Author's Note: Sorry for the delayed update. I promise to make up for it by uploading the following chapter within the week. BTW, this chapter and the next are both longer than the others (and sorry if I got carried away with my imagination once more). I would also like to tell you guys that the story is more or less complete. Yippeeee! Chapter Seven

The Man From The Stars

He could not sleep.

And counting sheep, a thousand of them, could not help either.

Having a pressing problem could certainly keep a young man awake this late at night, very late that it might be considered early morning of the next day. And it did not help either when time was of the essence, when the problem needed a desperate solution within the day.

He needed a date. He needed a date very badly.

It was not everyday that an aspiring reporter like him got to be invited to a gathering, a fund-raiser, of the social elite. Not that he wanted to impress anyone but in a formal event such as this a date was a prerequisite. Besides it would be better to have someone tagging along just in case he did not quite fit in. He did not want to be a wallflower.

But whom could he ask in such short notice? He had planned on asking Lana when he came back, but he also had not counted on the event that they would have this itsy-bitsy argument yesterday.

If only a presentable female would show up at his doorstep, someone who would not be in the slightest intimidated by social class, someone he could have a no-strings-attached relationship with and, preferably, someone who just happened to be visiting Smallville for a short while.

"It's no wonder you can't find a date, Clark Kent. You have so many conditions." He joked at himself, smiling at the shadows that danced in the ceiling while he played by throwing a pillow in the air.

Just then, totally disturbing his thoughts, he heard the loud noise of a door being smashed in. And it was their front door.

In a flash of light, he was downstairs, standing where the door used to be and face to face with a most beautiful countenance that, for a while, he thought he was dreaming already.

"Are you the man from the stars?"

For the first time in his life he appeared to have misplaced his tongue somewhere else. Or, it might have disappeared into his esophagus when he swallowed too hard at the sight of this gorgeous being.

And he forgot all about the torn front door.

He had seen a lot of good-looking women before. But most of them were beautiful because of artificial enhancements such as make-up or even surgery. But this female standing almost eye-to-eye in front of him did not have any make up on. He could tell because he could see the very clear and smooth skin of her face, the perfect arch of the untrimmed brow, the wonderful curl of her long eyelashes that accented her naturally bright blue eyes.

And thanks to this very special vision of his, he could see even through her, even through the thin fabric of her…

"Are you the man from the stars?"

His eyes guiltily shot back at her face at the sound of her demanding voice.

"His name is Clark." Martha Kent suddenly appeared by her son's side, wearing a still very sleepy smile. "And he seemed to have lost his voice," she whispered adding a nudge to bring him back to his senses.

The elegant brows rose again and her face frowned in question. He sighed and thought that even in a state of utter confusion she was still very stunning.

"I am Martha…Martha Kent. I'm his mother." The older woman gave her son another elbow when she offered her hand in introduction. "You are?"

"You are not his mother."

Martha's smile froze on her face while the offered hand withdrew at being taken aback by such a direct statement. It was true, in a sense, but the bluntness in the way it was spoken offended Martha. The mother was fully awake now. "Look…whoever you are. I certainly do not appreciate it when you wake us up at this time…to insult us." She turned away then faced back as abruptly. "And he is not…the man from the stars. Not anymore."

"Then you are not the man I was looking for."

"Mom…" He spoke at last and slowly extended his hand. "I am Clark…Clark Kent."

"You are not the---"

"Clark…" Martha called from behind. "If you plan on…conversing anymore with that…stranger, better let her in before anyone else sees a near naked woman in our porch at three o' clock in the morning."

"Okay---"

"And fix that door."

He smiled embarrassingly at the woman and almost scratched his head, debating for a while whether to ask her inside or politely turn her away. But there was something about the woman that he found very intriguing. And he may be a boy scout, but he was certainly not made of stone. He was a young man, a young man who, hours ago, prayed that a woman show at his doorstep.

Was she the answer? He made room for her to enter. "Let's talk inside."

"If you are not the man from the stars then I don't need you."

Her manners need a little polishing. "I'll tell you…inside." His hand indicated the way.

