Chapter 9

A minute later…

Martha was in the living room curled up on the couch enjoying Deep Six when she's startled by the sound of loud knocking on the glass doors of the balcony. She looks up and sees Clark standing there. She drops the book and springs up from the couch to open the doors.

"Clark? Is everything okay?" noting the panicked expression on his face as he comes in and throws his arms around her.

"I needed to make sure that both you and Dad were okay," he replies as he continues to hold her. "Where is he by the way? And where's Kara? She's supposed to be protecting both of you," a small frown on his face.

She pulls away and looks up at him.

"She's also your father's Executive Assistant," she replies. "They're in a meeting right now," she says as she sits back down on the couch. "Would you mind telling me what's going on, Clark?" patting the spot next to her.

Clark walks over and sits down next to her. "Zod," he says simply.

"What happened?" she asks.

"Zod stabbed Pete and now he's dead," a hint of anger evident in his voice.

She clasps her hand over her mouth and looks at him with shock. "First Lana and now Pete?"

"Yeah," he replies. "He also kidnapped Tess about a week ago, but he let her go. They just found her tonight. She was beaten up pretty badly, but I think she'll be okay."

Martha looks at him with a thoughtful expression. "I'm glad to hear that. What I don't understand is why Zod didn't kill her."

"He gave her a message to give to me," Clark answers.

"What was it?" she asks.

"He gave me a watch."

Her eyebrows rise. "A watch? That doesn't make sense."

"I know," he remarks as he stands up and walks over to the window; his hands in his pockets. "I was going over and over it in my mind, but then it occurred to me that the watch looked an awful lot like Dads. I don't know why I didn't make the connection earlier," inwardly scolding himself.

"Do you have it with you? Can I see it?" she asks.

"No," shaking his head. "I left it back at my apartment," he replies without looking over.

She comes over to him and rests her hand on his upper arm. "Your father and I wanted to come to Lana's funeral, but we had some obligations that we just couldn't get out of."

"It's okay. Nell understood why you couldn't be there."

"So when is the funeral for Pete?"

"Probably in a few days. Pete's parents will let me know when the details are finalized."

They stand there for a little while in silence until they hear the sound of the door opening. They both look over when they see Jonathan step into the room. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry I'm late. The meeting took longer than I expected. Maybe we could still have that-" stopping in mid-sentence when he sees Clark.

"Dad, I'm so happy to see you," Clark speaks up first as he rushes over to give Jonathan a bear hug.

"I'm happy to see you too," returning the hug. "Is everything alright?" he asks after they pull apart and make their way over to the couch. Clark proceeds to fill him in with the latest update.

"Lois just called to let me know about Pete. I'm really sorry, son," laying his hand on Clark's shoulder. "I know it's not a lot, but at least you and Pete were able to patch things up."

"I know," Clark replies while laying his head back against the couch. "The last time I spoke to him, we had talked about going to the RUSH concert next month in Star City. He said he might even be able to get some backstage passes," he says with a sigh.

"Maybe you could still go to the concert," says Martha. "It would be a lovely way to remember him."

"I agree," Jonathan pipes in. "You should go."

"You can even take Lois with you," Martha giving him a wink.

"Lois?" looking at her curiously. "She's more into Whitesnake. Why should I bring her?"

Martha and Jonathan exchange knowing glances. "So since everything is fine here, then why did Zod leave that watch?" Jonathan changes the subject.

Clark was about to answer when there's a knocking at the door. "I better hide," he says and immediately steps into the bathroom and closes the door. "I'll get it," Martha replies and walks over to the door. "Who is it?" she asks.

"It's me."

Clark comes out from the bathroom as Martha opens the door. Kara immediately rushes in and runs over to the television. "What's going on?" Martha asks when she notices the solemn expression on her face.

"This," she replies as the television flickers on.

"We interrupt this program for a breaking news report. We're going live to downtown Metropolis where Alex Harmon is on the scene. Alex?"

Jonathan, Martha, and Clark all stare in horror at the image showing on the screen. "Is that-" Martha sputters out.

"Watchtower," Kara replies grimly as she turns up the volume.

"As you can see, the top three floors have been completely destroyed due to the explosion that occurred about ten minutes ago. Firefighters are trying desperately to put the flames out on the remaining floors. At this time, we don't know how many people were in the building. It's also believed that billionaire and CEO of Queen Industries, Oliver Queen, was present at the time of the explosion…"

"The watch! That's the message!" Clark exclaims and promptly super-speeds away.

"I'm going to x-ray this entire building to make sure there aren't any explosive devices," Kara says just before she also super-speeds away.

"I don't think she's going to find anything," Jonathan remarks. "All Zod needs is his heat vision."

"I agree, but better safe than sorry," Martha replies in a thoughtful tone. "I just pray that Oliver is okay and that nobody else was seriously injured," Martha says as she clasps her hands together in prayer.

"I hope so too," says Jonathan as he wraps his arm around her and pulls her close.

"Everything is fine," Kara says a minute later as she re-enters the room. "Not that I expected to find anything. I think we all know it was Zod," she says as she comes over to stand by them. "So have you heard from Clark yet?"

"Not yet," Jonathan replies.

The words were barely out of his mouth when the phone rings.

"I'll get it," Kara says and promptly picks up the receiver. Jonathan and Martha continue to watch the news report as Kara speaks quietly on the phone.

"It's your press secretary," she whispers. "He wants to set up a press conference so you can make a brief statement about the explosion," her hand covering the bottom end of the receiver.

Jonathan nods his head and she continues talking into the receiver.

"What time?" Jonathan asks as she hangs up.

"In about ten minutes," she replies. "I'll draft one for you."

"Thank you, but I think I'll write this one myself," he tells her as they both walk out of the room and down the hallway to his office. He sits down behind his desk and starts working on his statement while she's on the phone.

"Done," he declares about five minutes later.

"Let's go," she replies and removes the printed copy of his statement from the printer. "This looks really good," she says; handing it to him as they exit the office and head on over to the press room. He stops just outside the room while Kara goes inside and heads over to the podium.

"I've never really cared for these things," he frowns slightly as he stands in the wings waiting for his introduction.

"I know you don't," says Martha as she comes up to him and adjusts his tie. "Unfortunately it comes with the job. There," smiling back at him. "That looks much better."

"Thank you, sweetheart," giving her a lingering kiss on the lips.

They pull apart when they hear Kara speaking. "And here to make a statement regarding the explosion that just occurred in Metropolis is Governor Jonathan Kent."

"That's my cue," he says; squaring his shoulders as he opens the door to a room full of flashing cameras.

Downtown Metropolis

Clark arrives at the scene and stares up for a second at the burning building. "Clark?"

He turns around and stares at Oliver as he approaches him. "I thought you were in the building when it exploded. Are you okay?"

"I had just left when the explosion happened and I was swept off my feet. I flew through the air before I landed on the sidewalk half a block away," he says while stretching out his back. "I'm lucky I didn't break anything."

"Are you sure you're okay? Was there anybody still in the building?" Clark asks; putting the emphasis on anybody.

"I'll probably have a sore back for a few days but I'll be okay," Oliver replies.

"You haven't answered my question. Was there anybody in the building?"

Oliver still doesn't reply. Clark grabs him by his shirt. "Are you going to answer me? Where is she?"

Oliver bites his lip before he finally answers.

"Chloe was still in Watchtower when it blew up."

TO BE CONTINUED…