Chapter 47: Clark of Two Worlds

Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman and Flash belong to DC. No infringement is intended.

Wallace "Wally" West, fastest teen alive and coming to be known in the area around Keystone City as the superhero Flash, considered Superboy one of his best friends, possibly his best friend period. Which was a bit strange, granted, as he didn't even know his real name. Well, he knew his real-real name, Kal Jor-El, but not the one he lived under here on Earth. Wally understood that, mind you, as learning Kal's civilian name would inevitably lead to learning Superwoman's civilian identity, too. Still, despite the secrecy, Wally really liked Kal and hanging out with him was a lot of fun.

Today, though, Kal was in anything but a fun mood. Wally might not be the most perceptive person alive (just the fastest), but it didn't need a psychiatrist to figure that out.

"So you wanna tell me what's up, buddy?" he asked.

They had met outside Keystone City, their usual meeting place, and Kal was in a weird state. Broody, quiet, and seemingly looking for something to hit.

"Had a fight with my mom," he finally answered, grumbling. "Well, not really a fight, no. Just... she did something and... look, can we not talk about it?"

Wally shrugged. "Sure, no problem. So what do you want to do?"

He had the distinct impression that Kal needed something to distract himself from whatever was going on with his mom (and it was still weird to remember that his mom was Superwoman, the world's greatest hero).

Kal looked at him. "Well, you still owe me a rematch from that race to Metropolis I didn't know we were going to have."

Wally smirked at him. "You are just peeved that I was faster than you. But okay, rematch it is. How are we doing this?"

Looking back, it had been a mistake to race when Superboy was so obviously distracted. Travelling at super speed took a whole lot of focus and concentration. A distracted, invulnerable person travelling at super speed was a disaster waiting to happen.

Everything happened within a fraction of a second. They had been running at several times the speed of sound and still accelerating. They had intentionally headed for the Nevada desert, where there was nothing but emptiness to be found. Usually, at least. None of them had known that there would be a festival of some kind.

Wally spotted the assembled crowd in front of them and began to change course, only to realize that Superboy was doing nothing of the sort. He was still heading directly towards the people, apparently not having noticed them yet. Wally quickly readjusted his course so he was beside his friend. He had just pulled even when he saw Kal's eyes widen. He had finally noticed the obstacle, but far too late. Evasion was no longer possible.

Not wanting to plow through hundreds of people at several times the speed of sound, Wally did the only thing he could think of on such short notice. He had recently realized that he could pass through solid objects while running if he channeled his speed inward and made his own molecules vibrate. So he reached out to touch Kal's shoulder and made them both vibrate. He could only hope that it was enough to prevent them from maiming or outright killing hundreds of people.

No one was maimed or killed that day. But instead of harmlessly phasing through the people in their way, Superboy and Flash simply vanished.

"So… this is new, right?" Wally asked.

The two teenagers were standing at the city limit of Metropolis, staring at a giant billboard. After their near-fatal encounter in the Nevada desert, both of them had decided that it was probably better to keep to a slower pace for now. Clark had inwardly cursed himself multiple times for being so distracted. A lot of people could have been hurt or worse if not for Wally's quick thinking. His mom would tan his hide for that if she ever found out.

Upon returning to Keystone City, though... there was no Keystone City. Instead there was another city on the other side of the river, called Central City. Weirded out, the two teenagers had decided to head for Metropolis next. Actually, Clark had wanted to head to Smallville, but he had Wally along and couldn't just ditch him, not before they knew what was going on here.

Outside the Metropolis city limit, though, they encountered a giant billboard. On said billboard, there was a giant photograph of a familiar-looking man in a familiar-looking suit, alongside the words "Metropolis – Home of Superman".

The man was him, no doubt about it, but at least ten years older, probably more.

"We must have travelled through time," Clark finally said.

"Time travel?" Wally asked. "Is that even possible?"

Clark looked at him, trying to figure out how to tell his friend that he knew very well that time travel was possible. That he knew it because an older Flash had taken his mom on a journey through time before Clark had even met Wally. And that the only reason he had never told him that before was that he feared his mom would make good on her threat to punt Wally into orbit for simply stranding her in the past. Before he could figure it out, though, something else occurred to him.

