Chapter Three
Between Us
After the fight between Super Girl and Sinestro had come to an end when Green Lantern and The Flash had arrived on the scene, the Kents were then introduced to three super heroes they had never heard of before until now. Clark especially was interested in the blonde named Super Girl who exhibited powers so similar to his own that were emerging, aside from the fact that she could fly. Jonathan Kent had invited the trio into his home for the evening so that they weren't out in the middle of a barnyard discussing what they were going to do about Sinestro. Both Flash and Super Girl were more than happy to accept the invitation and only had to wait for GL to give the go ahead before they could voice their acceptance to the offer. So now there were three costumed super powered heroes inside the dinning room of the Kent family, sitting around the table. Green Lantern sat at the head of the table with his hands clasped together before him. Flash sat on his left and Super Girl on his right. All three were rather quiet for the most part while Martha busied herself in the kitchen fixing some glasses of water and fishing out something for them to eat if they were hungry. Jonathan and Clark sat at the table with the trio at the other end just as quiet as they were.
Green Lantern exhaled heavily before removing his hands from the table and looking over at Flash. "Looks like our only choice for the moment is to regroup and track down Sinestro before he can do any really harm or damage to this town. He stated plainly in his usual gruff voice.
Flash nodded at this and folded his arms over his chest and then leaned forward on the table so he could speak a bit privately with GL. "That sounds good, but the thing is we have a total complication with this situation." He spoke in a hushed voice. "If this really is the Kent farm, then that means we're totally screwed in the weirdest way possible." Flash pointed out while sitting back in his chair.
Lantern gave him a rather stern look even though he realized this as well back when he was introduced to Jonathan and Martha. There really is no way around this, other than to keep things quiet around these people so we don't affect the future. But it looks like maybe it might be too late. Clark has seen Kara's S-shield and her Kryptonian powers, so basically that is totally out the window. The next question is this, how do we go about figuring this all out and get ourselves back home? Lantern glanced over at Super Girl who was stealing her own private glances over at the young Clark Kent who seemed a bit nervous in his own seat as he too was stealing what glances he could at her in turn. Shaking his head, Lantern thought it only right to try and explain their situation to the Kent family and hope for the best. "I think I can explain what's going on here." GL started and grabbed the attention of everyone including Martha Kent who was walking into the dining room with glasses of water in hand.
Seeing her enter with full hands, Super Girl was up on her feet and over at her side to offer some help. "Here, let me help with those." She stated while taking a few glasses from Martha's hands and setting them before Flash and Lantern. Martha smiled and thanked her while heading over to her husband and son and placing their glasses down before them as well. Super Girl sat down in her seat again at about the same time was Martha and took a small drink from her glass.
Lantern continued seeing as how everyone was interested in what he had to say. "Flash, Super Girl, and I are apart of a team known as the Justice League of America, now more recently known as the Justice League Unlimited. We were out in New York after receiving an alert that two criminals known as The Shade and Sinestro were up to no good." GL explained while absent mindedly tapping the side of his glass with his fingers. "When we got to the area in which they were located Flash and Super Girl split to take care of Shade while I went to take on Sinestro."
"While fighting Sinestro I used the powers of my ring to fend off an attack of his. When our two attacks met there was a struggle, and for the first time these two energies clashing in the way they did ripped open a black hole of sorts." Lantern glanced between all three of the Kents. "We were sucked in and then spit out here." He concluded for the most part while finally taking a drink from his glass.
Jonathan nodded his understanding to this and looked across at Green Lantern. "Sounds simple enough to understand. But you see, the thing is, none of us have ever heard of your names or the Justice League before." He pointed out while offering a rather apologetic look to all three of them. "I'm sorry."
Flash shot a double take at the guy sitting down from him and near choked on his own words that weren't forming right in his mouth. On the other hand, Super Girl was now staring down at her glass and just concentrating on the liquid inside. Lantern gave Flash a warning look to cut him off before anything was said that shouldn't be. Looking back at Jonathan, Lantern nodded his head just a bit in show of his own understanding to the confusion that there had to be in the small family. "That became apparent to me when we were yelled at by the town's police. You see, I believe what may have happened was that instead of just placing us in a different state and city, the black hole has placed us in an entirely different time frame than the one we come from." GL tried to explain so as not to confuse just the Kents but also Flash and Super Girl as well.
