The following day was a nice lazy school day for Clark. At least that's what he hoped until he woke up on the hard and unforgiving tarmac of the nearby road in the wee hours of the morning.
He was a little worried when he saw a car driving up, he couldn't tell who it was due to the bright headlights.
"Clark?" The driver asked as they got out.
Clark was very relieved. "Lex! What's going on?"
"You tell me! I was driving back from dropping Helen off at the Medical Centre when I see you out here in your pyjamas." Lex said worriedly.
"I woke up here." Clark shrugged.
"You head to the Castle and tell Harry. I'll go and tell your parents." Lex sighed as he headed back to his car.
Clark sped away as Lex did the same.
"How did you get out there? Did you run?" Lex asked as he walked in with Jonathan and Martha.
"If my dream is anything to go by I flew." Clark said uncomfortably. He really didn't like the idea that he had sleep flown or that something had controlled him.
"Dream?" Emma asked curiously. Harry's soul mates as well as Scott, Jean and Emma where there including Lana, who was actually bunking with the Cuckoos at their request. Jonathan and Martha were also dressed for bed. Only Lex was in his day clothes.
"I dreamt that I had the key and I placed it in the slot in the caves. It felt very real."
"Considering you wound up near the highway, it might nearly have been real." Lex pointed out. "Did I wake you up or did you wake up naturally?"
"Both, I think. There was a bright light when the key went in and then I awoke to your headlights."
"Alright, looks like we will have to start working on the caves more intensely." Harry sighed.
"I will handle that Husband." Brunhilde said firmly. "I have no obligations on my time and I have the experience and have been working on the ship with Laura."
"I can help too. I'm a fair hand at languages and I have been studying Kryptonian." Loki offered.
"Good, then we can all go back to sleep and try and catch a few hours before the sunrises." Dani groused. She was not a morning person.
"I'm going to go to the lab and look at the ship." Clark said. When the others looked at him curiously he explained. "I really don't want to wake up in a few hours and find out I flew around the world."
"I will come with you Clark." Brunhilde offered. "Harry can boost me for the day so I am not fatigued."
Clark, Lana, Chloe and the Cuckoos managed to make it through their first class without issue. But none of the six were pleased with the assignment they had been given.
"How are we supposed to do a family tree?!" Chloe demanded angrily.
"I thought you were ok about your mother." Clark said hesitantly.
"I am. That doesn't mean I want to put a spot light on her condition though."
"Well at least you can do a one-sided family tree." Lana sighed. "I have to decide if I want to do the Langs and Potters or the Potters and Smalls."
"Better than being unable to do it because your parents and all records were destroyed when your planet blew up." Clark scoffed. "Let's forget the fact that I can't exactly state I am an alien."
"Such whiny babies." Phoebe said dismissively.
"Our parents were a test tube and a petri dish." Mindee glared at them.
"We didn't have parents to begin with." Celeste said sadly.
The three 'naturally born' teenagers looked a little guilty.
"Everyone grab a blonde and hug." Chloe sighed as she pulled Mindee into a hug.
Lana and Clark exchanged a look before they found Phoebe and Celeste wrapped around them.
They stood like that for a few seconds before Clark squeaked and wriggled out of Celeste's wandering hands.
"A little decorum, Miss Cuckoo." Came the deep and amused voice of Vice-Principal Reynolds.
"Sorry sir. We were just comforting each other over our lack of decent subjects for our family tree project." Lana said respectfully.
Reynolds frowned as he stepped into the room.
"I must admit to taking a more interested look at the files of each of you. Purely because of your various positions in the school." Reynolds explained quickly. "But one thing was clear. Each of you has parents listed or guardians. From what I have learnt from the Principal, Coach Summers and even Lex Luthor is that you have spent much of your childhoods in stable and caring families, correct?"
"Yes sir, but to take one of the extremes, I myself don't know a thing about my birth parents. I never met them." Clark said.
"I believe you are taking the assignment too literally." Reynolds said firmly. "It is not an exercise in genetics from your biology teacher but an exercise in sociology. The Kents care for you and researching them should help you gain a greater appreciation of the young couple who adopted a child all those years ago not knowing how he came into this world.
"The link you have to the people you called parents or guardians maybe be genetically sparse, but it's the familial bonds, the emotional bonds that you are to examine for this assignment." He said passionately.
The teenagers stood silently for a few moments as they thought about what the man had said.
