4. Crisis
The sun beat down on Clark as he chopped wood in the front. It used to be so much easier. Now, without his powers, he endured the muscle strain, the blisters, and the sweat. With his gloved hand he wiped his forehead and took a breath. His muscles were feeling strained in his back under the two layers he was wearing, his favorite gray shirt and his black and red plaid shirt and in his calves under his blue jeans. His eyes squint in the sun, deciding to not wear the glasses that he ironically started to need without his powers present. He could feel the flush of heat hitting his cheeks. As much work as it was, it was something he could remember watching his father do and that made him feel more connected to him. It was normal.
Hearing steps on the gravel of the driveway, Clark turned around to see strangers, two women and a man, standing before him on his property. Solicitors were the last thing he needed. Though they didn't seem to be holding anything and looked almost nervous. The man, white with a golden undertone in his skin, clean cut in his button down shirt, jacket, and khaki pants was smaller than he was but exuded a familiarity he couldn't quite place. The same could be said of his one female companion, who in pink and white leather jacket, which matched her pale white complexion, gave off a vibe just as familiar. The last to round out the trio was a shorter woman with a golden glow of brown skin stylishly dressed in a white, black, and red plaid suit.
"Hello." Clark said, observing the group.
The two women stared at him and replied "Hi." Then the man in glasses, similar to ones he would wear, spoke up and unsurely questioned, "You are Clark Kent, right?"
"Can I help you?" Clark asked, wondering what these people intended.
"Uh, yeah, hopefully." The short stylish one said with a nervous laugh as the other woman cleared her throat to urge the first woman to get to the point. "Um, so, uh, this universe and an infinite number of others is in the process of blinking out of existence, and there are seven people in all of space and time who can supposedly…"
"Lex Luthor is gonna try to kill you!" The taller woman burst out saying in a very Lois Lane like manner.
Clark blinked several times and stifled an eyeroll. Here these strangers were talking about infinite worlds and dropping the name Lex Luthor. He wondered if this had anything to do with Tony's travels or just a coincidence. He missed part of the squabbling going on between the small group and focused on one detail.
"Lex?" He mused.
It was confirmed with a simple, "Yeah."
It wouldn't surprise him, but he was usually warned by the League when Lex would be around.
"I didn't know the President was in town." He turned and continued, "Look. I've faced a lot of these types of things…" only to be surprised to find the three had disappeared when he turned back.
"Hello, old friend." A new voice said, disrupting the air around them.
Clark turned back around and was met with a skinny bearded bald man dressed in black. He was holding a large glowing book, almost bigger than the man's frame. Clark's mind was trying to piece what exactly was going on. "Who are you?"
"Don't you know me, Clark? I'm Lex Luthor." He revealed.
Clark gave him the side eye. He bit the inside of his cheek and walked toward "Lex" holding his axe. He lifted it up, intimidatingly, armed and ready. "Hmm." He said, looking over the person standing before him. The man met his gaze, but the reaction to his stance wasn't like what he expected. He knew Lex Luthor. This was a tiny and cheap imitation. He let the axe rest on his shoulder and said with certainty, "You're not Lex."
He turned away, slamming the axe on the tree stump and taking his gloves off as the man continued,"Maybe not the Lex you know. The multiverse has a way of aligning fates."
Clark nodded along, the multiverse once again entering the conversation and swirling new feelings in his gut. There was a threat on his property and he needed to know exactly how to do it.
"What'd you do with those people?"
"Sent them back to their flying tin can in the sky. Let's hope they learn from this teachable moment." He explained as he walked closer to Clark, clutching the book. "Now I'm here for you, not them."
As the man neared Clark turned around. He knew he needed to keep this person occupied. There were people in the house, his family in addition to Morgan Stark, who was over playing with his daughter, and his mother who was staying with them. If this turned ugly he wanted them to be out of harm's way. He was also figuring that having a way to get in touch with Tony, or Iron Man, wouldn't be a bad idea. The only way to get rid of this guy at the moment was to do the only thing he'd always done...deny.
"Whoever you are, I'm just a guy working on his farm."
"You will always be my greatest enemy on any Earth. It's written in the stars and in this book, or I wouldn't know that on this Earth Clark Kent... is Superman. Where I come from, that would be ridiculous. He can't see past his glasses."
"Hmm." He dropped his gloves and wished he had kept his glasses on at that moment and also felt his annoyance threshold meeting its limit. "So what do you want?"
"Why, to kill you of course and every version of you across the multiverse," that got a raise out of Clark's eyebrows, "so that if the, uh, super friends somehow find a way to save existence there won't be a single Superman to stand in my way."
