can get that way," Lara confided.
Jor-El decided to ignore them. "The Lara-El partner AI routine could not be activated until certain parameters had been met," he explained. "Now that those conditions have been met, her program is free to run. She is an original program sent with your ship. She is operating with an emotion replication sub-routine that was deemed unnecessary for my AI," Jor-El stated.
Lara rolled her eyes. "Excuse me; do you want me to stick you back in the virtual memory buffer again?" Lara asked.
"No … that would limit my effectiveness," Jor-el said hesitantly. Clark's head was reeling. His dead parents were having an argument.
"Lois, you putting on the bracelet and accepting your role as Kal's soulmate allowed my program to become active. Just as the Jor-El AI is a training aid for Kal, I was designed to be a training aid for you," Lara explained.
Lois became nervous. "Train me for what?" she asked. Lois tightened her grip on Clark's hand.
Lara smiled warmly at Lois. "Your destiny," she replied simply. "I think to best explain this I should give you both a brief history lesson in regards to how Kryptonian society was set up," Lara said. "For as long as we had written history, our people banded together in houses to help them survive," she said. "The closest Earth analogy would be the Clans of Scotland. As we grew in technology and power, the clans made war on each other," Lara told them. "Eventually, things settled down so that there were 5 great houses with numerous sub-houses under them. The 5 houses formed a ruling government, of which the yellow pentagon symbol is a representation of," she stated. The hologram pointed to a wall where a large blue shield with a yellow pentagon bordered in red in the center of it hung. Lois recognized the "S" symbol in the center of the yellow pentagon. "Each of the great houses has a symbol that can be displayed inside the yellow field. A sub-house would be a smaller symbol next to the larger one," Lara continued.
Clark looked at the shield. "I always wanted to now. Why do we have 2 house symbols?" he inquired.
Lara's face brightened with pride. "Before the forming of the council, our people were tearing themselves apart. It took the alliance of the two greatest houses, Zod and El, to conquer the rest and force peace upon them," she replied. "The two leaders conferred and tried to come up with a way to make the peace last. The head of the House of Zod insisted that his friend Kal-El (yes, you were named after him) take up the mantle of king," Lara explained. "He refused and instead came up with the idea of sharing the power with the heads of the 5 Houses equally so that no one person would have absolute power," she stated. "This impressed Coref-Zod so much that he designed a second symbol for El, one that touches each of the five sides of the pentagon. That symbol was meant to convey wisdom and selflessness, the traits of a hero," she explained. "I have always preferred the second symbol for the House of El myself," she said with twinkling eyes. A second hologram appeared on a wall briefly showing Clark saving a family from a robber. Clark was dressed in his black "Blur" clothes, the "S" symbol clearly showing on the front of his shirt.
The hologram made a show of taking in a breath which amused Clark and Lois. "Anyway, the houses are run by their respective heads, which then pass that responsibility down to their first born child," Lara said. "Jor-El and I were the last heads of the House of El. As our only heir, the responsibility of house leadership now falls to you," she told them.
Lois raised her hand as if in a press conference. Like she did in most press conferences, she didn't wait to be called on, "What happens if the first born is a girl?" she asked.
Lara's face took on a confused look. She cocked her head to the side. "What would that have to do with anything? You of all people should know that women can make the best leaders, Lois," Lara said. "Jor's mother was the previous head of the house and was quite the business woman," she stated. The hologram looked pointedly at the control column in the center of the room. "Her only flaw was that she might have been able to install more common sense into her sons," she sighed.
"Oh wow, my dead soon-to-be mother law rocks," Lois thought. She mentally checked her grammar and nodded in satisfaction.
"Bear with me for a moment longer, Lois, and this will all start to make some sense," Lara said. "One of our beliefs is that we can never reach our full potential without our soulmate," she stated. "In order to lead, the head of a house cannot assume their title until they have formed their bond with their soulmate. The title of Head of House belongs to both partners in that pairing," she explained. "The bracelet you now wear informed the Fortress of your bond. My role is to train you to be his other half, the other head of the House of El," Lara told her.
Lois looked at Clark and smiled. "It's kinda cute. They're asking me to be your alien princess," she said. She put her arm around his waist. This snapped Clark out of the partial shock he was in over hearing his mother's voice after so long. Lois looked at Lara. "So what do we do now?" she asked.
"Normally, the two of you would come forward and accept the raiments of leadership, but as it is, only Jor's made it intact. I'm having the Fortress' equipment create something for you, Lois, but it will take a few days," Lara admitted. "The outfits aren't made out of cloth, but something similar to what you would call nano-machines. They take a psychic reading of their new owner and adjust to fit them," Lara explained.
A crystal the size of a phone booth rose out of the floor in front of Lara. Inside was a long blue robe with the "S" shield on the center of the chest. The robe would hang to the floor if Clark wore it. A red cloak hung from the shoulders. "Damn that is ugly," Lois thought. "Sorry Smallville, but you are not allowed to leave the premise dressed like that. A woman has to have her standards," she teased.
Lara ignored her future daughter-in-law's statement on what the raiment had said about her husband's psyche. Lara wished she could take the hands of the young couple that stood before her. She had to settle for a smile and began the litany for the swearing in of the new heads of house. "Kal-El you have found your soulmate and are now ready to take up the responsibilities for the head of one the five Great Houses of Krypton," she intoned. "Lois Lane, you have found your soulmate in my son and are now ready to join him in the duty of running one of the five Great Houses of Krypton," she stated formally. "Do you both accept this challenge knowingly and willingly for the good of the House of El?" she inquired.
The young couple, who were still holding hands, looked into each other's eyes. They replied to Lara-El in unison, "We do."
"Kal-El, step forward and take your raiment of duty," Lara said solemnly. Clark let go of Lois' hand and walked towards the blue robe as the crystal opened for him. Before he stepped inside, he looked over his shoulder and gave Lois a wink. Lois made a face at him to say she still thought the robe was hideous.
The instant Clark touched the raiment, the door slid shut and the crystal turned an opaque blue, hiding him from sight. The Fortress began humming and the crystal Clark was in began to glow. Soon the Fortress was alive with a sea of sound as crystal after crystal rang out with a different tone. Lois became frightened for Clark and ran towards where he was encased. Lara calmed her by saying, "Lois, don't worry. The Fortress is acknowledging Kal as its master. The sounds you here are a form of celebration."
Lois turned around slowly in awe as she realized the whole building was somehow alive. Her back was turned to Clark when he emerged from the crystal. Lois noticed the lack of the glowing light and turned around. She leaned against a nearby column for support. "So what do think?" Clark asked.
"Wow!" was the first thought to come to Lois' mind. Clark was standing in front of her in a form fitting, blue body suit and red boots that showed off every gorgeous muscle. The "S" shield was prominent in the middle of his chest. The cloak had transformed into a flowing cape with the "S" shield on the back. Lois noticed that the body suit was so form fitting, that his nether regions had been covered by a red bikini like thing to give him some semblance of privacy. To Lois' mind this only increased the sex appeal of his new outfit. "Ok, Smallville, that I will let you be seen in public in," Lois stated. She walked around him drinking him in with her eyes. "At least you don't have to worry about anyone guessing your secret identity anymore," she teased. Lois walked over and ran her hand over Clark's flat stomach and down to his hips. "No one will be looking at your face while you're wearing this," she said while smacking his bottom.