"I will leave you to it. Do try to keep your hands in appropriate places, Miss Cuckoo." He said sternly to Celeste, but there was a glint of amusement in his eyes.
A few seconds after the Vice-Principal left Chloe spoke up. "Anyone who feels really bad about snubbing their parents raise their hand."
Six hands went up.
"Study party at the castle tonight." Mindee said gleefully.
"I'll call my dad." Chloe smiled as she pulled out her cell phone.
Clark pulled his own out but fell to his knees in pain as a sharp ringing began to pound through his head.
"Clark!" Lana cried out as they all gathered around him.
"What is that noise?" Clark ground out.
"I can't hear anything." Chloe frowned.
"Let me listen to your thoughts Clark. I might be able to tell something." Phoebe instructed.
Clark just nodded as he pressed his palms into his ears that did nothing at all though.
"All I can see is that you can tell the direction it is coming from. All you can do is follow it. I will have Brunhilde meet you." Phoebe said firmly. "Now go."
Clark didn't need telling twice as he bolted out the door at super speed.
Brunhilde was currently going over the remains of the ships computer; there were a lot of things she didn't understand about it. The power source was unique to this universe it seemed and until she could replicate it she was at an impasse, as even magic couldn't power it up. Harry was insistent that they not use the Key or the Heart but Brunhilde was beginning to think that some combination of the two items plus something in the ship was power source.
For now she was examining what passed for the circuitry. A crystal based system. Without being able to replicate the power source she didn't know how to proceed though.
She felt a rush of wind that was commonly associated with Clark entering and exiting an area. She turned around and was surprised to see the door to the safe open. The only things currently in there were the Key and the Heart. The Key was now missing.
She quickly teleported straight to Clark only to find herself in the Kawatche Caves. To her horror she saw Clark suspended in the air by a bright light emitting from the wall.
"Husband, come to me now. Clark may need you."
She had barely finished thinking the word 'now' and he was there.
"How did this happen?" Harry asked with a scowl as he wandered around the floating Clark.
"I do not know. He appeared in the lab, took the Key and was gone before I knew he had even arrived. I followed him immediately and found him like this. He is a speedster, there is no telling how fast his mind and body can truly work and what he accomplished in the time it took me to arrive."
All of a sudden the light stopped and Clark fell to the floor.
Harry was on him instantly.
"His brain activity is off the charts. This is similar to what Odin did to him."
"More downloaded information?"
"Here's hoping its just information." Harry began slapping Clark's face. "Clark, wake up! Come on, rise and shine!"
"Urgh! Get off Harry." Clark groaned as he rolled over. "One day I'm going to not realise it's you and punch you into orbit."
"Wouldn't be the first time." Brunhilde chuckled.
Clark looked at her in askance.
"He tried the same thing with the Hulk once." She explained.
"Good, means there is a precedent. I won't get in trouble with Odin and Zeus." Clark said grouchily.
"What happened Clark? What made you take the Key and do that?" Harry asked without any reprimand in his voice as he helped Clark to stand.
"There was this really bad noise that only I could hear. The Triplets, Chloe and Lana were with me. I think one of the Triplets said I should do what I needed to… it's a little fuzzy."
"They confirm the facts. They say you were in a great amount of pain." Brunhilde said compassionately.
Clark just snorted. "I rarely feel pain. I sometimes wonder if I am being a big baby about the equivalent of a splinter."
Harry smiled in amusement. "I've seen your brain activity whilst you were in pain. You have pretty high threshold.
"Now, do you know what that thing downloaded into your noggin?" He asked as he jabbed a thumb at the wall.
"I don't know. Nothing feels new. Not like when Odin gave me the Kryptonian language."
"Alright. I want you to take a break from school. I can say I sent you home. Spend the rest of the day on the farm with your parents. Just relax, we can talk more this evening." Harry ordered before he teleported out.
Clark glared at the empty space where his mentor had vanished. He pulled out his phone and dialled whilst Brunhilde looked on curiously.
"Yeah, sure Harry. I'll get right on that. See ya later." He then viciously punched the phone's hang-up button and took a deep cleansing breath.
When he calmed himself he looked up to see Brunhilde looking at him and trying not to laugh.
"Tell me you don't get annoyed when he does that to you!" Clark challenged.
Brunhilde just laughed.
"Lex? Lex! Wake up!"
"What? I'm up! I'm up!"
"What is with you? I thought you wanted to talk and now you're falling asleep. In a public coffee shop of all places." Tess scowled.
