Chapter 108: People Who Are Coming Home
Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.
Smallville
Kara was finally home.
The sun had set a few minutes ago, the horizon still glowing in oranges and reds, and the only sound was the wind moving through the endless corn fields. Kara was sitting in her spot on the front porch of the Kent farm, simply leaning back and enjoying the calm. How she had missed this. Six months on the desolate world called Vukar Tag (even if but two days had passed for the rest of the universe). Another three months spent hopping from planet to planet, helping the former Dominion experiments and Dominator expatriates settle on their new home worlds. And finally, another week spent in Proxima Centauri, talking with the representatives of the alliance members about the new colony worlds and how to support them, the ongoing refurbishing of the War World, and the current state of affairs in the Dominion.
Rao, she was tired. She barely remembered how it felt not to be tired.
"And how is the Seeder of Worlds feeling tonight?"
She looked up as Martha sat down beside her, the older woman grinning broadly. She was just so happy that her daughter was home again, safe and sound.
"Please do not call me that," Kara replied, putting her head in her hands with a groan. "It is bad enough that I had to dissuade the colonists on three different planets from renaming their new home world 'Kara's Planet' or something like that."
"What, no one wanted to name their planet 'Super World'?" Kona chirped, sitting down on Kara's other side. "I'm deeply disappointed!"
Kara chuckled, ruffling her daughter's hair. "Rao, I have missed you, baby girl!"
"I missed you, too, mom," Kona said, leaning into her mother's side. "Next time you have an outer space adventure, you so have to take me along!"
"Hey, I took you all the way across the galaxy three years ago. And you got to travel to the 30th century when we fought Darkseid. I think you have missed more than enough school days, little miss!"
Kona replied in a mature, adult way by sticking out her tongue at her mother.
"Is this a family ritual then?"
Kara looked up to see Sandy standing in the door. The girl made form sand had continued to age herself like a normal human, currently appearing to be about ten years old. Sandy was now officially enrolled at Smallville's local school and so far, according to Martha, it had all gone smoothly. Kara had missed most of it, which made her sad.
"You are welcome to join us, Sandy," Kara said, gesturing to the spot between Martha and her.
"Thank you," Sandy said, sitting down. "Despite my attempts to make myself different from you, Kara, I will admit that I have missed your presence."
Kara just had to smile at that. "Aww, I missed you, too, Sandy."
Rao, these last two years it had been one thing after another. The Dominator Invasion, the whole affair with Darkseid and the kidnapping of her son, forming an interplanetary alliance, and now settling thousands of humans on new worlds, all of which had barely left any time for Karen Kent's life. She could only hope that things would calm down for a while now. She really needed a break.
"Well, no deep space adventures for at least a year," Kara resolved, wrapping her arms around both Kona and Sandy. "No time travel, either. I think I need to keep my feet on the ground for some time. Well, metaphorically speaking." There was no way she would ever give up flying if she could help it.
"And what if you are needed to mediate between members of the Kryptonian Alliance, oh great Bythgar?" Martha asked, teasing her once again, though Kara could easily see the worry in her mother's eyes. She really had been away from home too much. The situation had been stressful for her parents, too. There were a lot of new worry lines on Martha's face.
"Kryptonian Alliance," Kara scoffed. "I really do not like this name."
"Why not?" Kona asked. "They are calling it that in your honor."
"I know, but Krypton is the name of a world that died because its leaders were too narrow-minded and short-sighted, because it isolated itself from the rest of the universe. The absolute opposite of what I hope this new alliance will be like."
Kona nodded. "Okay, I understand that. Maybe you should simply tell them to call it the United Planets? After all, that's what it's going to be called eventually anyway, right?"
"Yeah, but I do not want them to call it that because I tell them to call it that," Kara said. "Does that make sense?"
Martha nodded, touching her shoulder. "Makes perfect sense, sweetie."
"Is this a girls' night or can I join you?" Jonathan Kent asked as he stepped outside onto the porch, a six-pack of beer bottles in hand.
