Chapter 4 - Father Knows Best
Clark couldn't believe what he had just heard. Lana had just admitted that she knew all about the price that had to be paid in return for his life. How long has she known? How did she learn?
"How did you learn about that?" Clark asked. "That's a more closely kept secret than where I'm from."
Not sure how to handle this, Lana said, "We don't have time for 20 Questions right now. Just get us back on ground level because we need to talk to this Jor-El character."
Clark thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head when he heard Lana mention Jor-El. How the flip does she know that name? I swear, if Chloe's been talking to her, I'll wrap her VW around a tree.
"Close your mouth, Clark, the doctor's not here with a tongue depressor."
Clark wasn't sure if he could take any more surprises from Lana right now, but he was about to find out because Lana pointed down to the floor of the Fortress far below her and said, "Down there, Clark. Now. I have to pass on a message to you and Jor-El from a woman trapped in something called the Phantom Zone."
Dumbfounded by Lana's inexplicable knowledge, Clark did as he was asked. He scooped his new fiancée up in his arms and leapt off of the precipice. As they picked up speed on their trip downward, it suddenly occurred to Clark to wonder how Lana was going to survive the landing. The gravitational forces caused by a sudden stop from the speeds they were reaching might cause her some internal injuries. As much as he hated the idea, he needed to try and slow down their descent and the only possible way was to try and fly.
Clark forgot all about how much he usually hated heights, all he wanted was to move upward just enough to slow their downward fall. Unfortunately, he thought 'UP' with great force and they rocketed skyward, accidentally shooting out of the top of the Fortress before coming to a halt a good five hundred feet in the air when Clark thought 'SLOW DOWN' and 'STOP.'
Lana assumed that flight was something special he'd been saving, so she was as calm as can be. Clark, on the other hand, was panicking like never before. Setting a classroom, and the Talon, on fire was small potatoes compared to hovering five hundred feet in the air without having any idea of how flying really worked.
"Wrong direction, Clark," Lana said humorously. "But I do like this demonstration of another ability…or are you going to tell me you just learned how to fly?"
That last comment was intended as a joke, but when Lana saw the sickly pallor of Clark's face, she realized she was riding along with a student pilot…one who had never had a single flying lesson in his life.
Lana decided that distracting Clark right now would be a bad idea, so she kept quiet and began silently praying. Clark, meanwhile, was reviewing his thoughts just before they shot skyward. All he could remember was thinking 'UP,' and thinking it very hard. So maybe thinking 'DOWN' would work, only this time, he wanted to think it very softly.
Wonder of wonders, it seemed to be working. Clark and Lana started floating straight down at a pace that might not harm an egg upon landing. Lana wondered why they were moving so slowly, but she wasn't about to ask him to speed up. For his part, Clark was proud of himself for figuring it out all by himself and was smiling like Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat. It took them several minutes to reach the floor of the Fortress, but Clark was not going to risk moving faster with Lana along for the ride.
Once they hit the ground, Clark and Lana embraced as Clark said, "I'm glad you liked the demonstration and yes, that was my first time flying…unless you want to count what happened while you were in Paris with Jason."
"Sorry, Clark. I…don't seem to remember anyone named Jason. Do you?"
"Nope. There was an assistant football coach by that name, but you definitely weren't dating him."
"Didn't think so." Turning for a quick look around the Fortress, Lana saw the console and immediately headed for it. "Is this Jor-El really your father?"
"Yes." Clark followed her, but decided it would be better for him to hold off on mentioning Jor-El's role in his disappearances after their sophomore and junior years in high school. She might not be especially understanding of that, and from what she said, this is important.
"How do I contact him, Clark?"
"Just call out to him. He should answer."
Lana turned to face to vast open spaces of the Fortress from her position at the console and said, "Jor-El!"
She was met with silence.
Once again, "Jor-El!"
More silence.