"Because things here look to be the same as the one we left, this has me wondering if maybe this means we're just in a past that is set in the frame of 2005 in mirror to our present. Or an alternate reality happening in a year we are from." Lantern finished knowing this last part would more than likely confuse them even further than they may have already been.
Super Girl looked over at GL with a rather perplexed expression upon her face as she did in fact understand every word he had stated, but was just lost for a moment as the reality of it all set in. It makes sense I guess.. As she mused silently to herself, Super Girl found that her gaze had drifted back over to Clark who was in turn now turning his attention over on to her at the same time. The pair stared at each other for a brief few seconds before casting their gaze else where as it apparently became uncomfortable between them.
Jonathan and Martha were quiet as were Flash and Green Lantern, as everyone was taking in this whole situation the best they could and trying to find a way in which to deal with it. After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence between the group seated about the kitchen table, Clark was actually the first one to break the quiet as he voiced a question that had been running through Green Lantern's mind at that moment. "So, how are you going to get home if in fact you were taken through some sort of worm hole?" he asked while also pointing out the League's predicament.
Flash perked up at this and looked over at Lantern with a quizzical look upon his own masked face. "Yeah, that is actually a really good question." Flash stated as he studied the black man's face hoping to see some sort of answer as far as 'Yes I do have an answer to this' or 'Your guess is as good as mine'. However, Flash was unable to receive an answer by just looking for it in Lantern's facial expression as he held the same blank face of stone as always making it impossible to read anything. This had Flash slightly annoyed as he just sat there trying to also come up with an answer as well. And as luck would have it for some odd reason or another, Flash shot up in his seat as an idea struck him at that moment. "Hey, wait, I got it. Since it was because of the two opposing forces that your ring and Sinestro's caused in the first place that caused the hole, wouldn't it make sense just to have the same thing happen again and use the new hole to get back home?" Flash put out while also realizing at the same time the risk that might be involved in this.
Super Girl looked between Flash and GL as she waited to hear the reply to this or even a rebuttal at that. Right now it seemed as though Flash's idea was the most logic one of them all, especially since it was the only one offered after Clark stated his question. Finally letting her gaze remain on Green Lantern, Super Girl decided to add her agreement to what Flash had stated as well as maybe getting something out of GL at the same time. "I think Flash has a good idea." She stated in a quiet manner at first. "Maybe it would work GL."
Lantern shook his head now while crossing his arms over his chest. "In theory yes, but we don't know for a fact that if we replicate the exact happenings of the last hole that we would in fact end up back in our own timeline." Lantern pointed out while keeping his focus on his two comrades the whole time. "For all we know we could end up in some other timeline or even in a different world all together." He finished with the same look on his face as when he started.
Flash slumped in his chair and Super Girl returned her gaze to just staring at the table. The Kents had remained quiet for the most part as the three super heroes were discussing their options of how they were to return home while also thinking through what the Green Lantern had told them about being thrown into another reality separate from theirs. That part was the only thing that confused them the most, while it did seem to make sense at the same time in some really weird way. Martha was the next to raise a new question for the trio at this point which did seem to be a rather important one just as well. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, what are you going to do concerning a place to stay until you find your way back?"
Good point! Flash slumped even more now in his chair. All three of them were in their costumes with no change of clothes to conceal their identities from the rest of the world so they could walk about freely. That and there was now also the fact that they may be there for a good while, meaning they would need money to buy food and even a place to stay. Man, sometimes being a super hero just isn't enough anymore! Flash mentally groaned at this and glanced over at Super Girl who was holding a small amount of defeat on her face as she still continued to stare down at the table top and her glass. He could tell she wasn't taking this as calmly as Lantern was. Hell even I'm having a bit of trouble taking this is stride. Then again, it's not the first time I've been shot into an alternate reality away from people I know. Flash sighed quietly as he watched the teen heroine taking the reality of this situation for more than she really needed to at this point.
Flash kicked Super Girl gently under the table with his foot to get her attention on him, which he succeeded in doing as her royal blue eyes looked up at him with a bit a glare since he had kicked her. Smiling at the fact that he had at least accomplished the task of having the strongest woman alive a tad annoyed with him at that moment, Flash decided he offer some sort of advice to her. "Hey, S, you look a little out of it from that fight. Why don't you go outside and get some air." He suggested hoping that she would take him up on it and get away from such an intense situation that seemed near hopeless at this point.
