Chapter 16
Lois stood at the top of the hill, her poles resting loosely in the snow by her skis. Clark was getting off the lift, but her eyes weren't on him. Since lunch, things had gotten awkward. It was her fault to a degree, but Clark's lying had played a large role in her present mind set.
It was near three in the afternoon, the sun high in the sky, its yellow splendor bathing her body in warmth, a warmth that Clark had always seemed to give off. She smirked suddenly, realizing that he had mentioned something earlier about how the sun gave him strength.
"Hey," Clark said with a soft voice, sliding up to her as she stared down the hill. It hadn't taken more than a few more hours of instruction before he had learned the very simplicity of skiing. It wasn't at all as hard as Jimmy had made it seem. In truth, he found it incredibly easy to learn. Then again, he was an athlete at heart, and having a few special abilities didn't hurt either.
"Clark," Lois said suddenly.
He cringed. The tone of her voice hinted at something he knew he didn't want to talk about. "Yes Lois?" he asked, almost squeaking it out.
"Why did you lie to me earlier?" She turned her eyes right to him, her penetrating gaze finding his.
Clark didn't know what to do. On one hand he wanted to tell her, but on the other hand he had an obligation to keep her safe. It hadn't been more than a day since they had admitted their love for one another, but already it felt as if his next words could be damaging enough to end things instantly. He closed his eyes in frustration, knowing full well she would pick up on it. "Lois-."
She dropped her gaze from him as soon as she heard him. His voice rife with regret and pain, and she knew instantly that she wasn't going to get what she wanted. "It's okay, let's just ski." She gave him a reassuring smile as she slowly pushed her way down the hill. In her gut, the pain was gnawing at her, but she told herself that she would fight through it. Clark had always been one to keep things to himself and she couldn't expect him to open up all the time. He may have told her the truth about himself, but there was still a part of him that kept things to himself. She would learn to live with it, but in the end she knew that complete honesty was the only way things would work. She wouldn't pressure him, but she wouldn't completely drop the matter either. Lana had done a number on him with his secret, and the last thing she wanted to do was show that she had doubts.
Clark was about to follow after her, but a hand on his shoulder kept him from moving.
"I guess things worked out?"
He turned his head, his eyes wide. "Candice!" he exclaimed rather loudly.
"What, are you surprised to see me? I told you I was going to be around all week." She rolled her eyes at him as she poked him with a ski pole to the shin. "I'll ask again. Things worked out well?"
Clark nodded dumbly, his feeling of stupidity for yelling slowly passing.
"I'm glad. You two look like a cute couple."
"Cute?" Clark asked, frowning.
"Yeah, cute. You know, lovesick, puppy eyes, smooching, that kind of cute."
"Oh."
Candice rolled her eyes again. "She has you so tightly wrapped around her finger that you're not even listening to me."
"What?" Clark asked, his eyes having drifted to Lois, who was already halfway down the hill.
"You're hopeless."
Clark grinned at her statement. "You're not the only one who's said that."
"And I certainly won't be the last." She shook her head sadly as she closed her eyes in humor. "So have you two christened the sheets in your hotel room yet?"
Clark's eyes went as wide as his ski boots as his head swiveled over to the dark haired woman. The evil grin on her face was almost a match for some of the ones Lois has given him in the past. "I can't believe you're asking me that."
She grinned even wider. "So, did you?" she pushed.
He simply shook his head in wonder and went down the hill, his eyes still wide. He had never met anyone so up front. Lois had an edge to her that he enjoyed, but Candice had something even stronger. Instead of admiration, it frightened him. It made her unpredictable in his mind.
After a quick glide down the hill, he slid to a stop, a large mound of snow shooting into the air and covering Lois as she waited for him.
"Smallville!" she said loudly.
"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.
"You better be!" She wiped the snow off her face and turned two very heated eyes at him. "What kept you?"
"Someone stopped me from coming down the hill."
"Who?"
"That would be me," Candice said, sliding to a halt and covering Clark in a mound of white. "He deserved it," she said with a large smile directed at Lois.
Lois didn't know who the woman was, but she recognized her. Her laughter was contagious too and soon she was swept up in it. Clark did deserve it, even if she wasn't the one to get him back. "I'm sorry I ran out the other night," she said quickly as her laughter died down.
