The Boy Who Fell From The Sky
Chapter Twenty-One
The morning sun hit the large sign next to the road, illuminating the words 'Welcome to Central City' in large colorful tones. Clark slowly walked up to the sign, smiled and stared out at said city sprawled across the landscape, the pin pricks of artificial lights blinking out to give way to the brightness of the upcoming day.
The Kansas farmboy breathed out a huge sigh of contentment as he secured his backpack on one shoulder and shot forwards speeding through the highway, scanning far ahead for any traffic that would require him to slow down or dodge out of sight, lest his powers be discovered.
As he ran he smiled at the feel of his new shoes on the tarmac that made by his brother in all but blood, Tony Stark. Or as the world now knew him as; Iron-Man. His dad still shook his head at Tony's foolishness but he had also called the Billionaire immediately after the press conference to thank the younger man.
Clark frowned as he thought back to that day. He had not been as discreet as he had hoped to be and there were some eye witness accounts of a third player being involved that day when the showdown between Iron-Man and Iron Monger took place.
Tony had been agonizing over this well before he was scheduled to appear before the press and so when he had taken to the podium, he had tossed the notes given to him by SHIELD and just declared the he was Iron-Man immediately taking the attention off of Clark as the news for the next six months focused solely on the dramatic reveal of Tony Stark, playboy billionaire, being the man in the Avenging Iron suit.
If anyone knew how to play the press like a fiddle, it was Tony.
Tony's recovery from his splinching accident was surprisingly quick, after his bones had been regrown by Clark's mom, it had been a matter of spell work to get the hole in his chest fixed and a potion to get his blood replenished. Once the antidote to the Draught of Living Death was given, Tony was up and at 'em by midday.
After a mandatory cuddle with Lily Marie who had refused to let go of her big brother for hours, his dad had porkeyed Tony and Kara back to LA for the press conference that night, with Daphne and Susan Aparating back by themselves.
After taking the heat off Clark, Tony continued to take Stark Industries towards its new future with goals of providing clean energy to the world and one of the most rerun speeches given by him promising to the world to deliver "Peace in our time." Clark had never been prouder of Tony.
As Clark closed into the city limits he slowed down and thought back to his decision to take this second cross country road trip. Tony had declared that inorder to cement his legacy and to pay tribute to his dad, he was going to be bringing back the Stark Expo. A week celebrating the technology of the past and heralding the technology of the future. The nerd in him was excited at the prospect of seeing the advancements that humanity was making and the child in him was just eager to see his big brothers vision brought to life.
There was also the promise from Tony that they would be celebrating his eighteenth birthday in style and that it was a happy coincidence that his coming of age was taking place smack dab in the middle of the Stark Expo.
Tony had made his mom and dad nervous with the mention of taking Clark to this new club that was open but eventually they decided that they could only protect him for so long.
When Tony had woken up after his healing he had thanked Clark for watching his back and that more than anything seemed to prove to his parents that maybe Clark was ready to face the world. The fact that they hadn't even protested when he said he was going to walk to LA instead of flying on Tony's offered jet was testament to their shift in perspective and Clark was grateful.
He had passed through three small towns on his way from Kansas to LA and he had found someway in each town to help the people with his skills.
In the first town he had helped discreetly lift a new water tower in the town square, subtly lending the strength of ten men to the ropes instead of one.
The second town had been a little bit more involved because a distressed couple had lost their child. Clark picked up on their desperation as they asked a police officer for help who was at a complete loss for what to do.
Clark honed in on the child's description and immediately sent his senses outwards listening with his ears and seeing through the buildings surrounding him in the market district.
Not hearing any crying children he focused on the kids description, on what he was wearing. Finally almost three blocks away he found the boy, seven years old with thick blonde hair resembling his father, dressed in a red Transformers t-shirt and green pants clutching a juice box.
It looked like he had found a friend and might have followed her to a playing spot where the girl was showing him her trucks.
As he looked back towards the couple and the cop that was now noting down the kids description he quickly walked up to them interrupting.
"Excuse me, sir? Ma'am?" he asked the couple politely, his parents ingrained manners shining through. "I couldn't help but overhear, I think I saw a kid matching your description playing with a girl a few blocks back there," he said pointing to where the boy was.
The beat cop looked at him suspiciously which of course was expected, but the mother and father cast him hesitant but hopeful looks. Clark smiled at them reassuringly.
"I can show you where I saw him?" he suggested gently, and the mother immediately latched onto his arm.
"Please, can you?" she asked him, as if she couldn't believe that someone gave a damn about their problem.
Clark's smile did not falter and he nodded. "Sure, just follow me," he said and turned towards the spot where he saw the boy.
