Chapter 12: Unhealed Scars
Kal wakes up, lying on the ground, Chloe watching him. Her eyes are filled with relief, but there is still fear behind the curtains of her emotions. Kal sits up, trying to remember what happened.
Jor-El's beam... the watch exploded... hurled through Time...
"Kal, what happened? Where are we?"
Kal stumbles to his feet, and looks around at the city. Metropolis, but it looks slightly different. There seem to be less buildings, although it is still quite large, the LuthorCorp build is not near them, like it should be.
"Not where, Chloe. WHEN. We have been hurled through Time, and now we must the moment that this all started. Once I fix the moment, the Time Stream should fix itself."
Kal starts to walk through the park, and Chloe follows. Only a couple of other people are in the park, and they don't notice Kal or Chloe. The people are wearing different clothing than before, and Kal rips off the door to a newspaper machine (damn, I don't know what they're called) and picks up a newspaper.
"Oh great. We're further back in time than I thought. Here Chloe."
Kal throws the paper at Chloe, and she reads the date of the paper. Her eyes bulge at the date, and her bottom lip trembles.
"This is impossible. This... it can't be true..."
Kal looks back at Chloe, his eyes full of tears. His face makes an expression of pain and sorrow, and Chloe follows Kal. She throws the paper on the ground, and the date says: Friday, April 24, 1987. Chloe follows Kal as they make their way across the park. As Kal walks, Chloe notices his Robes are in tatters, but his black cape is completely unharmed.
"Where are we going?" Chloe asks.
"Smallville. I have to see something. But first, we need to go to the historical museum."
"Why the historical museum?"
Kal stops, and looks at Chloe.
"That's the only place I know to get clothing like this." He says, holding up the tatters of his robes.
"What?"
Kal walks over to Chloe, and easily picks her up. He super speeds across Metropolis, and they stop in front of the Metropolis Historical Museum. Kal walks over to the door, and easily breaks opens it. They walk inside, and Kal walks towards a guillotine. A woman has her head in the holder, and the blade sits at the top. The executioner, a dummy dressed up in a black robe w/ a red stripe outlining around the main parts of the robe holds the rope. Kal super speeds, Kal takes off his old tattered robes, and puts on the dummy's robes. He attaches the black cape, and his utility belt. He holds the green scarf in his left hand, and the picture of him and Alicia. He carefully folds up the picture, putting it in one of the small containers in his belt. He pushes the scarf in between himself and the belt. He pulls up the hood, and Chloe follows him as he exits the museum.
"Ahh... Much better."
He picks up Chloe, and they super speed off towards Smallville. Miles turn to seconds as Kal and Chloe end up in Smallville. Everything is calm and quiet. Several people walk the streets, and Kal looks around. A red farm truck is parked in front of the flower shop, and two people get out of it, a man and a woman. Kal and Chloe immediately recognize the couple. It is Jonathan and Martha Kent, yet they look much younger. They walk into the flower shop, and an intense ringing sound fills Kal's ears. Kal looks up at the sky, and horror fills his eyes. Hundreds of meteors reign down upon Smallville. Jonathon and Martha watch in horror as a meteor impacts with Lana Lang's parents, exploding their car, and ultimately killing them. Jonathon and Martha run to their truck, and drive off, as more meteors impact in the streets. Kal and Chloe speed off, following Jonathan and Martha. Kal and Chloe stop as a meteor slams into the ground in front of their truck, overturning it. Kal and Chloe walk up slowly and watch as Jonathon and Martha escape the truck, and stare in amazement as they see a little boy, naked and watching them, a smile on his face. Chloe stares in amazement at what sits behind the little boy, a long, silver craft. She looks from the craft, to the little boy, and then at Kal. Kal watches the scene, and then picks up Chloe again, speeding off towards another destination, as more meteors impact around them.
Both Kal and Chloe appear at a farmhouse, and Kal notices that nobody is home. He hears the squeaking of rusty metal, and they both walk to the other side of the house. A little girl, no more than four, is swinging slightly on a swing that is connected to an old oak tree. She is wearing a white dress, and she has long blonde hair. Chloe begins to walk up to her, but Kal outstretches his arm.
"Let me talk to her." He states, and Chloe nods her head. Kal walks ahead of Chloe. Kal pulls down his hood, and kneels down in front of the little girl. She looks up at Kal and smiles.
"Hello." The little girl says, her voice quiet and soft spoken.
"Hello." Kal says back. He smiles at her.
"My name's Alicia Baker. What's your name?" She asks, smiling at Kal.
"My name's Kal. Where are your mommy and daddy at?"
Alicia looks back down at the ground, and then looks back at Kal.
"They are both at work."
"They left you here all alone?"
Alicia nods, and looks at Kal's clothing.
"Why are you wearing that robe?" She asks, keenly interested.
Before he can answer, Kal hears a screeching sound fill his ears. He looks behind him and sees a meteor head straight towards him and the young Alicia. Kal braces for impact as the meteor strikes his back, protecting Alicia from the impending danger. The meteorite explodes into a hundred different pieces, and Kal feels the pain of the collision. He looks around and sees broken chunks of kryptonite all around him. He falls face first into the ground, and Chloe runs over to him. Kal withers in pain as the deadly radiation seeps into his body. Alicia, meanwhile, is watching her hands as disappear and reappear at will. She then teleports away, her eyes wide in fear.
"What's wrong, Kal?"
"It's the meteor rock, Chloe. Get it away from me... It'll kill me if I... stay near it." Kal says, straining over every word. Chloe nods, and runs to Alicia's garden shed. She comes back with a shovel, and starts scooping up the super hot green meteor rocks, throwing them far enough away to let Kal gather his strength. Scoop after scoop, Chloe continues the feverish work, until the meteor rocks sit in a pile away from Kal. After Kal gains enough strength to stand up, he moves away from the meteor rocks.
"Thank God that's over with." Kal states, and turns back to Chloe, who is staring at Kal. She smiles intriguely at Kal.
"So... the biggest secret of 'Clark Kent' is that you're an alien."
Kal turns back, and starts to walk away when Chloe grabs his arm. He stops, and looks back at Chloe.
"Is that why you loved Alicia so much? Because her DNA was almost like yours?"
"It's not just that Chloe. I loved her, because she loved me. Don't you see? Before I met Alicia, I couldn't be a father, I could never be given that chance, to raise a child that was mine, that had my blood running through their veins. But, when I met Alicia, I knew she was different, and when I found out that she had the ability to carry my child, I knew I was supposed to be with her. When she died, I felt like I died. I should've stopped it. I knew I should've, but I didn't and it caused the lives of two people. Two innocent people."
Kal grabs Chloe's hand, when they both start an outward ripple, a deep red and purple shine covers both of them, and they disappear in thin air.