Disclaimer: I do NOT own Smallville or anything from the DC Universe!
A/N: Ambiguous 2x07 – Daniel, along with his friends and family, visit a scarily accurate fortune teller at a carnival, who unbeknownst to anybody, was given the ability to show people their possible future. However, when Daniel has his turn, he is transported twenty years into the future where he meets a familiar face…
Daily Planet, Metropolis - December 7th 2012 (00:24)
Lorraine stood on the ledge of the Daily Planet rooftop, wearing the same clothes she wore two days ago and surveyed the bustling city below her with a mixture of disgust and sadness on her face, as an intense mental battle raged inside her conflicted mind and sighed, before rubbing her startling green (instead of the usual hazel) eyes in slight exhaustion.
"Fancy meeting you here, Lorraine," a mechanical, yet also smooth voice said from behind her, causing Lorraine to instantly turn around to face a hooded figure standing around 6'1" with a somewhat muscular build.
"Who are you!?" Lorraine demanded threateningly, as her skin unknowingly turned green for a brief moment, before returning back to normal again as Lorraine took a fighting stance against the hooded figure.
"Tsk Tsk, Lorraine," the hooded figure scolded playfully, whilst waggling his right index figure at her and smirked darkly. "Where are your manners?"
"I asked you a question!" Lorraine stated, still in a fighting stance as the hooded figure merely drew closer towards her, only for Lorraine to feel her body stiffen by itself, as the hooded figure drew nearer.
"I know you did, Lorraine," the hooded figure told her and smiled coldly. "However, I do not like to be told what to do, especially since I'm always ordered around my precious master."
The hooded figure hissed the last part out with such venom and hatred laced in its voice that Lorraine shivered involuntarily, as if her body was warning her to get away from the hooded figure as soon as possible.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the hooded figure warned Lorraine, reading the girl's mind. "I could easily kill you within less than a second if I really tried."
"Then why won't you do it?" Lorraine asked cautiously, causing the hooded figure to smirk.
"Because I need you to take down both my 'master' and my opponent," the hooded figure explained and using his right hand, the hooded figure grabbed Lorraine's chin. "And you won't have any say in it whatsoever. Got it?"
Lorraine wanted to protest, but for some weird reason, her body seemed to be thrilled at the idea of helping this clearly malevolent figure.
"Good," the hooded figure said in satisfaction. "You better get ready for school in the morning, otherwise people will start to get… suspicious."
"I can't go back!" Lorraine hissed with venom laced in her voice, but continued in a much softer voice as tears formed in Lorraine's eyes: "If anyone sees what I've become..."
"What you have become is something superior to humanity!" the hooded figure remarked with pride and hatred evident in his voice. "You can become so much more, because of what I did to you and-"
Before the hooded figure could even finish his sentence, Lorraine swiftly grabbed him by the neck and roughly flung the hooded figure into a brick wall with just enough force that the hooded figure almost went through the wall instead of just damaging it, as Lorraine's skin pulsated with a sickly green tinge to it.
"You did this to me!" Lorraine shouted in absolute fury, super speeding towards the hooded figure, before easily hoisting him up into the air with her left hand and then throwing him onto the ground a few feet away with her superhuman strength, creating massive cracks where the hooded figure had landed.
"Impressive," the hooded figure chuckled darkly, as he brushed the dust off of himself and got back up again. "I'd like to see what you can do when you're fully taken over."
"It won't fully take over," Lorraine told him and aimed a punch at the hooded figure's head, only to have it stop a few inches away from it as the hooded figure merely smirked arrogantly at Lorraine.
"It will," the hooded figure assured Lorraine with confidence in his mechanical, yet smooth voice. "And I look forward to when it happens, because that is when the world shall bow before us as imperfect slaves in a perfected world."
The hooded figure then launched itself into the sky and flew away, leaving Lorraine on the rooftop of the Daily Planet as she clenched her fists and her skin started to turn green.
Smallville TSLOK: The Mechanical Flesh (Kryptonite - 3 Doors Down)
(Music)!
If I go crazy then will you still call me, Superman?
Daniel Li
If I'm alive and well, will you be there to holding my hand.
Rene Smith
I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might,
Kryptonite.
Ben O' Connor
Yeahhhhhhhh!
If I go crazy will you still call me, Superman?
Warren Li
If I'm alive and well, will you be there to holding my hand.
Janine Li
I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might,
Kryptonite.
Joseph O' Connor
Whoa, whoa, oh…
(End of music)
Smallville High - December 7th 2012 (14:50)
Daniel stood outside the Principal's Office (instead of sitting, due to the fact that his weight would most likely be too much for the chairs to support), wearing a plain white t-shirt, a pair of black cargo pants and red all-star converse sneakers with his navy blue backpack slung over his right shoulder as Daniel patiently waited for the Principal's secretary to call him in for something that was apparently "very important" as his Spanish teacher had said when she had gotten a note from the Principal to send Daniel.
I hope it's not anything bad.
"Daniel, you can go in now," the Principal's secretary told him in a traditional Texan accent, prompting Daniel to enter the office nervously, where the Principal sat comfortably behind his desk on a leather seat with a warm smile on his face.