There was a moment of hesitation at the remembrance of the warning of her mother and sisters that men were not to be trusted. But it was imperative that she found out if this man before her was the one she was sent to search for. Tentatively and cautiously, she stepped inside the abode, her eyes very observant, looking all around her, surveying the very unfamiliar territory.

"May I take your coat?" he asked and she immediately withdrew her arm that held the black garment giving him a look that dared him to take it. "I guess not."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm just going to hang it." He walked a few steps away and opened a cabinet near the entrance. "Here."

She seemed to carefully consider his offer. Assessing that there was no cause for worry she extended her arm in a positive gesture. And he was quick to notice, as she did so, there was a small knife encased in a sheath tied at her waist. After hanging the heavy cloak they were face to face for another round of awkward seconds. She just remained where she was, staring at him.

"Uhm…you may sit down," he offered.

Her eyes followed where his hand was indicating. It was a comfortable looking furniture for sitting down on but so very different from what they used in Themyscira. "I prefer standing."

"Okay…" Another uncomfortable gap followed. Now he was mentally scratching his head. What next? "Excuse me." He remembered the door and welcomed the distraction as he thought of his next move.

"Get her some clothes." Martha called out again.

He smiled at his mother's instinct and finished repairing the door that still required minor adjustments. "Wait, okay. Wait here for me."

In a blink, as if also blessed with speed just like her by Mercury, the man named Clark disappeared for a brief moment. And as she stared where he stood a few seconds ago, she was left thinking that he just might be the man she was seeking. With a shrug, as she waited by herself in this strange place, she took the time to further examine the abode she just entered.

It was not near as large as her home in Themyscira. The architecture was mainly wood and stone, and the colors were vibrant and warm and the house was overly adorned with a lot of strange ornaments, furniture and some other strange things that she knew were called household appliances.

With small and hesitant steps, she walked to her right where a particular décor caught her attention. She approached a table placed by the wall and noticed there were small smiling faces that looked back at her. For a while she thought they were cursed souls trapped in a small mirror. Then she recognized the two faces, one was the young man called Clark, the other was the female with red hair called Martha and the third was another older male that she had not met yet. The faces appeared to be encased in thin glass and framed in some kind of wood.

She closed her eyes and searched for the right word.

Pictures…they were referred to as pictures. They do not have pictures on Themyscira.

"Here…" Clark appeared in a blur of light and handed her a robe.

Again, she gave him a confused stare. "I already have a garment."

"The sun isn't up yet. You might be cold."

"I don't get cold that easily." She returned in a flat tone.

Of course she doesn't. Just look at what she's wearing, he thought and immediately checked himself when his eyes wandered below her chin once more.

When subtlety did not do the job, he tried the direct approach. "Just put this on. I can't talk to you in…this state."

She took the blue terry robe from him and looked at it strangely. "What is this?"

"It's a robe." She's certainly not from around here. "Here…let me help you."

He took the garment again from her and held it loosely in front. He was about to make the mistake of grabbing for her hand when her expression made a quick change from perplexity to what he noticed as suspicion that was laced with hostility. He abruptly withdrew his hand.

"Put your hand in here," he suggested instead. "It won't bite."

"Bite?" The attractive face was back to being confused. "It is…alive?"

It was hard not to laugh. "It's a joke. You know…sense of humor. Do your people even know of the words?" He added the last statement in a whisper.

"Are you making fun of my people?"

"Of course not." He apologized immediately.

He always considered himself a very patient person but, at this very moment, he was beginning to question that knowledge. He almost cast his eyes heavenward when she finally put her arms through the sleeves but decided against it considering her last reaction.

"At last!" He muttered instead when they were finally over the ordeal of enrobing her without anyone one of them suffering an injury. Just then his enhanced sense of hearing caught the sound of his mother's voice summoning him to the kitchen.

"Wait here and please sit down." He indicated the couch again. "I'll just be a minute."

It was a miracle that, this time, she obeyed without another word of protest, or even a suspicious glance as he stepped back. And his mind was also quick to compliment that, now clothed in his robe, she was as enchanting as before.

