Clark woke with
pressure on the back of his head and behind his eyes; his vision was
blurry as he sat up in bed.
"Ah."
Clark groaned from the pain, which he wasn't used to. His vision
was slowly clearing up, just enough for Clark to see he was in a
small bedroom, and it looked familiar to him, but
different.
Clark
recognized the room as Lana's when he saw the big window. But it
wasn't Lana's room... all her stuff was gone and it looked like a
boy's room. The pain in Clark's head was slowly dissipating, as
his vision returned to normal.
Clark
lied back on the bed, waiting until the throbbing in his head
completely stopped. "Shit." Clark said, not knowing how he got
here. The last thing he remembered was the horrible pain pulsing
through his body, as he was struck by lightning and the car exploded,
and he remembered letting go of Todd's hand.
Clark
was almost positive Todd was dead, but he had to find out, and that
wasn't going to happen sitting here in this room.
Clark
opened the door, but stopped before going out as he saw a picture of
him. He was wearing plaid, and a tan jacket. Clark laughed and
thought to himself, 'Where did Lana get this? I would never ever
where that.'
Clark
walked out the door, and just as he thought it was Lana's house,
but it was decorated different. Clark didn't really care about that
right now, as he leaped down the stairs and found Martha and Jonathan
in the kitchen talking, and smiled at him as they caught sight of
him.
"Good
Morning, Clark." Martha smiled. "You're sure up early."
Jonathan said.
Clark
didn't know how to react, why where they being nice to him? Why was
he here? Clark looked at the clock on the wall and it read 4:30am.
'whoa, I am up early. I can't remember the last time I woke up
this early. Usually I would be going to bed right
now.'
"Where
is Lana?" Clark felt so awkward.
"How would we know?"
Jonathan gave Clark a smile and cocked one eyebrow.
"Um...
she's your daughter. How did I get here?" Clark asked. Martha
gave him a weird look, as Jonathan walked over to him and put a hand
on his shoulder.
"You
feeling alright, son?" Jonathan laughed. Clark immediately shrugged
Jonathan's hand off of him, "Don't touch me." Clark
definitely didn't like how Jonathan was being so friendly, and he
hated being called 'son', or 'lad', or any other nickname old
people liked to call teenage boys.
"Clark,
what's wrong with you?" Martha said, looking at Jonathan, who had
a hurt look on his face.
"What's
wrong with you guys!" Clark said defensively. Martha and Jonathan
looked at each other, as if saying something, a trick you could only
do after years of marriage.
"Clark,
are you hungry?" Martha said, apparently dropping their current
subject. "I'll make breakfast while you do your
chores."
Clark
laughed, "Chores? I don't do chores." Clark had people to do
everything for him all his life, just the thought of him doing chores
made him laugh. Luthors didn't do chores.
"You're
sure your feeling alright, son?" Jonathan asked, not knowing where
Clark's new attitude was coming from.
"Stop
calling me that." Clark said coldly.
"Calling you what? Son?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes!" Clark said
giving him a dirty look.
"Well
you are my son." Jonathan was so confused.
"No I'm not. You
are so twisted." Clark said.
"Clark."
Jonathan said with authority, "You don't talk to me like that."
"I'll talk to you
however I want. Stay away from me, you freaks." Clark headed
towards the door and ran out of the house.
"What
was that?" Martha asked concerned. "I don't know, but I don't
like it. He's acting like he's on Red Kryptonite." Jonathan
told his wife.
"You
don't think he is..." Martha said. "I don't know. I'm
finding out tonight though." Jonathan said firmly.
&&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&
Clark was out on the
streets of Smallville, happy to see some familiar sights. He suddenly
realized he was wearing the ugliest red plaid shirt he had ever seen.
Clark ripped it off, disgusted. He would rather not wear a shirt at
all, than wear that.
Clark
looked for the Beanery, he had to find Lana and see if Todd was
alive. But where the beanery used to be, was now something called
'The Talon'. Clark walked in anyways, and found it was also a
coffee shop. Clark spotted Lana in an apron, carrying a tray of
coffee cups, as she gave them out to a table.
"Lana!"
Clark called as he met her.
"Clark?" Lana gave him a weird look.
"What?" Clark
asked.
"Um...
why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Lana asked awkwardly. Clark was
surprised that she even cared; she had seen him plenty of times
without a shirt on,
"You would understand
if you saw what I was wearing." Clark laughed.
"Okay,
Clark..." Lana said giving him a confused look before walking away
from him, as she began to make a latte.
"Lana,
Todd's dead, isn't he?" Clark got right to the point.
"Clark, I don't
even know anyone named Todd." Clark had her attention at the
mention of death.