"Afternoon, Daniel," the Principal greeted kindly, shaking Daniel's hand and offered Daniel to take a seat to which Daniel had to be sure not to put all his weight on it.
"You're probably wondering what you're doing here, right?" the Principal asked to which Daniel nodded in slight confusion. "You're here, because due to your recently outstanding test scores, we've decided to 'move you up'."
This certainly wasn't what Daniel was expecting when he was called to the Principal's Office, yet when the Principal had said that the school had decided to 'move him up', he couldn't help but grow curious to exactly what he meant.
"What do you mean 'move me up'?" Daniel asked politely. "As in, like to the advanced classes?"
"Nope," the Principal told him with a mysterious grin on his face, before turning serious and explained: "Daniel, the school has decided to move you up into the twelfth grade."
This made Daniel's eyes widen in shock at what the Principal just told him, due to the fact that before getting back his Advanced Kryptonian powers and physiology back, Daniel was only considered as average based on his academic results, yet now he was going to get moved up not one, but TWO grades into the twelfth grade and it was mostly, if not all because of his super eidetic memory, which not only allowed him to remember everything he saw, heard etc but also recall everything that Daniel had read and studied from Jor-El, school and many other things like college-level books that he had managed to learn and apply; plus, Daniel's brain could also process information faster and apply that information rapidly to the situation.
"But why?" Daniel asked in confusion, as the Principal merely beamed at him in pride as if Daniel was the Principal's favourite nephew. "I mean, there are a LOT of students in this school who-"
"Gets every question right in every minor and major test since January," the Principal finished, raising his eyebrows as to why Daniel wasn't jumping for joy at the news.
"Daniel, this is a great thing that you've accomplished, so be proud of it as opportunities like this don't come up in life this often."
The Principal gave Daniel a reassuring smile, whilst Daniel sighed and admitted in his mind that maybe moving up two grades wouldn't actually be that bad, despite it attracting a lot of attention when the word gets out.
"Will I start the twelfth grade next September?" Daniel asked to which the Principal surprisingly shook his head, causing Daniel to internally groan.
"You'll be starting next semester in January," the Principal told him, the grin never leaving the middle-aged man's face.
"Is there anything else that I need to know, sir?" Daniel asked, dreading for any more news that the Principal could have for him.
Luckily for Daniel though, the Principal no longer had any important news for him, although the Principal did urge Daniel to participate in things like the basketball team or the debating team as he left the Principal's Office and headed back to Spanish class, only for the school bell to ring and signal the end of yet another school day at Smallville High.
"Hey Daniel," Ian called out from behind him, making Daniel turn around to face his best friend with a somewhat forced smile on his face, due to the fact that today was Ian's last day in Smallville as Ian and his family were going to move to New Orleans.
"Hey, Ian," Daniel said and glanced around him through the crowds of numerous students that were filling up the hallways. "Where's Renee and Vale?"
"They're making out in the boys locker rooms," Ian explained, rolling his eyes as Daniel was mentally torn between cheering Vale on and punching him through the entire school as they walked down the hallways.
That better be all that they're doing in there.
"Have you had any signs of where Lorraine could be?" Ian asked hopefully at Daniel, who merely shook his head.
"It's like she disappeared off the face of the Earth," Daniel told him. "Not even Jor-El can find out where Lorraine is."
"Maybe something hiding her, so not even something powerful like AI Jor-El could find out where she is or could be," Ian suggested with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"It would have to be something even more powerful than a nigh-omniscient AI to be able to hide Lorraine from Jor-El and I doubt that even Brainiac and Eradicator combined could do that," Daniel pointed out, much to Ian's dismay as Vale and Renee walked towards them, whilst holding hands.
"Hey Daniel, Ian," Rene greeted warmly, whilst Vale merely gave them a curt nod.
"You guys ready for tonight?" Daniel asked them to which they nodded with a mixture of excitement, yet also reluctance.
"I've always enjoyed going to Amusement Parks," Vale commented reminiscently and added: "Especially 'Amusement Mile' in Gotham."
"Well, I've heard that this Amusement Park is also pretty good too," Ian said and grinned for the first time in what seemed like centuries.
"Can't wait," Daniel smirked as they headed to their lockers and deposited their books.
Two Hours Later…
Daniel, Rene, Vale and Ian walked together in a group as they looked around the Amusement Park in awe with Daniel, Rene and Ian all eating some pink cotton candy, until they spotted a purple tent with a title that caught their attention: Senora Futuro's Glimpse of the Future.
"Hey, why don't we go in there and see 'glimpse of our futures'?" Renee suggested cheerfully.
"I'd rather not," Vale declined politely and explained: "I don't really believe in that type of stuff."
"Then how about you, Ian?" Rene asked, looking at Ian's direction.
"Nah," Ian also declined, his face looking extremely pale and queasy. "I think I ate too much cotton candy, because I think I'm going to be-"
Ian didn't manage to finish that sentence, as he instinctively covered his mouth and then quickly rushed to the nearest bathroom to throw up, as Daniel rolled his eyes at his friend for eating too much cotton candy and getting sick from it.
