Superman: Mythos #6 "Last Supper"

Princess Bela's handmaidens were very, thorough. They stripped Clark bare of his tattered suit and scrubbed down every inch of his body. Though when it came to his rather unkempt beard, they struggled to pierce it. It was as if each strand of hair was a fiber of unbreakable steel.

Clark smirked, lowering the shaving girl's hand. "Please, allow me," he said, grabbing a handheld mirror from one of the handmaidens. Carefully lining up the shot with one eye closed, he unleashed his heat vision. The girls all jolted backward, startled as they watched the hot red beam reflect off the mirror and strike Clark's chin. Then, once the steam settled, the girls were amazed to see his clean, handsome face, devoid of any hair.

Once their deep clean was finished, Clark was presented with his suit. It was completely repaired, cape and all. Its red and blues were vibrant, and the House of El's crest shone as prominently as ever. "Thank you," Clark said simply, taking the suit into his hands. The near-indestructible fabric felt just as soft as the day Ma Kent sowed it together from his Kryptonian baby blanket.

After suiting up, Clark arrived at the entrance of the palace's great dining hall. All had already been seated around a long table, with the High Seer at the very end and an open space between her and Bela. Though upon seeing Clark, now assuming his iconic look, the entire Naltorian royal court rose from their seats in reverence of him. Clark, still not entirely comfortable with the way he was treated on this planet, nonetheless gave the crowd a wave before making his way to his seat at the head of the table. Once he sat down, the rest followed suit.

The High Seer immediately turned to Clark, resting her hands on his shoulder and thigh. "By the gods…" she spoke to him in a whispering tone but was nearly shouting in terms of volume. "You look even more magnificent than even my dreams have foretold."

Clark cleared his throat, gently removing Aretea's hand from his thigh. "Thank you, Ma'am. I must say, I was in dire need of a shower. Super-deodorance is unfortunately not one of my powers."

"HAHAHA!" The entire table erupted in laughter. Clark winced, finding their uniformed cackles more than a little unnatural.

After they had begun to settle down, the High Seer addressed Clark once more but spoke to the entire table. "Oh great hero, please, regale us of your epic tale. How did you arrive upon our shores? Tell us, so we may recount it in our histories."

"Gee, I-" Clark paused. He'd hardly had time to reflect upon the series of events that had led him to this very moment. Only then had he begun to process the absurdity of it all. All the things he could have done differently to prevent the predicament he was in now. "I suppose it all began at dinner. A much smaller dinner than this one, back in my hometown. With my family…"

One Month Earlier

"So how's school going, Kara?" Pa Kent asked while scooping out a hefty helping of mashed potatoes before passing the bowl along to Clark.

Kara let out a sigh, aimlessly rolling her peas around her plate. "It's alright Pa. Midterms are coming up…but after that, it's spring break!"

The three were sitting around the small dining table of the Kent residence, finishing their homecooked meal, with Ma starting to make dessert in the kitchen. Pa was dressed in his usual workman's overalls and worn-out Kansas City baseball cap. Having worked the day on the farm, Clark and Kara followed suit. Clark wore a red flannel and faded jeans, foregoing his glasses, but still letting his messy hair hang down instead of up in its iconic S-curl. Kara wore ripped denim overalls and a white t-shirt, with a black headband in her golden hair.

"Midterms? Already?" Clark said, giving Kara a concerned look. "Have you been studying, young lady?"

"Oh come on Kal, you know how quick we can read books right? How fast we can write? Pft, 'course you do, Mr. Never-missed-a-deadline-at-the-Planet, over here," Kara teased, though Clark remained staunchly serious.

"That's not the point Kara," Clark began, taking a deep breath. "My time at KU was pivotal in my effort to craft a civilian identity. A persona apart from Superman and the Clark Kent you know. Heck, I even took acting classes to make it happen."

"Yeah, yeah, Clark Kent, the bumbling, mild-mannered reporter," Kara said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm serious," Clark continued. "And I do it more than just to protect you guys. Though, nothing could be more important than that," He looked to Pa, who gave his son a nod. "But I also do it, for me. Superman and Clark Kent must remain separate. If I were to fully become Clark Kent, the world would suffer. If I were to fully become Superman, I would suffer. It just isn't healthy to be on the clock, with everything exposed to everyone, all the time. All us capes do it. Even Bruce, to a certain extent…"

"Even Diana?" Kara questioned, clearly seeing herself more in line with Wonder Woman. Diana didn't have a secret identity and, to Kara, she seemed just fine. She was doing a whole lot better mentally than Bruce Wayne, that's for sure.