"Sorry. I dropped Helen off at the hospital very early this morning. Then I nearly ran over Clark who I found sleepwalking down the highway. I have not had much sleep."
"Maybe you should double your caffeine intake for the day."
"I did. I just don't know how Helen does this. She gets barely any sleep and I still found her wide awake when I took her out for lunch today."
"It's the activity. She is always active. I experienced the same thing when I escaped the island with Oliver. We had to take turns manning the helm and looking for help and making sure we weren't- what the hell is that look for?" She demanded testily as Lex had begun to grimace at her tale.
"I'm sorry, it's just I don't like the idea of my sister having anything to do with Queen." He said angrily.
"What did he do to you?" She asked curiously.
Lex said nothing for a few moments. "He's… I knew him growing up Tess. He was not a good person. He is part of the reason I was so reckless in Metropolis."
"Sounds like a story to me."
"Not one I want to talk about, or think about. Nothing personal, I just prefer to repress those memories."
"I'll let it go for now, Lex. But Oliver and I were fairly close, being captives together does that to people." She warned.
Lex scrunched his face unhappily. "Fine, let's change the subject.
"What do you think of our little coffee shop?" He asked with a happier smile.
"Our?"
"Harry owns the building and the theatre, I own the coffee shop and Lana Lang owns the dream. She came to us with a proposal to save the Talon that had been a part of the town for decades. We were impressed by her enough that Harry and I came to an agreement on how to make her dream a reality."
"It's… nice. Not a Starbucks, but it definitely has it's own identity. You have a good stream of customers. Does Lana work here?" She asked as she examined the place with a critical eye.
"She is the Assistant Manager under Scott. Scott acts mainly as the responsible adult who can handle the signing of things and something of a bodyguard. Lana handles the actual running of the shop."
"She deals with the staff?"
"She does. They seem to respect her enough. I haven't heard of any issues but Scott would have dealt with them. I mainly worry about the profit margins."
"Ok, that sounds more like a Luthor." Tess stated firmly.
"Is that how they do tagging on Krypton?" Chloe asked as she stared up at the side of the barn.
Burnt into the red wooden walls was a Kryptonian symbol that Clark had made when he lost control of himself for moment.
"This isn't funny Chloe." Clark snapped. "What if I had been looking at someone when I did that?"
"Unlikely." Amara said. "You were clearly intending to leave it to be read. I would say you would have looked wherever you could have made it and human flesh would not work."
"Yes, but don't go trying to brand the cattle with that mark either." Dani warned playfully.
Clark just glared at her.
"What does it mean?" Chloe asked as she dug around in her bag.
"Hope. It's the Kryptonian symbol for Hope." Clark told her. "Hey! What are you doing?"
Chloe had her camera out and was taking pictures.
"You wanted information about Kryptonians who visited Earth. If we post this we might get a hit."
"We might get a bunch of UFO nuts snooping as well!"
"I never said I would post where it came from Clark. Have a little faith." She chastised.
"Well… you don't have the best track record really, Chloe." Dani said. "You've got to give him some leeway."
"Fine, but I still think he's overly paranoid."
"Someone who has knowledge of the drawings in the Kawatche Caves has defiled your barn."
The group turned around to see Kyla and her grandfather standing there. Joseph Willowbrook was staring at the symbol on the barn in consternation.
"Yes, bit of an accident I'm afraid." Amara smiled genially.
"I don't think we need to play any games right now." Dani stated as she waved a hand at Joseph.
Joseph stumbled and Clark moved forward to help Kyla catch him.
Joseph shook his head to clear it. When he looked up he stared at Clark in awe.
"Naman!"
Clark just rolled his eyes.
"Forget Naman, how about you remember who we are and who Harry is." Dani said testily.
"You!" Joseph practically snarled. "You stole my memories!"
"We suppressed them. Do you remember why?" Amara asked calmly.
"You want to keep Naman from the tribe!"
"We want you to respect Clark's decisions and those of his family." Dani snapped.
"This has nothing to do with you. Naman is meant for bigger things." Joseph said dismissively.
"ENOUGH!" Clark roared as a crash of thunder rolled overhead.
Kyla and Joseph both stumbled backwards in shock.
"I don't care what you say. I don't care what they say! Someone told me once that there is one person whose opinion outranks everyone from you to Death himself." Clark told Joseph angrily. "Me. My opinion is the one that matters. It is my choice as to whom I tell about who and what I am. Mine alone. Not my parents, not Harry's and definitely not yours. If you can't accept that then why should I believe your Tribe will be any better and protect my secrets?"