The joy in the parents eyes as they reunited with their boy was heart-warming and Clark discovered that there was nothing he liked more than helping other people.
Refusing any sort of recompense for a deed he considered something everyone would do, Clark set off for the next town.
The third time he helped someone was when he stopped a purse snatcher. The poor kid was quick enough to catch the lady unawares but he was unfortunate in that he ran straight towards Clark who stopped him in his tracks with very little effort.
When the boy pulled out a knife and made to slash Clark, he gave the thief the 'finger poke of doom' as Tony liked to call it, and konked him out just as the older woman caught up to them. Clark bent down and lifted the purse off of the offender and handed it to her with little to no fanfare but the lady sung his praises until his cheeks turned red and he tried to escape.
He suggested that she call the authorities, that maybe a few days in the lockup might give him some perspective.
But the lady, maybe even turning out to be more naive than Clark, looked down at the kid and felt a sense of pity at the youth who wasn't even Clark's age and was already starting down a path of crime. Choosing not to give the boy a criminal record she decided to wait for him to wake up and try and talk to him.
Clark took away his knife but decided that if she was going to risk herself like that then Clark would wait with her.
In the end the boy woke up and they sat down on a nearby bench with the lady, Tricia trying to talk some sense to him. The kid stonewalled them for a while before finally coming clean about the fact that he had been orphaned two years ago at fourteen and was now at a foster home that was abusive and he preferred to stay away from them and only went there to sleep.
Tricia offered Jack, the kid, a deal. If he could promise her to stop stealing, she could offer him enrollment in a boarding school where he didn't have to worry about food or shelter and he could continue his education.
Clark was blown away at the woman's generosity and now understood that what he had mistaken for as naivete was in fact, hope for humanity. He learned that Tricia was a widower who was well off but had four foster kids of her own, she explained that if she could, she would have taken Jack in as well but her house could only hold the four. The boarding school was the next best option.
She gave Jack a hundred dollars to keep him for a few days until she got the paperwork finalized and Clark could tell by the beat of the boys heart that his promise to adhere to the older woman's request was sincere. Clark sat there afterwards blown away by the interaction. He couldn't believe what had taken place in front of him.
He was prepared to let the kid spend a few days in jail but even he knew that when he got out, he wouldn't be better off. Chances were that he would be worse and forced to worse to survive. In a few minutes this woman, who Jack had done wrong, gave him hope for the future.
Sitting there, bidding farewell to Tricia and Jack as they exchanged numbers and went their separate ways, Clark decided that he would follow Tricia's example. If he wanted to use his powers for good then he would have to set himself to a set of ideals. Chances were good that he would encounter the worst of humanity on this path but he would look for the best in them and not lose hope. He might be strong and fast and could shoot fire from his eyes and ice from his mouth but Hope would be his strongest power.
He had set off from that town with renewed vigor and after crossing two more, he had brought himself here; to Central City.
Slowing down as he arrived in the city proper Clark walked over to the closet motel and booked himself a room and dropped his bag, she his dust ridden clothed and slumped face first onto the bed.
When he woke up it was afternoon and he could hear the dwindling of the rush hour traffic slowly fade off as people of the city settled back into their work places.
Clark decided to freshen up then hit the streets. He needed to explore and thankfully he could easily go anywhere he liked without being in danger of being mugged. He strolled through the city, superspeeding district to district, slowing down to take in the sights, taking care not to be spotted. He could just imagine the headlines in the Central City Gazette; Supersonic Speedster Spotted in Central City Streets!
Shaking his head at his own absurd thoughts Clark passed through an alley and he glanced to his left, spotting a kid walking across the street alone a few blocks down. School must be out, he thought to himself. He was just about to turn and go further down his aimless path when he spotted a group of adolescents come down the same path as the lone kid had. He heard their catcalls at the jeered the kid in front of them and the boy looked up from his shoes his gaze searching as he was startled out of his thoughts.
He glanced around taking notice of Clark a few blocks away before he looked back and saw the boys. To Clarks surprise the kid immediately broke out in a run, sprinting off into the distance.
The boys, though, were not to be denied and gave chase and they all ran out of his sight. Clark followed them with his vision, hoping that the kid would be fast enough to escape. And boy was he fast, but not fast enough.
It took only a second for Clark to decide if he was going to interfere with bullying kids or not. He was off around the corner before the second was up. He caught up to them just as the bully groups leader grabbed the smaller kids jacket and pulled him down to the ground causing him to rip his jeans and skin his knees.