"No need to apologize, Lois. Clark explained to me what had been going on. I can't say that I blame you for getting upset." She smiled to Lois and added. "Then again, heaven knows what sane woman would get herself wrapped up in the world of Clark Kent." She whacked him in the shin again and laughed with Lois.
Lois hadn't even learned her name yet, but already she was beginning to like the woman. "Well, seeing as to how we haven't been properly introduced, and seeing how Smallville here has lost all sense of chivalry, I'm Lois, Lois Lane." She extended her hand out politely.
"Candice," the taller woman replied, gently shaking the brunette's hand. Her eyes hardened a little as she felt the strength of the shorter woman.
"Well, it's nice to me you Candice." She let her hand fall away as she turned to Clark. Laughing, she reached over and removed some snow that was caught on the neck of his shirt. "Here," she said, brushing it away.
"Thank you," Clark responded, looking to Candice in embarrassment. He didn't need a caretaker, but then again, he wasn't used to Lois touching him in such a way. The surprising warmth of her fingers was incredibly enticing and erotic. Strange thoughts entered his mind, but he forced them away as quickly as he could.
"Lois," he began, "There is some other things you need to know about Candice."
Candice grabbed his arm and said. "Let me Clark." She turned to Lois. "There are some things that I need to tell you, things that Clark knows about me, but you should know too."
Lois squinted. "Okay," she said warily.
"Don't worry, it's not horrible." Candice smiled and skied away with Lois, leaving Clark behind.
He watched as the two women began to disappear from his side, Lois's head turning back and giving him a wink. He didn't know whether or not to be afraid or reassured, but he was definitely alone at the moment.
After standing in shock for a few moments, he found the line again and waited for his turn. As he sat on the seat, he felt a presence beside him. "John," he exclaimed suddenly.
"Kal-El." John nodded and laid his ski poles across his knees. "Having fun?"
"I don't know. It's not all that hard, just a turn of the foot here and a little pressure there. I got the hang of it, I think."
"Thinking and knowing are two different things my friend." He grinned and laughed.
Clark couldn't fathom the deep guttural echo that escaped the Martian's throat. He had heard his share of weird things, but listening to a laugh so alien was a little unnerving. It piqued his interest. "What's your real name, John?"
The Martian shrugged his shoulders. "Very much like the name I use now, but it is actually pronounced J'onn. It's a unique name here on Earth, so I simply used the closest pronunciation."
"What about the voice? All yours, or modified too?"
"Modified for human comfort, Kal-El," he replied in his real tone of voice.
Clark almost jumped off the lift chair at the sound of the Martian's real voice. It was alien, there was no doubt, but it had an almost British quality to it. It was deep and profound, as if he could simply quiet a stadium if he spoke into a microphone. It almost sounded digitally enhanced too, but then again, he probably shouldn't have expected anything more human. J'onn was a Martian after all.
"Are you out enjoining the slopes, J'onn or are you here about what we talked about earlier?"
"As much as this skiing intrigues me, it most definitely has to do with what we talked about." When Clark didn't speak, but simply nodded, he continued. "I did some searching and found out that there is actually nothing inside the mountain but residual life. The being that landed has in fact moved on, but the fact that I can sense its presence on the mountain means it is nearby."
"How dangerous do you think it is?" Clark asked.
"Dangerous enough to have me concerned. Prisoners are put in the Phantom Zone for a reason. Whether it be a simple political prisoner, or a beast of some kind, they are incredibly dangerous until we can find and destroy them.
"Destroy them? Wouldn't it just be easier to send them back to the Phantom Zone?"
J'onn raised an eyebrow. "And how would you suggest we do that?"
Clark stammered. "Well, I thought since you-."
"Don't presume too much, Kal-El. I have only visited Krypton once and I'll tell you that the Phantom Zone did not exist. Your father created it after I visited long ago."
"You've been to Krypton?" Clark asked with wide eyes.
"Long ago my friend, very long ago." His eyes grew distant as the air about him seemed to grow colder by the second.
Clark felt the sudden change in temperature and shivered. Something was wrong, he never felt cold. "What was that?" he asked suddenly.
"What?" J'onn asked, snapping out of his trance. "Oh, the cold? Well, that's simply an extension of my telepathy. I was calling back the memories that I have of Krypton. It was a cold planet and when they resurfaced, I allowed the essence to escape my body."