"No, wait, that doesn't make any sense," he muttered. "If we have travelled to the future, then where is Keystone City? And where did this Central City come from? Something is not right here."

They debated amongst each other for several more minutes, trying to figure out what to do, before Clark finally had an idea. It was something his mom had come up with, actually. With the way their senses were enhanced by Earth's sun, Kryptonians could hear a much broader range of frequencies than humans could. So pitching his voice way up into ultrasound, Clark let out a sharp whistle that caused dogs all over Metropolis to bark and howl.

It also attracted the attention of someone else whose hearing allowed him to hear it. Not even two minutes after his whistle, a dot was visible in the sky, rapidly approaching them. And it was neither a bird nor a plane.

"Superman, I assume?" Clark asked as a man looking like a roughly 30-year old version of himself set down before them, looking quite surprised at their presence.

"Parallel worlds? Really?"

Clark's head was spinning. Apparently there were many parallel worlds, all occupying the same space, but separated by differences in their vibration frequency. So they were on Earth, but not their Earth. A different one, where history had gone differently. More than that, even time seemed to flow differently between the worlds, for the rocket that had carried him to safety from Krypton had crashed here 32 years ago, not 15 like in his world.

They were currently on board the Justice League satellite headquarters (not called Watchtower in this world, apparently), having been brought here by Superman, who was also Clark Kent, but 17 years older than Clark. Here they met the Flash, also a grown man instead of a teenager, who quickly explained to them the concept of parallel worlds and that it had been Wally's attempt to vibrate them through solid matter at high speeds that had brought them here.

Wally hung on every word of his older counterpart, who was busy explaining to him that Wally could not only use powers to travel between worlds, but also through time (big surprise to Wally, not so much to Clark). Thankfully getting them back home was supposedly very easy, Wally just needed to reset their internal vibrations to the correct frequency and they'd snap right back to their proper world, easy as pie.

Clark found the concepts of travelling between parallel worlds fascinating, but his thoughts were on an entirely different topic. This world was giving him a chance to glimpse into his own future, but without everything being set in stone as it would be in case of time travel. Just one possibility, not a definite outcome. He wished to learn everything he could.

"Where is mom?" was his first question.

Older Clark just gave him a sad look. "I'm afraid both she and pa died a few years back."

Clark frowned. "Pa? Who is pa? I mean mom! You know? Kara!"

"Kara?" Older Clark asked. "You mean Kara Zor-El, our cousin? Why are you calling her mom?"

Now Clark was even more confused. "Because she is! I mean, yes, technically she is my older cousin, but we came to Earth together and she raised me as her son."

Now older Clark seemed to understand. "I think we just found one of the major differences between our worlds. In this world, I arrived on Earth alone. The Kents found me and raised me as their son. I didn't get to meet Kara until last year."

Clark was still confused. Even if they had travelled in separate ships, as the original plan had been, and mom had crashed in a different part of the world, she would never have rested before she found him. So how had they only met last year?

"How is that possible? If she didn't arrive with you, where...?"

"We launched from Krypton at almost the same time," older Clark told him, "but her ship was knocked off course by the explosion. She only arrived here on Earth last year."

The revelation floored Clark completely. If there had been one constant in his life, it was his mom, who was always there for him. Sometimes to the point that he felt smothered, but still. He immediately felt a deep sympathy for this doppelganger of his, who had been forced to grow up with no one to show him the ropes, no one to help him with his developing powers. He had no doubt that the Kents had treated him well (and hearing that they were apparently dead in this world hurt, too), but it wasn't the same.

"Can I meet her?" he asked.

"She should already be here with the others, actually," older Clark said, leading him into the satellite's main room. Quite a few superheroes were assembled here, some familiar to him, some not. He recognized Green Arrow, though he looked older, and there was J'Onn. The man wearing the Green Lantern suit was not Guy Gardner, though. Points for this Earth, he guessed. No sign of Adam Strange, either.

And there, talking to Wonder Woman, was his mom. Only she was not his mom, she was a teenager, roughly the same age he was right now. He was amazed how much she looked like Kona.

