By David Mycock Time Wave 21
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of smallville or superman they belong to the people who created them at the time the other characters belong to their respective creators.
Pairing: Clark/Lana/Raya/Diana
Summary: Set during season Four, Clark is hit by a mysterious wave of energy which gives him knowledge of the future and how to prevent a dark future from befalling him and those around him. He decides to act on the knowledge especially concerning Lana.
(Space)
Clark floated in space close to the sun and whilst the healing rays of the yellow star made him feel safe it did nothing to calm the internal argument that raged inside him over Lana's fate and the choice he had made to leave her where she was without even trying to save her.
A large part of him knew it had been the right choice to make as things were quickly descending into madness and the future he was so desperate to stop from coming into exsistance was well on its way to becoming reality and he could not afford to sacrifice anyone including himself in a suicidal and most likely pointless rescue attempt. However a smaller part of him rebelled at the idea and wanted to take action, something he knew he would have done before he received his future self's memories and realised just how many mistakes he had and would make when it came to Lana.
He could no longer be there just for her he had to see the big picture, he was no longer blind to what damage rejecting who he truly was could bring not only onto himself but those he cared for and earth in general Lana he believed would understand this if she was here and so he would just have to except his mothers and Chloe's objections and anger for what he knew had to be done.
He was surprised when he opened his eyes to find Raya floating in front of him with a concerned look of her face and he smiled taking in her beauty and especially been drawn into her eyes, she gave her a motion to follow her and he quickly did so flying back to earth behind her.
(Secret Base)
Lana groaned and tried to focus but she was finding it more and more difficult to remember who she was and why she was here, the combination of pain, lights, visions and voices were becoming unbearable. She did not even know how long she had been where ever it was she was held, she was tired and wanted to rest but something told her that was not going to happen anytime soon. She tried hard to remember how she had come to be in this situation but all she could see were blurred images of her past which seemed to be constantly changing, she moaned again as a shockwave of pain ran through her before she lost consciousness and her head dropped downwards.
Outside the room and looking in through the two way mirror was Brainiac and Nam-Ek who were watching the progress of the brainwashing and conditioning of Lana Lang whilst General Zod processed everything he had been told and Aethyr recovered from her injuries she received from Jor-El at the fortress.
"Her mind is easily broken as she has been only under for two hours and yet already her memories are been altered and she is falling under our control" Nam-Ek spoke up as he looked at the earth female
"Yes clearly she is not as strong mentally as she is in spirit and even that is not much stronger as she is close to giving in" Brainiac agreed with a smile "She will do for a concubine for our lord Zod until we can capture Raya and Kara and subject them to the same process and break them as we are breaking Lana" he continued "It would be best if our lord had a Kryptonian concubine with which he can rebuild the Kryptonian race once we have eliminated the human species" he added
"What about Faora?" Nam-Ek inquired "She is our lord's wife" he added turning to the A.I
"Once we have defeated the league and conquered this planet we may release her from the zone to process one of the humans so she can help rebuild Krypton" Brainiac answered knowing Zod would not waste too much energy in freeing his wife until they had destroyed the house of El and conquered Earth "Keep and eye of her and the process I'll be back later" he ordered before walking away leaving Nam-Ek to his own thoughts
Back inside the room within Lana's mind Isobel continued to watch what was happening still unable to break through the collar that was stopping her from regaining control of Lana's body so they could escape. She could tell Lana would not be able to take much more of this and soon she would no longer be who she had been and would be nothing more than a puppet for Luthor.
She kept praying that Kal-El would come and rescue them but she knew in her heart that was not going to happen anytime soon due to how serious things had gotten and the dangers involved plus he did not even know where this base was, she sighed and could hope an opportunity would arise where could take control and escape.