"Why did I feel it?" Clark asked.
"Simple really, you're a native of Krypton. Your body would act as if you were a human on this world. It's much like how you react to kryptonite. If I were to put a piece of ice from Krypton in your hands, you would likely be able to feel its temperature, but then again, the Earth's sun may construe that theory. Give me a day or two and I might be able to give you a better explanation."
J'onn grinned. "What I can explain, and what is likely another question you're thinking, is my ability to pull those images to life. With my mind being developed beyond that of human comprehension, I can bury memories and past occurrences away like I would be putting a piece of luggage into a trunk of a car. I can pull those memories back out as if they were there yesterday. A Martian's mind is a labyrinth of possibilities."
Clark shook his head in wonder. He couldn't begin to fathom the wealth of knowledge and experience that J'onn had. The universe was a big place, clearly evident from his own Alien origins, but it surprised him about how much he still had to learn. "Sounds as if you're gloating?" He joked.
J'onn let out another alien laugh. "It may seem so, but it's hard for me to gauge sometimes. When my race was at its peak, humor was a gift that we shared among each one another constantly. Take it, our brand of humor was not what your human kind's is, but I found that learning human humility is helpful in tending the tide of loneliness that comes from being the last of your race." He paused a moment and looked to Clark. "Wouldn't you agree, Kal-El?"
Clark turned his head and looked to the ground as the lift continued to carry them to the top of the slope. He thought hard about what J'onn had said. It struck him suddenly, about how hard it had always been to be the only one of a whole race of people to survive. The days of brooding and the feeling of loneliness that would always swallow him up came rushing back into the forefront of his mind. "I don't know John, somehow I like to think that even though I'm technically all alone in the universe, there are still people here on earth that make me feel welcome."
"Kal-El, you truly are ready for your training. Words such as those are what your father has been waiting for. When this here is all over, I will take you to your fortress and speak to your father. I, save no other, knows the darkness of loneliness. You can't live with it, but you can survive. I on the other hand can accept it, that's why I live here still. If I couldn't, I would be somewhere else among the cosmos. I would have likely only returned here to see that you had progressed to the point where you needed to be."
"Then why have you stayed here for as long as you have?" Clark asked.
J'onn looked to the sky. "At first I thought it was because I felt a duty towards you, but now that I look more closely, I think that the human race, however flawed it may be, is the closest to my kind in the universe. Save your race, Kal-El, mine was quite possibly the most intelligent in the Universe. That thousand years of loneliness I have been feeling has dwindled somewhat since I've lived here."
"It's human nature to want to feel accepted."
"Except we aren't human, Kal-El and that's what perplexes me. Living amongst them shouldn't change my Martian nature, but there is something within human kind that makes them special. I can look down my nose at them all I wish, but I know the truth. Human kind has a purpose, and you are their guide to prosperity and heroism. For no matter how great we are on this earth, the collect species known as mankind is the driving force of this world. Without them, nothing exists. Their ability to survive, simply in numbers, is incredible."
"So what you're saying," Clark said, "is that the meaning of life, when it comes to humankind, is survival?"
"Possibly, but how should I know the true nature of their species? Humans possess a lot of things, and another one of them is change. They adapt to what's around them, much like both you and I have. I assume you don't spend time concerning yourself with these thoughts, simply because you were raised here, but to me it's enthralling. Human's have potential, Kal-El; they simply need someone to show them the way."
Clark looked at the empty chair in front of them. "I've heard that before."
"Yes, they were your father's words. He saw their potential far earlier than I did. In truth, your father's message has made me much more aware of it all. I think I may have even begun liking mankind."
Almost snorting, Clark shook his head. "There are some that will test your strength in your fellow man."
"Every species has faults, but that can be dealt with by having an example to follow."
Clark shifted the poles in his hand and said. "What about the message I received from the ship? It read that I should rule them with an Iron fist."
"A misinterpretation I believe. It may have been a last resort warning should people not take to your example. You are a god among men, Kal-El, but your heart does not make you a tyrant. Your human morals keep you as fragile as any other person on this earth. No, the message was not a direct one, but a simple suggestion should it come down to the unthinkable. I agree with your father, and we spoke of this when I visited him. Every race is doomed, for every species can not exist forever, but prolonging its longevity is integral. The universe will last forever, but we will not. It's important that there are those around that steer it in the right path when we pass on. We are both extensions of this theory. Your father sent you here because, whether or not you like it, humankind is much alike to Krypton. He's seen what the ignorance of Kryptonians has led to and he did not want to see another race destroy itself."
