Chapter 25

[Smallville—Kent Farm]

The day had passed all too quickly in spite of the conditions outside. Clark and Lana spent the day helping Martha with baking oatmeal cookies and drinking lemonade. They watered their new trees making sure that the latter would be able to deal with the harsh Kansas sunshine. Mostly though they simply enjoyed each other's company making the most of their time.

Martha surprised them with a picnic albeit at the kitchen table with plenty of chicken and potato salad. She enjoyed the simple ambiance of the whole meal with the younger couple recalling several times with Jonathan of those things….

…sharing hopes and dreams…

…sharing the ups and downs….

Please have fun tonight. "So when are you two taking off?" she queried.

"I figured we'd fly over after sunset. Maybe about nineish? The fireworks start at 9:30 so we have plenty of time," he proposed.

"As long as it's dark, why not? Just make sure they don't see us," Lana pointed out.

"They won't or they won't get a clear look at you," he assured her. "People won't care if I'm up there taking in a new angle. Relax. I want tonight to be the best for you."

She smiled. "I know. I want that too." And she truly believed that.

Now to make reality sync up with that sentiment…..

[Sunset]

Lana sat on the front porch while waiting for Clark to put on his costume. Despite that she didn't have the sight link on, she wanted to experience the world for herself and totally on her terms. She comforted herself with the billowing of the cool breeze coming across her face. Her ears perked to a couple of birds serenading her from a tree top perch nearby. The sweet smell of Martha's sunflowers pleasantly filled her nostrils…

Natura's best symphony played uniquely for her…and they weren't even in the air yet….

I wish Clark wouldn't have gone through this trouble for me. She wanted to roll her wheelchair right back in the house and beg him just to sit on the porch with her. All she needed really was to be there with him on the porch swing….

…the fireworks from Granville would've been fine….

…maybe some symphony music playing in the background from the old farm radio….

But she knew Clark wanted to give her something truly special.

This is as much his night as he wants it to be yours, Lana. Deal with that. She repressed a spasm and sat tall. She wouldn't ruin their night…no matter what burned through her….

His foot falls echoed back to her ears before he even stepped out onto the porch. His cape clearly ruffled in the breeze.

"Have your uniform properly pressed for me, my Superman?" she teased.

He smirked and kissed the top of her head. "Always. Ready for your show?"

"I'm already getting it around us. Can't wait for the next act," she informed him with a smile.

"All right then!" He gently cradled her in his arms. "Hang on!" He flexed his legs and launched them high into the air. Rather than fly at full cork for Junction City, he kept his pace at a slower rate. "Turning the link on. Okay?"

She nodded silently. She felt the usual buzz in her head. Her eyes came into focus. The breath caught in her throat.

Around them, the sun's setting rays had turned the cumulus clouds shades of magenta, crimson and orange. Shards of pink, blue and purple wisped through those landscapes. Puffy columns extended toward her as if in greeting.

Behind them, Nocturne's dark cloak interspersed with distant stellar sparkles raced toward them wanting her temporary dominance over the light…and to offer a different perspective of beauty on the day.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed.

"I do this more often than you think. Love sunsets up here," he declared. "I thought it was time to share one with you. I wanted you to experience this." He nodded to himself. "Hang on." He dipped them below the clouds just as the day's last light faded to a delicate pink on the western horizon.

Beneath them the crowds were just assembling on the Junction City Fairgrounds. Under the glaring and humming lights, blankets and sheets spread across the grass and dirt surface forming a kind of checkerboard effect. The aromas of grilling meat and barbeque wafted upward on the breeze. The sweet twang of old school country music lightened the event.

"Aren't we too close?" she wondered.

"They can't see us up here," he assured her as the night totally enveloped them. He looked toward the northeast. Wistfully his eyes searched the dark backdrop until they discovered their destination….

…in response a unique crimson star floating in the midst of a stellar mini-archipelago twinkled three times….

"What's that star? It's so pretty! There doesn't seem to be another like it!" she realized.

"It's called Rao. It's Krypton's sun," he explained. "The light takes about ten years to get here from its location in space."

"So it's already changed?" she deduced. "Wonder what we'd find if we went there?"

He shrugged. "A glowing green ring of Kryptonite asteroids floating around it if the Fortress' records are right. I don't remember hardly anything of Krypton except my birth mother saying good bye to me before putting me in the Ship."

"Lara." Lana nodded recalling the meeting with her clone several years earlier. "Clark, she was a truly special woman. You should be proud that she was your birth mother just as Martha's your mother here. I'm sure Martha would've loved to meet her."

"Thanks for saying that. I appreciate it. You're a special woman too." He kissed her brow as softly as a bit of dandelion fuzz might alight on the grass far below. "Our love shapes the universe as well. Never forget that."

"I won't," she assured him.

Just then a brilliant explosion echoed a hundred feet underneath them bathing the sky in a shade of lime green.

"Wow! That was close!" she exclaimed.