"I'll go check up on him," Daniel told Renee and Vale, only to be stopped by Vale.
"I'll go check up on him," Vale said reassuringly, much to Daniel's insistence that he could do it. "You can go continue to have fun in the Amusement Park with Renee."
Daniel reluctantly nodded as Vale rushed to where Ian had gone, leaving only him and Renee together.
"So, it's just you and me then," Renee said awkwardly, before her stomach started growling loudly.
"You okay, Renee?" Daniel asked cautiously as Renee also started to look queasy and without another word, rushed to the nearest bathroom to throw up as well.
"Guess not," Daniel sighed as he was about to rush over to the bathroom that Renee had decided to throw up in, when he felt the sudden urge to enter 'Senora Futuro's Glimpse of the Future' as if his body was telling him to go inside instead of checking up on Renee.
She'll be fine by herself. Renee can take care of herself.
Daniel sighed and hesitantly entered the tent to see an elderly woman sitting in front of a table with a crystal ball at the centre of the table in the middle of the tent. The elderly woman's eyes were completely white, causing Daniel to guess that the elderly woman was blind.
"Uh, excuse me?" Daniel said, getting the attention of the elderly woman he guessed was 'Senora Futuro'.
"Come in, Daniel," Senora Futuro said in a Spanish accent. However, it wasn't the accent that shocked Daniel, but it was the fact that Senora Futuro knew his name, despite never meeting each other.
"How do you know my name?" Daniel questioned suspiciously to which Senora Futuro merely chuckled light-heartedly at him.
"I know the names of everybody that I have seen in my visions," Senora Futuro explained. "Yet, in most of my recent visions, I have heard your voice as well as the name 'Daniel Li' so many times that I have become familiar to who you are now."
"What do you mean that you've heard my voice and name so many times?" Daniel questioned once again in a suspicious voice, narrowing his eyes at her only to receive a warm smile from the elderly woman.
"The meteor shower had both blessed… and cursed me with the ability to see the possible future of those that I touch at the cost of my sight," Senora Futuro explained with a sigh at the end. "My ability has enabled me to see the future of many heroes and good people to come, as well as the darkest too."
At this, Daniel felt sympathy for Senora Futuro as he remembered what it was like to not have his sight, even if it were only temporary.
"Yet, whenever my visions included your name or voice in it, even the darkest of visions shone with such brightness that it could outshine the brightest of heroes today," Senora Futuro continued explaining to Daniel.
"Do you want to see my possible future?" Daniel asked the elderly woman, who merely looked at him with a blank facial expression that told Daniel that Senora Futuro was giving him the choice.
"It is your choice, Daniel. Life always gives you choices to choose from," Senora Futuro told him. "Besides, the future can always change for better... or for worse."
Daniel sighed, his mind knowing the consequences of seeing the future yet also the few benefits that also came with the knowledge of the future as well such as the lives that could be saved that won't be, or the threats that were to come and the fate of everyone around him.
"Okay, I'll do it," Daniel agreed after a couple of minutes of thinking it over, as Senora Futuro's right hand drew nearer to his left and then touched it gently, whilst Daniel closed his eyes and waited.
"Is something wrong-WHOA!" Daniel was about to ask Senora Futuro, before suddenly feeling a strong tug behind him as Daniel glanced around nervously to find that he was currently being pulled back through a long, sky blue 'tunnel' with various numbers and complicated mathematical equations (some of which he understood) whizzing the opposite direction.
What the-?
Before Daniel could finish that thought though, he collided onto a rooftop of a building in front of a 5'7" woman with long, somewhat wavy bright red hair and bright blue eyes, dressed in a smart black blouse and pencil skirt with matching four-inch heels sitting on a wooden chair next to a table opposite another chair, whilst sipping some herbal tea.
"Oh hey, Smallville," Erin chirped in a sing-song tone of voice, as Daniel groaned and cautiously stood back up onto his feet again. "Did you decide to drop in?"
Renee, after puking most of her stomach's contents out, went to go search for Ian and Vale, whe suddently a purple energy blast narrowly missed Renee and instead destroyed the tent behind her in a fiery explosion.
"Oh my god!" Renee gasped in fear, as she saw the source of the purple energy blast to be Eradicator, who was flying down from the air alongside a smirking Brainiac as numerous tents and rides were destroyed by Eradicator's energy blasts, prompting Renee to run away and hide in one of the few places that were not destroyed yet, unaware that Ian was unconscious with a large bruise on his forehead in the bathroom he had ran into to puke.
"FACE ME, DUX-EL!" Eradicator demanded loudly once Brainiac and Eradicator both landed on the ground, its voice booming throughout the amusement park as people desperately tried to escape only to find an invisible barrier preventing people from moving an inch from the amusement park grounds.
"Master, something tells me that Dux-El might not be here," Brainiac said, narrowing his eyes as [he surveyed the entire amusement park with his x-ray vision, only to see that there were no signs of Daniel anywhere within the amusement park]. "And like always, I'm right."
The Eradicator gritted its teeth in frustration at the news that Daniel was apparently not even in the amusement park, but then smiled maliciously when it thought of a new idea that would certainly attract the attention of 'The Lost Son of Krypton'.