"I thought Krypton was destroyed by an exploding sun?"
J'onn nodded. "Theoretically yes, but as you have witnessed first hand, there are other monstrosities that exist. Zod for example, almost destroyed Krypton at one point, and that is what it took to unite a race. I would hate to see that happen here on earth and that's part of your destiny, to keep things from going to the unthinkable."
"My training? Clark asked, "What does this all have to do with it?"
"Everything," J'onn replied.
Silence settled overtop of them as they came to the top of the hill. As Clark went down the small drift to rest at the top of the large slope, he thought hard. J'onn had said some very poignant and heavy things that weighed upon him like an anvil on an ant. The more he learned about his destiny and his training, the more and more he wanted to begin. He had no idea what it would entail, but he was being ever more convinced that his father was not a figure of evil, but a man whose heart was a seemingly as big as his own.
For so long he had been running from what he truly was, a Kryptonian. He had allowed his petty human emotions trifle with his ability to think clearly. The more he thought, the more he knew it was all an extension of his life. Lana, Chloe, his mother, and even Lois, they were either hindrances or protagonists when it came to his destiny.
Chloe held him back by treating him like a god, almost worshiping him at his feet. She did all the work while he cleaned up the mess. He was determined to allow her to follow her path and find a true meaning for her life. By accepting her help he wasn't allowing her to do what she really needed to, to become the harrowing individual he knew she could be.
His mother, she played a role that was seemingly becoming obsolete. The older he grew, the more he realized that her wisdom was already embedded within him. His father, Jonathon, had instilled in him the respect and thoughtfulness that he needed to absorb the world's knowledge and information. He also taught him that human compassion was not a right, but something that had to be grown from within oneself.
Then there was Lois and truthfully, he didn't know what her part was in everything. That scared him, but he knew deep down that the love they shared would conquer any obstacles that would lie in their way. Life was difficult it seemed, even for a man with superpowers, but in the end it was his human nature that prevailed. He may have been destined for great things, but he was just a small fish in a big pond of possibilities and hope.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked to J'onn, who was staring intently at him. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing, you just seemed very deep in thought."
"I was. Some things are becoming very clear. I don't know what it is, but it's as if something has ripped away the veil of confusion from my eyes and in beaming in the clarity of reality."
"I believe my cryptic speech is beginning to wear off on you, Clark," J'onn joked, using the young man's earth name for comedic effect.
"Please tell me I won't sound like this all the time?"
"What do you mean all the time?"
"Once I become who my father wants me to. Please tell me I won't be spouting off this type of talk. Honestly, I don't think anyone but I could handle it. Human's don't have much patience."
J'onn let out another deep rumbling chuckle. "Listen to yourself Kal-El, you are referring to the people you grew up with, in the third person. You are truly from another world, that there is no doubt."
Clark's mood darkened as he jested. "I've spent my whole life trying to be just like them."
"But you're not, are you?"
"No," Clark replied as he felt the weight of standing high above the sea of people skiing below him. Feeling that the little revelation was over, he returned to present matters.
"What about the last Zoner, what's the next course of action?"
J'onn looked down at the people with his fellow alien. "I will continue to dig further into where it may be, but the only thing you can really do is wait. If I cannot locate this thing we may have to wait until it does something stupid. Dealing with extra terrestrial beings is tricky. Some of them are as dumb as an earth cow, but some of them possess intelligence far beyond the reaches of humankind. Let's hope it slips and then we can be there to catch it."
Clark rubbed his face with a free hand. "I just wish they were all gone."
"It's an annoyance, I know, but it must be done before everything else is put into motion."
"Everything else?"
J'onn nodded and faded into invisibility when no one else was around. "Believe it or not Kal-El, my presence on this world is not to capture escaped criminals from the Phantom Zone. I am here for other reasons."
Clark watched as J'onn disappeared into the ground. He shook his head and said. "I believe you."