"Give me one of those beers and we'll allow you to stay," Martha told him.
"Ah, and they say romance is dead," he replied, handing her a bottle. "Kara?"
She nodded, taking a beer as well. "Thanks, dad."
"Hey, can I...?" Kona started.
"No way, little lady, you are not 21 yet!" Jonathan told her, moving the bottles out of her reach.
"It's not like it will really affect me," Kona protested. "And I'm almost 18."
"More like six!" Kara said, opening her beer.
"I have an ID that says differently," Kona huffed. "Besides, with all the time travelling we did, I'm probably a lot older than that already."
"Oh, you young people," Martha sighed, taking a sip from her beer. "Why are you all in such a hurry to grow up?"
Kara nodded, knowing the feeling all too well. She was happy to be back home, but with Clark no longer living here and Kona being almost of (official) age to move out and start her own life, it seemed home would soon be a lot emptier than it used to be. Maybe it was time to take in more strays? The thought made her chuckle.
"So Clark is doing that thing with Lois tonight, right?" Jonathan asked, his beer almost empty already.
"Yeah," Kara replied, having talked with Clark a bit earlier. "The poor boy was so nervous; he nearly flew into a powerline."
The entire family chuckled at that image.
Sitting on the porch with her arms around her two girls (and yes, somewhere along the way she had started to think of Sandy as one of hers, too), her parents sitting beside them, and the familiar vista of the Kent Farm at dusk, Kara finally managed to relax some. There was still a lot to do, certainly, as the world seemed to be changing faster every day. But for now, everything was fine.
She was just happy to be home.
Washington D.C.
"So it's been six years since you've been home?"
Lois looked over at Clark. The two of them were sitting in Lois' car, as they had been doing for the last ten minutes or so. It was only another 200 meters or so to their destination, but Lois had stopped the car here, out of sight. Since then, she had been trying to work up enough courage to go the rest of the way.
"Yeah," she finally said, her fingers clutching the steering wheel. "I kind of moved out in the middle of the night one day after I turned 18."
"Really?" Clark asked. "Why?"
She sighed. "My dad, he... well, General Sam Lane had very clear ideas on how he imagined his daughters' lives to proceed. None of them involved college or careers of our own."
Clark frowned. "Didn't you tell me that your sister Lucy is studying to become a lawyer?"
Lois laughed. "Yeah, but she tricked him. She enlisted in the Navy in order to study to become a JAG lawyer. He could hardly say no to that, given that he had praised the service above everything else for our entire lives."
Clark laughed as well. "Sounds like all the Lane women know how to get what they want, no matter the opposition they face."
"If I may ask," Lois began. "Did your mom ever, you know, pressure you into... well... doing... that thing you do?"
"My dearest Lois, are you asking whether my mother, who also happens to be the world-famous Superwoman and your personal idol, ever pressured me into becoming Superman?"
Lois blushed. "I guess, yes. So... did she?"
"No, never," he said, smiling fondly. "Well, she did teach me that the powers we have need to be wielded responsibly, but she never tried to force me into a certain direction. Well, she did try to keep me from becoming a superhero like her until I was older, but that was all. She always encouraged me to make my own way."
"Must be nice," Lois muttered.
Sobering again, he looked her in the eye. "So have you had any contact with your parents these last six years?"
"I call my mom every week," she replied. "But my dad... no, not a word in six years."
"Why go back now then?" he asked.
"It's just... Clark, you know better than most how much crazy stuff went down in the last few years. Alien invasions, red skies, god wars … And I figured... well..."
"I understand," Clark said when she didn't continue. "You don't want to leave things unsaid. You never know how many days you have left to get things straightened out again with the people you love."
She looked him in the eyes. "When you... I mean, when everyone thought you were dead... the thing I regretted most was, well..."
"Yeah. Me, too," he simply said, leaning forward to press a kiss to her lips.