A piece of kryptonite was held between Lex's fingers. Clark's eyes grew wide and he had a momentary reaction to wince, but his body didn't react. With his powers gone he was still Kryptonian, but the little piece of rock didn't pack the same punch. In a moment of amusement he plucked the shard from Lex's hand, looked at it, let it bounce in the air from his hand, and then threw it into the field.
"That's Kryptonite!" he said, obviously not understanding why it had no effect on him.
"Which has no effect on me ever since I gave up my powers." He let slip. If Lois were next to him she would have slapped him upside the head with a 'way to go' to follow. He had tipped his hand about his identity, but the man in front of him also seemed to have a magical all telling book and it also didn't seem like much use. Fake Lex wanted Superman and he wasn't Superman anymore.
Flabbergasted and angered he replied, "You gave up your powers?"
Clark sighed and rolled his eyes. This might be a different Lex, but he seemed to have the same priorities. It really was annoying to listen to. "Can't say I've missed these chats."
"You were basically a God! You could fly! You could see through walls! You had super strength!" This Lex listed as he stepped forward, but stopped once he heard a crunch beneath his foot. He looked down and saw a child's construction truck toy. The realization came over his face, "You're kidding me."
Clark grinned and made a mental note to try and fix the toy later. "That is worth more than any superpower."
"Hey, Clark. The girls want to show you what they've made." His wife called to him from the porch, referring to their daughter and Morgan Stark.
Even with an alternate version of a villain standing in front of him proclaiming the desire to kill him, he smiled at his wife's voice and the thought of his daughter. Yet, there was a threat upon them and while he may not have powers, he was a husband and father and he needed to protect them. He had turned when he heard Lois and began to say, "I think it's time for you to..." when he saw Fake Lex coming for him. He stopped his punch and Clark's fist swiftly and directly hit his face, sending him sideways.
"Still stronger." Clark remarked, pleased. He waited to see what this Lex's next move would be.
He laughed with a wicked undertone,"You took all the fun out of it. Enjoy your little slice of mediocrity while you can, Clark. You're all doomed anyway."
A portal opened and the alternate Lex disappeared. Clark had nodded along with his words, presenting a determined and unfettered front, but sighed and looked on with concern once he was finally gone. So many things rushing through his brain, what he needed to do next, who he needed to contact. He heard Lois walking up behind him and her presence began to settle and ground him again.
"Hey. Was somebody here, or were you talking to the cows again?" Her voice rang with amusement.
He stood unsettled and told her truthfully. "That was Lex Luthor from another Earth. Apparently, the multiverse is ending."
She waited a moment and looked at his face. She smiled wide and laughed, "Ha ha!
Smallville, you made a funny! It's taken you about a decade, but you're getting the hang of it."
Leave it to Lois to think he was making a joke and then making fun of him for apparently trying to make one. After their talk about the Starks and the multiverse she had commented that if he were to talk about it again it better be a joke since their travels through the bleed so many years ago were not something she wanted to think about again. It was true that he was serious by nature, but Lois always brought out another side of him, a more snarky and teasing side. And she never stopped poking fun at him and he still didn't mind it. For a moment, he would push doom and gloom aside.
"Hmm. What'd the girls make?" He asked, referencing back to her initial call from the porch.
Lois pursed her lips, her arms swinging at her sides, and then said with wide eyes, "A mess. They can't wait for you to see it."
"Oh." He commented with mock delight and continued, "That sounds like a job for... us." He then grabbed his wife's hand and turned to walk back toward the house.
"I thought you told them not to." He stated, referring to the earlier set of rules established before he had headed outside to chop wood.
She laughed, "You try telling them. Callie and Morgan are like The Wonder Twins. Best intentions, worst execution."
"I was thinking it's like two Loises." He smirked.
She shook her head. "You're really on a roll with these jokes today, huh? Should we invest in a brick wall?"
"Callie enjoys my jokes." He countered.
She adjusted the sleeves of her denim button down shirt."Yeah, your 'dad' jokes." She patted him playfully on his upper arm. "Congratulations on captivating a six year old with your humor."
She let out another chuckled and turned to open the door, but Clark stopped her and the smile on his lips fell. She gave him a quizzical look."What?"
He took a breath, his face and body language resolute as he told her, "Lois, I wasn't making a joke before."
She relented with an eyeroll,"Okay, fine, it's like there are two more Lois's running around the house. You and Chris are outnumbered for today. Deal with it."
He snickered lightly at her comment, "Not that."
She stared at him and then looked back to where he had been in front of the house and then to his face. She shook her head as she was putting two and two together. "Don't tell me…"
He stood immovable with her name on his lips, "Lois."