-
Lois laughed as she listened to Candice tell a rousing story about how she had met Clark. She could just picture it in her mind, her nakedness, his awkwardness; it was all just too much. The more she got to know the woman, the more she realized that there was no threat that came from her, but more or less someone Clark could relate to. Take it, the woman's abilities came as somewhat of a shock, but she instantly understood why Clark and the woman had become such good friends in such a sort period of time. It also helped that the woman was a lot like herself too.
"So, he simply tried to walk away, and then he tripped over a bench?" Lois asked.
"Absolutely," Candice replied, another round of laughter erupting from both of them. The warm setting of the small lodge was comforting. "He looked like a dear in caught in the headlights."
"Figuratively." Lois stated, bringing about another laugh. As they both calmed down, she smiled. "You know, now that I think about it, he acted the same way when he first got a look at my chest."
Candice's eyebrows rose instantly. "I asked him outright about whether or not you've been intimate and he said no. You have to explain this conundrum to me." She rested her chin in her knuckles as she leaned on the table with her elbows.
Lois toyed with a hot cup of coffee as she smiled at the memory. "If I remember correctly, Smallville was worried about some guy I was dating. Turns out the man could turn himself invisible and was a hired hit man." When the woman across from her let her jaw drop, she rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyways, Clark was naturally concerned, so he knocked at the door a few times. I was in one of my marathon showers, as he likes to put it, and I couldn't hear him."
Candice was grinning from ear to ear as Lois took a sip of her coffee. "Please continue," she said quickly.
"Well, as I was saying," she replied, setting her coffee mug back on the table. "I didn't hear him, so he took it upon himself to enter. He went to the bathroom door, but I felt as if something was wrong. I figured someone might have been spying on me, I later found out it was Graham, but anyways, I stepped out and held my bath brush out like a club."
Candice couldn't believe the story Lois was wielding. By the look in the woman's eyes, she knew it was the truth.
"So, I walked to the bathroom door, expecting to club whoever had been spying on me. Of course, being none other than the infamous Lois Lane, I wasn't wearing anything but my birthday suit." Lois smiled as Candice put a hand over her eyes, as if she knew what was coming. "I open the door only to find Smallville standing there and staring at me like someone had stolen his brain. He stared dumbly at my chest for a god knows how long, but to tell you the truth, I was as shocked as him." She took another sip of her coffee and continued. "After a few moments, I allowed my stalled brain to close the door. For the life of me I don't know how I did it. I was so shocked and frightened I could have sworn I might have stood there like that all night if it wasn't for his eyes pointing right at my chest."
Candice listened with rapt attention. Lois was certainly a fascinating woman.
"I guess to a degree I was turned on a little. I mean, I must have some pretty special breasts to keep the Boy Scout's eyes on them longer than he eyes his mother's cookies. Normally he's chivalry to a tee, always looking away and acting embarrassed, but he simply stared until I had to the shut the door." She drained the rest of her drink and set the cup down for the final time. "I wasn't going to let him get the best of me though, so I sucked it up and played it off as nothing."
"But it wasn't nothing? Was it?" Candice asked.
"Truthfully? No. I remember it like yesterday, but honestly it's only fair that he got a sneak. The first time I met him I found him lying in a corn field, naked."
"In a corn field? I know Smallville is a weird town, but naked in a corn field? I must hear all about this." She widened her eyes to take in more. Lois and Clark seemed as if they could have a gossip column in a national newspaper all to themselves.
Lois grinned. "Well, I was driving-." She was cut off by a deep clearing of a throat.
"Ahem," Clark said. Two faces turned to him, one going beat red, the other grinning manically. Lois's cheeks went a deeper shade of crimson as he looked back and forth between the two. "I don't believe anyone but my mother knows this story. I don't think Chloe even knows." His gaze settled on Lois as her face went back to a normal shade.
"She asked," Lois said with a sheepish shrug.
"Liar," Candice shot back. "You supplied the tantalizing teaser and I just wanted you to elaborate."
He watched as a mini stared down erupted between the two women. As soon as it had started, it had ended seconds later with a round of uproarious laughter. Shaking his head in wonder, he turned away from the two of them and went towards the door. "Women!" he mumbled under his breath.
"I heard that!" the two women cried in unison.
Clark stopped as he was half way out the door. "Why did I even come inside in the first place?" he asked himself, finally making the rest of the trip out into the cold.