A few minutes later they broke apart again, Lois slightly out of breath.
"Okay, how about we skip the visit to my parents and instead you fly us back to Metropolis and to my apartment and..."
"Lois," he interrupted her.
She took a deep breath. "Yeah! Yeah, you are right."
"Not that I am opposed to your idea, just for the record," he told her with that oh so charming smile of his.
"For the record, you are not making it easier for me."
Clark shrugged. "For the record, I consider that a compliment."
"Oh yeah? Well, for the record... okay, we should stop with that!"
They smiled at each other. When exactly had they turned into the kind of goofy smitten kittens Lois used to make fun of?
"Shall we then?" Clark asked.
He got out of the car and walked around, opening her door for her. Taking another deep breath, Lois finally got out of the car.
"Thank you for coming with me," she told him, taking his hand.
"Always," he replied, softly squeezing her hand.
Together they walked down the street towards her house.
"You think your dad will be happy or angry about you bringing your still-in-college boyfriend with you on your first visit home in six years?"
Lois laughed. "Not sure, but just in case: you are Airman First Class Clark Kent of the US Air Force."
"Well, I do spend a lot of time in the air."
And then, quite suddenly, they stood in front of the Lane home's front door. After an encouraging nod from Clark, Lois raised her hand and pressed the doorbell.
"I'll get it," a gruff voice came from inside. A moment later the door opened and for the next minute or so there was nothing but stunned silence.
"Hey, dad," Lois finally said, giving a little wave with her hand.
General Sam Lane stood in the door, staring at his daughter, whom he hadn't seen in six years.
"Lois?" he asked, sounding like he was seeing a ghost.
"Yeah, it's me. I'm home."
After what seemed like an eternity, Sam Lane began to smile. "Oh, my darling girl!"
Lois Lane was home.
Metropolis
Lex Luthor was coming home. Well, he mused, geographically speaking, at least. Standing on a street corner in the neighborhood that had once been known as Metropolis' Suicide Slum, the former CEO of Lexcorp studied the place where, many years ago, a rundown apartment building had stood. He had been born here, had spent the better part of his childhood here. Born to two parents who loved alcohol far more than their own offspring or their own well-being. Living in perpetual poverty, he had very quickly come to the realization that this was not the kind of life he wanted to live, and he had taken steps to ensure that his fortunes would change.
Now that old building was gone, just like those idiots who had birthed him. It was one of the first things he had done once he had become rich and successful as a very young man. He had bought the building, the entire block, and had it all torn down. When the city had started actually rebuilding and renovating the long-neglected neighborhood, he had built a new apartment building there. One that looked nothing at all like the rundown misery hovel he had grown up in. Modern, gleaming, and expensive in every way.
No one had ever lived there, though. Luthor had never rented it out, never sold it, just left it standing as a monument to what he had overcome. He had not planned to ever come back here. Now, though... well, plans changed. Lives changed. Sometimes more than once.
Entering the access code into the electronic lock of the building (a seven-digit prime number that had absolutely no personal relevance to him), he walked inside. Everything inside the building was clean and looked like new. Well, it was good to see that the service company he had hired to maintain this place was doing good work and not just taking an easy paycheck. Using the elevator, he rode up to the penthouse apartment of the five-story building. The apartment itself was furnished with but the bare essentials. The white walls were unadorned, and everything looked entirely clinical. Taking off his suit jacket, he slouched down on the simple white couch and looked around.
Truth be told, he was not entirely sure why he had come to this place. It was not really his home. His home, for the last few decades, had been the Lexcorp Tower and the luxury apartment there. Well, it had been one of his homes, at least. There had also been the mansion in Malibu, the private island in the Caribbean, the chalet in Switzerland... well, all of that belonged to his daughter now, of course. The odds of her inviting him to stay in any of them were rather slim. And this gleaming building here merely stood in the same place as his childhood home, nothing more. So why was he here?