Clark hesitated. "I'm- I mean, we're, still working on her situation… But Diana's an entirely different case. She's an immortal Amazonian princess, and last I checked, you're a 'normal' teenaged girl."

"Oh cut the crap, Kal," Kara snapped back. "There's nothing normal about us. Especially me. This isn't my home like it is yours. I spent twelve years being normal on Krypton. Now I'm here and there's no going back to how it used to be."

"That's not true, there's still a chance for you to live a life here, a human life," Clark said, rising from his seat as he spoke. "And please, for God's sake watch your language."

Kara crossed her arms and turned away from the table, away from Clark, who was eased back into his seat by Jonathan. "Don't you think you're being a little too harsh on the kid?" Pa whispered, wrapping his arm around his son's broad shoulders. "I'm flattered you think the way we raised ya was right. But maybe it won't work for everyone else, especially if you force it upon them. I know for sure I didn't raise you to do that, son."

"Oh dear!" Martha's voice called out from the kitchen before Clark could respond to his father.

Clark stood and rushed into the kitchen, seeing his mother's dessert preparation. A cavalcade of pots and pans were strewn about the counter with the oven open and ready. "What is it, Ma?"

"I forgot to pick up milk this morning when I was downtown," Ma Kent said, tapping her foot on the floor and her finger to her cheek. "I suppose I could substitute-"

"No Ma, that won't be necessary. I refuse to spare any expense for your famous rhubarb pie," Clark said with a laugh, coming up behind Martha and giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Kara and I will run downtown and pick some up before the store closes."

"We will?" Kara said, overhearing.

"We will," Clark said, stepping back out into the dining room and making his way towards the front door. He grabbed his old Smallville High jacket from the coat hanger and went to hand Kara her brown leather jacket as she reluctantly approached. She ignored him and walked out the door into the cool summer night. Clark sighed, waving to Ma and Pa before leaving after her.

"Aren't you, cold?" Clark asked, catching up to Kara as they headed toward the Kent family pickup.

"Kal, we've both been in the arctic, hell, in the vacuum of space with less," Kara rebutted, hopping into the driver's side of the truck. However, she was promptly scooched over to shotgun by Clark as he entered.

"Again, not the point," Clark said, turning the key and starting up the engine. Soon they pulled out of the dirt driveway and onto the thin road that cut through the vast fields of grain. "Look, I know it's hard to fit in. Believe me, I went through the same thing."

"Did you though?" Kara questioned.

"I-" Clark began but was at a loss. Their experiences, while similar, were at the same time vastly different. Maybe Pa had a point, Clark thought.

"You had no idea who you were or where you came from. All you had to do was build a life from scratch. Here I am having to tear down an old one just to start again," Kara said, staring out the window, watching the waves of grain rise and dip as they drove past. "Ignorance is bliss."

"Sure, but it was also scary that way," Clark explained. "Plus I didn't have an older cousin to help me through it all."

"Younger cousin…well, technically," Kara corrected. "Look Kal, the difficulty of 'fitting in' isn't the issue for me, like it was for a big dork like you," she joked, nudging his elbow. Though her smile soon faded and her tone grew grim, "What if, I just don't want to fit in? What if I just forget it and be who I was, who I am? Besides, wouldn't it be better for the world if I was Supergirl all the time?"

Clark took a long pause, his eyes locked on the road. He then sighed and glanced at Kara. "Look, I'm not your father. I'm not going to force you to do anything. You're free to live your life the way you want. And I'll be here to support you no matter what. But please, go back to school, finish the semester, and give Kara Danvers a fair shake. Then, when spring break comes around, pack your things and come to Metropolis and we'll let Supergirl have the run of the place. Then you can decide which works best for you. Deal?"

Kara's smile grew and grew as Clark spoke. "Oh yes! Yes! It's a deal, cuz!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a super-hug. Clark strained at the wheel, swerving off the road for a bit until Kara let go. "Heh, sorry… Hey why didn't we just fly here?" she asked as they parked a few blocks away from Smallville's Mainstreet.

"Superman and Clark Kent, both taking a vacation to Smallville?" Clark said stepping out of the truck and heading up towards Mainstreet, which was lined with nothing but local farm stands. "That's not suspicious at all."

