Revelations
Rocketed as a baby from the planet Krypton, "no", growing up with powers far greater than mortal man, "no", donning a costume Ma had made, "No", flying over the skies as a boy, "No", Luthor a villain wearing a purple costume, "NO, no", Kara coming to earth as a Supergirl, "NO, No", and in the Crisis Kara gave her life so that he might live, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!".
"Kal-El, get a hold of your self. It's okay, my friend, everything is going to be okay".
Kal-El snatched his arm away from the older gentleman, "Why are you doing this? Haven't I paid enough for… everything?"
The older Clark smiled slightly, "Yes you have, Clark, yes you have. Is there somewhere we can talk? I don't know if explaining it to you will hurt us or help us but you were the only one I could turn to. You are the only one who could understand"
Kal-El viewed Kal-L skeptically. All Kal-El could see was Kara giving her life to save him. A bright, vibrant young woman gave her life so he could survive and fight again another day. he had watched her grow from a teenager to a gorgeous young lady. She had so much to live for and so much more to give. And then the younger Clark looked straight into the eyes of the older Clark. The hint of sadness from his eyes spoke volumes to the young Clark. The memories and the pain caused by the crisis were fresh in his mind but he put them on hold long enough to feel sorry for the older Clark. This man, who was far less powerful than him, knocked both Captain Marvel and himself out to allow them to survive on the "new" earth. He stayed behind to close the vortex to the anti-matter universe. He lost his planet, his cousin, and his Lois. But there was something in his eyes…
"You didn't lose Lois did you, Kal-L?"
"No"
"But you have lost her now haven't you?"
Through a smile with one tear running down his cheek, "Yes, Kal-El, I have lost her now".
Silence was in the air for several minutes while they both continued to digest what has transpired. Kal-El continuing to think of Supergirl and the other Lois Lane while Kal-L thought of nothing but his wife and the life that was left behind. Kal-El looked up and put his hand on Kal-L's shoulder. Nothing needed to be said between these two men. They both are after all Superman and though they led two different lives they were more similar in traits than any of the other hero's who shared the same name.
"I have someone I want you to meet, Kal"
"If it is your wife I would love to. I told you a long time ago to marry her and I'm glad to see you finally did".
Kal-L was refering to the time that the Luthor's of both earth-1 and earth-2 teamed up to try to destroy them. Their battle even went to earth-3 where the villians teamed up with that earth's Superman, who was known as Ultraman and just as evil as the Luthor's were. The Supermen even saw the birth of earth-3's first super hero, Alex Luthor. During some down time is when Kal-L told Kal-El that the best thing he ever did was marrying his Lois. Now, earth-2 and Lois were gone forever.
"I don't quite know how to do this. are you sure you are still 'faster than a speeding bullet', Kal-L?"
And with a hearty laugh and a slap to the younger Kal, "I think I can manage, thank you very much".
With the sudden rush of wind, Lois knew her husband had returned from who knows where. Which was strange to her since he always said something before he left. She knew how it went though. He was Superman and he wouldn't just leave like that if it wasn't important. She walked into the bedroom and heard a gust of wind coming from the living room. Her first thought was how strange it was that he was back so quickly. She didn't even have time to worry.
"Lois", Clark said softly.
"Clark, is everything okay? I didn't even have time to start worrying what was going on this time".
"There is someone here I want you to meet. I wish I had time to soften the blow but there isn't".
Cautiously she went to Clark and he took her hand. He led her to the kitchen where before her stood a man that could have posed for Clark if he wasn't a few years older than her husband.
"Lois, meet Clark Kent. Clark, this is my wife Lois".
"ummmm… okay, could someone tell me what the hell is going on here?"
Smiling, the older Clark went up to Lois, "It is a pleasure to meet you all over again. Kal-El, do you still make coffee the way Ma used to?"
"You mean the way she still does, Kal-L, and I'll get us some"
"Your mother is still alive, Clark?"
Kal-El, still being bombarded with painful memories, forgot for a second that before the crisis he had lost his mother and father as did the older Clark. It was as if he traded Kara for his parents. He preferred neither one but it seemed he was destined to lose a few relatives along the way.
"Ma and Pa both are still alive. I'm sorry, I should have realized…"
Waving Clark off, "Nonsense, Kal-El, I've just put you through the ringer. If you don't mind I'll wait in the living room", and walked out.
Lois immediately turned to Clark, "Do you mind explaining just what the HELL is going on here?"
