Clark was in his Superman costume and waiting in the twilight sky. He had thought of a ridiculously easy plan. He just needed to wait for the creature to come out.
At last, the final orange and pink light disappeared from the sky, and he saw the shadow creature along the ground. He had to wait until it rose higher, so it couldn't find refuge in the ground, then he shot up until he reached space. He flew round the planet so fast, he caused the western hemisphere to shift back to the sun. He went back and was relieved to see the creature dissolving into nothingness.
He should have felt victorious. He should have been able to put Lois and Jason to rest, but he couldn't. He was alone. He still had his mom and friends like Chloe and Bruce, but everyone had their own separate lives to lead. He also couldn't shake the feeling that at some point, his life events had spewed into an unnatural course. If he had followed the right path for his life, Lois and Jason would still be alive. He was going to go back to Jor-El. Maybe there was still a way to fix this like there had been other times.
sss
"I'm sorry, son, but it is impossible for you to change the past."
"You said that destroying the creature was impossible."
"I obviously underestimated you."
"And you're underestimating me now. I will do anything I can to bring them back."
"I have warned you over the years not to be hasty in your decisions. There was a crystal that could have repaired this, but it was already used."
"How could I have known then that I would need it more later on? Did you know then?"
"I do not have a crystal ball. I have facts to analyze that allow me to make conclusions about the future."
"Why didn't you tell me what was going to happen?"
"I told you that it could only be used once. You have to make your own decisions based on all the knowledge you have available at the time."
"I never should have made that stupid journey through the universe and then I wouldn't have wasted so many years or have drawn the creature here."
"That is true, but there is one thing specifically that altered it all."
"What's that?"
"Being afraid of me and choosing not to train with me when I first approached you. You would have spent your college years with me, learning what you needed to know. Things would have not have turned out for the worse. 5 years of training may seem like a lot, but 5 years on a futile trip is just as bad. Had you trained, you would have known it was futile. The universe has a plan for everyone. You chose not to follow yours."
"What was my original plan? What all did I do wrong?"
"You were in a relationship that was not meant to be for one thing."
"Are you saying that being with Lois was a mistake or that my son was a mistake? You're wrong! It wasn't and couldn't be a mistake!"
"I was referring to Lana. You almost ended up marrying the wrong Earth woman. Not only was she about to pay for the return of your life, an event that wouldn't have happened had you been with me, but it was also the universe's way of trying to bring you back on track. Your Earth father would also be alive. That was not the only change the universe made in an attempt to fix your mistake. The universe brought Lois Lane into your life earlier than it should have to steer you away from your childish fixation that would've gone away naturally had you-"
"Trained with you for 5 years. I get it. How were things supposed to go?"
"When we finished, you would have had the training to walk straight into the Daily Planet, where you have fallen in love with Lois at first sight. Lois would have all but ignored Clark Kent but been madly in love with Superman. She would have gradually started to know and love Clark. You would have become engaged and told Lois your secret. With no reason to leave Earth, you would have married her and had Jason, as well as a beautiful daughter that you would have named Lara. You both would have lived to see your children grow up and your grandchildren."
"You wouldn't think one little decision was so important to all that but surely if the universe wanted its plan followed so much, it can still put me on the right course."
"Perhaps there is a way, but you must understand that it is not guaranteed."
"Just tell me."
"If I were to train you for 5 years like I should have, the Kryptonian technology that this fortress contains could not only bring time to a stand still during this period but put it into rewind and record over the past with new events. There is a chance that 5 years is not long enough and you would waste another 5 years. It has never been done on the people of Earth, so I do not completely know what to expect."
"I'll try it."
"You must understand that you and everyone else will not remember the way things were before."
"That's a good thing."
"Neither can I guarantee that something else will not go off course for one reason or another."
"I have to try."
So Clark immediately began the training, hoping and praying that it would work.