"Lana,
come on. Todd... our friend? Yesterday in the accident..." Clark
hoped to trigger something.
"Clark,
listen, I'm really busy. I have to get these orders out, I don't
have time for games." Lana said annoyed.
"Your
coffee can wait." Clark said angry, "What's going on? What are
you hiding? What happened yesterday?" Clark didn't like how he
was being left in the dark, and Lana, and her parents seemed to know
everything.
Lana
was surprised by Clark's sudden anger, "Clark, I don't know
what you are talking about. I'm not hiding anything, and if you
want to start excusing people of hiding things, I suggest you start
with yourself."
"What
is that supposed to mean?" Clark asked, pissed at her tone.
"You know what it
means." Lana couldn't believe Clark was playing
dumb.
"I've
never hidden anything from you." Clark said seriously, Lana had
never acted this way towards him.
"Alright,
Clark." Lana said sarcastically, turning around, continuing making
her orders.
"Lana,
why are you being such a bitch to me? I'm your boyfriend." Clark
grabbed her wrist, preventing her from pouring coffee.
Lana
was so angry, Clark had just called her a bitch, and after everything
he had done to her. She had never even heard him use that word
before. Did he just say he was her boyfriend?
"Let
go of me." Lana shrugged out of Clark's grip, "I'm not your
girlfriend! How dare you call me that!" Lana stormed into the back.
Clark followed her,
"Are
you breaking up with me?" Clark said angry.
"Clark,
you broke up with me 5 months ago!" Lana said, containing tears.
"Lana, I would never
do that." Clark shook his head, "I love you." He cupped her
face with one hand.
Lana
started crying, "Why are you doing this?"
"Lana, I don't
know what's happening... I didn't break up with you... something
is wrong." Clark looked at Lana crying, and wiped her cheek, "I
woke up in your house this morning and it was all different... and
Jonathan was acting so weird... saying I was his son." Clark wanted
Lana to understand.
"Clark,
stop it." She pushed his hand off her cheek, "You did break up
with me. You are Jonathan's son. Just stop it." Lana tried
pushing past him.
"No."
Clark stepped in front of her. "Lana, I swear. Don't you trust
me?"
"Why would I trust you? I don't even know who you really are." Lana shoved past Clark. "Just leave me alone Clark."
&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&
Clark was so mad and confused. 'What the hell is going on?' He thought. "Clark!" A black boy, who looked around his age, ran up to him, "I ran into Chloe earlier, and she wants to know why you were a no show.""Do I know you?" Clark raised an eyebrow, "Tell Chloe she will stay out of my life if she knows what's good for her."
"Whoa... what's that all about?" The boy said.
"Who are you?"
Clark asked.
"It's
Pete, your best friend." Pete said, "Are you feeling alright,
man?"
"I've never seen
you before." Clark was so sick of strangers trying to befriend him
just for his last name, and the money that came along with it, "Now
get out of my face."
"Clark,
what's going on?" Pete was hurt.
"I don't know, I have to find my dad." Clark said to himself.
"Your dad called me,
asking if you were on Red Kryptonite." Pete asked, now considering
it.
"I don't
even know what that is." Clark said.
"Red meteor rocks."
Pete rephrased it.
Clark
had never heard of them before, "No. How does my dad know about
them, and how did you talk to him?" Maybe he wasn't some
stranger. 'Maybe I was in a coma for a year or something, and now I
don't remember anything.' Clark thought half
seriously.
"I
went by your farm, Jonathan called me after you stormed off." Pete
explained. "Jonathan isn't my father! I don't live on a farm!"
Clark burst out.
"Dude,
did you hit your head or something?" Pete said before he walked
away. Clark wasn't sure what was happening to him, but it seemed
like everyone else thought this was normal, except him. Clark
understood how it felt to be crazy. 'I'm not crazy; isn't that
what crazy people think?' Clark was so confused.
Clark
had tried talking to Lana, and that didn't help at all, so Clark
decided to talk to the Kents, because he needed answers.
&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&
"What
is happening to me?" Clark asked. "Clark." Martha turned to her
son, "I'm glad you came back; this morning you seemed
so..."
"What's
going on, Son?" Jonathan said in a caring tone. "That's just
it." Clark said too confused to fight, "I'm not your son.
Everyone keeps saying I am."
"Clark..."
Martha didn't know what to say. Jonathan saw a difference this
time, he wasn't saying it out of anger. "Is Jor-El... is
something happening?"
"Who's
Jor-El?" Clark asked.
"Your biological
father. Come on, Clark. You know all this." Jonathan
said.