"Clark, if what you're saying is true then this is bad. I mean the Multiverse? When we went through that years ago..." she trailed referring to the bleed they had experienced during his first years as Superman.
"I know." He confirmed, remembering the ordeal well, worried that he would lose Lois and the fate of their planet then, too.
Lois was quiet in thought, her eyes closed and then began to open slowly. Her voice was small as she asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I have to make some calls."
"And then?" she pressed.
Through the door he could hear the girls inside playing and he was suddenly torn. The racket of children, carefree beyond the barrier. It was at risk. It was all at risk.
"I don't know. When we came back out here it was because I wanted us to be safe. We could lay low with the kids. I could be home more and watch them grow." He sighed, a strain of emotion on his voice. "Doomsday left me within an inch of my life. I was practically dead. I missed months of our life together. I could have missed everything!" He stared into her beautiful hazel eyes, "I did the hero thing. I wanted to spend more time with my family." He let his head hang low, "I didn't believe in the balance anymore," referencing something Hawkman had urged to follow while he lay dying over a decade earlier, giving his life to save the love of Clark's.
He was beyond conflicted. The anxiety heightened in his voice and body language. Lois placed her hand on his upper arm comfortingly, moving in mild strokes. He could see the clash of emotions on her face, but her eyes were bright with determination. They bore into his green ones, communicating to him, anchoring him in his sea of confusion.
"And if nothing is done to stop this, this whole world could be gone. And what then?" He closed his eyes to her words and she placed her other hand on the opposite arm, holding him in place to look and listen to her. "Clark, I know you. I can see it on your face, when I look into your eyes. I have been grateful for this down time, I have," she then repeated, "But, I know you." She emphasized again and moved her left hand to his face to cup his cheek. "Whatever you decide, I am behind you. Because we are a family, no matter what, we make it work. I love you."
"I know."
She swatted at the same arm she just just lovingly caressed. "Okay, Han Solo."
He placed his forehead against hers, their bodies embraced on the front porch. He closed his eyes and breathed as he felt her strength mix with his. "I love you, too." He said.
"Sap." She whispered and gave a kiss on his now smiling lips.
She always managed to make the edges of his mouth curve, even in the most devastating times. She was by his side, literally and figuratively. It was all he ever needed in whatever path he chose. He still didn't know how he had ever gotten so lucky, how Lois Lane had ever fallen for a guy like him. She was attracted to "men of action" as her father once said and had fallen for "Clark Kent" first before the "Red Blue Blur'', she had confessed to him long ago. She had fallen for the farm boy and had a weak spot for his dorky glasses. And while he had wondered if normal Clark Kent was enough for her, he knew he was. But was Clark Kent enough for him? Clark Kent had been the mask, to cover for who he said he truly was. Was it time to once again embrace his other half? Did the world having a tomorrow once again depend on him?
Lois opened the front door and Clark saw all the pieces of construction paper shred on the floor, the paint jars on the coffee table, and the gold glitter all over the couch. The puppy prancing and jumping as it chased the girls. It was a mess. There was no exaggeration in that.
"Daddy, come look!" Callie said, raising her hands so he could that blue and red paint covered her palms respectively.
He walked inside behind Lois and Callie held up her picture as she ran to him. There were cotton ball clouds and a smear of red and blue in the sky scene. Morgan held hers up from the couch and it was similar except there was a large red smear with gold glitter mixed with it.
"Do you like it?" Callie asked, waiting in anticipation.
In that split second, he knew what he needed to do. He grabbed his daughter and lifted her up in his arms and replied, "It's perfect."
Clark sat at the desk in the loft. He had made calls to the Justice League. They were aware of a cosmic disruption. Their Earth's Lex was still being surveilled and wasn't involved it seemed. He wanted to put it to bed right there. He had done all he could do could be the mantra. But this was Lex, maybe not his Lex, but a Lex none other. Whenever Lex Luthor threatened the world, Superman was supposed to stand in his way. It was their destiny and it seemed like it was consistent across the universe. Multiple ones.
His mind drifted back to the moment Lex entered back into his life right before he embraced his role as Superman. In the remains of the Luthor mansion they stood across from each other, the Earth on the edge of Apocalypse, speaking about their destiny with one another.
"And I'll always be there to stop you. Always." He remembered saying with conviction.
"Oh, I'm counting on it."
After the call to the League he stumbled upon all the saved videos on his phone, ones that he would watch over and over when he was away for too long. It was at those moments he felt a kinship with his father-in-law and also why he wanted to heed his warning about not taking his family for granted.
"Hey, Smallville." He heard Lois's voice say through the speaker of the phone. "With our little one's reading improving she saw your front page story on 'you know who' and wanted to tell you something."