"Wow," he said, trying to wrap his mind around the changes.

"I can imagine how weird it must be for you," older Clark said. "Thinking of my baby cousin being my mother in another world is quite strange, I admit."

"It's really weird," Clark agreed. "In my world she was taking care of me for all these years, here in this one the roles are reversed." He looked up at his older counterpart. "So is she officially the daughter of Clark Kent then or what story did you come up with?"

Older Clark shook his head. "No, our Earth identities aren't related. Kara spent her first few months here in an orphanage before being adopted by the Danvers family and..."

Clark froze in mid-step.

"You can't be serious," Clark said, shaking his head. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Pardon?" the older Clark said, looking confused.

"I... did you really just say that you put mom... I mean, you put Kara in an orphanage?"

He was certain he must have misheard. This man standing before him was him, just from a parallel world, shaped by different circumstances. He had arrived on Earth as a baby, just like him. He had been found by the Kents, just like him. The only difference was that he had come alone. Kara had not been with him.

He had pitied him for that, but now all sympathy had gone out the window to make room for utter disbelief.

Kara was standing right there at the other end of the conference room of the Watch Tower, still chatting with Wonder Woman. She was young, still a teenager, but it was clearly his mom. Having apparently spent nearly 30 years flying through space, her body frozen in cryogenic suspension, she hadn't aged a day. And upon arriving on this Earth, she had been found by her baby cousin, who was now already a grown man.

A grown man who had put her in an orphanage.

"I can't believe…," he started, but words failed him.

"What's the matter?" the older Clark asked, clearly not understanding.

Clark just shook his head and left him standing there, quickly crossing the room to approach the doppelganger of his mom. She looked up when she saw him approach and he could see it. It was right there in her eyes. He sometimes saw it in his mom's eyes, too, when the memories became too much and the sadness had to be let out. It was as if the death flash of Krypton was imprinted there, a permanent reflection in her eyes, never quite going away. In his mom's eyes, the reflection was pale, ghost-like. Still there, but muted by years of love, friendship, and family.

Here, though, in this Kara's eyes, the reflection was as solid as steel. Still fresh, undiluted.

"Hi," she said to him. "You are Kal from a parallel world, right? Wow, you look so young. I..."

"I am so sorry," he simply said, hugging her.

"Uh, what?" she asked, stiffening as he held her.

"In my world you were always there for me," he said, hugging her with all his strength. "I am so sorry I was too stupid to return the favor in this one."

"I don't understand," she whispered, not making a move to push him away.

"You were supposed to take care of me, and you would have. You did. But when our roles were reversed, when I should have been the one to take care of you, I failed. I left you alone to deal with the memories, left you without a purpose, just pushed you off on some strangers and left."

"Now wait a minute," older Clark said from behind him. Clark's temper snapped and he whirled around.

"She saw Krypton die, you stupid jerk", Clark yelled at his doppelganger with a vehemence that made the bigger man take a step back. "She was 13 and watched her entire world die! We don't remember it, we were too young! But she remembers. She saw it happen! And instead of helping her through it, instead of being her family, you just left her in an orphanage! How could you?"

Older Clark opened and closed his mouth, clearly at a loss for words.

"It's okay, Kal," Kara said behind him, gently touching his shoulder. "He... he had his own life. He is Superman, always busy. I couldn't expect him to..."

"Yes, you could have," Clark interrupted her, even more upset at seeing the quiet acceptance of things in the girl before him. That look of defeat and resignation. His mom never looked like that and neither should this Kara here.

"In my world you are Superwoman, the world's first and greatest superhero. You have a life of your own. You are always busy. But you STILL always put me first. You are STILL always there for me. You are my mom and HE…," he whirled around, glowing red eyes fixating on his older doppelganger, "he damn well should have been your dad. He should have been there for you, no matter what. He should have found a way. You did when you were but a teenager, so why couldn't he?"

The silence in the room was oppressive, no one seemed to have any idea what to say, least of all the adult Superman. Kara, her hand still on younger Clark's shoulder, began to tremble slightly.