Looking at Flash with a raised brow for a moment after he suggested getting some air, Super Girl looked over at Green Lantern who didn't seem to have an objection to this in the least. In fact he too had started to notice the way in which her body language was speaking to every one at the table. Lantern nodded at her with his go ahead to do so if she pleased and then waited to see what she would do. Seeing as how both adults were keen on the idea of her going outside, Super Girl just nodded her head quietly and then got up from the table and headed out the kitchen door to the porch. After the screen slammed behind her and she had taken the three steps down the porch, Super Girl took to the air only to take herself up on to the porch roof where she settled down and sat with her knees drawn up against her chest and arms wrapped around them in a hug.
She was feeling slightly over weighed with everything and the effects of the stressful situation were beginning to set in. I wonder if the others are wondering where we're at since we didn't return to the tower. Maybe they have J'onn trying to find us with his powers! Wait, can J'onn even tell if we're in another reality? Ah! What are we going to do? Super Girl placed both of her hands on either side of her blonde head and then ruffled her hair as her thoughts were becoming deeply troubled. "Man, what are we going to do? Even if we do find a way home we have to take Sinestro with us or this place is in a lot of trouble." She muttered to herself while folding her arms across the tops of her knees and then rested her chin upon them. While staring off into space and closing herself off to the world for a moment to dwell within her own thoughts, Super Girl hardly heard the slam of the screen door and the footsteps tracking their way across the porch and down the steps. Hearing this finally, Super Girl peeked over the edge of the roof to what the back of Clark Kent emerge from under the lip of the roof and enter the yard before it.
From the way he was turning his head from left to right she had to assume that he was looking for her. Raising and amused brow at this for the moment Super Girl then stood up from her seat on the roof and then stepped off the roof edge to gently float down to the ground just behind Clark. As it seemed that he was giving up hope in possibly locating the inhuman blonde, Clark went to turn back around and head into the house again but found his path blocked by the very person he had been looking for in the first place. A bit startled by the fact that she just seemingly appeared out of nowhere, Clark managed to recover quickly and give her a smile. "Hey, where did you come from?" he asked curious to know how she did in fact manage to do something like that without him hearing it.
"I was on the roof." Super Girl answered bluntly while crossing her arms over her chest and just staring at him with a rather passive look that meant nothing of annoyance or boredom. "You were looking for me, weren't you?" she asked while tilting her head now to the side just slightly so that her blonde hair fell in a different direction.
Clark felt a bit of embarrassment come over him as he knew she had figured out as to why he was outside. Nodding his head in reply Clark gave a rather sheepish look before answering verbally. "Yeah, I was." He stated in agreement to her question. "You seemed kind of upset inside, are you okay?" he asked while taking a few steps towards her and trying to read her facial expression and body langue to catch the answer early. "Well, I mean aside from the whole being away from your home and all." Clark stated in an attempt to sound completely dumb since he knew the teen and her friend's plight at the moment.
Super Girl sighed and dropped her arms to her side and walked forward passing Clark to go out further into the yard. "I guess. I mean how else should I feel other than depressed in the fact that I might not get back home at all or ever see my cousin again at that. Not forgetting the fact that there's Sinestro hanging around as well to cause all kinds of messed up hell for Smallville." She pointed out in answer to Clark's first question while coming to a stop some five feet from him and just stared out at the large barn before her.
Understanding a little as to how Super Girl was feeling Clark followed after her to where she stood and took notice of what she was staring at. The way in which she was staring caused Clark to raise a curious bro w to this at first before realizing that she was in fact concentrating in the same manner he did when using his x-ray vision. "You have x-ray vision too?" he asked out right while coming to stand in front of her knowing that this would cause Super Girl to see through to his skeleton for the most part as he did when looking at other people.
Startled to say the least at Clark's sudden question he sprung upon her while coming right into her line of vision, Super Girl jerked her head backwards for a brief second in reaction to this. Thus this also disrupted her concentration and caught a mere glimpse of Clark's skeleton before she just looked at him in 'normal' vision with a rather confused look on her face. "Yeah, it's a power I was born with. Both me and my cousin are aliens to Earth, how did you know I was using x-ray vision?" she asked as she changed in mid-sentence to a completely different subject as she was beginning to see something further into this Clark Kent that she had doubts upon.