"No, I
don't! He's not my father, you're not my father!" Clark
buried his face in his hands, frustrated.
"Then who is, Clark?" Martha said placing a comforting hand on his back. She decided to humor him.
"Lionel Luther. Lex
is my brother. Lana is my girlfriend. You're her parents, not
mine." Clark sighed.
"Clark."
Jonathan said sternly. This was past amusing to him, and now
genuinely disturbing. "Why would you say something like that?
Lionel Luther has brought nothing but problems for you."
"No,
he loves me. You are the one who hates me." Clark gave Jonathan a
cold stare. "Clark, how can you say that? I've always loved you.
You're my son." Jonathan looked so hurt.
"Stop
saying that! I'm not your son. This isn't real." Clark said
frustrated, as he punched a hole in the wall.
"Whoa!
Calm down, Clark!" Jonathan said. Clark couldn't stand looking at
him, because he could tell Jonathan wasn't lying to him, and that
scared him. This wasn't real.
"I
have to find Lionel." Clark had always turned to him in the past
with his problems. "Clark, no." Martha pleaded.
"Please,
Clark. I don't know what is going on with you right now, but you
can't go to Lionel. The way you are acting... who knows what you
might say... or do." Jonathan warned.
Clark
didn't listen, and super speeded to the mansion, to find none of
his stuff was there. No one was even in the mansion, except a few
workers.
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Clark stopped when he saw Todd, "Todd!""Clark." Todd
looked just as relived to see him as Clark was.
"What's
happening?" Clark asked, and Todd knew what Clark was referring to.
"I don't
know...it's like some things are the same... but... you're a
Kent, not a Luther, I saw Lana and... she didn't even know who I
was, neither did Chloe." Todd said worried.
"Ya."
Clark was glad he found someone who didn't think everything was
normal. "Something happened in the explosion, because I'm fine. I
just woke up the this morning, and..." Todd pulled back his bangs,
showing he had no trace of the gash he received in the crash. "Clark,
I know it sounds crazy but..."
"What?"
Clark urged him to continue.
"My ability... it's
gone." Todd said, looking more worried than
relieved.
"Why?"
Clark asked, sensing there was more.
"I'm not sure, but
I think that... it's like we are living it. Living the future, or
something." Todd said pulling out his wallet. "Look, it says I'm
17."
Clark saw
that it did indeed say Todd was 17. "But how?"
"I think between the
lighting and explosion, and my abilities we some how are like...
living my ability." Todd didn't sound sure of
himself.
"Okay,
say that is what happened... why am a Kent? Why doesn't Lana know
who you are?" Clark asked.
"I don't know."
Todd said, "But Clark, my ability doesn't always show the future.
It can show a person's future, if they continue on that path; but I
see a person's past as often as their future, usually it's a
mix."
"So
you're saying I'm living my past and future?" Clark scoffed.
"Clark, I don't
know! But the changes in my life... they all revolve around you. It's
like I've never known you." Todd said.
"It
doesn't make sense. There are so many changes for me! I'm living
a completely different life! Everyone thinks I'm a Kent!" Clark
said frustrated.
"Your
living the life you would have if you were a Kent." Todd said
unsure.
"No, that doesn't
make any sense-" Clark stopped. Am I living the life I would have
if the Kents adopted me, and not Lionel? "How is that possible
though?"
"I'm
just as confused as you are, Clark. We are obviously living a future
path, influenced by the past. Because in this reality we don't know
each other, and you are no longer a Luther." Todd relayed his
theory.
"Well
how do we get back to... to normal?" Clark asked.
"I don't know!"
Todd wasn't crazy about this reality either. He was no longer on
the football team, none of his old friend knew who he was, and his
Dad didn't get the job Clark had worked out for him, so he was
living in another state, after his parent's divorce.
"You
brought us here!" Clark accused.
"No I didn't! It
was the explosion, or something! I wouldn't even know how!" Todd
shot back, defensively.
"Sorry."
Clark said, not wanting to alienate the only other person who knew
the truth.
"Let's just try and
live our lives, normally. Maybe it will just take some time to play
out, like in my visions. Once they start, I have no control over them
and I just have to watch until they stop." Todd
encouraged.
"I
can't live this life." Clark was sure of that.
"Try."
Todd said, sick of having to give all the answers, when he wasn't
sure of anything
himself.
&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&=&
Clark
decided to take Todd's advice and try and live this life.
It
seemed
horrible, Lana was so angry with him. Why would he have broken
up
with her? What
did she think he was hiding from her? Jonathan and
Martha
probably
thought he was going crazy. He didn't have any memories of
this
life, so how
was he even supposed to live what was 'normal' in
this
reality?