"Kal, you wear glasses as your disguise," Kara teased. "Even suspicious people would find that suspicious. You could have at least thrown in a fake mustache. Or a wig, like me."

"I work with the most skeptical woman on the planet and she's yet to figure it out," Clark said with a smirk. "I must be doing something right."

The two walked down Mainstreet while numerous vendors tried to catch their attention. Although none so far were selling dairy products. Clark hoped to find Mr. Lang's milk stand if to do nothing else but help support their long-time family friends. However, both Clark and Kara stopped in unison before one stand in particular. The strong scent had caught their attention. It was a sweet aroma that you didn't need super senses to be drawn to.

"Well howdy there!" an excited feminine voice called out. They turned to see an attractive woman behind a stand stocked full of warm, fragrant pies. The woman had crimson braided pigtails beneath a straw sunhat and a light-green pinafore dress over a puffy-shouldered blouse. She had bright green eyes that matched her dark green lips that were currently spread apart in an unnerving smile. Below her, across her farm stand, were rows upon rows of unique pies, baked in the shape of thick-pedaled flowers. And above her stand was a sign that read: Auntie Pam's World Famous Lotus Pies!

Kara's mouth was immediately watering, stepping closer to the stand. She took in a deep whiff of the tasty aroma wafting off the hot pies. Clark remained hesitant, keeping at arm's length from the stand. It was then he noticed that nearly everyone on Mainstreet was hanging near 'Pam's' stand. Each of them was either chowing down on her Lotus pies or had their lips already stained with their purple juices. No one was talking. They were standing still, with blank faces and glazed-over eyes.

"World famous, huh?" Clark asked, his eyes narrowed, further examining Pam herself. The woman looked familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Have we met before?"

"It does say world-famous, don't it?" she said, her cheery accent gaining a hint of edge. She then cut out two fresh slices from one of the pies and held them out before Clark and Kara. "Would you like a sample?"

"Ooo, yes please!" Kara said, graciously accepting the slice and instantly chowing down on it, letting its purple juices drip down and stain her shirt. Clark knew something was off, Kara was the furthest thing from a sloppy eater. The smell of the pies must have put her in a hungry trance, he could only imagine what effect fully ingesting one might be. Pam turned to Clark, still holding out his sample slice, insisting he try. Clark shook his head and slowly began stepping back, only to bump into a line of people standing behind him. All of them had blank stares, lips stained purple with Lotus.

"What's the matter?" Pam asked, climbing up over her stand with pie in hand. "Don't you want a taste?" Her accent faded, changing to a slow, sultry murmur. The Lotus-infected people followed her lead, forming a circle around Clark, and began closing in.

"Kara?" Clark called to his cousin, whose back was still to him. Her head then swiveled to him abruptly, staring at him with glowing red eyes. She took a step closer, then another, but soon she lifted herself off the ground and hovered toward him.

Pam was surprised by Kara's sudden show of Kryptonian powers, but that shock was quickly replaced with a devilish grin. "My, my what do we have here? It must be my lucky day," Pam said with a chuckle, "Now then, I must say, you've terribly offended me. Not wanting to eat Auntie's pies? I guess you'll just have to die…" She then threw off her sun hat, letting down her rich red hair, while her white skin began to melt from her face. At her feet, green vines began bursting through the soil, twisting and overlapping until they formed a throne for her to sit upon. The vines lifted her above Clark and the others as she wiped away the last of her face and body makeup, revealing her pale green skin beneath. She then pointed to Clark, "Kill him."

Immediately, Kara fired a deadly beam of heat vision at Clark which he swiftly evaded by forcing himself through the line of Lotus-eaters. The zombie-like mob turned around and gave chase as Clark frantically ran up Mainstreet. Although, they were slow and uncoordinated, tripping over each other as they tried to catch up. Even Lotus-eater Kara was having trouble remaining airborne.

"Augh! Forget him!" Pam commanded, seeing Clark gain a significant distance from her small, bumbling army.

Their struggle bought Clark enough time to divert down a nearby alley. "Great Scott…" he said under his breath while undoing the top of his flannel, eventually pulling it apart to reveal the House of El's crest beneath. "This looks like a job for-"

"Superman…" Pam said between gritted teeth as she looked up to see the Man of Steel slowly hovering down towards her and her pack of Lotus-eaters. "Here just to ruin my country get-away?"

"Dr. Pamela Isly, I presume," Clark said, crossing his arms with disappointment. "Or should I call you Auntie Pam?