"Humans!" Eradicator called out in its dark, robotic voice as the crowd of people suddenly looked in absolute fear at them as they floated up into the air again. "If any of you pathetic, fragile organisms even attempt to escape me, I will crush your very existence to the point where not even death will want you."
At this, the crowd of people below huddled together in panic at what the Eradicator had just said to them.
"Look at them, master," Brainiac sneered nastily. "They would make excellent slaves to New Krypton."
"Slaves?" Eradicator repeated and then glared at Brainiac. "I have no use for these pitiful, imperfect organisms when I have created New Krypton."
"But why?" Brainiac asked, narrowing his eyes at Eradicator. "With the human slaves, we could speed up the process of making New Krypton."
"Imperfect things will not make something that will be perfect, Brainiac," Eradicator stated angrily, as Brainiac gave Eradicator his trademark smirk.
"We should be looking for Dux-El," Brainiac said cooly, changing the subject. "If he didn't arrrive here when you threatened the lives of these worthless organisms the first time, Dux-El might arrive after a few more 'threats'."
Eradicator grinned evilly at what Brainiac was implying and fired another purple energy blast from its eyes, causing a hot dog stand's propane gas tank to explode as the crowd of people screamed and become even more panicked than before.
Meanwhile, Ian was stirring on the bathroom floor and gradually regained consciousness, before using the toilet seat to get himself back up onto his feet again.
"Uhhh," Ian groaned in pain, as he rubbed the large dark blue bruise on his forehead. "What just happened?"
Ian's question was then answered when he heard screams and the sound of what seemed like an explosion from outside, causing Ian to run outside to see what was going on and then almost immediately regretting doing so as Ian saw both Eradicator and Brainiac hovering in the air above him. Luckily for Ian though, they were both facing away from him and were looking down at the terrified crowd of people below them.
Oh sweet Jesus! It's those two kryptonian androids that Daniel told me about. Speaking of Daniel, where the hell is he!?
Ian glanced nervously around him to find (or feel) any signs of Daniel such as a sudden gust of wind and a red/blue blur. Unfortunately, there was nothing as Eradicator shot the occasional energy blast from its eyes to increase to startle the crowd of people.
"Erin, what are you doing here?" Daniel asked, while [scanning her to see if it truly was Erin, which it was]. "How are you back in the past again?"
"I'm not in the past," Erin told Daniel, raising her eyebrows at him. "You're in the future."
At this, the atmosphere became extremely tense as Daniel suddenly felt numb at what he had just heard from Erin.
"Wait, what!?" Daniel exclaimed, as Erin peaced sipped her herbal tea. "I'm in the future!"
"Yes, you're in the future," Erin explained as if this was a natural occurence for her. "Twenty years in the future to be exact, Smallville."
Daniel simply gaped like a fish in water at the fact that he was TWENTY years into his future and that Erin was calmly sipping her herbal tea.
"How do I get back?" Daniel asked Erin, who merely tapped the right side of her nose and winked mysteriously.
"Spoilers, Smallville," Erin told him, much to Daniel's annoyance. "Too much information can potentially-"
"Yeah I know, change the future for the worst!" Daniel huffed in frustration, as Erin rolled her eyes at his behaviour. "But I need to get back to my own time, otherwise who knows what will happen while I'm gone!"
"Now you know how I felt when I was stuck in the past," Erin muttered under her breath, although Daniel still managed to hear Erin say it due to his super hearing. "Fine! I'll tell you how to get back to your time.
"Good," Daniel sighed in relief and sat on the wooden chair opposite Erin's, eagerly listening to what Erin was about to say.
"You have to wait an hour or two," Erin smirked, as Daniel glared daggers at Erin for attempting to hide something that wouldn't have altered time at all.
"Wait an hour or two!?" Daniel repeated in outrage, his eyes momentarily flashing blood red before returning to their usual chocolate brown. "Anything can happen in an hour or two, especially bad things!"
"Please, Smallville," Erin snorted and added impulsively: "I've heard of you saving the world in less than twenty minutes..."
Erin mentally cursed herself for revealing this information, as it was now Daniel's turn to raise his eyebrows only this time in curiousity.
"I've saved the world in less than twenty minutes?" Daniel stated with interest, as Erin noted to herself to stop revealing even little bits of information of the future to Daniel, especially since Daniel had a super eidetic memory and would most likely remember this for the rest of his life if his memories aren't stolen or something. "That's sounds pretty awesome."
"Anyway," Erin began, changing the subject. "What do you want to do while you're stuck in the future with little ol' me?"
"You're not old, Erin," Daniel told Erin, who gave him a look that told him that she thought otherwise. "I mean, you look like you're in your late twenties/early thirties at the very latest."
"Aw," Erin cooed and kissed Daniel on the cheek, causing him to turn bright red. "You're sweet Smallville, but I'm already taken by a very charming gentleman."
Daniel was about to ask who Erin's husband was, when Erin felt her pocket vibrate and then play a song that Daniel guessed was something that wasn't released in his time yet.