She appeared to be more curious now than cautious as she gingerly sat on the couch, her hands tentatively reaching out to feel the texture of the upholstery. He also noted that she had long, smooth and very sexy legs when the robe gaped as she sat.

Clark! He silently admonished himself with a matching shake of the head. It was really very hard to take his eyes off her but the second call of his mother was harder to ignore. He withdrew further from the room, overstepping slightly to bump against the doorframe that led to the kitchen.

"Clark! She's still here."

It was not a question. "I still need to ask her…things."

"Are you sure you just want to…ask her things?" Martha gave her son a knowing look. "Come on, she's obviously more beautiful than the present Miss Universe."

"But strange…and strong," he added.

Martha considered for a while. "A little aristocratic…and downright rude. Are you sure she's not here to cause trouble?"

That face alone could cause trouble. "She's quite something…" He smiled boyishly and tried a peek at the living room.

"Clark…" His mother warned.

"Am I seeing things? Or…is there an insanely gorgeous wom---" Jonathan Kent wiped the expression off his face at his wife's trying hard glare and gave Martha a good morning hug and a kiss on the forehead. "There's a…female in our living room wearing our son's robe."

"Yes…and she's captured your son's interest."

"Mom…" He turned to his father. "She's asking if I am the man from the stars. I need to know where she got the idea."

Jonathan frowned at a certain recollection. "This maybe another of Jor-El's schemes. Remember, just recently, the blonde girl who claimed she was your cousin?"

"Dad, please…don't remind me." The thought that a young woman convinced that she was a relative and who wanted to procreate with him was something he wanted to erase from his memory.

Strange things had happened before and his father might have a point. This might be another plan of his real father, to lure him again into succumbing to his destiny. It is your destiny…he remembered the words. Too very Star Wars.

He walked back to the living room to get this over with once and for all. "You haven't told me your name yet." He sat opposite her, a little uncomfortable with the unnerving gaze of her striking blue eyes.

"I am Diana of Themyscira."

"Diana of Themyswhat?"

He had not realized his parents were eavesdropping a few feet away, watching them, until he heard his mother's whisper to his father.

"Paradise Island. It's just a small island hidden and protected by the gods."

"Gods…that means she has several." Another whisper. "Maybe one for every personality."

"Mom…"

"I am the daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons."

"As in Greek mythology?" It was Jonathan Kent's time to ask his wife.

"That makes her a…princess." Martha whispered back.

"Why are the beautiful ones a little on the nutty side?"

"Dad…" He shook his head and decided to continue with the inquiry. "Okay…granting that we…believe you. What brings you here?"

There was no doubt in the firm voice. "My mother…my Queen, sent me out on a mission to locate the man from the stars."

He was getting tired of the words she used to refer to him. But how did they know? "And what is your interest in…this man?"

"I will only tell the man from---"

"I am the man from the stars."

"Clark…" Martha interrupted with a worried voice.

"It's okay mom." He turned to Martha before looking back at her intently. "I am Kal-El, the last surviving son of the planet Krypton. How did you know of me?" He looked at her carefully, monitoring every single bodily reaction to find out if she was really telling the truth.

"Amazons have lived for thousands of years, in seclusion. We don't interfere with the ways of Patriarch's World." Her eyes stared back at him in total conviction. "But it is a necessity that we learn your ways, to prepare for defense, in the unlikely event of an invasion. Themyscira, after all, is paradise."

She continued, not taking her eyes away. "During one of these visits, more than two decades ago, some of my sisters witnessed the fall of a star. Consulting the powers of the gods, we were told that there was life in that star…a life form stronger than anyone else in the planet." She moved forward an inch. "That life form was naturally considered a threat…to our people. But as I said…we don't interfere."

He had been listening to her all along, and observing everything about her, her eyes, her breathing, her pulse rate, her heart beat. And she appeared to be telling the truth. There was not a single sentence in everything that escaped her lips that was fabricated.

"What then do you want from me?"

