Clark's POV

"Jor-El!" I bellow once I'm in the caves. I wait for the familiar flash of blue.

It comes a second later and I have to cover my eyes to readjust to the blinding light.

"I want to go back, Jor-El!"

"I am afraid that I can not permit you to do that, Kal-El. You are not done here, yet. You have one more reality that you must visit before you can return home."

"One more?"

"Yes. One more before you can return home."

I hesitate before asking, "Did that girl really die? I mean, this reality isn't real, right?"

"Just because you live in a separate reality from this one doesn't mean that it isn't real. These people are very much real. You felt her turmoil when the one you call 'Lana' had to let you go, didn't you?"

I think back, considering his question. Did I feel her pain when I told her that I wasn't her Clark? Did I feel her love for me when I told her that I loved her? Yes, I decide, I did.

"Why are you doing this? Sending me to different realities?"

"You will see in due time, Kal-El."

Without warning, the blue light that I am bathed in twists and changes to purple and then to pitch black. I snap my eyes shut and prepare myself for anything.

When the dizzy sensation finally escapes me, I open my eyes slowly to a shabby looking ceiling. I groan and rub my head. Immediately, I look to my right and left, but Lana isn't there.

"I guess I'm not married in this reality," I say aloud. Looking around the dingy one room apartment, I spot glasses on top of a crooked beside table, clothes scattered on the floor, and newspapers on top of the clothes. There's a tattered briefcase by the door that looks like it's holding a laptop.

I get out of bed and gingerly begin to pick up the clothes on the floor. I retrieve several copies of the Daily Planet and put them atop of the glasses on the table. It strikes me as odd that I have glasses since I don't need them.

I give up folding the clothes and decide to just throw them in the closet. Hanging in the closet are two work suits and a…Halloween costume? I dump the clothes at the bottom of the closet and pull out the costume. There's an emblem on the chest of the suit—a red S lined with yellow. Most of the material on the costume is blue and there are even red boots and cape to go with it.

"Weird," I mutter, wondering why on earth this future Clark would still be playing dress-up. I'm about to shove the costume back into the closet when something hanging out one of the work suits catches my eye. I tug it out and realize that it's a newspaper clipping.

New Vigilante: Man or Superman? the headline reads. I scan the article and almost drop it in shock.

"I'm Superman?"

Unable to process this information, I read the article again. As fast as a speeding bullet…can bend steel in his bare hands…and can fly?

Suddenly, the phone rings and I answer it hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Kent! Where the hell are you? You're late!"

"Mr. White?" I ask, recognizing the voice.

"No, it's Casper! Get your ass over here, now! Ms. Lane is waiting for you to get started on that exposé on that new Superman exhibit in the Luthor Gallery!"

"O-oh. Right," I say, not knowing what to say. "I-I'll be right there."

The only reply I get is the dial tone. I sigh and realize I have no idea where I'm supposed to be. Perry White mentioned the Luthor Art Gallery which is in downtown Metropolis. But am I supposed to meet...Ms. Lane somewhere else first?

I groan and look down at what I'm dressed in. A white shirt and boxers. Definitely not going to do for work. I pull out one of the two work suits from the closet and dress quickly.

After that, I look around for anything else that I might need. Wallet…probably in the briefcase near the door…. Something catches my eye on the bedside table. I tug at the shiny clip and pull out a…a Daily Planet badge! I squint at it and notice that in my picture I'm wearing glasses that look vaguely familiar to the ones on the table.

I pick up the glasses tentatively and put them on. When the phone rings again, I don't dare to pick it up. Instead, I run to the door, grabbing the briefcase. After a moment's hesitation, I run back to the open closet and stuff the Superman costume into the briefcase as well.

I step out of the apartment after being yelled at by what I assume is the landlord about my late rent. For first time since I entered this reality, it hits me that I'm not in Smallville, but in Metropolis. The shabby apartment and the Daily Planet badge should have given that away, but I was so preoccupied by the Superman costume and the rude phone call from Perry White.