"You've got Valentine," Erin spoke into her cellphone in a very business-like tone of voice and then scolded in a way that reminded Daniel of how his mother scolded him: "Why the HELL would you go and try to interview that thing!? It could have freakin' killed you without a damn thought! Ugh, I'm heading down there."
Erin ended the call with anger, but most evidently worry in her eyes as Erin hastily put her cellphone into her pocket and abruptly stood up, before heading towards the metal door that lead to the elevator.
"Is everything alright?" Daniel asked in concern, not liking the worry in Erin's bright blue eyes.
"Nothing is ever 'alright' in times like these, Daniel," Erin remarked bitterly, yet the thing that worried Daniel even more was when Erin had used his proper name that she only used when she was serious. "Sorry, but I've got to run."
"I'll come with you," Daniel told her quickly and abrupty stood up, but Erin shook her head.
"You have to stay here," Erin ordered with an authoritative tone of voice. "We don't want TWO of you wandering around the streets of Metropolis or anywhere."
Daniel was about to object to this, but after receiving a glare that could turn even Medusa into stone upon seeing it, he decided that Erin was right and that he should stay on the Daily Planet rooftop until he was transported back to his own time.
"Fine," Daniel sighed with a frown on his face and added: "Just be careful, okay?"
At this, Erin grinned mischievously at Daniel, before heading towards the metal door and called out as she was walking with her back facing him:
"I'm always careful, Smallville!"
Daniel rolled his eyes at Erin and sat back down on the wooden chair again, as he used his $ super hearing to listen to the sound of the elevator going down the building. $
Looks like you haven't changed one bit, Erin. Now what do I do for the next hour or so?
Just as soon as Daniel had thought this, the metal door flung open making Daniel instinctively stand up immediately and go into a fighting stance as a young twenty-year-old man with short brunette hair, who stood at 5'9" and wore a navy blue bow tie appeared. The young man also had a camera strapped around his neck, along with a small, two-year-old toddler with dark brown hair, tanned skin and bright blue eyes holding onto his right hand.
"Hey Ms Valentine, where did you put the-" the young man was about to finish asking, when he caught sight of Daniel and gasped, almost dropping the toddler in pure shock at what he saw in front of him.
(Daniel): Oh crap!
"Superman!" the young man said loudly in excitement. "What are you doing here!?"
Belle Reve - Cell 5B
Inside Cell 5B of Belle Reve, Joseph was carefully being monitored by both the nearby security guards and the security cameras, as he continuously rocked back and forth repeatedly and muttering random words in Kryptonian like Joseph had been doing for the many months that he had been locked within this cell. That is, until Joseph toppled onto the floor and started to spasm uncontrollably as security entered Joseph's cell in order to sedate him once more.
"This ought to make you fall asleep again," one of the security guards stated, pulling out a syringe and was about to inject the sedative within it into Joseph, when Joseph somehow managed to break out of his straitjacket, before hurling the security guard away from him and out of the cell's transparent plastic entrance with incredible superhuman levels of strength, knocking the security guard unconscious as 'Joseph' stood back up onto his feet for the first time in many months and pushed back the remaining security guards through the now broken plastic entrance with enough force to knock them unconscious, but not enough to kill any of them.
"I am coming nephew," 'Joseph' stated in a possessed voice that sounded awfully like the voice of AI Jor-El. "I will aid you in the fight against Eradicator and Brainiac so that this world shall not fall like Krypton did."
'Joseph' then super sped away from Belle Reve and headed north towards the Fortress of Solitude, in order to find the tool that Daniel needed to fight both Eradicator and Brainiac.
"Uh, I'm a..." Daniel struggled to speak even a full sentence as the young man beamed at him with pure excitement. "I was patrolling the city earlier and decided to stop here for a bit."
"Why are you dressed like that, Superman?" the young man asked curiously with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you on an undercover mission or something?"
"Yes," Daniel replied a little too quickly and continued: "I need to fit in with everybody, so that no-one can see that I'm patrolling around the streets."
"Oh, well that's good," the young man, Jonathan (as it was written on the young man's name tag that Daniel had just noticed), commented in an awestruck tone of voice at Daniel.
"What are you doing, Jonathan?" Daniel asked, looking at the small toddler in Jonathan's arms with interest at who she belonged to.
"I'm looking after Erin's daughter," Jonathan stated with pride at the fact that Erin had bestowed upon him such an important task that she wouldn't normally bestow onto others. "Her name's Zatanna."
"That's a nice name," Daniel remarked with a kind smile at the toddler, who giggled back at him. "Hey Jonathan, do you mind if I take her off your hands for a bit, while you get on with your other tasks?"
"I don't know," Jonathan admitted hesitantly, but then added quickly: "Ms Valentine doesn't really like other people handling her children, but since you are Superman..."
Jonathan scratched his left temple in thought on what to do for a couple of minutes and eventually made a decision.
"Okay then," Jonathan smiled and went onto his knees so that he was at eye-level with Zatanna. "You're going to play with Superman for a bit okay Z, so you have to behave and not run off like you usually do?"
Zatanna nodded eagerly like any toddler would, as Jonathan gave her a small hug before standing up straight again.