"I, well…I think that's pretty obvious……" Clark trailed off as he was indicating to the happenings in the fight earlier in which Sinestro had tried to attack the Kent family and failed after Clark blocked the shot with himself as a shield.
Super Girl studied Clark a moment before stepping closer to him she seemed now to be intently studying him for her own conclusions to this situation. The fact that was nearly up in his face as she was had Clark feeling just a bit nervous and a little uneasy which showed somewhat in half appearance on his face. After a moment of an awkward silence between them, Super Girl finally stepped back and gave him a rather odd look as it seemed she still wasn't quite sure about what she thought of Clark. Allowing her gaze to come away from the direct stare she was giving Clark, Super Girl gave him a small smile. "Yeah, I think I understand." She assured him.
Clark smiled back at her in a rather relieved manner as it seemed she wasn't going to berate him with a million questions at that moment. Still, he was curious to know if all her powers like his and if maybe they had a connection through other means than just the fact that maybe it was coincidence they both shared similar powers. "So," Clark started while placing his hands inside his jacket pockets out of some nervous instinct. "What other powers do you have exactly? I mean, I saw you through a car around like it was toy earlier today and then fly away afterwards." He recalled from memory while keeping his own gaze on Super Girl. "And now I know you have x-ray vision as well."
Super Girl gave a small laugh that she kept confined behind her lips and allowed an even larger smile cut across her face. "I guess that was pretty obvious." She stated while crossing her arms over her chest in a casual manner before glancing down at the ground for a moment and then back to Clark. "You what to know all my powers? How do I know you're not some evil villain out to extort any weakness I may have?" she asked in a sly teasing manner that both her and Clark grinning widely at the same time.
"Even if I was, there isn't anything that could convince me to even try and take you on at this point in a one on one fight." Clark replied. "Not after seeing you knock that Sinestro guy around as you did."
"Hey, funny and smart." Super Girl jested while keeping the smile on her face that didn't seem to be on the verge of leaving any time soon. "Well, yeah, I have super strength, the ability to fly, I can move at speeds that dominate the velocity of a speeding bullet, x-ray vision, heat vision, and I'm invulnerable." She rattled off her list of powers that were a mirror image to her cousin and were what made her the strongest woman alive. Even Wonder Woman had told her once that even in a fare fight there'd be a chance that she would prove to be much stronger than her. That was something that Super Girl had come to take to heart in a sense that the older members of the JLA did hold equal ground with them, even if she was still seventeen.
Listening to Super Girl state her powers one right after the other had Clark held in a thrall of silence as he was shocked down to his core as each one, aside from the free will of flight, mirrored every single one that he possessed as well. There is something about this that just isn't coincidence. After all, she did say that both she and a cousin were aliens to the planet. Maybe, maybe, she's just like me! Clark was unaware of the way in which he was now staring at Super Girl until he noticed the odd look he was receiving in turn from her as reaction to the near gawking stare he had plastered all over his face. Shaking the look from his face and forming his question mentally first, Clark decided it was worth a shot to see if he could get the super hero's real name aside from the alias she used. "I was wondering…" he stated slowly knowing that this might in fact offend her some way or other if he didn't ask it right. "Um, if you didn't mind, could you tell me your real name? I mean, if that's something you don't want anyone to know I completely understand." Clark covered quickly hoping that he hadn't in fact caused to become annoyed with him after that question.
Super Girl just stared at him for a moment wondering if she should give out her identity so freely, even if they were in an alternate reality from their own. What if they had to stay here for a long time? Could she trust someone who shared an exact name as her own cousin with her true identity? And more importantly, what would Lantern and Flash say if they found out she had given out her name when she knew it something you just didn't do with random strangers when you were a super hero? Being confused was one thing, but the fact that she had confused herself with her own thoughts and questions caused Super Girl to finally just shake her head mentally as she made up her mind. Something told her she could in fact trust this Clark Kent even if GL and Flash didn't think so. "As long as I can trust you to keep it to yourself and not call me by it around GL and Flash, or parents." she warned with a stern look in her eye.