It was the first time he saw her tense the slightest. "The world is in…grave danger. Only Kal-El, only you…will be able to save us."

He was just about to argue her misplaced faith when his mother interrupted.

"What is this danger that you speak of?" Both mother and father were a lot closer now, just behind his back.

Her blue eyes looked up. "In space…there is a very big rock, traveling in a straight course." She paused before continuing, as if to give emphasis on the direness of the situation. "In two days it will collide with the earth."

"Asteroid?" His brow rose. "How do…your people know?"

"Gaea called to us."

"Gaea?"

"The spirit of the earth. She warned us." She paused. "Your…leader knows this to be true, this asteroid. But he does not warn the people."

He remembered the news about an asteroid but it was not in a collision course with the planet. "I know about this asteroid. I heard it from CNN."

"C…N…N?"

"News…television." He remembered she did not know of certain things. "NASA…the space administration said that the earth will be out of the asteroid's path in more or less two days."

"Then it's nothing to worry about." Jonathan was quick to add. "Can we have breakfast now?"

The couple turned to walk back to the kitchen.

"There is another one."

"What?" Clark asked.

"Another…asteroid, from a different direction will be colliding with the planet less than two days from now," she stated. "And this is larger than what you speak of." Three pairs of curious eyes looked back at her, prompting her to do more explaining. "The force of this impact will not kill every being on this planet, but it will surely be the start of great suffering."

"Even to your people?"

"Yes," she admitted. For the first time, her voice had a note of sadness. "We all live in the same planet, the same home. That is why I come to you…and seek your help."

"Clark…can we have a word with you?" His mother asked.

He muttered an excuse as the three huddled a few feet away, as if contemplating their next move. She watched intently but her face was still as emotionless.

"Do you believe any of this?" Martha whispered.

"She doesn't look like she's lying." It was Jonathan who answered.

"Dad's right." He whispered. "I've monitored her…vitals. She's telling the truth."

Martha looked suspiciously at the both of them. "She may be a very experienced liar."

"I don't think that face is capable of a lie."

She gave her husband another doubtful look.

"Mom…why do you think that she may be lying?"

"Because someone has too. Both of you see differently, since she's so pretty," Martha muttered. "Appearances can be very deceiving."

"I am not capable of deceit." A voice answered, breaking the huddle. "I can very well hear what you are talking about."

"Oh…a female equivalent of yours," she looked at her son. "She can break a door with a knock, and she can hear me whispering…a mile away.

"It would be a lot better if I was indeed deceiving you…about the earth being in danger." She stood up. "But I am not. In two days, you will finally believe me. But by then it will be too late. I am sorry for disturbing you."

She was just removing the robe when Clark walked to her side. "Please…you must take into consideration that…this kind of news…it's hard to accept. But it doesn't mean we can't believe what you are saying."

"Then you believe me?"

He sighed. "Yes."

A certain spark appeared in her eyes and for a moment, he held his breath. It was hard not to pay attention to her beauty.

"How can I be of help?"

"Move the earth backwards," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me…" Martha just could not help. "Move what backwards?"

"The earth." She said it as if it was just like moving furniture. "He did it once."

Clark's eyes widened in embarrassment before turning to his mother. "Mom…breakfast, remember?"

"Clark Kent…" Martha warned. "What is she talking about?"

He was tongue tied for the second time this day, remembering what this strange woman was talking about. It was just an experiment to satisfy an overwhelming sense of curiosity.

"Clark…" It was Jonathan's turn to prompt his son.

He sighed. "I knew I could…fly," he started. "I just did not know I could fly…that fast. I did not know that at the rate and direction I was going…"

"You were moving the earth backwards in the process," Jonathan concluded.

"Yes." He looked very apologetic. "I did not mean to cause trouble."

Martha looked at her son and knew it was the truth. "I know. Just…" For the moment she did not want to acknowledge the truth that her son was destined for something else than this simple life.

"So…it's settled then. You'll just…" Jonathan tried to make hand gestures about what his son had to do though the gravity of the whole situation had not quite settled in yet. "…Move the earth safely away."