"It's all right. We're still a ways away. I wanted to see it up close and personal," he assured her gently. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"I know, Clark. Thanks," she declared while resting her head against the red-s on his chest. She enjoyed the multi-colored light display washing over them. Reds, yellows, oranges, purples in addition to her preferred pinks played out for their satisfaction. Beneath them she heard the music faintly serenading the whole thing. "How can I hear that?"

"Hear what?" he wondered. "The music?" Seeing her nod, he smiled. "I'm boosting the effect a little and enhancing your hearing. Just the practice Kara and I have been working on. She wanted you to enjoy this as well."

She went silent not wanting to miss another second of her special treat. Through him, her enhanced senses partook of the whole scene unfolding in front of her. Her heart nearly stopped from the ecstasy. Even if she really floated just under the cloud line, she floated even higher on the inside with her beloved star traveler….

…her Superman…

…her Plaid Knight….

…her Clark….

As the last firework lit up the Kansas night, her lips seized onto his in a simultaneous celebration of their own. Perhaps in gratitude….perhaps in defiance of Tempus' fleeing before their eyes….they wouldn't be denied at that moment.

They expressed their defiant love of him for all time.

He accepted the gesture and returned it for his part. He wouldn't be denied his princess no matter the circumstance…no matter what…Even if Death separated them, he'd decided to wait until they were reunited…

…and he would do everything to make sure of that….

As that display faded into Memoria's track, he broke off the kiss and asked her, "You enjoy that?"

"Everything, Clark. Can we maybe fly around a while or is your Mom expecting us back at any point?" she supposed.

"I told her you might want something like that," he indicated. "Sure. We can do something special." He did the math in his head. "I know just the place." He zipped them eastward and toward her surprise.

Where is he going? She scratched her head while feeling him rising into the enveloping clouds and picking up speed.

"You'll have to find out. We'll be there in twenty minutes. I'm not doing the 'total super speed' so you'll be okay," he assured her as they pressed on. "It's a surprise." He grinned for her benefit as they kept going….

[Bari, Italy—Right about the time Clark thought it would be]

Minutes after Clark's last cryptic clue, her impatience nagged at her. She knew it was a surprise. Still she wanted to know now what was up his sleeve. Figures he finally gets romantic and I turn into the impatient idiot! Grrr! Just enjoy it, Lana. Then her eyes perked to something in front of them.

A bit of light pressed up against the dark.

"Is that dawn?" she wondered aghast.

"Yeah it is. That means we're right about where I want to be. Hang on," he noted while descending through the brightening clouds.

She could perceive a rocky coastline dotted with villas and olive groves. On two sides, the sea met the rocks with undeniable force and foam sprays. After a minute, her eyes went wide. "Clark! That's Bari!"

"It is. I remember you talking about that family you helped down here. I managed to track them down. They invited us for breakfast," he revealed.

"Clark, you didn't! They can't afford it!" she protested.

"They told you to relax and yes they can do a nice breakfast. They don't know I'm Clark. All they know is that Superman is your friend and he wanted to do something nice for you," he assured her. "So what do you think of the sunrise?"

Much as the Kansas sunset's colors had seized her attention on the previous night, the Mediterranean dawn greeted her with a rainbow of colors. The salt sea air blended with the sharp smells of olives and rosemary growing far below. "You knew I wanted to come back here, didn't you?"

"It was pretty obvious. I'm not about to deny you anything," he told her frankly. "What better than a breakfast with friends in such a great place?"

"I'll agree with that," she relented as they landed on the rocky soil. "Thanks, Clark, for doing this." Her eyes shone warmly into his.

"That's all the thanks I'll ever need," he insisted as he carried her toward the villa.

A slender man with dark hair, a white shirt and dark trousers came out. "Signor Superman, bonjourno!"

"Bonjourno, Signor Rostolla!" Lana greeted in slightly-accented Italian. "How is your family?"

"We are fine. It is an honor to have you and the legendary Superman for breakfast," Rostolla replied pleasantly. "It is honor to meet you, Signor."

"And you. Sorry I don't speak Italian," Clark apologized but shook the man's hand.

"I'll have to translate for him, Signor. He's honored too," she explained.

"No matter. For you two, only the best!" Rostolla ushered them both inside of his dwelling. There he smiled at the woman putting out a plate of sliced fruit and some scrambled eggs. "Maria! Signora Lang and her friend are here!"

The hostess turned toward them with a warm smile and twinkling eyes. "Ah! What a treat! Bonjourno, Superman y Signora! Please sit! It is a pleasure to welcome you!" She kissed each of them on the cheeks. Even as she noted what Clark had told them about Lana's situation, she betrayed no reaction. Especially given the help that their friend had given them earlier, neither host nor hostess would make their guests feel any different or less special than anyone else…..

…the sickness didn't make Lana any less of a person….

Clark set his wife down gently into a chair and bowed his head in silent thanks to Maria for her gracious hospitality. Then he sat down next to her.

Lana admired the simple dwelling much as she had when she'd stayed there previously. Maybe city people had more but she loved the genuine feelings that these people had for others. And in that, she could enjoy….

….that and looking into her husband's wonderful eyes and basking in the masterpiece his wonderful heart had wrought especially for her….

…that was something to hang onto forever….