Chapter 17: The End to a Hero's Journey Pt 2

Right outside of the Metropolis City limits, Kal's speed gives out. The damage the Kryptonite bullet in his ribcage has done is irreversible. He can feel the pain of the meteor rock burn his flesh, boiling at his blood. He starts to limp, every step he takes starts to hurt more and more. The pain is so horrible, this is what Alicia must have felt before she died. Her pain, his pain, one in the same. His precious red blood slowly oozes out of his wound as he continues his walk towards Smallville. His hood is still down and fresh tears fall out of his eyes. Now he knows what Alicia felt. What she felt before she left her physical body, and entered a reality that had no use for a real body, only her soul, and her mind. With every step he takes, his muscles cramp up, and it becomes harder and harder to walk. He'd fly, but that would take too much of his energy, and that is something that he doesn't have right now. His only chance to save Alicia and himself is to get to Smallville. There, he can do what he was told to do. In Smallville is something that can save everyone the eternal agony of a distant future… and perhaps could save some lives while he is at it. He finally exits Metropolis, but then his legs give out, and he falls to the pavement road. He scrapes his face and blood drips down to the cold ground. Squinting from the pain, Kal tries to stand but he's too weak. He lies there, on the cold dew wet ground, slowly dying. His body starts to shake, to quiver, and Kal can feel the cold grip of deaths' fingers on his soul. A car honks its horn at Kal, who is lying in the middle of the road. The driver stops, and gets out quickly, her shoes squeak on the highway. She at first doesn't recognize the man on the road, but it suddenly dawns on her.

"Clark! Clark! What happened?" She asks.

"Lois? Please… help me…" Kal says, his voice quivering from the pain.

"I'll take you to the hospital, come on… I'll help you up." Lois says, trying to help Kal to his feet.

"No… take me to… the caves…" He struggles to say, his body going into shock.

"No, Clark. I'm taking you to the hospital. You're delusional, and you're bleeding. You need to see a doctor."

"NO. Take me to the caves… I must end this pain… both of ours…"

Kal tries to stand, but he falls. Lois grabs him, and lets him lean his weight against her for support, and she walks him to her car. Kal opens the door, and strains himself into the passenger seat. His blood trickles onto the car seat, and Lois notices it. She tries to cover it up with a towel, but the blood soaks through.

"Jesus, Clark. What the hell happened?" She asks, as she closes the driver door, and starts up the car. She turns it around, and heads towards Smallville.

Kal starts to lose consciousness, but continues to wake up.

"Just take me to the Kawatche… caves please…" Kal struggles, holding his chest tightly. He breathing becomes erratic, and he starts to cough. He covers his mouth, but when he removes it from his face, it reveals red blood.

Lois slams her foot on the gas pedal, and the cars speeds faster and faster. She passes by people, and Kal watches the other drivers honk their horns angrily at each other. The pain is so intense, that it causes Kal to cry silent tears, but along with these tears, are tears of blood. He doesn't bother wiping the blood tears off his face, there's no need to. His time is near, yet he must stay alive to fulfill the mission. He must save two innocent lives, and countless others that died by his hands. Lois then makes a right turn, and heads down a familiar dirt road, through the Smallville Forest.

The car slows down, and comes to a stop in front of the caves. Lois gets out of the car, and she helps Kal out. She moves him towards the caves, but he stops her.

"No Lois, I must go in alone. You must leave. Get away from here as far as possible." Kal warns, and Lois nods.

She runs to the car, and gets in, driving away as fast as she can. Kal turns towards the mouth of the cave, and watches it. Anger seethes through his body, and with as much strength as possible, he walks inside the dreaded caves. Kal stops when he reaches the familiar cave wall with the octagonal key depression in it. He stares at it with such anger and stress that he starts to even sweat blood. He fires his heat vision at the depression, but it does nothing.

Suddenly, the walls vibrate and awaken in bright red and green lights.