"Like I said, I knew of no way to soften the blow. His story begins back in the early 1900's …"
Clark gave Lois a brief version of the events of this man but their coffee was still through a good 20 minutes before they remembered the time. The more Clark told the tale of the older Superman the more he remembered. When he started talking, he just couldn't quit.
"So what is he doing here, Clark, and probably more important is how he got here?"
"I don't know and it seems there is only one way to find out"
Picking up the three cups of coffee, Lois and Clark headed into the living room to talk to the Older Clark. They found him looking through picture albums. He smiled that same sad smile that he gave Clark out in the alley. The picture he was fixated on was of Ma and Pa Kent.
"It seems so unreal that they are still alive. I remember when Pa died telling me to use my gifts for good. He believed in me but never got to see the result of his confidence in me"
"Why don't you go with me to meet them, Kal? I know they would love to meet you. Ma and Pa are real good at getting involved with weird things".
"No thanks, Kal. Truth to tell, I would love to but there isn't enough time:
"What do you mean?"
"It's not important. I guess what is though is why I am here now and probably more important is how I got here?"
Lois rolled her eyes, "Super-hearing. You would think I would remember this super-power by now".
The three laughed for a few seconds and when it quieted down Kal-L began his tale.
"Kal-El, you'll remember the last fight with the Anti-Monitor. Captain Marvel and yourself had decided to stay behind and close the window to the anti-matter universe. How much do you remember after that?"
"I remember waking up with a sore jaw and the window closing. My last glimpse into that universe was a blanket of white space getting larger by the second. In the middle of that I caught your eye and saw you fade from sight".
"Sorry about the jaw but it had to be done. You and the Captain had lives to live while mine was no more. The woman I had loved since the day I laid eyes on her was gone. Taken from me forever. When the window closed I made some comment to Alex Luthor and the Superboy of earth-prime about how I welcomed the end since I had no life left to live. Alex said something to the effect that since I was the first he couldn't allow me to suffer. Then he opened up a rift in space and out walked my Lois. She was as beautiful as the day I met her. The wall of anti-matter was approaching and Alex took us into another rift and as far as we knew we disappeared from our friends forever".
Lois asked, "But that wasn't the end was it? It seems like Alex gave you another chance, am I right?"
"As far as we were concerned it was a fresh start. Alex explained to us how the crisis destroyed our multiple earth's but that there were still multiple earth's still in existence. He called it hypertime".
Kal-El picked up, "That's what we just found out recently. In fact it was the time when you winked at me when we were discovering the existence of hypertime. But Kal-L, what happened when you went to your new earth?"
"It started out great. There were no superheroes on this world. So once again I was the first one to come about. The only difference this time was that I had a 'side kick' in Clark, Jr. Other hero's like Batman and Wonder Woman eventually started showing up. Very little differences in the ones you know now. Richard Wayne, the Batman on this world, helped set Lois and I up 'lifelines' for the all of us. Up until the Batman showed up we basically just hid our lives. He set it up to where I actually became editor of the Daily Star again. He amazes me on any world. Anyway, the usual things started here just like they did on every earth you can think of. Hero's and villain's began to show up. One is trying to take over the world and the other trying to save the world. It was a good life. The three of us adjusted to our new surroundings and enjoyed the friendships of these new hero's as well as we did our old friendships. But I guess all good things must come to an end".
Kal-L then walked over to the window and stared out of it. Kal-El knew what was coming and Lois had a pretty good idea. She had often thought of the same thing. Clark has also wondered the same thing. He was, for all intents and purposes, a living solar battery. Batman even believed that if Clark lived long enough he would even be immune to Kryptonite. If that was the case there was no telling how old Clark could become or even if he could eventually never die. Young Clark went to the older Clark and put his arm around him. And leave it to Lois to start the conversation back.
"She not with you anymore is she?"
Slowly the older man turned around, "No she isn't. My Lois died two years ago and since then I have been looking for a way to break the hypertime barrier".
"What happened, Kal, and why did you start trying to break the barrier?"
"Lois being Lois, present company included", as smiles crossed their faces, "was breaking a story from one of the nuclear power plants. Lois found out Luthor was planning to blow the plant to the heavens. Of course she could never wait on anyone who might be able to help her out of these situations. I was 5 minutes behind her, just 5 minutes. I changed into uniform took off and got at the plant as the explosion started. I don't think I could've stopped it but lucky for me Superboy was right behind me. His powers are very similar to yours, Kal, and in fact given time I would say he will be your equal. He contained the explosion as well as you could ever hope to. But it wasn't enough. Lois was right by the explosion when it happened. She lived but telescopic vision showed us she had taken in a ton of radiation. She died in my arms 1 month later. With all my powers there was nothing I could do… nothing…"
The tears came more freely now and uncontrollable. Young Clark was stunned and so Lois was the first to reach the older Clark. They sat in silence, except for the sobbing, with Lois's arms around Clark. What must have been an hour had passed and Clark got himself under control. It was hard for the young married couple to look at this older, mirror image of Clark who in turn lost the mirror image of his Lois. Hopefully the future would not take this path but it could very well run true to course. The older Clark excused himself which left Clark and Lois alone.