(Kent Farm)
Clark was surprised as he landed outside his home beside Raya and he almost quickly took off again as he did not want another confrontation with his mother and Chloe but from the look on Raya's face that was not what why she brought him here for, he followed her into the house and noted Diana was waiting for them and that was it no one else was home something he was glad about
"We are worried about you Kal-El" Raya spoke up "Making the choice you made about Lana could not have been easy for you" she added as they all sat down
"You're right it wasn't but it was the right choice Raya" Clark sighed as he leaned back and closed his eyes "In the future I made countless choices like this which maybe why I became so hard and cold except when it came to Diana but those choices kept us alive and in the fight, the choices I made before the war to always rescue Lana instead of doing my duty cost us and the world dearly" he explained "I am no longer blind to what can happen if I make impulsive choices and I refuse to put earth and the people on it in danger just for my own happiness, no one person is more important than the safety of this world" he stated
"You sound like your father Kal-El, he too had to make hard choices in the war for our world" Raya told him causing him to open his eyes and look at her "I believe if it came down to it he would have chosen our world even over Lara although I think in the end that choice would have been the end of him" she informed him as she thought back on those days
"This choice will not end me Raya" Clark assured her "I love Lana but I have to admit since receiving my future memories I have felt a distance begin to grow" he admitted "I also know that I would loose Lana in time due to her been human and me Kryptonian, if I can save her I will and if it's too late I will mourn and avenge her but she will be remembered for giving her life in defence of this world" he finished
"You have grown much Kal-El and I am proud to see you have come to some important realisations" Raya said relieved to know that what had happened to Lana would not destroy her lover and she noted the relief also on Diana's face
"Do you believe this distance you feel to Lana will vanish once you remove the memories if we win this war Kal-El?" Diana asked
"Its possible Diana but that is some way off and I cannot let myself get distracted by what ifs at the moment" Clark replied as he leaned forward
Diana and Raya both moved to sit on either side of him as he seemed to loose himself in whatever he was thinking and both decided he needed sometime away from the problems and dangers they faced and as they looked at each other they both came to the same conclusion as to how they should do it. They began by massaging his neck making him groan in pleasure before Raya began kissing his neck and Diana pulled him backwards and kissed him as deeply as she could having wanted to do so for a while but unable to because of the war.
Clark was surprised by this but he quickly gave into the two women's passion as he wanted to loose himself for a few hours and not have to think of how to win the war or even think about Lana's fate. The kiss with Diana continued as before she stopped and she and Raya removed his jacket and t-shirt and led him towards his bedroom intent of finally consummating their relationships with each other.
(Fortress of Solitude)
Bruce returned alongside, Dick and Helena with Selina Kyle also known as Catwoman having finally been able to track the elusive thief down and convince her of the seriousness of the events taking place and that they needed her help. Selina looked around in awe at the fortress truly impressed by what she was seeing; she was surprised to see Talia al Ghul run up to Bruce and hug but more so to see him return it with affection. Truly a lot more was going on that she had been told but before she could ask Dick and Helena led her over to a near by screen and showed her what was to come.
Bruce removed his facemask so he could kiss Talia feeling ten times better just been back in her presence as since things had heated up he had not had much time to spend with Talia, he led her over to some seats and sat down so he could rest whilst Talia just leaned against him
"You are tired detective you need rest" the voice of Ra made him look up to find Talia's father standing off to the side of them observing them
"You're right Ra; I think we all need some decent rest" Bruce admitted with a tired sigh "Jor-El is there any sign of trouble from Zod or his allies?" he asked
"None so far" Jor-El answered "I am sure he is been updated by Brainiac about what exactly is going on and will take some time for him to digest it and come up with a plan, so I would suggest you take this time to rest and recover as once Zod does come up with a plan and begins it we will most likely be constantly active until its over" he explained to them all
"You weren't kidding were you Bruce" Selina said "This truly is a war" she said with a shake of her head "Considering the stakes I'm in" she added
"As am I" Ray Palmer spoke up causing everyone to turn to find him standing at the back alongside Oliver and Bart who Chloe quickly over to please to see the speedster who she had become close too
Bruce, Talia and Ra vanished heading home as did some of the others whilst a few remained to keep an eye on things, Martha and Jonathan headed for town to buy some supplies before heading home and Chloe and Bart went for some dinner so they could get to know one another better. Dax-Ur continued to work on his chip to reprogram Brainiac with Jor-El's help whilst Kara and J'onn decided to patrol to try and locate the new base their enemy had set up
(Secret Base)
Zod stood staring out the window at the landscape of earth thinking on everything he had been told by his three followers, to think Kal-El was trying to change history to stop him succeeding in conquering this primitive planet made him want to laugh as it showed how much stronger he was to his nemesis's son. Jor-El still remained a threat although if he killed the avatar of Jor-El then he would be confined to the fortress making less of a threat, he needed to attack and soon to get a feeling on how strong this league of hero's Kal-El had put together was but he would not rush blindly into this no he would put something together slowly.