"Yeah, you can trust me. I know how to keep secrets." Clark answered with a knowing look of understanding in his eyes and even in the tone of his voice.
Giving another once over of her choice before letting out her name, Super Girl looked back over her shoulder to make sure that neither GL or Flash was coming outside at that every moment. Seeing as how the coast was clear and it didn't look like Sinestro was going to come sweeping in at that moment and find out for himself as well, Super Girl looked at Clark with a bit of a flustered look as she was still unsure if it was okay to just tell him. Her eyes caught sight of the barn again and this struck an idea. "Can we go inside that barn before I tell you? I'm just slightly paranoid that the wrong person might hear and there goes my secret identity." She stated while gesturing with her head at the barn behind him.
Clark glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't blame her for being paranoid like she said she was. After all, letting your deepest secrets out and having the wrong people hear them could end up causing major problems for everyone. That was something Clark knew all too well. Looking back at Super Girl he nodded. "Yeah sure. I have a loft in there that's actually a lot more comfortable than it sounds." He assured her with a small grin before turning about and leading her across the yard to the barn itself. Inside, Clark shut the barn doors half way and then continued to lead Super Girl up a flight of stairs to a second level in the barn and then up small three step flight that brought them up onto the loft floor.
Looking around at her new surroundings in the barn, Super Girl was actually kind of impressed with how nice something like a loft could look. There were a couple of couches set up along with a desk and chair to the side. Over near the hay door, which had its lower doors locked, was set a telescope pointed up at the sky. Something about this little hangout caused Super Girl to smile while walking more towards the center while Clark went to clear the mess of papers off one of the couches. "So, is this like your little personal getaway?" she asked while looking over at Clark with an amused look on her face.
"I guess you could say that." Clark answered as he crossed the floor to drop a stack of papers on his desk before coming over to Super Girl's side as she had now moved towards the hay door and was currently examining the telescope there. "I usually just come up here when I need some time alone to think."
That statement reminded Super Girl of something. Not just a something, a place she would go to and find some time to herself when she needed to be away from the rest of the world. A smirk crossed her face as she looked over at Clark. "So what, it's like your Fortress of Solitude?" she asked, knowing that the fact she said something like that would sound as if she were poking some fun at the Kent boy, but instead his reaction to her teasing question was just a simple smile that caught her off guard.
"Yeah, something like that." Clark replied while looking off into the night sky for a moment before returning to the reason as to why they were there in the first place. "Paranoia subsided yet?" he asked knowing that this might sound as though he were teasing her for a reason she had every right to.
Super Girl looked over her shoulder at the dimly lit loft and then looked back to the Clark. "For now." She answered simply while a smile started to tug a bit at the corner of her mouth. "You know for some really weird reason I feel like I can trust you. It's weird because, I just met you like twenty minutes ago after I destroyed your shed and a part of a fence. I can't put my finger on it yet, but I think it has something to do with your name." The expression on her face softened to a look of deep trust that had Clark feeling as though he really did have a connection to her that he could hopefully find out through just knowing her name. "My name is Kara Zor-El, and I'm from the planet of Krypton."
Clark looked a bit on the dumbstruck side as the name sounded so similar to that of his own. He gave her a smile, "It's nice to meet you Kara." He stated while extending a hand to her in friendly gesture.
A sense of peace and clam came over her for some reason after hearing Clark call her by her birth name. There was something there she knew wasn't an attraction in a romantic sense or anything like that. No, but there was an attraction. One that felt as though she had family right there with her at that very moment. That has to be the only possible explanation as to why his name is Clark Kent. This is my cousin when he was my age living in Smallville. We're in his past. Kara placed her hand within Clark's and shook hands with him. "It's nice to meet you too Clark." She returned with a happier tone to her voice than she had exhibited since arriving on the farm.
"I'll keep your secret safe Kara." Clark stated as their handshake ended and they released their hold on one another. "You know, sense you trust me with your identity, I can trust you with a secret of my own." The look in his eyes showed just how much he did trust her now. Not just because she had given her trust to him by revealing her name, but because she was just like him and at the same age. It was more than likely that Kara would understand what he was going through with dealing with his inhuman powers, and because of that, Clark knew he would finally have someone to actually talk to about them and be able to relate better than his own parents could.