"I'll be back in about twenty minutes," Jonathan told Daniel and added before he left: "Make sure Zatanna doesn't run away, because she's done it several times in the past, despite only being a two-year-old toddler."
"Hi," Zatanna greeted innocently up at Daniel, who had looked to a lot further down than usual due to Zatanna being so small compared to his height.
"Hi," Daniel said softly, crouching down a great amount so that Zatanna didn't have to look to far upwards. "How are you, Zatanna?"
"I'm good," Zatanna replied. "Where's mommy?"
"Your mommy had to go because of an emergency," Daniel answered, but then added hastily when he noticed Zatanna becoming worried at the word 'emergency': "But I'm sure your mommy's fine."
"You look a lot like daddy," Zatanna remarked with a confused look on her face. "Are you two related?"
"Uh, I guess so," Daniel said, not knowing exactly how to reply to what Zatanna had just said. "Where is your daddy?"
"He's in work with mommy," Zatanna said. "They're always busy."
"Your father's a lucky man and you're a lucky girl to have Erin as your mother," Daniel told her.
(Daniel): Erin's life seems so perfect. She has a kid, who's incredibly intelligent, and also seems to be quite a successful reporter at the Daily Planet. Although, the thing that intrigues the most I'm already Superman in this time and Jonathan managed to recognize me off the bat! I definitely need a MUCH better civilian disguise once I get back to my own time and become the hero I'm supposed to be: Superman.
"I'm back!" Erin announced from the metal door, causing Zatanna to turn one-hundred and eighty degrees behind her.
"Mommy!" Zatanna said loudly in joy and ran up to Erin, who lifted Zatanna off the ground in a hug.
"Miss me, sweetie?" Erin smiled, kissing Zatanna on the cheek and put her back down onto the ground again.
"Of course I did, mommy!" Zatanna stated, rolling her eyes at Erin. "We need to go get cookies for Jason's birthday, but Jonathan said that I couldn't go by myself since I'm too little."
"Well Johnny's right, sweetie," Erin told Zatanna, who just huffed in disagreement. "Maybe when you're older, you can go and buy anything you want."
"Even a motorcycle!?" Zatanna asked excitedly, causing Erin to give Zatanna a startled (as well as worried) look.
"Almost anything, sweetie," Erin assured Zatanna, who giggled with glee at the prospect of getting a motorcycle, much to Daniel's amusement at the fact that a two-year-old girl (no matter how intelligent) would want something like that, although since Zatanna was Erin's daughter...
"You okay, Smallville?" Erin asked, holding Zatanna's left hand with her right. "You spaced out for a few minutes."
"I'm fine," Daniel reassured Erin with soft smile. "It's just that you seem so happy and it make me wonder if I'm ever going to be that content in life with Eradicator, Brainiac and all the other threats to the Earth that I know will come soon."
At this, Erin gave Daniel a sad smile and then took a deep breath.
"Let's just say that you're going to experience grief, rage and sadness worth a thousand days," Erin said, making Daniel frown at the prospect of being so miserable and so 'dark' in emotion. "But you're also going to experience happiness, excitement and peace worth a thousand-and-one days."
This made Daniel feel somewhat more cheerful that his life will not be completely filled with 'darkness' and that some 'light' would be there to keep Daniel sane.
"Thanks, Erin," Daniel said quietly, only to suddenly start feeling incredibly dizzy which meant that it was most likely time to go back to the present.
"See ya, Smallville," Erin grinned as both Erin and Zatanna simultaneously winked at Daniel, before he whoosed up into the sky in a bright blue beam of light that pulsed outwards once Daniel reached a certain altitude.
"Goodbye, baby daddy," Zatanna said, waving goodbye up to the point in the sky where Daniel had disappeared.
December 7th 2012 - (18:14)
Daniel felt his feet carefully touch the ground beneath him as Daniel opened his eyes to see that he was back inside Senora Futuro's tent to see Senora Futuro lying unconscious on her back with a large gash across her forehead.
"No," Daniel gasped, lifting Senora Futuro into his arms and carried her using the "fireman's lift" technique. "I've got to get her to a hospital."
Unfortunately, as soon as Daniel was about to use his super speed to get to the nearest hospital (in Metropolis), Senora Futuro's tent was burnt to a crisp by a purple energy blast that entirely incinerated the tent so that Eradicator and Brainiac could land just a few feet away from Daniel with evil smirks on their faces.
"There you are, Dux-El," Brainiac said, the smirk never once leaving his face. "I was beginning to think that you just left our slaves at our mercy."
"They are NOT your slaves!" Daniel exclaimed furiously as he super sped towards a safe place and put Senora Futuro down, while curling his hands into tight fist and gritting his teeth. "No-one is, or will be your slave! Not when I'm still breathing and here to stop you."
"Which won't be for much longer," Eradicator pointed out with venom and confidence laced in its voice as both Brainiac and Eradicator circled Daniel like predators would circle around their prey, only Daniel wasn't going to be their prey.
Within a what seemed like barely half a second, Eradicator shot a purple energy beam towards Daniel who dodged it as Brainiac lunged at Daniel, only to be grabbed by him and thrown several kilometers away into a steel foundation of the nearby roller coaster, knocking Brainiac unconscious.