In the second he took to slow down and not be spotted the second bully took the opportunity to land a weak punch to the boys face splitting his lip and causing him to grunt in pain. But that was as far as they could take it.
"Let him go!" said Clark calmly but allowing a little darkness to seep into his voice. The four boys immediately froze and turned around looking wide eyed up at Clark. He caught a glimpse of the kid on the ground looking up at him in confusion while scrabbling back on his hands and feet to try and put some distance between himself and the bullys.
The boys sized him up and shared a look with each other before bolting. Clark stared after them knowing it would be too easy to catch them but leaving it be as he heard quick shuffling as the kid got back up to his feet and locked eyes with him.
The kid was thin and younger than Clark had realized, it looked like he was just approaching puberty and had to have a growth spurt. He looked wiry but not scrawny or unhealthy and his clothes and shoes didn't speak of riches but it was clever he wasn't poor or homeless.
His brown eyes were filled with curiosity more than fear as they locked gaze and Clark suspected the the kid put more trust in adults than children his own age. Makes sense seeing as he didn't appear to have any friends who would walk home with him and was a victim of bullying.
"You all right, Kid?" he asked slowly approaching the boy who nodded hesitantly.
"Yes sir, thank you," he offered as he bent down to pick up his bag and shoulder it having to sling it with one strap since the other had been ripped by the boy who had grabbed it.
"It's fine," Clark replied keeping his distance incase he scared the kid. "I'm Clark," he offered with a encouraging smile.
"Barry," he muttered as he shyly returned the smile.
"This happen often?" he asked indicating the alley where the bullies had run off to.
The kid avoided eyes contact and shook his head. "I'm usually fast enough that I can outrun them home before they catch me." He shrugged. "Guess I was too slow today."
Clark frowned. "I meant do they chase you often, not if they manage to get their hands on you?"
Barry just shrugged again but still nodded and Clark sighed, knowing how schoolyard bullying went having experienced some of it until Tony had told him to stand up for himself without using his powers as opposed to his Dad who had just told him to keep his head down. Sometimes in the effort to protect his secret his dad tended to give bad advice, which was why he was so grateful to have Tony in his life.
As he looked over Barry once more, Clark wished he knew the kid well enough to be what Tony had been for him. But for now the best he could do was make sure the kid got home safe.
"You live close by?" he asked knowing that since he was walking home that the boy probably lived a few blocks away from the school.
"Just two blocks down that way," he said pointing down the street behind him.
Clark nodded. "Mind if I walk you home?"
Barry finally made eye contact with Clark and he could see that the kid didn't wouldn't mind the added protection of an adult but he still looked hesitant.
"I don't really know you, sir." He almost said it apologetically knowing that Clark probably had saved him from a severe beating, however Clark's mind flashed with the various warnings of Stanger Danger that had been drilled in his head when he was young and he nodded his agreement at Barry's caution.
"How I about I call your parents and they can make sure that it's okay for me to take you home?" he offered whipping out his phone.
Barry contemplated the issue for a moment before nodding his okay and rattling off his home phone number which he had memorized.
Clark dialed the Allen's home number and, who he assumed was, Barry's mother picked up the phone in two rings.
It took him a few minutes to explain the situation and when Clark had confirmed that she was free to have him checked out and handed the phone over to Barry to confirm his story, she okayed him walking Barry the few blocks left to their house.
On the way Barry turned to him and asked curiously. "I saw you all the way down the street when they started coming after me...?" he trailed off in n obvious question.
Clark smiled, having learned long ago that he had to roll with any comments about his abilities in case someone perceptive caught him lying.
"I'm very fast," he said honestly. "Almost inhumanly so," he admitted. He had also learned over the years that humans tended to not look to closely at the supernatural or the strange and he usually let them draw their own conclusions because the chances of them actually guessing that he was an Alien was very very slim.
Barry stared at him as they walked on with both eyebrows up in disbelief for a few seconds when he didn't offer anything else in explanation. Eventually he sighed and let his shoulders droop.
"Wish I was that fast," he said almost to himself but of course Clark heard him.
As the Allen's house came in sight and Clark saw Nora Allen anxiously waiting outside for Barry he smiled down at the kid and decided to give him some hope, false though it might be.
"Well Barry," he told the kid. "If you put in the effort, maybe some day you could be even faster than me."
And the smile he got at that fantasy made the lie worth it.
This is the first chapter that I'm genuinely not okay with. I was blocked so badly through most of this and the entire thing seems very forced and not at all like how I wanted it to go. I also cut it off early because I needed to get moving to the events it Ironman 2.
Anyways I don't have much hope for positive reviews but still I would appreciate the feedback. Til the next one. Cheers.