Martha was naturally concerned more for her son. "But can you really do it…without harming yourself?"

"Of course, mom." He added a reassuring smile. "Don't worry."

Jonathan looked around the room. Everything felt…surreal. They were discussing the fate of the world in their living room early Saturday morning. What a way to start the day. "All this talk about the end of the world makes me hungry."

"I'll go and make breakfast, a very early one." Then turned to her son. "Clark…if we are going to have a guest for breakfast, I think it's proper that you…make yourself presentable."

It was the only time that he was truly aware of his appearance, wearing a very rumpled blue shirt and a mismatched red pajama bottom. He almost closed his eyes in embarrassment at the thought that his hair might be sticking out in all directions. "Oh…okay."

"The same goes for her too." Martha led her husband to the kitchen. "Lend her some clothes."

"Yours or mine?"

"Whatever fits."

When the two adults left it seemed harder to be left alone with her mostly now that he was too conscious of his appearance. "Please follow me."

"Where?" Her voice returned to the firm tone it had earlier.

It made things difficult once again. "To my room. We need to get you into ordinary clothes."

"Why?" She was not moving an inch.

He searched for the right words. "If we are…planning on saving the world in two days…you can't be wearing the same dress, can you?"

He almost took back his words when he realized that it sounded stupid.

"Lead the way."

He heaved an audible sigh of relief before turning for the general direction of his bedroom once in a while glancing at his back to make sure she was right behind him.

"I have to warn you. The place is a pigsty." He mentioned before opening the door.

Stepping inside, she looked around the disorganized room, her gaze focusing on the unmade bed. Then she dropped down on her knees and appeared to be looking for something under the bed. She straightened up with a questioning look at him.

"I don't see any pigs."

He laughed. "That was a joke."

There was no trace of amusement in her face. "You like making jokes."

"Yes…" he turned to his cabinet and whispered. "You obviously don't."

"I don't what?"

He rummaged for clothes. "You don't like…jokes."

"I don't think they are necessary."

"What?" He looked at her incredulously. "You don't make jokes at home?"

"No."

He shook his head and resumed the task. "You must be a very serious bunch." He found a white sport shirt that might be a little large for her and a pair of gray jogging pants. "Here…put these on."

She looked at the two pieces of garment then began undressing.

"Wait!" He closed his eyes. "We…don't undress in front of other people."

"Then how do I do it?"

He chanced a peek and when he was sure she was decent, he instructed her how to put the shirt and pants on before showing her the bathroom. Knowing that this was going to take a while, he tried to make conversation.

"You should apologize to my mother." He said just outside the door while changing into something more presentable himself in a lesser amount of time.

"Why?" She answered from the other side.

"You hurt her feelings." He took a quick look at the mirror and checked his appearance in a red t-shirt and faded jeans.

"I was merely speaking the truth."

"Yes…but…" He was reasoning with the bathroom door. "You need not mention it…carelessly. It's a...delicate matter."

There was silence. "I did not mean to hurt her. Of course, I will apologize."

Then, he realized something.

Stop!

Wait a minute…rewind!

As he stared at the maple-tinted door with brows furrowed it suddenly hit him like being given a dose of pure reality.

He was going to make a decision, a life changing decision, a choice that would drastically alter life as he lived it.

Choice…as if I had a choice…

"No thank you…I'd rather stay home with my family rather than stop an asteroid from…well…wiping out the entire civilization…" he whispered to himself as he slowly lowered his body to sit on the edge of his bed, the very same bed where, just hours ago, he felt like an ordinary young man in desperate need of a date.

"Hey…I'm Clark Kent, aspiring reporter slash superhero…nice to meet you…" He whispered again to no one but himself with a hint of sarcasm.

"What did you say?" She called out.

He slapped his palm on his forehead, remembering he could not talk to himself anymore while she was around. "Nothing…"

"I thought you were saying something."

He looked again at the closed door. "I was just talking to myself." It's what normal people do, he added in his mind and was thankful she did not press the matter.

