Part 1
"MY FATHER SENDS HIS REGARDS!!"
Clark confidently said these words as he withdrew his hand from his handshake with Lex, who was now inhabited by a kryptonian war tyrant, known as Zod. Although Zod had been defeated on Krypton and banished to the Phantom Zone with his corporeal body destroyed, the brain inter-active construct known as Milton Fine on Earth had served as a means to release Zod's essence into Lex Luthor.
Now, thanks to Raya, the crystal that once belonged to Jor-El was driving the phantom remnant of Zod from Lex and trapping it within the crystal, Zod looked down at his hand and exclaimed, "NO!!, JOR-EL!!" Clark watched in stunned disbelief as his old friend screamed in agony as the phantom of Zod was forced from Lex's body in what Clark could only relate to as an epileptic seizure gone awry. At last the spasms ceased as Lex's body fell unconscious to the field they were standing in. Jor-El's crystal momentarily turned black from absorbing Zod's phantom remains then fell from Lex's hand. There was a scar seared onto Lex's hand where Jor-El's crystal had been, the scar matched the symbol marking the house of El – though the scar quickly faded away.
Clark sped to Lex to find his vitals in good condition. Clark and Lex (Zod) had traveled a long way from Smallville during their battle, and all Clark could think of was how having the abilities of a kryptonian had adversely affected his father. Not knowing what side effects or other health conditions Lex may incur from having had these abilities, Clark sped off to the Smallville Medical Center (SMC) as quickly as his legs could carry him.
Having arrived at the SMC, Clark was met with a myriad of chaos and anarchy as patients, doctors, and nurses were everywhere. Clark, ever in a hurry, yelled that he needed help and was met by a couple of nurses and a doctor running up to him. Of course, it being Smallville, everyone recognized the patient Clark carried in and immediately began checking Lex over – to Clark's relief - this provided the opportunity he needed to leave the SMC quickly without having to come up with a story as to how he had found Lex and what had caused the condition he was in.
Clark's next concern was his Mom, even though he had stopped rafters and other parts of the barn from crushing her and Lionel upon his return from the Phantom Zone, he still worried about her getting hurt on the farm. Also, he did not like the idea of her being alone with Lionel Luthor – Clark remembered his Dad warning him that Lionel knew his secret and that he needed to protect his Mom from him. Yet at the same time it was Lionel who had kept tabs on Lex and his interactions with Milton Fine. Plus it was Lionel that Jor-El has been using as an oracle to at least try to help. Clark could not help but think as he arrived back at the farm, "Why is it everything always has to be so complicated?" However, all of that went out of his mind when he entered the barn to find his Mom safe and sound, already busy with clean up.
With a lull in the storm that had been "Hurricane Zod", Clark ran up and embraced his Mom, tears running down both their faces. Martha was thrilled to have her son safely back home and quietly said a "Thank You!" looking up to Heaven where she knew Jonathan was watching over their son. After pulling away from their embrace, Martha asked,
"What happened?"
To which Clark did not have all the answers, but explained how he had used the dagger originally given to him by Jor-El to kill Lex to kill Milton Fine (at least Clark hoped that's what happened), and the result of that action releasing Zod into Lex. He went on to describe his brief skirmish with Zod and how that left him trapped in the Phantom Zone.
He also explained how Raya, a lab assistant that worked for Jor-El. had found him, and apparently been killed while helping him escape the Phantom Zone. Then Clark pulled out the crystal that Raya had given him, now back to its normal translucent state except for the symbol of the house of El itself being a medium blue. Clark held tight to the crystal as he thought about how he had failed to save Raya from being attacked, and get her out of the Phantom Zone. Martha could tell from the expression on Clark's face that he was beating himself up, and she patted his arm telling him it was not his fault.
Martha reminded Clark,
"No one – even someone with all the abilities you have cannot save everyone,"
Martha looked pointedly at Clark and continued,
"You did the best you could in the situation you were in, and Raya did not die in vain because she gave her life to save yours – and you made it back here to save all of us. Clark, I don't think I've ever been more proud of you than I am right now, and I know your Dad is very proud of you too."
Martha was right and even with all of his abilities; his greatest strength had always been his parents. Although Clark had been brought up with the understanding that men are not to cry, he could not help a tear running down his face at his Mom's words of comfort to him – especially with the thought and knowledge that his Dad would be just as proud of him. Barely able to speak, Clark said
"Thank You!"
He embraced his mom in a hug of appreciation – all the while another tear managed to work its way down Clark's face.
After a moment they pulled apart and Clark said,
"With everything that has happened, why don't you go inside the house and get some rest, I'll get everything sorted out here."
Martha, knowing everything her son had been through asked quizzically,
"Are you sure?"
Clark gave his Mom his best reassuring grin and said,
"Yeah Mom, the rest will do you good, and getting everything back to normal in the barn will help me out too – it'll be good therapy."
Martha smiled at her son's concern and said,
"Okay, but you let me know if you get hungry."
And as she walked back up into the house, Clark walked out far enough to gaze up into the sky. Just before Clark turned to go back into the barn, he looked up at the clear blue sky and this time he caught the sight of a Meadowlark flying down to land in a tree just off of the southwest corner of the barn, Clark smiled and said quietly to himself,
"Thanks Dad."