"Impressive, you have grown stronger from the last time we had battled you," Eradicator remarked with a glare as Daniel and Eradicator circled each other, while cautiously waiting for the other to make their move on the other. "But today, I will remove you from existence itself, along everything else on this corrupted planet so that this world will become New Krypton."
"Not going to happen," Daniel told Eradicator, who super sped towards Daniel and attempted to hit him with a rear uppercut, only for Daniel to dodge it by moving to the side before delivering an overhand punch to Eradictor, sending it flying over to Brainiac who was just regaining consciousness.
"Where're the people?" Daniel questioned Eradicator and Brainiac, since he couldn't find or see anybody nearby. "What have you done with them!?"
"Nothing compared to what I will do to them," Eradicator told Daniel, holding out its right palm where a transparent violet sphere about the size of a baseball levitated containing the terrified faces of everybody that was in the Amusement Park including Rene and Ian, which made Daniel's eyes momentarily flash blood red in absolute hatred and anger at the two advanced kryptonian androids.
"Release them, NOW!" Daniel ordered; the rage within him threatening to take control and added in a low, threatening growl: "Release them or I'll swear that I will turn you both into spare parts."
"Not going to happen, Dux-El," Brainiac said, shaking his head at Daniel before firing a bright green energy blast from his left hand towards Daniel so quickly that Daniel had no time to get out of the way as the green energy blast drew nearer towards him, only for it to be deflected back at Eradicator and Brainiac (who were sent hurling through the foundations of the roller coaster) by a black, circular-shaped metallic shield that was held by none other than Joseph O'Connor, who's eyes were completely pale white and yet still held purpose within them.
"Joseph!?" Daniel said in a mixture of shock and anger. Anger because Daniel still remembered what Joseph had done months prior at the Spring Formal and shock because of how fast Joseph had appeared in front of him to deflect the green energy blast with his 'Captain America' shield.
"No; I am Jor-El, nephew," 'Joseph' or rather Jor-El corrected, before handing the shield to Daniel and explained briefly: "This shield, made from the remnants of your spaceship, will deflect most of Eradicator and Brainiac's energy attacks. However, this is your fight and I cannot further aid you."
"Thanks, Jor-El," Daniel nodded in gratitude for the incredibly helpful weapon. "And I understand why you can't give more any more help in this fight because you're right; this is my fight."
'Joseph' smiled proudly at Daniel for a brief moment before 'Joseph' seemingly disappeared instantly with a 'whoosh' of wind, leaving Daniel with his new 'Captain America' shield in his left hand to face both Eradicator and Brainiac by himself.
"Impressive shield, Dux-El," Brainiac sneered while glaring at Daniel. "Despite the fact that Captain America is part of the Marvel Universe that you humans adore so much."
"It does NOT matter, Brainiac!" Eradicator pointed out in frustration and fired a purple energy beam at Daniel, who used the shield to deflect the beam to Brainiac, who dodged it and super sped towards him.
Thankfully, Daniel predicted that Brainiac would most likely have dodged the energy beam and once Brainiac was close enough to him, he used the shield to hit Brainiac to the left as Eradictor charged towards Daniel with its hands shooting the occasional energy blasts that Daniel either dodged or deflected back using the shield as Brainiac super sped towards Daniel and jumped up into the air with the intention to strike, when Daniel used the shield to deflect a rather powerful energy beam fired by Eradicator towards Brainiac who wasn't fast enough to move out of the way while in the air and was hit directly by the energy beam, making Brainiac's screams were heard throughout the empty amusement park as the green kryptonian android fell back onto the ground again some kilometers away from Daniel and Eradicator.
"This ends now!" Eradicator growled ferociously.
"Indeed it will," Daniel agreed cooly and threw the shield towards Eradicator (just as the kryptonian android was about to punch Daniel in the jaw), severing it diagonally in half much to the outrage and shock of Eradicator as its two parts fell onto the ground.
The severing of the Eradictor also seemed to be the trick in releasing everybody that was in the amusement park, as the transparent violet sphere the size of a baseball containing everybody within it rose from Eradicator's right palm and then exploded in a bright flash of violet light, causing Daniel to squint his eyes and shield them as everybody that was in the amusement park started to appear a few feet away from Daniel, who quickly stashed the two parts of Eradicator away in the nearby woods.
"Daniel, what's going on?" Renee asked in confusion, while trying to remember what had happened to no avail. "All I remember is going to the bathroom and then exiting the bathroom and after that... nothing."
Everybody else nodded their heads and agreed with Rene as they desperately tried to remember what had happened to them, although Ian did manage to remember a bit more than everyone else did (Of course, Ian didn't say this to anybody).
"I don't know. In fact, I'm finding it hard to remember what had just happened," Daniel lied, trying to sound as if he was with everybody and hoping that it would be able to convince Renee as well as anyone else that would ask him whether or not he knew the answer.
Luckily for Daniel though, everybody seemed to believe him as friends and family went towards each other in worry as police sirens were heard in the distance and seemed to be getting closer.
"Well, if it isn't Daniel Li again," the Sheriff stated, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Daniel. "It's funny how you always seem to be involved in things like this."