He sighed and came to terms with what was happening. He was conversing with an Amazon royalty on the other side of this piece of wood, an Amazon who was, as of the moment, changing into his clothes.

And they were supposed to be mythological characters he remembered studying once in school, not real people.

But then again, who was he to question the strange things, the oddities in life that were happening? It was not as if he did not fall from the sky himself.

Then the door gave a slight squeak as it opened and there she was standing face to face with him, no longer in the white toga but now in his drab, painfully ordinary, worn out and rather large for her gray jogging pants and a white t-shirt that had Smallville spelled out in front in bold black letters with a red outline.

The purpose of this little exercise was to make her look normal like any other female and not as intimidatingly beautiful as a goddess, with the kind of beauty that could make even the recent beauty queen feel very inferior. But who would have thought that a boring ensemble of his clothes would appear quite interesting on her, with the shirt he initially thought would be big for her but turning out to be just the right size, offering enough space for her very generous bosoms…

He immediately stood up. "Refresh my memory, will you. There are some gray areas I want to clear. And I need to ask some questions."

"Yes, you may ask them." She was still standing, barefoot, holding the toga, the knife he noticed before and her sandals.

"I'm just…wondering why there isn't even a rumor of this asteroid you speak of, compared to the other one." He took and folded the dress before placing it with the dagger on the cabinet with his clothes.

"I thought you believed me." She frowned.

"Yes…I do." He took her sandals and placed it under the bed along with some of his footwear, producing a pair of slippers for her in return. Then he sat again, patting the area beside him as a gesture for her to sit down. "But…there should've been at least, a rumor."

"Maybe the people are busy looking at the other side." She sat beside him and tried the slippers that were a size larger.

"Maybe…" he shrugged. It was a possibility. "So…the plan is…I move the earth backwards, two days."

"We move the earth, together."

His eyes lit up for a moment. "You mean, you can fly too?"

There was a hint of a smile on her face. "Yes, that is how I got here."

Suddenly, the whole moving-the-earth-thing-out-of-the-big-asteroid's-way did not seem as hard anymore. "I'll be needing all the help I can get. But when?"

She looked outside the small window of his room, where the sun was just starting to emerge. "Just before the third day from now begins."

"Okay." Then, doing a little bit of mathematics, a doubt occurred. "That'll be in two days…but, the other, smaller asteroid…" His eyes were far away in calculation before he turned to her. "We were supposed to be clear of its path a good two days…then it means…" The earlier reports said that this smaller piece of rock was no danger to the earth because its current trajectory indicated that the earth would have cleared the path by more than two rotations, meaning, more than two days. If they were to move the earth backwards with almost the same time to avoid the larger asteroid, they were putting the earth on a collision course with this one.

"You have half a day to save the world again."

"What?" Suddenly, it was all too confusing. "I thought we will save the world together."

"Yes…but that part you have to do alone."

"Why?" It was his turn to ask the whys.

She sighed. "Because the people cannot know about me. At least, not yet," she replied. "That is why we have to move the earth up to the moment you first saw me."

"So the memory of you will be erased from everyone."

"Yes."

He looked at her intently. "But not from me."

She was wearing a full smile now. "You have to bear with it for the rest of your life."

He laughed. But after a while, his eyes stared back again at the window, through the glass and beyond. He had to accept the truth that all that was happening only led to one conclusion.

"Kal-El…you have to understand…"

It was the first time she spoke his real name. And, even though he felt such a burden, it was nice to hear her voice softly call his name.

"…I did not have a choice." She had to explain to him. "I came here this day, and not tomorrow…because there was a chance that you would not believe me. And I need time, just in case you will not help."

"What would you do then?"

Her gaze fell on the computer he had on his room that to her was a strange piece of equipment before turning to him. "Somewhere in Egypt, there is this bird of fire. Just like me, it was supposed to be a creature of myth, but believe me…it's as real." She paused and his expression told her to continue. "Every five centuries, at almost the end of its life, this bird gives offerings to the sun god to be restored, resurrected. Then it dies and from the ashes, it lives for another five centuries. In a few more years, more than a decade, this bird of fire will die again. To borrow the powers that could help burn and destroy this rock and save the earth, I will give my life as offering."