"Daddy! I just wanted to tell you that I'm very proud of you and I love you!" Callie said with excitement and pride. Her blue eyes sparkled and her toothy smile was wide as she looked into the camera of the phone.
The static in the audio return and it was obvious that Lois had retrieved the phone from her daughter.
"She took the words right out of my mouth. Love you, honey." With the sound and visual of a kiss the video ended. It was the very last bit of inspiration he needed from his girls. When the video began to repeat Clark stopped it when he heard someone on the steps.
"I have about a few hundred of those myself." Tony voiced behind him, breaking him from his thoughts. "Lois said you might be needing my assistance out here. But she wouldn't explain beyond that. What happened? I thought this was Callie's 'Fortress of Solitude'"
"It was mine first." Clark turned to see Tony on the stairs, the Black Sabbath T-Shirt making a pronounced statement. Clark moved towards him. "Pepper here?"
"Yeah, she's inside." He commented back, but his head tilted to the side trying to decipher the issue at hand.
Clark nodded and then looked away.
His brain defeated, Tony pushed, "What's going on? I'm getting pensive vibes. The world coming to an end?"
Clark winced at the words. He sighed and said, "I don't know if you want to know."
"Try me." Tony said seriously.
"You asked, " Clark mumbled and then took a deep breath. "I had a visit today. A couple of visits, actually. First there was a group that appeared in my driveway telling me that Lex Luthor was going to try and kill me, which isn't new since Lex had been trying to kill Superman until Doomsday finished the job, but the part that really got me was that it wasn't my Lex, the Lex of this world, but another Lex who was using a portal to try and kill every Superman on every Earth."
Taking all the information in at once without needing repeat or explanation, Tony hung on one detail, "Every Earth?"
Clark nodded. "They said that the universe and an infinite number of others are in the process of blinking out of existence and there are seven people in all of space and time who can supposedly stop it. That Lex was disappointed when he realized I was just a guy on a farm." Clark looked up to see Tony's reaction.
"Okay, well...what happens next?" He questioned.
"I messaged the League, so they know. There's a part of me saying I should just let it go and get back to my life..."
"Right," Tony nodded. "But, you said it yourself when we first met, 'if I see a situation pointed south, I can't ignore it'. It's calling again. Are you going to pick up this time?"
Clark's stance in front of Tony was bold, his gaze determined. Tony had his answer.
"They said there are only seven who can stop it." Clark commented.
Tony let his arms drop and in an instant his Iron Man suit was on his body, his helmet open so Clark could still see his face. "Then let's find the other five."
Clark gave an affirmative nod, his new superfriend ready to tackle the challenge with him. He went over to the bookcase and stuck his arms between the familiar book titles and retrieved the object he had been obsessing over while sitting up in the loft. It was now or never.
"I hope that suit has temperature control." Clark added.
"Oh, it does. Why?"
"It's cold where we're going next. But I think you'll like it. Lots of technology for you to play with up there."
He opened the box and held up the blue crystal. The barn began to shake. A bright flash filled the room and suddenly they were in the middle of the Arctic. The cold blast of air and flurries of snow bit at their faces.
"You weren't kidding." Tony remarked, his helmet closing over his face. "Happy, crank up the heat."
"Yes, Boss." The A.I. responded.
Clark threw the crystal and in moments the snow and ice came alive, growing in size, reaching great heights until the fortress was fully erect and revealed. As they trudged through the snow, Clark led Tony inside. Tony was mesmerized by the light bouncing off its icy walls and the console that pushed its way up from the ground.
"Fun club house. Mine was more mid century modern with a water view."
"Well, I inherited it."
Clark knew Tony was watching as he instinctively worked on the computer screen that appeared, starting the program that would retrieve his powers. All he had to do was hit 'enter' and Jor-El would do the rest.
"Second thoughts?"
The only thoughts he had were of his family. His wife, his daughter, his son, his mother. He had to protect them, to protect the planet. That was his duty. There were no second thoughts. He pressed the button and he was engulfed in light. He could feel it coursing through his veins, his body adjusting. His hands closing into fists as the power surged through. It was only a few minutes and then it was over. He was back. He was complete.
Clark absentmindedly puffed out his chest, standing in red and blue, the \S/ proud on his chest, his cape flowing behind him.
"When we're done with this, I am upgrading that." Tony said pointing at his suit.
Feeling stronger than ever, Clark stated, "Let's go to work."
The men of tomorrow had two flew through the icy air and exited out of the Fortress, ready to save the world- nay, ready to save the universe and millions of other worlds, yet again.
THE. END.