"The Tribe has waited for you for five hundred years." Joseph said as worry began to set in. "Would you really turn your back on your sacred duty?"
"What gives you the right to decide Clark's sacred duty?" Chloe asked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"It was prophesied that Naman would come and protect the world." Joseph said his head lifted high in pride.
"Prophesied by whom?" Amara asked.
"By our ancestors, those who came from Naman's own ancestor. Naman's ancestor told us that one of his own bloodline would return to us and that he would be Naman. Naman has come."
"So you have no respect for Clark as a person? As a young boy?" Amara asked.
"His duty is paramount."
"What if I found a counter prophecy that stated Naman would eradicate the Kawatche as they were a threat to the world?" Harry asked as he walked up behind them.
Joseph turned and scowled angrily at the man who was corrupting Naman.
"Would you line up and allow yourselves to be killed?" Harry continued.
"The Tribe is peaceful and no threat to the world." Joseph said certainly.
"Says you. Just like you say who Naman is. But what if the Great Spirit left a prophecy saying you needed to be destroyed? What would you do? Would you obey?
"You are a man. Your ancestors were men. Clark's ancestor was a man. An alien man, but still a man. Nothing on this planet- in this existence gives you the right to dictate the life of another." Harry said as he poked Joseph in the chest angrily.
"Grandfather, they're right." Kyla said pleadingly. "I've seen their power, they are more powerful than Naman and all his people combined. But they are good people."
"What do you mean?" Joseph asked, suspicion entering his words.
"The foreman who died in the explosion. It was my fault. I got him killed when I tried to sabotage the machinery. Lord Death and Naman judged me when I confessed. They set out my sentence and I served three years in service to a race of Amazons. Lord Death brought me back to this point in time when my sentence was finished so no one would know. I am now eighteen years old physically."
"What nonsense are you speaking, Kyla?" Joseph asked, he was beginning to worry.
"Kyla, a demonstration." Amara said as she conjured a steel rod and handed it to the young woman.
"Thank you My Queen." She said with a bow as she took the rod, held it in front of her and bent it. It was not easy, but with the gifts of the Amazons it was possible.
She handed the rod to Joseph who nearly dropped it due to the unexpected weight.
"What trickery is this?!" Panic was setting in.
"Your daughter served her sentence well and with honour. She was accepted as an Amazon and granted their gifts of strength and longevity." Amara said with a hint of pride and a smile.
Kyla beamed and bowed low to her Queen.
"What have you done to my Granddaughter?" Joseph whispered as he fell to his knees in shock.
Harry stepped forward and placed a hand on Joseph's shoulder. "You may keep the knowledge this time, Joseph Willowbrook. But you will not be able to tell anyone. I trust that you will come to your senses soon."
Joseph shrugged off Harry's hand. "Come along Kyla. Maybe with time Naman will realise his true path."
"I'm staying Grandfather." Kyla said firmly.
Joseph looked at her with a frown. "Why?"
"I believe that Clark is Naman. I believe he is destined to protect the world. Not because of the prophecy but because of who he is. Clark Kent is not the type of person who needs someone to tell him to do the right thing. He doesn't need the Kawatche. The Kawatche don't need him. The Kawatche want to be a part of Naman's journey but… they haven't been invited yet."
Joseph narrowed his eyes at his Granddaughter. "Who told you this?" He asked curiously.
"My goddess, Aphrodite. Whilst I served my sentence with the Amazons she came and taught me about Clark and what the Kawatche need to do to be a part of Clark's destiny."
"Your goddess?"
"I am an Amazon now. She chose me and blessed me." Kyla smiled happily. "I am still Kawatche, but I am also Amazon."
Joseph nodded slowly. "Very well. I trust you can find your way home before curfew?"
Kyla hugged her grandfather and kissed his cheek at the subtle acceptance.
"Lutessa, it's good to see you after all these years?"
"The name is Tess. Go away Lionel, I have no interest in speaking to you." Tess scowled as she moved to close the door.
Lionel's hand stopped it. "I've come to give you your inheritance." He said temptingly.
"I don't want a damned thing from you, especially your money. I'll make my own. Now remove your hand or I'll call the cops."
"You heard her Mr. Luthor. You are on private property and I don't think the authorities will take it well when they learn you are on my property."