"I did?" she whispered, her eyes shimmering. "In your world, I made it to Earth in time? I took care of you, like I promised?"

Clark clasped her hand and smiled. "You did. You became my mom. You raised me. And I wouldn't have it any other way!"

"I didn't fail?" her voice was barely audible, but the pain ringing in those words made almost everyone wince. There was a sharp intake of breath right beside Clark.

"I am so very sorry, Kara," the older Clark said, now standing beside them and with his big hand on Kara's slim shoulder. "I... I didn't... you didn't fail! What happened... that you arrived so much later than I did, that wasn't your fault! It was an accident; there was nothing you could have done!"

He swallowed hard, looking at his younger doppelganger. "But quite clearly, there is something I should have done. Something that I have failed in."

Clark took a step back, still angry beyond words, but figuring that his older doppelganger deserved a chance to speak at least.

"When you arrived," he began, clearly looking for the right words, "and told me you were my cousin from Krypton... it was... I don't know how to explain it." He looked at younger Clark. "Like he said, I don't remember it. Krypton... I know of it, obviously, I have watched the data tracks Jor-El sent with me, but... it's not... not quite real for me."

He looked at Kara again, who had tears running down her face. "But it's very real for you and I should have seen that. I should have realized. I am so very sorry that I didn't."

"When you took me to that orphanage and just flew away," Kara whispered. "I thought you didn't want me. That you hated me for not being there to take care of you like I promised."

He shook his head vehemently. "No, Kara, please, never think that! How could I hate you? You are my family! I thought... God, that sounds so stupid when I say it out loud, but I figured I should give you the same thing I got: the chance to grow up with human parents, here on Earth. A fresh start. I... I didn't realize how... how different our situations were."

Kara sniffed. "I… I like the Danvers. They are good people. But... but they aren't…"

Older Clark nodded, finally understanding. "They aren't family. But we are."

Clark looked on, seeing the two cousins embrace, when a red-gloved hand touched his shoulder. It was Flash, the older one, with Wally beside him.

"I think you did good here, kid," he whispered. "Maybe time for a discreet exit, stage left? I think they can figure out the rest on their own."

Clark nodded. Walking out, he took one last look at the two embracing cousins. Family was everything, he reminded himself. Something that he, too, should have heeded.

Back in their own world, Clark took but a moment to say goodbye to Wally. His friend was totally pumped after learning what the extent of his abilities might be thanks to his parallel-world counterpart. Time travel, dimension travel, it all sounded so fantastic. Clark promised to help him figure things out at a later date (hopefully without his mom punting Wally into orbit), but right now he felt he had something more important to do.

Flying back to Smallville as fast as he could, he quickly changed into civilian clothing and walked towards the farm. His supervision easily found Kona, who was sitting out on the patio by herself, just looking around her new home.

The girl looked up as he approached, the features of her face so very familiar. That face graced a hundred and more pictures inside that house and it was the same face that he had just seen on that other Earth on a broken girl who just longed for family. The resemblance was uncanny. There were some minor differences here and there, sure, but that didn't matter. Not in the least.

"Hello?" she said, sounding uncertain.

"Hi," he replied, walking up to her. "We haven't met yet. I am Clark. I'm your brother."

From the corner of his eye, he could see his mom standing at the window, smiling.

End Chapter 47

Author's Note: The parallel Earth seen in this chapter is not supposed to be any specific one, more like a general version of the Silver Age Earth-1, but with Kara having come directly from Krypton instead of via space-born Argo City. And yes, there is a bit of Superman bashing in this chapter, too, I admit. For all that he is the greatest hero ever and all that, Superman (especially the Silver Age version) could be quite the dick, too. The way he treated Supergirl in the comics was atrocious and his modern-day counterpart in the Supergirl TV series didn't really do any better, simply unloading a traumatized young girl on some strangers and then ignoring her existence most of the time. So hopefully both versions of Clark learned something here today.

The chapter title, of course, pays homage to "Flash of Two Worlds" (Flash #123, September 1961), the story that introduced the concept of multiple Earths to the DC Comics universe by having Silver Age Flash Barry Allen travel to a parallel world to meet Golden Age Flash Jay Garrick.