Chapter Nine:
The peace and quiet of Smallville was welcoming. Clark enjoyed it for its simplicity, allowed his mother to mollycoddle him after what he'd been through. They had asked what they'd done in that lab and he'd told them what he thought they could handle, but not all of it. They'd shouldered so much of this since his arrival years ago and he felt that they hadn't needed to know the entire story. Anna Vale still occupied his thoughts now and again. She'd come from nowhere to save him, like a guardian angel almost. He'd tried to call the Foundation to talk to her a couple of times since their meeting only to be told that she was working and was unavailable. There were still some unanswered questions, like who'd been behind his kidnap and the experimentation and how Anna had known where he was in the first place.
"Clark. Someone to see you," his mother's voice was a quiet interruption and he looked up from his book to see Chloe beside his mother. He smiled his welcome, closing the book and getting to his feet. Chloe had been someone else he called, had mentioned Anna's name and she had promised to look into her for him, if nothing else then to assuage his curiosity about her.
Clark and Chloe hugged. She looked up at him, a small frown marring her forehead and he smiled gently.
"I'm okay Chlo', I promise," he assured her.
"How could you be? I thought the prolonged exposure to the kryptonite would be enough to kill you…" It still gave him pause that Chloe knew his secret and most importantly that she accepted him regardless.
"Apparently they kept the levels low enough so that it made me sick but that's all"
"Any long term effects?"
"Not that they're aware of, so quit worrying. Do you have any information on Anna?" Chloe gave him a look as she unhooked the strap of her bag from her shoulder and opened it. She took out a manila folder and gave it to him.
"Not a great deal to be truthful. She's from Smallville believe it or not and when the meteors struck, the farm where she lived with her parents took a direct hit. She survived and was raised by other family. And like all the others affected by the meteors, Anna apparently had a photographic memory, so couple that with high intelligence and you can imagine the possibilities."
"What happened to her after graduation?"
"That's where information becomes a little hazy. No one knows for sure, some say she went into Metropolis to work, others say she went into more…covert operations…" Clark stared at her in disbelief.
"Working for the government? Somehow I don't think so," Chloe just shrugged.
"Hey, it's all supposition and you met her. Did she look like the secret agent type, assuming there is an actual type?" Clark shook his head.
"I remember there was a farm not far from here that got a direct hit from the strike," Martha interrupted, carrying cups of coffee for them both. Clark looked at her.
"You do? You've never mentioned that before…" Martha rolled her eyes.
"Because you've never asked. The entire family were wiped out. If there was a child there we never knew because they kept themselves to themselves,"
"The Vales could've been neighbours?" Martha looked at him.
"They weren't called Vale." She took the file from her son and flipped through the information given. She nodded.
"That's definitely the farm. I think their name was Miller, maybe Vale was the name of the relatives she was placed with?" she returned the file to him. Clark shrugged and sighed.
"Maybe,"
"Here's a theory, maybe she flew onto Dr. Swann's radar? Like I said, intelligence coupled with a photographic memory…" Chloe left the rest of the sentence hanging. And it made sense somewhat to Clark.
"You were gone for two months Clark. Enough time to allow Anna to infiltrate the Institute and gain access to you, it's a possibility" she added. He looked at her as she placed a hand on his arm.
"She played a part in freeing you Clark, why don't you just let it be and accept it?" she suggested.
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Epilogue:
Anna stood in the cemetery and looked at the huge mausoleum that held the remains of her uncle, the man who had taken her in after the meteor strike. He'd been incapable of being physically involved in her upbringing but he had hired a team of nannies and other such people to make sure that she received the best care possible. Their connection was never made public, considering who he was and how much he was worth, financially and otherwise. Her name was different, she hadn't lived with him but he was the man who'd recognised the gift she'd acquired after the meteor strike and helped her to come to terms with it. He was the one who had entrusted her with Clark's secret and on his deathbed had made her promise to keep a watchful eye over him. And she had.
"I kept my promise Uncle Virgil. He's safe for now," she told him. She looked at the white marble crypt and wished that he was there in front of her so that she could see his face again, hear his voice one last time. Instead she took a deep, cleansing breath, turned and slowly left the cemetery.
END.