"Just Ivy, Poison Ivy, thanks," Ivy snapped, her vines slowly creeping towards Clark. "And the pies? Consider this a little business venture," she said, opening her arms wide, reveling in the brain-dead army she'd created. "With a rather gracious partner who's been footing the bill. Though he didn't tell me you'd show up. But I suppose that explains Miss Laser-eyes," she said, turning her attention to Kara. She smirked, holding her hand out and controlling Kara as if she were her puppet. Each twitch of her fingers caused Kara's body to jolt and contort in unnatural ways.

"Stop!" Clark said with growing concern. He hated to see his cousin used in such a way.

"Make me," Ivy said with a laugh. "Better yet, make her." She then pointed to Clark and as she did, Kara rushed forward through the air towards him. Clark braced himself, not wanting to strike back, as her fists collided with his chest. He grunted, the impact sending them both flying up Mainstreet before landing and skidding up a few more blocks. Kara pinned Clark to the ground and when the dust cleared, he saw her raising her fist for another strike. He caught her freight train-sized punch, causing a miniature sonic boom between their hands that shook the surrounding buildings.

"She's controlling you Kara! Fight it!" Clark cried, slowly pushing her fist away only to see her eyes begin to heat back up. "I really don't want to do this," he said, heating up his own.

The two Kryptonians shot forth heavy blasts from their eyes, both meeting each other in a fiery collision. Although, Clark's larger beam quickly began to overpower Kara's. She yelped, his blast meeting her own eyes as a resulting explosion knocked her backward. Clark zipped over to where she'd fallen to make sure she was okay. However, as he leaned over her, his face was immediately met with her fist. Kara leaped back to her feet with an uppercut to Clark's jaw, the sucker punch sending him spiraling through the air.

Clark shook off the blow and stabilized himself in time to prepare for another one of Kara's attacks. As she flew towards him at an incredible speed, he was able to catch her and restrain her in a chokehold. She squirmed and clawed at his arms, but she was firmly locked in his tight grip. "I'm sorry Kara, she's leaving me no choice. I'm going to have to knock you-"

Before Clark could finish, Kara slammed the back of her head against his nose. The heavy impact sent Clark backward and Kara was able to slip from his grip.

"-out?" Clark said, touching his hand to his upper lip, noticing his nose had begun to bleed. He looked up to see Kara again charging toward him. This time, he grabbed hold of both her wrists as she neared, diverting her blow. He then lifted her body up and forcefully kneed her in the stomach. Kara gasped and coughed, having the wind knocked out of her as she plummeted to the ground. When she hit the dirt, she promptly grabbed her stomach in pain. Then her cheeks swelled and she covered her mouth. Her eyes widened, realizing she couldn't hold it in, and soon vomited up a bucket of hot purple sludge. After hurling up her half-digested pie, she grew light-headed and began to fall. Clark was quick to swoop in and catch her.

"K-kal, I'm sorry…" Kara whispered, her voice weak as she brought her gentle hand to his. With the Lotus substance expelled from her body, she appeared to be back to normal.

Clark held her hand tight and assured her. "It's alright, I think you gave me an idea…" He then carefully laid Kara down before lifting himself into the sky once more. He floated over to Ivy while her horde of Lotus-eaters tumbled over one another in an effort to reach to him. "I'm warning you, Pamela. Release these innocent people from your control and let's talk."

"Talk? Ha!" Ivy laughed, her vines lifting her to eye level with Clark. "The Bat never wants to talk. I think I'm starting to like you more, unfortunately, you both have the same misplaced trust in these meat bags." She pointed to the Lotus-eaters below. "They're all far from innocent."

"Ivy, most of these people are farmers," Clark tried to reason. "They respect nature just as much as you."

"By poisoning the very earth they till? Pesticides, fertilizers, GMOs? All a revolting disruption of the natural order!" Ivy spoke passionately, her eyes watering with chlorophyll while she continued to puppet her horde. "It's only fair I return the favor…"

A single Lotus-eater managed to vault off the back of another and grab hold of Clark's boot. He quickly shook them off and flew higher out of the people's reach, looking down with disgust at what Ivy had turned them into. "I did warn you…" Clark said before letting out a swift beam of heat vision that sliced the trunk of Ivy's vine throne in two. Ivy yelped, plummeting to the ground along with her falling vines.