Lionel turned to see Amara Aquila and Lorna Dane standing there. Aquila was a thorn in his side. This woman hindered everything he tried to do in Smallville.
"I was just talking to my daughter and I would thank you to stay out of this." Lionel said testily.
"You renounced any claim to family with me when you tossed me aside." Tess spat. "The phone is in my hand, should I start dialling?"
"Fine. I will leave. But I would hope you would come talk to me. There is much I regret in life and much I have to give you."
Lionel marched off to his waiting car as the three women watched him leave.
"Sorry we're late. We just got word he was heading this way." Lorna apologised to Tess.
"It's not your fault." Tess sighed as she opened the door for them. "Lex warned me he might try and approach me. I can't believe he tried to claim he had an inheritance for me."
"Actually it's not that he saved one for you, it's that you are entitled to a percentage of his company as his flesh and blood. He probably worries that Lex is looking to use you to gain control of his company. The two of you could take control of his company and oust him together." Amara explained.
"And all I have to do is play family with him." Tess said disgustedly.
"Actually, no. That's probably what he wants so he can keep an eye on you and influence you. But you can get the shares fairly easily with minimal contact in a legal setting."
"I really don't want them." Tess said adamantly.
"Of course not. But I recommend getting them and sitting on them. Just so no one else has them." Amara advised. "We can all agree that Lionel is as bad as they come and there may come a day when something needs to be done about him and his company."
Tess looked very disappointed at the thought of acknowledging any connection to Lionel. She was still wary about Lex.
"Let me think about it."
"Come on Clark, there's a good movie showing at the Talon. You're taking me."
"Kyla, I thought we discussed this." Clark sighed.
"You like me still, right?"
"Yes, of course."
"You are going to live forever?"
"Apparently."
"And there is a chance you might have to sentence other people to do time and then work with them the following day because of Harry's time travelling?"
"So I'm told."
"Then consider me your chance to get used to the idea by dating me. You know you will have fun." She said as she put her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
Clark pushed her back slightly, but not enough to remove her arms. "What about the fact that I might have multiple girlfriends? The Cuckoos are still all over me and I haven't gotten over Lana."
"I won't live forever Clark, but I am an Amazon. I will live for thousands of more years than the average mortal can. Even with Harry's help. We Amazons are essentially demi-gods. We have plenty of time to deal with your issues and other girls.
"Now, grab your coat and wallet and let's go." She said as she spun him around and pushed him towards the stairs to his room in the castle where he still stayed.
Clark defeatedly trudged off.
When he was out of earshot Kyla turned to another doorway and rolled her eyes. "You were right, how long would he have taken without the push?"
Lana stepped out with a slightly sad smile. She was sad that Clark was moving on, but happy for him as well. "We don't know. Neither of us has been patient enough to find out."
"And you're sure you are ok with this?" Kyla asked carefully.
"I wouldn't have told you to do it if I wasn't." Lana said as she took a firmer posture. "I'll be sad and jealous for a while but Clark doesn't need to suffer because I can't handle his new lifestyle."
There was a trio of giggles from another doorway as the Cuckoos stepped out. "Clark can't handle his own lifestyle." Mindee told them. "He would have been perfectly happy with just you." She told Lana.
"Unfortunately it wouldn't have lasted the way he wanted." Phoebe continued. "Other girls would have found him and the pull would have been unbearable."
"I just wish I could have had that with him." Lana said sadly.
"No reason you can't." Celeste said as she walked up and hugged Lana. "If you truly love Clark then Harry can join your souls."
"It's a wonderful feeling." Mindee said dreamily.
"But one that you should wait to experience, when you are older. At least eighteen." Phoebe said seriously.
"I was only fifteen when the pull began." Kyla objected.
"Yes, but that was a natural soul bond. Lana will be making a conscious choice to bind her soul to Clark. The soul bond doesn't make you instantly like and agree with each other. You will still argue and fight. You will hate some of the things the other does but you will always love each other and be bound to each other." Phoebe explained.
"Has Harry done things you didn't like?" Lana asked Celeste as she noticed the sad look on the face of the girl who still had her arms around her.
"Not Harry. He does things we don't understand or approve of but he is usually working on a much higher set of rules. But the rest of us… sometimes we don't always do the right thing. We over step our bounds or the law and it hurts the others when they have to sentence the culprit like Clark did with you." Celeste said turning to Kyla with Lana still in her arms.
