A/N: I want to thank Linda aka superlc529 for being my Beta on this story. Her constructive comments helped to make not just a better story, but me a better writer. Thanks again, Linda.
I also want to thank 'S' for...well...you know. I don't think I really need to spell it out for you - but if you think I should, then I'll tell you later when we talk tonight. *winks*
When I started this journal, it was my intention to write short entries about Clark's thoughts and feelings. It turned into so much more than that. I would love to continue it, but I feel this is a good stopping point. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. So without further ado, here's the final entry of The book of my life (Clark's Journal).
PS: This is the 700th post for this story and my 6,543rd post. Yay me. *grins*
JOURNAL ENTRY # 20 (Conclusion)
Kent Farm - Loft
10:00 P.M.
Dear Amber,
I know you're probably surprised to hear from me again, but you won't believe what happened with Zod. Let me tell you about it.
I went to the roof and located the stone pedestal that Tess told me about. I looked at it for a moment, then tore off the basin and found the console. It was just as Tess described. There was an indentation in the center of it that was the exact same size as the Book of Rao. I took a deep breath, then reached into my pocket for the disk. I was surprised to find it gone. How could I have lost it? Then I realized what happened to it.
Lois must have taken it when we hugged.
I supposed I could have gotten annoyed with her for taking it, but I couldn't really blame her. I like to think that I would do the same thing if the roles were reversed. Now I had to find her and get the disk back.
I just had to figure out where she went.
I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes; tuning out all the sounds with the exception of Lois' heartbeat. I smiled when I realized where she was.
She was at 'our' phone booth.
I super-sped away and showed up just in time to find Zod throwing her towards our phone booth and a truck filled with tulips. I quickly super-punched him into the air, then quickly caught Lois before she could smash through the glass. I gently laid her down on the ground amongst the tulips that had fallen to the ground
She started to stir before I could retrieve the Book of Rao, so I automatically super-sped away. I stood in the shadows and watched as she got up and looked around. Then she turned in my direction and saw me standing there.
She asked me to forgive her for taking the disk.
When I didn't answer, she turned back around and held the Book of Rao behind her. She asked me to say something; anything. So I took her hand and pulled her into my arms and kissed her. It was the most passionate kiss Lois and I have ever shared. Then I reluctantly pulled my lips away from her and super-sped away.
I miss her already.
I returned to the console and was about to insert the disk when Zod showed up. I told him he couldn't stop me because we were leaving this planet. He replied with a smirk that he wasn't going anywhere and neither were his fellow Kandorians. That's when they all appeared in the sky and landed on the roof.
I had no idea how I was going to fight all of them by myself.
I retorted that having others finishing a fight that he started only proved what a coward he was. He replied that his soldiers knew he has never wavered in the face of death. Then he hit me with a low blow.
He said that all I've ever done was to hide in the shadows.
I decided to strike back. I raised my voice and said that he hid the truth from his fellow soldiers. I told them all that the Book of Rao would not destroy us and that it would lead us to a better place; another planet where we can live in peace and could build a new home.
Krypton will live again.
He said my statement was just another one of my deceits and that they all knew where my allegiance lies. I struck back again and asked him about his deceptions. I said if they knew the truth, they'd never follow him.
He defended himself by saying that his men willingly follow him. Then I said, "What about Faora?" turning to look at her sister. I went on to say that all she wanted was to leave him and he said it was a lie. I said she paid for it with her life and he declared that she should have never trusted me. That's when I hit him with a low blow.
I declared that she wasn't the only one who paid the price.
He got so angry that he grabbed me and pushed me up against the wall. He lowered his voice and whispered in my ear that Faora was a traitor, then said, "Do you think I wanted to kill my own child?" I looked up at his followers and that's when Zod realized his mistake.
He forgot that his followers also had super-hearing.
I barely concealed a smirk as he looked at his followers. He said to her sister that Faora was a traitor. She stared at him in shock, then tore off her arm band.
He tried to convince them that Faora would have betrayed them all, but they no longer listened to him; one by one they started ripping off their arm bands. Her sister rushed towards him, but one of the other soldiers stopped her by saying they would deal with him once they were on their own soil. Then her sister turned to me.
Kal-El, take us home.
I walked over to the console and held the disk over the center. The disk floated out of my hand and into that indention. The disk turned red, blue and yellow. A bright light emanated from the console and shot straight into the air. I watched as one by one the Kandorians ascended into the light and disappeared as it began to rain. When I didn't ascend with the others, I looked over to see Zod standing there.
He was holding a Blue Kryptonite dagger.
He said he wasn't going anywhere, so I immediately rushed over and grabbed him by the collar and angrily said that he knew that Blue Kryptonite would prevent him from ascending like the others. You won't believe his response.
Better to rule in hell than to serve in Heaven.
We started to fight as the rain continued to pour down on us. I threw off my trench coat just before he said that he wanted to see if I could fight like the humans I love so much. We threw each other all over that rooftop. He kept thrusting that dagger at me; leaving cuts in my skin. At one point, he lost the dagger; but when I tried to reach for it, he hit me in the face with a rock.
I responded with the most powerful punch I've ever thrown in my life sans any super-strength.
He fell to the ground seemingly in slow motion; then he got up and kicked me through a stained glass window. I fell to the ground as he jumped through that same window; the dagger raised up in the air. I managed to roll over just as that dagger pierced the ground. I got up and grabbed his wrist as he tried to thrust the dagger into my chest. He declared that unlike me, he would lead from a throne and not from the shadows. He went on to say that every human; including the woman I love, would...
