By David Mycock Time Wave 4
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of smallville or superman they belong to the people who created them at the time the other characters belong to their respective creators.
Pairing: Clark/Lana/Raya
Summary: Set during season Four, Clark is hit by a mysterious wave of energy which gives him knowledge of the future and how to prevent a dark future from befalling him and those around him. He decides to act on the knowledge especially concerning Lana.
(Luthor Lab)
Lex sat behind his desk going over the report the head scientist of the project had given him with a smile, things were at last coming along. First he was pleased to know somehow his father had fallen into a coma which removed him as a threat for the stones as well as leave him in charge of Luthor Corp.
As for the project itself they had finally begun to put together designs for a detector which should allow them to find other meteor infected people and he knew the first person he was going to try it on and that was his friend Clark Kent. He was sure the detector would show him that Clalk was indeed infected and have powers which allowed him to do the strange things he believed he did.
"This is good news doctor" he finally spoke "When do you believe you'll be able to start putting it together?" he inquired as he leaned back into his chair
"Three to four months Mr Luthor" the head scientist said in reply a little nervously "This is such a new area of research sir that we are still unsure exactly how the meteors have such effects on people but we are making progress on that and should soon have an answer" he added
"I can understand that Doctor just make sure you do not let up and keep working until you have the answer and as soon as you can start putting the detector together do so, I'll want to test it as soon as possible" Lex responded with a grin "Now if you will excuse me I have to pay a visit to Belle Reve to see how my father is doing" he added his grin growing wider before he got and left leaving the head scientist to slowly take a deep breathe and leave the office glad to know he had not angered his boss during his report
(Fortress of Solitude)
Lana sat next to the Kents and Chloe as they waited for Clark to return from the Phantom Zone hopefully with Raya, she was thinking about the things Clark had told them was to come although she knew he had not told them everything. There was much more for them to go through she was sure especially concerning here, she remembered how he had looked at her when he had awoken from the time blast. There was such a deep longing in his eyes as well as awe and hope that it had taken her breathe away to see it. What had happened in the future apart from her allowing herself to be duped by Lex into a relationship? What else had Clark seen in that future which had make him look at her like that? She vowed to find out once he got back.
"You all need rest" Jor-El suddenly spoke "I suggest returning to Smallville, Kal-El maybe sometime" he added
"He has a point" Martha said reluctuntly "We don't know how long this is going to take and we all have other things we need to do" she added
The others all nodded either if none of them looked happy about it, they all got up and began to prepare to head back to the caves
"Jonathan Kent do not forget to remove the Key from the platform in the second chamber, it would do us no good to allow it to fall into the hands of our enimies" Jor-El reminded him
"I'll remember" Jonathan said as he headed back to where they had appeared and closed his eyes as he felt the same strange senseation as when they had arrived wash over him
(Kawatche Caves)
Jonathan looked around as he removed the key from the very strange platform knowing his son had other means to get back to the farm, they exited the caves to find it was night time
"Lana, Chloe if you want you can sleep over at the farm until Clark gets back" Martha offered "You both look exsursted and I don't won't either of you driving to far like that" she added
Both girls nodded and smiled in gratitude at the offer before following the Kent's to their truck, barely able to keep their eyes open yet both still worried Clark would not make it out of the Zone and be trapped there for ever even after learning just what their friend was truly capable off that did not stop their worry
They both knew there was so much to do if they were to stop what Clark said was coming and they both knew Clark would have to take many risks in the future as would they and those who Clark would bring into this and they both hoped they were up to the challenge.
(Phantom Zone)
Clark hid as he changed his clothes for the rags he had managed to find, it would do him no good to walk anywhere in the zone with his own clothes as all it would do would be to bring attention to him especially from Zod and his followers. Luckily he remembered a lot from his future memories concerning the zone as he had been sent here more than once by his enemies so he remembered where he could find things that would make him look like he had been in the zone for some time.
He was finally ready after smearing dirt and sand over his face and hands and prayed it was enough to avoid gaining any attention from any of the other prisoners. He began to head to where he remember Raya was living knowing he had to be careful how he introduced himself to her as without his powers he was very vulnerable even to someone he was here to help who would suspect him to be a threat.
As he walked to Raya's camp he began to replay the memories from his future self of his time with the young woman, he knew time worked differently in the zone and so Raya was still very young by Kryptonian standards. He remembered the few days they had together on earth before Baern one of the prisoners who had escaped the zone killed her, he closed his eyes as he felt a pain at seeing that fatal moment once again.