Looking at the tracking bracelet on his ankle, Luthor let his mind roam freely. His old life was over, for better or worse. He was no longer the respected businessman he had once been, but rather a criminal out on probation. A criminal out on probation who had helped save the world, granted, but most of the stupid people (meaning everyone) seemed to focus on the first part and forget the second.
Well, leading a world-wide business empire was so last decade, really. The world had changed. Who cared about dividends and patents when there was an interplanetary alliance with aliens in the making? Some people were calling it the Kryptonian Alliance, apparently. He scoffed. Why would they name a new alliance after a dead alien world? Idiots!
Anyway, it was a brave new world. Time to be somebody else. Somebody new.
Looking out the window, he mused on how much had changed in the last decade or so. He was still the smartest man in the world, of course, but that was just about the only constant. For all intents and purposes the world was now ruled by a superpowered alien and her equally alien allies. He had seen it coming, he had warned people about it, but no one had listened. Not that it really surprised him. All through history the dirty masses had either ignored or attacked the voices of reason.
Granted, he was prepared to consider that Superwoman might actually have benevolent intentions towards his planet after all, but that mattered little in the end. Her mere existence made humanity less than it should be. Less than it was destined to be. Very briefly he mused on a certain blonde teenage girl who was part alien, yet also part Luthor, but he banished that thought from his head quickly. It did not matter! She did not matter!
Well, there was no changing the past. It was time to think about the future. His future. He needed a new idea to get back in the game. Something worthy of the mind of Lex Luthor. His eyes rested on the patch of sunlight on the floor in front of him, shining in through the window. Sunlight. The source of all life on Earth. The source of the alien's powers, too. It offended him to know that the same thing that allowed human life to thrive on this world also gave strength to the alien.
"Sunlight," he muttered, his mind beginning to formulate a new idea. "Beautiful, bright sunlight."
A few minutes later Lex Luthor began to smile. Maybe there was something to be said about coming home after all.
Themiscyra
If there was one place in the universe that Kara considered almost as much a home as the Kent Farm in Smallville, it was the island paradise of the Amazons. It was here that she had had her first-ever vacation at age 21. During her journey through time, she had spent seven months here just relaxing and recovering. Since then she had been back numerous times. It was the home of her extended family, consisting of Diana, Hippolyta, and little Donna, her goddaughter. And, of course, it was the home of Philippus, her beloved General.
Arriving on the island, Kara quickly shed her normal suit in favor of an Amazonian toga. She took a quick detour through the palace, saying hello to Hippolyta and little Donna (who was already five! Where had the time gone?). Diana was away in the outside world but was expected to come home tomorrow or the day after. Seeing as Kara intended to stay for a few days, that was just fine with her.
Finally, she made her way to the training grounds.
"Hello, goddess," Philippus said as she saw her. "It's been a while."
"Hi, general," she replied, smiling. "It sure has been. However, I am now in a position where I can finally take a few days off. Think it is possible for you to take a few days off, too?"
"I might be persuaded," the Amazon said, moving closer with a sway to her hips. "The Amazonian code of honor clearly states that we must always make time for worship."
"Worship, eh?" Kara asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You have a problem with being worshipped, goddess?"
"I might be persuaded," she replied, taking Philippus hand.
Arm in arm they walked away from the training ground and towards a secluded portion of the Palace gardens. Sitting down under a tree – their tree – Kara leaned back, smiling like a loon. The sky was blue, there were no alien invasions, her family was safe, and she was here with her general.
It was so good to be home.
End Chapter 108
Author's Note: It's always fun to write stuff from Lex' perspective, as he's just such a wonderfully twisted character. Unapologetically evil, but at the same time utterly convinced that he's actually the hero of the story. Such fun. Shoutout to reviewer YademosEbyam, whose idea it was for Kara and Lex to have rather similar thoughts about the name "Kryptonian Alliance".
Fair warning, the next two chapters will include several time skips until we reach this story's final arc, starting in chapter 111.
Up next: Days of Future Present