Kneel before Zod.
I noticed I was right at the edge of the roof, then made a decision of my own. I fought back by saying that he already destroyed my first home and that I wouldn't let him take this one.
I let Zod stab me with the dagger into my stomach.
My eyes locked with Zod as I started to fall backwards. The smug expression on his face quickly turned to horror when he realized that I had just beaten him at his own game. I watched as he rose into the light emanating from the Book of Rao. I continued watching until he was gone and the light abruptly ended.
They say that when you're about to die; that your life flashes before your eyes. I've died a few times and that never happened. This time was different. I didn't think about my parents. I didn't even think about my friends. There was only one person I thought about.
Lois.
I hit the ground with a thud; the dagger sticking out of my stomach. Now you'd think that my body would have been smashed to pieces after falling such a long distance. After all, I didn't have my powers. I wish I had an explanation for it, but I don't.
My mother would call it a miracle.
I opened my eyes; but instead of lying on the street, I was lying in a corn field. I got up and saw a replica of the cross that I was strung up on when I was chosen as the 'scarecrow' during my freshman year of high school. The next thing I saw was a tombstone with the name 'Kent' engraved on it. Then I heard the voice of Jor-EL call my name. When I asked him if I was dead, he said I was teetering on the abyss between life and death. That was why he was still able to reach me. I wondered out loud why he would show me my father's grave. I knelt down before it and pushed the leaves aside. It wasn't my father's grave after all.
It was mine.
Jor-El said after I died, that this stone would be all that was left of me in the world. I replied that I died to save the world. His response was that evil never ends and that by sacrificing myself; I left the humans vulnerable to future threats.
I couldn't believe my ears. I saved the world and yet that wasn't enough for him? I even left a team of heroes to protect him; which is what I told him.
According to him, I was meant to be Earth's great protector. He also said they were about to face the greatest evil without me.
I called out to him to send me back and that I knew my fate; to step into the light and be a symbol of hope for them.
He was very condescending when he said he told me to rule with strength; instead choosing the 'martyr's' path. Then he asked what made me think I deserved a second chance? I declared that I could do it; that I could be their hero.
That's when I smashed my fist on top of the gravestone; causing cracks to run through it.
There was thunder and lightning for a moment, then utter silence. I called out Jor-El's name, but he didn't respond. I yelled out to let me fight this evil like I've always have; to send me back. I turned around when I suddenly heard footsteps in the cornfield coming from another direction. I stared in shock when I saw a man dressed in white appear before me.
It was Lex.
There was a flash of light and he was gone. A second later, I was back lying on the street in Metropolis. I slowly opened my eyes to the most beautiful sight I've ever seen.
It was Lois with her arm around my shoulders.
I stared up at her tear-stained face, then saw the dagger in her other hand. She tossed it away, then lightly punched me on the shoulder and told me never to die on her like that again.
I smiled and told her I'd do my best.
She helped me to my feet just as the sun was beginning to shine; prattling on about how could the sun be out when it was supposed to be 9:00 in the evening. *chuckles* As she continued to talk, I held my face up to the sun; my eyes closed as the rays of the sun penetrated my body and healed the stab wound in my stomach.
I opened my eyes and lifted her up into my arms and super-sped us back to Smallville. Now you're probably thinking that Lois had another tour of Clark Kent's galaxy. Well, that wasn't what happened; at least not right away. *winks*
I stopped running about a mile away from the farm and set her down so that we could have a nice leisurely walk. As we made our way down that road, I told Lois everything that Jor-El told me. After I finished, she remained quiet for a moment - then responded in typical Lois fashion.
That's totally retarded.
I stared at her for a moment - then burst out laughing. She joined me in my laughter a moment later. We continued to laugh as we walked down that road in the rain holding hands.
I was laughing with the one I love.
I didn't know what would happen next in my life - but as we continued walking, I looked over at Lois and thought how lucky I am to have found someone so warm and feisty. She is not only my best friend, but my soul mate.
She is the book of my life.
THE END
THE BOOK OF MY LIFE - STING
Let me watch by the fire and remember my days
And it may be a trick of the firelight
But the flickering pages that trouble my sight
Is a book I'm afraid to write
It's the book of my days, it's the book of my life
And it's cut like a fruit on the blade of a knife
And it's all there to see as the section reveals
There's some sorrow in every life
If it reads like a puzzle, a wandering maze
Then I won't understand 'til the end of my days
I'm still forced to remember,
Remember the words of my life
There are promises broken and promises kept
Angry words that were spoken, when I should have wept
There's a chapter of secrets, and words to confess
If I lose everything that I possess
There's a chapter on loss and a ghost who won't die
There's a chapter on love where the ink's never dry
There are sentences served in a prison I built out of lies.
Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life
There's a chapter on fathers a chapter on sons
There are pages of conflicts that nobody won
And the battles you lost and your bitter defeat,
There's a page where we fail to meet
There are tales of good fortune that couldn't be planned
There's a chapter on God that I don't understand
There's a promise of Heaven and Hell but I'm damned if I see
Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life
Now the daylight's returning
And if one sentence is true
All these pages are burning
And all that's left is you
Though the pages are numbered
I can't see where they lead
For the end is a mystery no-one can read
In the book of my life.