"None of us has done anything with evil intent." Phoebe explained further. "But we were constantly at war or having to defend ourselves from attack. This meant that when emotions ran high we acted irrationally."
"We would do things like Clark did in Africa when he was on Red Kryptonite." Mindee said.
"But I thought that wasn't Clark's fault?" Lana asked
"It wasn't, but when we did it we allowed our emotions to control us. We lost control. The crime was done under a limited mental culpability but as individuals who are trained to control themselves… we have to take some responsibility."
"Ok, I'm-" Clark froze as he saw his date for the evening standing with the three girls who were constantly trying to seduce him and the one girl he had hoped was his soul mate.
If that wasn't bad enough, all of them were smirking or grinning at him and Lana was in the arms of one of the Cuckoos.
He had a distinct urge to flee.
Kyla grinned and grabbed is hand. "Come on Lord Kal-El. You are taking you first soul mate and erm… one, two- fifth girlfriend on a date to the movies."
"Wait- what? Fifth?" Clark asked as he was dragged out the door.
"Come on, let's get dressed. We can go see a movie in Metropolis." Mindee said as she grabbed Phoebe and teleported away as Celeste did the same with Lana.
"Harry do you have any ties to that Japanese company, MBI?" Emma asked as she marched into the Doctor's Office the next day.
Harry looked up from where he was playing poker with Dani and Diana, the last of who was finally getting the hang of the game.
"No. They are a very insular company. They are aware of the rest of the world but they don't allow others into the company."
"You've never gone by the name Takehito Asama?"
"Nooo… why?" He asked suspiciously.
"I had a Japanese business man name Nutsuo Ichinomi and a large group of bodyguards demanding to see you." She was clearly annoyed. "They were demanding to see 'the man claiming to be Harry Potter who stole from MBI'."
"That sounds bad." Dani winced.
"Surely they are just mistaken." Diana offered.
"That's one possibility." Harry sighed unhappily. "The others involve corporate espionage, and time travel."
"What is corporate espionage?" Diana asked.
"Imagine if Lex stole something from Bruce Wayne's company. Like an idea. That would be corporate espionage." Dani explained.
"But Harry doesn't have a company so that rules it out for the most part." Emma said as she sat down heavily. "You realise this probably has something to do with that last soul bond."
Harry nodded. "Aphrodite did indicate time travel would be involved. The bond is frayed. It was broken and whoever is on the other end is going to be in a lot of pain." He said unhappily.
"Could you not go and save them now?" Diana asked.
"Not without risking a lot of chaos messing with time." Harry shook his head. "The most I can hope for is events to happen quickly so that I go back in time and start the cycle."
"Ok, but what about these MBI goons?" Dani asked.
"I hate to put more on her plate but I will have to ask Amara to look into it." Harry said unhappily.
"I will return home and take up her duties as she has trained me to. It is the least I can do for my Queen and Sister." Diana said firmly.
"And that is why you will fit in so well with us." Dani grinned as she kissed the blushing princess on the cheek.
The next day at the Torch, Clark escaped being grilled by the Cuckoos, Lana and Chloe about his date with Kyla by several emails all from the same person all addressed to him.
"See, I was right Clark. Someone did know about the symbol." Chloe said smugly.
"Yes, but how did they know about me?" Clark asked worriedly. "I was there when you made the post. The only information you added was that it appeared on a barn in Smallville."
"Someone's been watching you." Lana whispered.
"Virgil Swann. That would be my guess, based on the email address." Chloe nodded. "He's a reclusive physicist. He used to own a company that maintained communications devices in space. But he sold it and donated the money to charities. Now he spends his time in New York searching space for signs of life."
"How do you know all this?" Lana asked clearly impressed.
"I'm a reporter. I wouldn't be much of one if I didn't keep up with the details of the worlds most influential people." She said primly.
"Are you going to see him?" Lana asked Clark.
"I'd prefer to know it was him first. But I'll ask Harry and Lex. They know a fair amount about the rich. Maybe Bruce knows something."
"I still can't believe you are on a first name basis with three of the worlds richest men." Chloe said exasperatedly.
"You're on a first name basis with two of them." Lana pointed out.
"Because they live here! Clark literally stumbled onto Bruce Wayne in Gotham and now he's friends with him!"
"You could meet him too. He comes to the castle now and again with Alfred." Mindee offered.
"He's a very nice man."
"And very dreamy." Celeste sighed.