She hit the ground hard, but hopped back to her feet, her green face hot with anger. "Charge!" She cried, pointing forth to her Lotus-eaters. All of them then stormed towards Clark like a rising wave of bodies. He landed on the road to meet them, but before they collided, Clark took a deep breath and blew. An ice-cold wind raged forth from his lips, aimed at the legs of the charging horde. The people began to slow, their feet beginning to freeze solid to the ground. Soon they were all stopped in their tracks, squirming their upper bodies about while their legs remained firmly planted in ice.

At long last, Clark finally heard the distant sounds of sirens approaching. "It's over Pamela," Clark spoke, walking around the Lotus-eaters to meet her. "The authorities are on their way." But when he found her charred vine throne, she was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly he felt the binding wrap of vines curl around his wrist and ankles. Ivy then tip-toed out from behind Clark, trailing her fingers along his arms and chest.

"Tsk, tsk," Ivy said, shaking her head. "Over you say? Those are kudzu vines, the fastest, strongest growing vines in the world. I never leave the house without one of their seeds."

Without hesitation, Clark snapped the vines with ease. Ivy shrieked in response and braced herself for a superpowered blow, but it didn't come. She laughed, looking up at Clark as he stood tall before her. "What's the matter? Afraid to hit a woman?"

"I'm not!" A voice cried out from behind them. Just when Ivy turned to investigate, her face was met with Kara's fist. The impact instantly knocked her out before sending her limp body flying into the side of a general store.

Clark sighed, as Kara stood triumphantly beside him. Both of them watched as police cars began racing down Mainstreet towards the scene. Clark patted Kara on the shoulder. "Nice work. Though I hope you know now why I only eat Ma's pies. Speaking of which-"

"The milk?" Kara asked before zipping away at super-speed and returning in an instant. In her arms, she now held a jar of fresh milk. Clark gave her a narrow look. "Don't worry, I left money on the counter. Plus a healthy tip, gotta support local farmers, ya know?"

Clark laughed, "Yeah, I know." He then turned to 'Pam's' farm stand, still loaded with Lotus pies. "Speaking of which…" He said, making his way over to it. He folded up the brightly colored table cloth and pulled out a crate from under the stand. The crate was full of cardboard-packaged pies. Looking like they had all been made in a factory and the printing on the crate read: LOTUSLAND CO.

Before they could investigate further, the cops had arrived. "Run on home Kara, I'll be back soon," Clark said, making his way toward the sheriff. Kara nodded and jogged through the crowd of frozen Lotus-eaters, back to the pick-up.

"Evening, officer," Clark said, offering the sheriff his hand.

"Evening, Superman. Fancy seeing you all the way out here in Smallville," the sheriff said, shaking the Man of Steel's hand.

"Well, it's lucky I came. Turns out Auntie Pam was none other than Gotham's own Poison Ivy," Clark said, turning to the general store where Ivy had crashed into. Officers were digging up the debris, eventually finding her and promptly locking her up in the back of their paddy wagon. "I'd recommend transferring her back to Arkham immediately."

"You read my mind," the sheriff said, though his curious gaze soon fell upon the Lotus-eaters. "And what exactly do we have here? Her little cronies?"

"Absolutely not, sir," Clark said. "These are the innocent people of Smallville who've been made victims by Ivy. They've each consumed a mind-altering toxin found in her Lotus pies. Each of them needs their stomach pumped as soon as possible."

The sheriff nodded before turning to his men who were all still, awaiting his orders. "What are you standing around for? You heard the err-Superman. Get to it!" The sheriff shouted, his officers quickly scrambling to begin chipping away at the ice that held the Lotus-eaters in place.

"Look, Mr. uh Superman," the sheriff said, turning back to Clark. "My son's a big fan, mind if I get an autograph?"

"Of course, what's his name?" Clark asked.

"Oh, his name's James," the sheriff said while searching his pockets. "Darn, you know what? Forgot my pen."

"No worries," Clark said with a smirk. "Say, you sheriffs get extra badges right? Mind if I borrow that one?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he said, taking off his star-shaped golden badge and handing it to Clark.

Clark then closed one eye and shot a weak beam of heat vision onto the badge, just enough to scar the metal. He soon finished and handed the badge back to the sheriff. "Well then, see you around officer," Clark said with a smile, waving goodbye to him and the crowd, before lifting his feet off the ground and soaring into the night.

The sheriff laughed, looking down at the steaming badge, which now had engraved onto it: To James, Dreams save us. Dreams let us fly… Never stop dreaming, ever. - your pal, Superman.