It takes me a few minutes to navigate where the Daily Planet building is. Finally, I super speed off to it. Once in front of the building, I clip my badge on my wrinkle white shirt and readjust my tie. I enter the building nervously and after looking at the main directory, I figure out where the main headquarters and take the elevator to the seventh floor.

Once I step out, I'm bombarded by a lot of activity. People pushing carts full to the top with mail back and forth, printers going off, and phones constantly ringing.

I walk into the maze of cubicles and am struck with a dilemma. Which one is mine? It doesn't take me long to find mine, though, thanks to a young brunette.

"Where have you been, Smallville? Perry's been going crazy!"

"Sorry…I woke up late," I say pathetically. I squint at her badge clipped to the front of her purple blouse. It reads 'Lois Lane.'

Instead of yelling at me some more, she tip toes and kisses me on the cheek. I stand there, stunned.

"We're dating?" I stammer out, not believing that in this reality I didn't end up with Lana.

She narrows her eyes curiously. "You feeling alright, Clark?"

"Uh…yeah." I say unconvincingly.

Lois continues to look at me some more, but eventually turns away, gathering her purse and a notepad. "C'mon, a taxi is outside waiting for us."

I place my briefcase on the table and pick up a notepad and a pen just for the heck of it. I follow her out, wondering where Lana is in this reality.

Thirty minutes later, we're stuck in a jam of cars. Lois sighs impatiently for the umpteenth time. Finally, she pulls some crumpled wads of out her purse and throws it at the taxi driver's head.

"Hey, where's my tip, lady?" the driver yells.

Lois ignores him and drags me out of the car. "C'mon, if we want to make it to the ribbon cutting of this exhibit, we'd better hurry."

"But…we're still blocks away from the gallery," I say, stating the obvious.

"Well, you look like you work out. Try to keep up, Smallville." And with that, she begins to jog the remainder of the way to the gallery, in heels, no less.

Soon, we arrive at the gallery. There are dozens of reporters and media crammed inside of what looks like a new wing. Lois, being the bolder one out of the two of us, pushes her way through the crowd, insulting some reporters in the process in order to get them to move.

I follow her and mumble apologies where needed. Once we're in the front of the crowd, I am finally able to get a good look at the exhibit. What I see makes my jaw drop open.

Surrounding the newly built room are dozens of paintings and portraits of—of me. Granted, I am in a Superman outfit in every one of them, but that's beside the point. The point is, someone liked me enough—no, Superman—to want to devote an entire room in an art gallery to me.

I shake my head in disbelief.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Lois says, smiling slightly. I turn to look at her and half hope to feel something, anything for her, but there's nothing. Future Clark might be in love with her, but I'm not.

"Yeah, it's something," I mutter. There's some commotion in front of us, and I turn to my attention to it.

"May I have your attention, please," a man with a slight British accent says. "I would like to welcome you to one of the many expansions of the Metropolis Downtown Art Gallery owned and sponsored by Lex Luthor himself. This exhibit that you are viewing right now is composed of paintings depicting Superman and his courage. Luthor Gallery would like to dedicate this exhibit to the Man of Steel himself for protecting our city."

The man pauses as one of his assistants steps up and mutters something in his ear. He coughs and continues. "Unfortunately, the artist behind all of this art can not be here with us today as she was supposed to cut the ribbon herself. But since I am in charge of this department, I will do the honors."

There's some more mumbling as some of the men fish around for scissors. Finally, they find it and the British man cuts the ribbon.

"Now, if you will step this way, I will be glad to answer anyone's questions."

The crowd veers off to the side, following the man away from the exhibit and into the hall.

I take this opportunity to slip away and into the newly opened exhibit. Up close, the paintings have a familiar essence that feels long forgotten.

It's amazing that no one can connect these paintings to me. I gingerly bring a hand to my face and touch the frame of my glasses. Just a pair of glasses and I can fool anyone about my identity.