KAL-EL. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

"I'm not your son, Jor-El. I'll never be your son… You died on that damn planet and now I will destroy you, so you can never harm me or anyone else I love ever again."

AND HOW DO YOU PLAN ON DESTROYING ME, MY SON?

"With this." Kal says, as he opens a part of the utility belt Bruce gave him. He pulls out a familiar green octagon key. It glows bright green with the reaction to his skin. He grind his teeth at the incredible pain he feels, but stares back at the wall.

WHAT IS THAT, KAL-EL! Jor-El screams.

"The tool of your destruction. Something I can actually thank Lionel Luthor for." Kal says, as he slips the Kryptonite key into the wall slot. The wall suddenly creates a red virus-like disease that spreads across the wall, and starts to engulf all of the walls of the cave.

NO! KAL-EL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!

"I've killed you… and now… I have saved everyone." Kal says as he falls backwards from an outgoing blast.

Soon, all the walls are filled with the red virus, and the entire cave starts to shake.

KAL-EL… YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOUR LOVED ONES! YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF ME, KAL-EL!

"Yes… I have…" As Kal falls back, and closes his eyes, awaiting death.

A bright white light shines out from the Kryptonite key. It shines brighter and brighter, and grows larger and larger, until it fills all of the caves. Suddenly, the entire cave explodes in a blast of bright white light.

Outside, the blast explodes through the roof of the cave, and a liquid type of shield expands, until the entire area explodes, destroying trees, and the cave caves in on itself. The shield disappears, and dust flies up into the sky.

Lois looks in the rear view mirror, and sees the explosion. She looks on in horror and starts to cry. She continues driving though. She must tell Clark's parents.

Kal opens his eyes, and is in even more extreme pain. So much, that he can't sit up anymore. He lost so much blood, that everything he sees is a blur. He focuses hard, and sees that the entire cave is destroyed. The walls are gone, or there are pieces missing. Dust is everywhere, and Kal breathes in and out rapidly. His bullet wound hurts tremendously, and he looks up to the sky. Clouds gather, and it starts to darken all around him. But, a bright light shoots down from above the clouds, and it lands in front of him.

"What's… going on?" Kal manages to ask, not expecting an answer.

The light materializes, and a person walks out from it. Kal sees her, but he can't believe it. The familiar perfume, desert flowers, fills his nose. Her Blonde hair moves slightly in the dusty wind. She watches Kal, and smiles. Her smile makes Kal's heart melt, and he forgets about all the pain in his body.

"Alicia…"

"Hello Clark." She says, her soft spoken voice makes him smile. How long has it been since he last heard her voice? 2? 4 years? Far too long to be so alone. Far too long to miss the one person who ever loved him.

"Why are you here, Alicia?" Kal asks, afraid to hear the answer. Has he failed? Has he won? Did he change and save the future? Or was all in vain?

Alicia walks over to Kal, and kneels in front of him. Her sundress flows evenly with her skin tone, and she holds Kal's hand. She helps him up, and Kal looks around in astonishment. A minute ago, he couldn't move, now he can move freely.

"What's happened, Alicia?" Kal asks, and she smiles at him again.

"Clark, you died." She said simply.

"I… died? No… I failed… I didn't change the future…"

Alicia smiles, and runs her fingers through Kal's hair.

"But you did change the future Clark. You changed it for the better. Even better than it normally was. You succeeded, Clark. Now we can watch it unravel. It'll start with us." Alicia says when suddenly, Kal's body on the ground begins to disappear. His body fades away into nothingness, and Kal watches as both he and Alicia disappear, Kal's mission finally completed.

"We do not ask for what useful purpose the birds sing, for song is their pleasure since they were created for singing. Similarly, we ought not to ask why the human mind troubles to fathom the secrets of the heavens ... The diversity of the phenomena of Nature is so great, and the treasures hidden in the heavens so rich, precisely in order that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment." - Johannes Kepler,