There was a moment's silence before Clark grew too uncomfortable. "I'll go see Harry."
"Have you ever slept with any man other than Harry?" Lana asked suspiciously.
"Of course not!" Mindee said indignantly.
"Harry is the only one who can understand what we are not take advantage of us." Phoebe explained.
Celeste grinned impishly. "Doesn't mean we don't like to look."
"Clark, catch!"
Clark turned slightly in his seat in the castle living room to catch the object Lex threw at him as he walked in.
Clark glanced at the object and his eyes widened as he saw he held the key that he thought the cave wall had absorbed. "Where did you find this?"
"Lodged in the wall opposite the hole. Most people lose their keys down the back of the couch. But Clark Kent has a whole cave to lose it in." Lex joked.
"I will go and put this back in the safe." Brunhilde said as she stood and snatched the key from Clark.
"Is she mad at me?" Clark asked as the Valkyrie vanished.
"You? No." Laura smirked. "She's annoyed Odin gave you the language of the Kryptonians and then the wall decided to do the same thing but nothing extra. She feels it's a waste of time and energy. She's been spending a lot of time working on the ship."
"Could we work on the cave instead? Maybe she will get more answers?"
"That's the plan." Harry nodded. "After we speak to Swann."
"Virgil Swann?" Lex asked.
"That's the man."
"Now that is a man you would like." Lex nodded. "He's very much into helping others." He told Clark.
"Then why is he sending me cryptic messages?" Clark asked.
"Cryptic messages?"
"Chloe posted an image of the symbol on the barn and today I received multiple emails from with the same image but the translation underneath: Hope."
"Really? That's what you burnt into the barn?" Lex asked sceptically. "I thought you didn't have any control over yourself when you did that."
"I didn't. We're just lucky no one was standing in the way." Clark said still annoyed at the event.
"It just doesn't make sense that your 'father', who seems to want you to rule mankind, would have you carve the symbol for 'hope'. It seems out of character."
"He has a point." Jean agreed.
"I honestly never thought about what I wrote, just that I was forced to write." Clark admitted.
"Sad to say I didn't think about it either." Harry mused. "Maybe I need a vacation."
"Well there is something we wanted to inform you of." Sif spoke up from between her husband and sister-in-law. "It's time for us to go back. To stay any longer would be insulting to the gods of this world."
"Won't you be able to come back?" Lana asked, she actually enjoyed watching Loki make Clark squirm like the Cuckoos.
"Of course. We just don't want to make it seem like we are here for anything other than a visit and a vacation." Loki explained.
"We were present and party to the defeat of this world's Thor. Were we to stay, the other gods might think we are planning to oust them." Thor said.
"I will be back soon enough. I find Clark very interesting and want to try and teach him the magic I use."
Clark blushed as he sought to ignore the flirtatious look the God of Mischief sent him. "I can use magic?"
"In a way. It will be weak but now Thor can travel between the worlds without the need for the Bifrost Bridge." Loki explained.
"Most of my magic use involves using my divine lightning to power runes. Those are as powerful as anything Uncle Harry can create." Thor explained.
"And just as painful." Harry shivered. "That lightning bolt you got me with the other day is nothing compared to some of the runes Thor has used."
"When will you leave?" Lana asked.
"On the weekend, we want to have you all over for a farewell dinner on Saturday first." Sif told the young girl.
"We're going to miss you guys." Dani pouted.
"We'll be back and you can always come visit. Now that we know about the time travel technique that Jean and Clark discovered we will try and bring the tech back here for you to use as well." Loki assured them.
"It would be nice not to have to miss out on weeks of events and play catch up." Harry agreed.
"I will also be sad to see you go. Thor was always one of my favourite gods in literature and it is nice to see that at least one of them is an honourable man." Lex smiled at the trio. "Unfortunately, I only came here to give a warning to Martha. Lionel has managed to buy out the other shareholders of LexCorp. I am very disappointed in them, after all we did to help them and they still betrayed us. Lionel probably thinks he can buy LexCorp out from under me, so be expecting a visit when he discovers our failsafe."
"What failsafe?" Lana asked.
Lex gave her a superior smirk. "I knew that most people could be intimidated or blackmailed and that my company was at risk because of this. So I made sure that a majority of the shares went to a trusted third party."
"Mrs. Kent." Lana nodded.
"No. Clark Kent."
"What?!" Clark and Lana asked in shock.