He turned and moved over to the balcony where below Luthor's men worked on brainwashing more meteor freaks for their army, the villainous allies of Luthor were resting except for Bane who had headed back to Gotham to try and locate friends and allies of Batman to try and draw him out so he could kill him.
"My lord" he turned as Brainiac returned and stood behind him "is there anything you need?" he asked
"I want to know if there is anything or anyone who could give us an advantage against Kal-El and his allies" Zod commanded
"There is the blue crystal which contains the replicant of Zor-El who would be most useful in our struggle as he was on Krypton however we would need to get back into the fortress to use it again and also Kal-El and his allies had hidden it and we do not know where" Brainiac answered "There is also the chance if we did get into the fortress we could release some more of the zoners to aid us especially the one who became Bizarro and he could once again sample Kal-El's dna and become his duplicate which would allow us to maybe infiltrate the league or just cause confusion and distrust with its members" he continued as he quickly processed ideas "However I do not believe the league will leave the fortress defenceless again considering you have already been released and they know what kind of destruction you can bring my lord" he concluded
Zod listened and thought over Brainiac's responses and came to the conclusion each was a good idea but at the moment none of them was useable, this annoyed him greatly and he moved back to the window and decided to unleash some chaos on the planet until he could put together a plan that would give them a chance at gaining the upper hand in the war. He quickly turned and headed to the room with the maps of the planet so he could choose the best places to launch quick hit and run attacks to distract and tire the league
(Kent Farm)
Clark relaxed in his bed with Raya and Diana snuggled against his sides, he was still a little surprised by what they had just done but he did not regret it and he felt a lot more relaxed than he had been and both women seemed happy at moving their relationships with him along to a deeper level. He felt less the loss of Lana at the moment but he knew he had not given up on getting her back, just as he was about to get up his hearing picked up his parents getting closer to the farm and he quickly woke Raya and Diana and they quickly used their super speed to have a shower and get dressed so his parents would not catch them and get even more angry before leaving the house and heading to his attic.
Martha and Jonathan entered the house relieved to be back in a familiar setting for a while, Martha was still angered by her husband's acceptance of Clark's choice not to rescue Lana but she decided to leave it alone for now but she would not forget it. She was deeply disappointed in her son for the first time in her life and it was not a feeling she liked but she could not dismiss the feelings the choice Clark had made evoked in her.
Jonathan meanwhile hoped his wife would calm down and see that her son could only make the choice he did make; he shook his head and looked for any signs that his son was home but could see none. He sighed and shook his head wishing for the things that had happened had not taken place as things were much easier just dealing with Jor-El and the occasional meteor freak and other assorted enemies that turned up including the Luthor's.
In the attic Clack looked out over the farm remember how he had been standing here when the timewave that had given him his future self's memories had hit him with Lana just behind him, so much had happened since then and he knew things would never be the same again no matter what happened next.
"Are you okay Kal?" Diana asked deciding to leave out the El for a change
"Yeah just remembering things" Clark answered turning to the Amazon princess and taking in her beauty which made him want to forget all about the war for a longer time period but he knew he could not "Anyway we best start coming up with a plan to stop whatever Zod is going to do" he said with a sigh
"Yes but not just yet Kal-El" Raya agreed pulling Clark down onto his couch where she and Diana curled up against him and all of them dreamed of a future where Zod and his allies had all been beaten and they could live in a more peaceful world
(Secret Base)
Lana screamed as a pain washed over her that out did anything she had felt before the suddenly she began to feel different and she saw images which she began to believe were her memories. She saw herself spurn Clark Kent again and again because she hated him whilst she fell in love with Lex Luthor and then Zod who now processed the man, she felt an overwhelming desire to serve Zod in whatever manner he commanded of her. She smiled as she felt a new purpose come to her and that was to serve Zod and his allies and helped them defeat the Justice League who she now saw as enemies
Inside her mind Isobel collapsed she witnessed Lana finally succumbing to the brainwashing, she knew the Lana she had known before was lost not just to her but to Kal-El as well. She sighed wondering if she was to forever be imprisoned inside this new personality
Outside the room Brainiac watched as Lang finally gave in and excepted the new memories and feelings the programming had created within her, that gave him new ideas for how to gain some ground against the league and he laughed as he imagined the pain Kal-El would feel when he realised he had lost Lana Lang for good