"Clark, I don't know what to say. This is all… well, it's to damn much to take in".
"I know. I love you, Lois, but truth to tell that's the least of my concern right now"
"What, our future isn't enough to worry about?"
"Of course it is but I'm worried about Clark. He isn't telling us something"
"Like what?"
"He probably wants to know why I tried to leave that world for well over two years".
Lois jumped at The older Clark's arrival. The young Clark knew to expect him but still wanted his answer. Kal-L sighed and decided to go on with his tale.
"I tried to forget everything and go on with my life but something wouldn't allow me to. This might be a new world for a new beginning but it wasn't the world I grew up on. It wasn't the world where my rocket crashed. It wasn't the world where John and Mary Kent raised me as their son. It wasn't the world where I met and fell in love with the most stubborn, beautiful woman in the world. It wasn't the earth that my friends since my young adult hood were from. It wasn't my world. I wanted out of that place. Alex said Lois would be mine forever but she isn't. I can't cheat death. I wanted to die. I slowly came to the understanding of my madness and excepted it but I still wanted a way to get off that planet. Then I saw you through that fabric of time and space. I winked not only at you but I also winked for me. I took a couple of weeks to say good bye the people I needed to and then left".
"What about your son?"
"Oh, he was well old enough to carry on the duties of Superman. He didn't want me to go but in the same breath he understood. On his original earth he was the only hero there. Here on this one there were plenty. He has no desire to leave. He didn't like me leaving but he understood why I had to. I couldn't stay any longer. And then with a little help I wound up here. And speaking of winding up here, I'm afraid I have to go".
Lois went over the elder man of steel and placed her arms around him, "Are you sure we can't persuade you to stay? It seems like you just arrived?"
"I'm afraid so. I have other… appointments I must attend to. Clark can tell you all about the dangers of staying in one place to long. Hypertime is a lot funnier to deal with than traveling between dimensions".
"He's right, honey, if he stays there is a danger of our reality mixing with several other realities. Can I see you off, Clark?"
"I would like that".
And after all good bye's were said, the two Clark's flew off. Kal-El let Kal-L take the lead. He didn't know where he was going but just followed him until they wound up back on the Daily Star's building top. Kal-L stood there with Kal-El in silence. Neither one knew what to say. Kal-L looked at this younger man with admiration. He knew the hardships he had and would endure. The remembrance of his cousin Kara and the loss of his parents in the other reality were bearing on him and yet he has allowed the older Clark his grief. And even though the younger Clark did have these thoughts on his mind, he knew something was going on with the older Superman.
"You're ready to die, aren't you?"
With very little shock, Kal-L answered, "Yes, but don't worry, my old friend, you will not remember much longer".
And before Kal-El could protest he heard a problem that only Superman could deal with and flew off. His only thought was why he was in Star City to begin with.
"Thank you, Spectre, I know he won't remember me but I was glad to see that he was happy".
"Thanks, but the Spectre left a while ago, Clark".
This wasn't part of his plan. The Spectre wasn't supposed to let any one else know who he was. He didn't even have to turn around to see who this person was. He fought along side him in WWII with the All-Star Squadron. He turned around to see a tall, blonde haired man who use to wear a ring of power. And now he looked as if he wielded the power internally.
"Alan, it's been a long time, old friend".
Grasping Clark's arm, "That it has but we still need you for one more adventure. Train your eyes towards New York, Clark".
Looking towards the city, "Alexi? But I he should be dead! Not only physically but his universe doesn't exist anymore. and if that is him, there looks to be big trouble", Alexi Luthor was dressed in a purple and gold armored suit. His head seemed to be protected by a force field since there was no protection over it. Clark pushed his microscopic vision to see that the power cells were somehow run by nuclear energy. He could already see that Clark had fallen since Luthor was able to bathe him in red sun energy, "But I can't go out there as Superman. It would cause to many questions and I won't allow a mind swipe of the entire world".
"Don't worry, Clark, I've got you covered"
And Alan produced another costume for Clark, "I think Carter would approve".
And after slipping on the wings and helmet associated with the original Hawkman, the two flew off to battle.
To be continued