"Yeah, it's hilarious," Daniel murmured sarcastically under his breath as the Sheriff's partner, Charice, began questioning everybody about the incident.
Brainiac groaned as he tried to get back up onto his feet again after being blasted several kilometers away by the Eradicator's powerful energy beam. It took several minutes to do this seemingly simple task (since Eradicator's energy attacks did hurt as Brainiac knew from frequent exposure to them) as Brainiac finally managed to get back up onto his feet again and walk out of the massive impact crater that Brainiac had made when he had impacted the ground hard.
(Brainiac): Master, can you hear me? Where are you, master?
Brainiac repeatedly tried to contact Eradicator through their telepathic link for quite a long time while getting no response from Eradicator, much to Brainiac's surprise and sick joy as this could only mean one thing - Eradicator was 'deactivated' by Dux-El. This meant that Brainiac could finally move forward in his plans.
(Brainiac): Lorraine! I know you can hear me, slave. My dear 'master' has at last been taken care of by the Lost Son, so now we can finally move forward in my plans for this corrupt planet.
(Lorraine): N-N-NO! You-You c-cant control m-m-me! I. AM. LORRAINE. E-EV-EVA...
(Brainiac): No. You are my slave and you WILL help me relinquish this planet of the disease that is the human race! Do you understand your master?"
(Lorraine): Yes... I understand, master.
Brainiac smiled in victory once he heard 'Lorraine' say this as Lorraine Evans was no more and was now completely under Brainiac's control.
"Good, because we must move onto phase two of our master plan," Brainiac smirked evilly as the sky seemed to darken considerably.
Li Residence - (19:25)
Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
(Beginning Music)
Ian's parents put their remaining possessions in the trunk of their silver SUV as Ian still had a couple of minutes with Daniel, Warren and Janine who were all just outside the front of the house.
Grew up in a small town,
And when the rain fall down,
I'd just stare out my window.
"You're welcome to stay here if you ever come back to Smallville," Janine assured Ian, who smiled back in gratitude as Warren agreed and smiled back while Daniel merely stared expressionless at his best friend.
"Thank you, Mr and Mrs Li," Ian said, pincing the bridge of his nose as tears were starting to form in Ian's eyes. "You've always been like a second family to me and I'll miss both of you too. Daniel?"
At this, Daniel gave Ian a sad smile which did not help stop the tears that were threatening to come out of Ian's eyes as Daniel walked up to his best friend.
"I'll miss you, buddy," Ian stated, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
"Please don't go," Daniel said softly. "With Lorraine gone, I won't have anyone to talk with about everything and that scares me."
"You still have Vale," Ian pointed out, but Daniel shook his head.
"It's not the same, Ian," Daniel told Ian and explained: "You've been my best friend since the seventh grade and we've pratically told each other everything. Things that are too personal to tell Vale."
Dreaming of what could be,
And if I'd end up happy.
I would pray…
Trying hard to reach out,
But when I tried to speak out,
Felt like no-one could hear me.
Wanted to belong here,
But something felt so wrong here.
So I prayed… I could break awayyyy
"I know," Ian sighed, rubbing his temples. "But ever since you got your powers and everything about you back, I've felt as if that no matter how hard I tried to speak out and belong here in Smallville, it felt as if no-one could hear me."
"So I'm the reason you're not staying," Daniel frowned, hating that he had never realized that Ian was being shadowed.
"No, my parents getting new jobs is the reason why I can't stay. It isn't your fault and it never will be," Ian reassured Daniel in a serious and fierce voice. "I don't want you to start blaming yourself for things that weren't or won't be your fault."
"Ian, we have to go now!" Ian's dad called out as Ian's mom put on her seatbelt.
"I'll be there in a minute!" Ian answered back, turning to momentarily face the direction of his parents' car before turning back to Daniel. "By going to New Orleans, I can start fresh and not be in the shadow of someone else."
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly,
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye!
I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change
And breakaway!
"But it doesn't make saying goodbye any easier," Ian remarked glumly. "And yet I have to take the risk, otherwise I won't grow breakaway from Smallville and I won't grow up."
"C'mon! We have to go now!" Ian's dad shouted rather impatiently towards Ian.
"I'll be there in a minute!" Ian yelled back.
Out of the darkness and into the sun,
But I won't forget the place I come from!
"Just don't forget about Smallville," Daniel reminded Ian quietly, tears threatening to come out of his eyes as well. "Just don't forget about me."
"I won't, Daniel," Ian reassured him and gave Daniel a hug or at least tried to due to the height difference between the two best friends. "I gotta go now. Bye."
Ian turned around and headed towards the silver SUV, but not before looking over his right shoulder and waving goodbye to Daniel, Warren and Janine as tears fell down Ian's cheeks even once he had entered the SUV and the car had started to move away from the Li Farm.
I gotta take a risk, take a chane, make a change
And breakaway, breakaway,
Breakaway...
A/N: Yielding 2x08 (Season Finale) - Brainiac puts his plans into motion as Daniel prepares to stop him, not knowing that the end of the world might be around the corner...
Don't forget to review! Bye :D