But aren't Amazons immortal? His mind asked. "I thought your race couldn't die."

She gave him a rueful smile. "I just entrusted you with the secret of my mortality."

He just realized then the extent of her faith, how much she trusted him, really trusted him with not just her life, but the life of her people as well.

"I promise to keep it." He braved the odds and extended his hand to hold hers for the first time. "And you don't have to give up your life. I promise to help."

There was no escaping it, it was the time that he had to finally embrace the destiny he had been evading almost all his life. When the fate of the whole world depended on him, he had to face who and what he was. And he was destined not to be like any other person but to be someone else entirely. Someone gifted, or cursed, with a power no one else had, and the chance to do something good out of it.

"Diana…since I have agreed to help you…" He considered for a moment. "There is something I need you to help me with." Beating around the bush with an Amazon was useless. He needed to be direct to the point. "I also need a favor from you."

"What kind of a favor?"

He knew he was pushing the envelope but he just had to ask because he would be a fool not to. He cleared his throat. "I need someone to…accompany me to a…gathering tonight."

"A gathering?"

"Like a celebration…sort of," he answered. "There will be other people."

"I have to decline." It was an abrupt refusal.

"Oh…" What did he expect…an Amazon would go out on a date with him?

"The world cannot know about me."

He remembered something and a smile replaced his earlier expression of distraught at being dumped. "They won't. We are moving the earth back, and in doing so, we are turning back time, aren't we?"

A confused expression crossed her attractive features before her eyes lit up once more. "You are correct. I will cause no harm to my people if I…socialize and learn more about your people. Because it would seem I was not here in the first place." There was a certain glow of excitement in her face before a frown erased it. "But…I have a condition before I decide if I will accompany you."

"Name it." He was grinning like a teenager.

"You must not fall in love with me."

"What?" He laughed, a little nervously. "What makes you so sure that I am even the slightest…attracted to you?"

She took no offense at his reaction. "When I was created I was molded almost to perfection, blessed by Aphrodite herself with beauty." The words themselves would sound boastful, but the way they were spoken was merely to state an obvious fact. "I have no idea why I was endowed with such characteristics."

"Well…you are beautiful." Very, very beautiful, his mind added. "But…you are not my type. I mean…" He had to find an excuse. "I like…shorter females. And there is…someone." He said it to be safe.

"Well then…I believe you." There was another smile. She had been smiling a lot lately. And it was doing strange things to him. "I will accompany you."

"Thank you." He heaved a sigh of relief. "Come on, let's…go and eat."

Meanwhile, at the kitchen while preparing breakfast, Martha was lost in quiet and serious contemplation of what had just transpired.

"What's wrong?"

She turned from the counter to her husband. "Nothing…everything."

"News about the end of the world really ruins a day." Jonathan sat down.

"It's not just that." She walked near to where he was sitting. "I have faith that our son…can help us. I mean, look at that strange woman. She does not know him that well yet she has that much faith in him…probably more than he does in himself."

"Then what's worrying you?" He held her hand.

"When he…saves the world...he no longer belongs to us."

Jonathan understood. Clark would then belong to the world. "Martha…he will always be our son."

"I know. But everything will be different."

He stood up, pushing the chair back, the wooden feet making a slight noise of complaint in the quiet sadness, and embraced his wife. "Maybe…this was his destiny all along."

"You sound like Jor-El."

"I know. But maybe…our son is meant for greater things than an ordinary life. Maybe that's what Jor-El wanted…only he had a differently direct approach."

Martha looked at her husband. "I did not want to believe that, for a long time, since I first saw that he was…different."

"It's still up to him, though."

She tried a smile. "Would it be selfish for a mother not to give up her son to the whole world?"

"If it is…then that makes me a selfish father too." He kissed the top of her head. "But our son is not. And we both know what choice he will make. The only thing left for us to do is support him."

"And love him even more."