I reach out to touch one of the paintings. If I stare long enough at it, I can make out stalks of cornfield and a windmill that look oddly familiar to the one in Chandler's field back in Smallville. I narrow my eyes and bring them a little closer to the painting. Strangely enough, there's a tree in the background along with two figures under it.

Curiously, I realize that I don't know the artist's name. I look down at the small plate under the painting. "Only initials?"

L.L. "Lana?" I whisper, wondering how I could have not realized this sooner.

"Clark?"

I turn at the sound of my name to see Lois standing behind me. She gazes at me with curiosity in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She moves closer to me until we're only inches apart.

"Umm…nothing," I lie.

"I thought that I had lost you there for a second," Lois says, a faint smile flickering on her face.

"Well, here I am." I fall back a step when I realize that she's leaning in to kiss me. I turn my head at the last minute and her lips graze my cheeks. She pulls back, disappointed.

"What's gotten into you today?" Lois asks quietly. "You're different."

"You have no idea how right you are," I reply, feeling guilty for hurting her like this. She doesn't deserve this. "Lois, I know you're confused right now, but I'm sure that things will go back to the way they were meant to be. I just…I'm in love with someone else."

She doesn't say anything for a while, gazing at me intently. "With who?"

"It doesn't matter. Just know that once I'm gone, the Clark you know will come back."

I come to a stop in the middle of an alley and take out the ripped telephone page from my pocket. It wasn't hard to find Lana's address. I figured that if this future Clark lived in Metropolis, then Lana must be Smallville since there was no way that he could have fallen in love with Lois if Lana was in the same city he was.

I stuff the page back into my pocket and step out onto the sidewalk. Amazing, I think. The town is still the same after all these years. The only difference is more modern technology such as pay phones had been installed and more street lamps. I walk along Main Street, peering at some of the shops. I realize I must stick out like a sore thumb because of my business suit, so I shed it off and offer it to a man who looked to be struggling with a financial situation due to the state of his clothes.

I take out the yellow page again and look at the address. I trek backward until I find the right number. I stop in front of what was once The Talon, but now an art gallery.

It doesn't surprise me one bit that Lana remodeled The Talon into the only art gallery in Smallville. My guess is that Lana is still using the apartment upstairs as living quarters.

I take a breath and enter the gallery. The first thing I notice when I step in is the color of the walls. They're white so that visitors will be focused on the art instead of the décor. I glance around at some of the paintings and notice that most of them are by Lana, herself. There are some local artists, though, only a few of their works are on display.

I look around the place, but there is no one else in here. Not even an admissions person. I pat the pocket of my trousers for money in case there's an admissions fee, but then I realize that this is Smallville.

"Can I help you?"

I spin around at her voice. It's her.

"Lana." I take a look at her; she's wearing a simple sun dress. Nevertheless, she looks absolutely gorgeous.

"Clark?" She asks, shocked. And I don't think it's in a good way.

"I'm sorry. I should have called," I say hastily, watching her reaction change from shock to anger.

She shakes her head, her lips tight. "No…it's fine. It's not like you called before or left any message."

"What are you talking about?" I ask slowly, wondering how bad this future Clark had to screw up to be in such outs with Lana.

"You know what I'm talking about, Clark," Lana says, shaking her head. "Look, if you just came here to check up on me or tell me that Lois and you are getting married, then forget it. I'm done playing these games with you."

"Lana!" I call, grabbing her arm before she can run up the stairs. "I'm swear I'm not here to─"

"Not here to what? To hurt me? To break another promise?" Lana says, her eyes narrowing. "I'm through with you, Clark. Just leave me alone."

"Lana." I pull her back and turn her to face me. There are angry tears in her eyes and for a moment, I forget my words.

"What do you want, Clark?"

I swallow and when I'm sure that she's not going to run, I release her arm. "I want to know what happened to us."

"You know what happened to us, Clark," Lana says darkly.

"Please," I say softly, hoping that she'll notice my love for her in my eyes.

Her expression softens and she crosses her arm, suddenly looking not so confident. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this?"