Finally, Lana spoke softly and said, "Jor-El. I have a message for you from Raya, an old assistant of yours who is trapped in the Phantom Zone." He who ignores a shout, Lana thought, strains to hear a whisper.
That brought a response from Jor-El.
"You would be the one called Lana Lang, beloved of my only son, Kal-El."
Works every time! Lana thought. "I don't know Kal-El very well, but I love Clark Kent…still, that's not what I'm here for right now. I have a message to pass on to you and to Clark."
"How do you know who Raya is? Outside communication for one trapped in the Phantom Zone is impossible."
"Maybe, but she was standing right next to me when she gave me the message."
"Explain, Child."
Sneaking a look at Clark, Lana enjoyed the fact that, for once in their lives, she was the one with the information. Turning back to the console, she said, "Well, to tell this in an understandable way, I'll have to tell the entire story." She reached over, clutched Clark's hand, and said, "There are some things you'll hear that will be painful for you. Other things I say may make you angry, but I beg of you in advance, please give me a chance to explain later."
That scared Clark more than he wanted to let on, so he just squeezed her hand in response.
"Anyway, this story starts today, only, this is the third time Clark and I have lived this day. The first time…"
Lana's tale went on for a long time. In it, Clark learned many things he'd rather not have known: that Lana had died in a car wreck while being chased by Lex, that he'd changed time to save her but had only exchanged her life for that of his dad, that he'd driven her away in a misguided attempt at saving her life only to send her into the arms of the man he was trying to save her from, and that that man had inadvertently helped release General Zod from his extra-dimensional prison.
Lana's tales of the destruction wrought by Brainiac and Zod were horrific. She wasn't sure how he had been defeated, but she did note that she thought it had to have been Clark, since no one else could hope to compete with Zod.
Lana then related Raya's story, how Raya had found the time crystal and had sought her out in the Luthor Mansion. Then, at last, she mentioned Raya's offer, 'Trapped in the Phantom Zone…a last service to the House of El…No price too great.'
Clark was focused on Lana, he wanted to beg her forgiveness on the spot for the things he had put her through. Even though he hadn't made his mistakes yet, she had already suffered because of them.
Jor-El was more practical, he was sorting through Lana's tale and found it to be true. She knew too many otherwise unknowable things to have made this up, things even Kal-El did not know. She was also correct about Raya. His one-time assistant could not be safely brought out of the Phantom Zone now, and no one should have to live an eternity like that if they had not earned it. So Jor-El consented to do it. It was possible to contact her from this side. In fact, the very act of contact would kill her, and her death would be enough to balance Kal-El's resurrection.
Once Clark figured out what was going on, he tried to protest, but Lana held him back, and said, "Clark, she's stuck in Hell and this is her only way out. She sacrificed her freedom on Earth to help you regain the support you need here at the Fortress. My reset of time also returned those criminals that had escaped, and it saved countless lives and untold property damage here on Earth. After sacrificing her freedom to help you and this planet, you owe it to her to allow her to make this last sacrifice.
"Besides, if you don't, the person that dies, and I'm convinced they will die tonight, could be me, or your dad, or your mom, or Chloe, or maybe even Lois. If someone has to die for you, shouldn't that be someone that is irrevocably trapped in Hell?"
Clark's shoulders slumped in defeat, he knew she was right, he was just tired of other people paying for his mistakes. Seeing no more protest from his son, Jor-El turned on his Phantom Zone projector and searched for Raya. Once she was located, he locked in on her body and made contact. Her death was immediate, her body disintegrated, she never knew what hit her.
"The life has been exchanged," Jor-El intoned.
Clark's friends and family were safe.
Before Clark and Lana left to try and make it to the election party on time, Jor-El had one parting thought for his son: "According to Lana Lang's memories, I told you once that there was one trial you had yet to experience. Due to the greatness of Raya's double sacrifice, you might never have to. DO NOT WASTE THIS CHANCE."