Lex laughed. "The shares are in your name. Your mother holds control of them until you come of age. But I had always wanted you to be a part of my company and this seemed like a good way. Tess also has shares available to her but you actually hold the controlling interest."
"That's insane!" Clark argued.
"Clark, do you plan to oust me as the CEO? Send the company into a tailspin and destroy everything I worked for?"
"No!"
"Will you sell your shares to someone else and put the company at risk that way?"
"Of course not… I might sell or sign control to Amara or Harry but no one else." Clark admitted.
"Then I made a good call. A risk that paid off."
"This is insane." Clark muttered to himself.
"And yet I already feel better for having done it." Lex smirked as he patted Clark's shoulder and headed out.
"How do you think he'll react when he hears he's already a millionaire with those shares?" Dani stage whispered to Martha.
It would have been more effective if she hadn't been sitting across the room.
"I've waited a long time to meet you… Kal-El."
Clark frowned at the sight of the paralysed Dr. Virgil Swann. "My name is Clark Kent."
Swann looked on in amusement as he watched Harry roll his eyes.
"Really, you want to open with denial?" Harry asked.
"Joseph Willowbrook." Clark said with a glare.
Harry grimaced. "Yeah… ok. I'll give you that one."
"Sam Phelan."
"Alright, fine I get the-"
"Roger Nixon."
"Jeeze, enough already! I give! I give! You have a bad history with people trying to exploit you when they find out you're a bona fide alien." Harry said as he threw his hands up in defeat.
"However for the record, Jonathan Kent, Martha Kent, Scott Summers, Harry Potter, Lorna Dane, Lana Lang, Emma Frost, Jean Summers-"
"I'm not saying there aren't good people out there Harry. I'm just saying a little caution would be nice." Clark stopped him.
"Have you ever known me to be cautious?" Harry grinned.
"No, but I've seen what Brunhilde does to you when you try to corrupt what she teaches me."
"Low blow!" Harry said with mock hurt.
"Gentlemen, as amusing as the pair of you are, I believe we might have things to discuss." Swann said with chuckle. "And let me assure you Clark, I have no designs on you or plans to reveal your secrets. I only wished to ensure you were ok and pass on the message I received."
"Message?" Harry asked.
"Thirteen years ago my satellites picked up the following message." Swann activated a large monitor nearby. "This message was encoded, I managed to decrypt and translate it."
The image changed to what Clark recognised as Kryptonian.
"That really conflicts with what dear old dad was saying." Harry mused.
Clark looked surprised. "You can read that?"
"Sure. You'd be surprised what I can do." Harry smirked.
"I'm sorry, what do you mean? You have spoken with Clark's father? Are you a Kryptonian too?" Swann asked.
"No, I'm something else. Clark's ship had an A.I. it was rather intent on Clark ruling the world."
Swann frowned. "I see. I would submit that a person who makes a request to deliver their son from evil is far more likely to be the true person than the one who claims they should seek to conquer."
"Why?" Clark asked.
Swann frowned. "Those that conquer are not afraid to lie. Those that wish to protect only lie in the direst of circumstances."
"True, but what if they wanted you to look after me until I could access my ship and then conquer you?"
"A Trojan Horse." Harry mused.
"Does it really matter at this point?" Swann asked. "Pick your own destiny Clark. Choose what you believe is right for you."
"I like him." Harry said to Clark with a smile.
"You would. You like everyone."
"That's not true and you know it."
"You may not like what or who they are but you enjoy meeting them and dealing with them… even if it is permanently." Clark snorted.
"Again, gentlemen, as much as I would love to learn more about what you are talking about, perhaps we could focus?" Swann hadn't smiled this much in a long time.
"You have more?" Harry asked.
"I traced the signal back to its origin." Swann informed them, the screen changed to show a map of the stars. "But as you can see, there was nothing there."
"Yeah, kind of sucky really. All the things Clark wants to know destroyed and all he's left with his cryptic messages." Harry said. "So, how would you like to go and see what is left?" Harry asked Swann with a smile.
"I would give nearly anything to do that. But we don't have the capabilities to send even an automated probe that far. It is 27.1 light years away. We wouldn't reach it for thousands of years with our sub-light speed capabilities."
"What if you could make the trip in a year or so?" Harry asked.
"You have developed faster-than-light travel?" Swann asked his eyes wide.
"I am going to show you a whole new world Virgil Swann." Harry smiled as he placed a hand on Swann's shoulder.