"Nothing," I say, taken aback by her honestly and pain. "I just…please, Lana. I need to know. To fix it."

Lana seems baffled by my last statement, but she goes on, nevertheless. "It was right after graduation. You had run off to the caves and your mother and I searched everywhere for you. Finally, you staggered into the loft—I was sleeping up there, waiting for you. And you started going on about how the world was going to end if you didn't leave. So, you said that you had to go and that you'd come back for me." Lana pauses, obviously reminiscing.

"You never did come back for me. Instead, I spent the next five years of my life confused and hurt. I kept wondering why you just left me without any explanation of any sort. But the thing that kept me going was the fact that you said that you'd come back to me. So, I waited. Finally, after another two years, I saw you in the papers as Superman." Lana stops and glances at the floor, trying to find the right words. "I couldn't believe that you were back. So, I looked you up in Metropolis and I drove the three hour drive from here to see you. I didn't call because I wanted to surprise you."

Lana stops again. I reach out to touch her, but she takes a step back. I drop my arm to my side, trying to cover up my pain.

"When I showed up at your apartment, you were with another woman—Lois. So, I ran back out and you tried to go after me, but by that time, I was already in my car."

"That's all I did?" I ask, stunned. "But why didn't I try to look you up or at least call you?"

Lana laughs bitterly and shakes her head. "Do you honestly think I know what goes on in that head of yours?"

"No, I suppose you don't."

"What are you doing here, Clark?" Lana asks evenly.

"It doesn't matter."

"Clark─"

"Lana? Who's downstairs?" a voice calls from upstairs.

"Just a customer. I'll be right up, Steve," Lana calls back.

"Steve?" I inquire, feeling as if I'd swallow a jar of butterflies.

"My husband."

I swallow and try my best to keep my voice from shaky. "Lana…I really am sorry for all the pain I put you through. It was wrong of me to never fall back on my promise. I just hope that you're happy."

"I am happy, Clark. I love Steve."

I nod my head and look at the ground. "Well, I'm going to get out of your way now." Before she can protest, I'm out the door and on my way to the caves.

"Jor-El! I want to go home now!" I cry, my heart breaking at the last thing that future Lana said to me. "I am happy, Clark. I love Steve."

Blue lights bathe me once again and only when it contorts into odd shapes and figures does it finally hits me that I'm traveling again.

This time, when I wake up, I'm met by darkness all around me. I sit up slowly and grasp that I'm in my graduation gown. I'm back.

"Welcome back, Kal-El," Jor-El's voice rings out.

"What, no blue light?"

"Not this time. I am weak from sending you to those alternate realities."

But you're not alive, I want to say, but I bite my tongue. "Why did you send me to all those alternate realities?"

"To show you that your decisions have consequences. You saw how you, in the last reality you visited, you ended up with the earthling, 'Lois' and not the one you call 'Lana.' Yet, you were a hero in that reality. In the first one, however, you chose to hide your abilities from the world and in turn, a little girl died. Nonetheless, you ended with Lana in that one and not Lois."

"What are you trying to tell me? That I have to leave Lana in order to become what—a Superman?"

"No. The purpose of sending you to those realities was not to push you onto a path, but for you to create your own. You have seen some of decisions made by alternate versions of yourself and you have seen the consequences of them. Use these experiences to choose your own path."

"I don't understand…." I shake my head, confused. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I'm afraid that I can not answer that, Kal-El. Only you can."

"But…"

"Travel the world if you must. Learn from the many different cultures that this world has to offer. And when you are ready, return to me and I will give you the key to a trove of knowledge."

"What if I don't want to do any of these things?" I say hotly. "What if I just want to live a normal life with Lana?"

"Ah, but you forget, you are not normal. You have amazing gifts, Kal-El. Use them to protect this world that you call home. Your destiny lies in your hands now. Chose wisely, my son, for your decision will affect everyone you love."

"What do you mean if will affect everyone I love?" I shout, but there is no reply. I sink to the ground, confused as ever.

"Your destiny lies in your hands now."