He stopped and sat down as he tried to figure out why he was so affected by this, why he was so drawn to Raya as his future self had been. He did not want to jeopardise his repaired relationship with Lana but he could not deny a certain attraction to the woman even if he himself had never met her.
He wondered what the hell was going on, his future self had never really thought about it due to the pressure of dealing with the escaped zoners, he had a reason to ignore it and escape it but Clark knew he would have to deal with it this time if he wanted to keep his relationship with Lana going. He would talk to Jor-El about it once he returned and had a moment alone, he sighed before getting back up and continued towards where he knew Raya was.
(Luthor Mansion)
Lex sat behind his desk drinking his whiskey and thinking over the strange occurrence that had befallen his father, what had happened to put him in a coma. No matter how he truly felt about his father he needed to know what had happened to him especially if this was the result of an attack by the Teague's or someone else who was interested in the stones he did not yet know about.
The doors to his living room opened to admit Jason Teague who looked even more frustrated than he had the last time he had seen him, he frowned as he wondered if he knew anything about what had happened to his father.
"Lex I just got off the phone with a contact from china, he believed he had located one of the stones hiding place but it's gone and the site has been dug up" Jason told him with a frown as he made his own drink having already been chewed out by his mother for this and he did not want to go through with Lex
"Did he say anything else like who may have taken the stone?" Lex inquired frowning even more at this news
"Just that he was somewhat young, maybe brown or black hair that's it" Jason replied as he drunk the whiskey in one go before facing the man "Someone else is after the stones, someone we don't know about" he added
"Maybe" Lex responded frowning even more as he thought over the description even if it was not a very good one, young with black hair was a dead give away for Clark but how could he have got to china so fast and back that is if it was him
"Lex we have to find the last stone quickly, that way we maybe able to draw out whoever has the other two" Jason stated
"My father is in a coma Jason whoever is after these stones is dangerous so we have to be careful and not make any rash moves" Lex replied as he stood up "There is something we are missing here and I think it's time I had a little chat in the morning with Lana and Clark and see if they know anything more about this" he told him with a smirk "I think they are more involved in this than we know and considering she suddenly broke up with you for no reason I am guessing she's decided to work with Clark to recover the stones" he continued smirking even more when Jason growled at this
"Why Kent?" Jason asked hating even thinking of the other man's name
"I still have not been able to find what attracts Lana to Clark so much or vice versa but it's been there ever since I met them" Lex answered "But still you can try and get Lana back later let's focus on finding the stones first" he added to which Jason nodded in agreement even as he had a brief daydream of beating Clark to a stupor
(Phantom Zone)
Clark paused before quickly diving behind a dune as two zoners ran past obviously trying to get away from someone and considering how close he now was to Raya's camp he suspected that was who they were running away from.
He did not recognise either prisoner and for that he was grateful as he did not want to come face to face with Zod or the prisoner who would become
Bizarro, the memories of those two were very painful and disturbing. His weakness and foolishness were truly exposed during his future fights with them and he vowed to do much better this time. Finally the area was clear and he ran to there near by tent which served as Raya's home and he prayed this meeting would go well, he came to a halt as he entered the tent and saw Raya for the first time in this timeframe and was almost blown away by the powerful well of emotion he felt at seeing here alive and well instead of in her last moments in his memories.
She was exactly as his future memories showed him with longish blond hair and startling hazel eyes, he doubted he was in love with this woman because it was so different than what he felt for Lana and there was the fact he did not even really know this woman yet.
"Who are you?" Raya demanded to know a little unsure why she suddenly felt so strange, she felt almost as if a powerful longing was trying to over take her but why
"Easy Raya I am not a threat to you infact I am here to save you" Clark responded stepping closer as much as he dared "I can't say much here Raya but I am a friend and I have risked much to come here for you, I need you to trust me for a little while and once we are out of the zone I promise I will tell you everything" he added
Raya stared at the stranger her feeling of confusion mounting and yet she felt she could trust this person she just did not know why and how did he plan to escape from the zone. She knew of only one way and to open that portal you had to have the blood of the family of El, suddenly her breathe hitched as her mind jumped to the solution and she stared long and hard at the young man before her barely daring to hope her sudden realisation was true.
Was it even possible that the son of her mentor was here but how could he have known about her, there was so much that was unclear but he had promised here answers once they were gone and so she decided to put her questions to one side and concentrate on getting out of here without been seen.
"Very Well I will trust you" Raya said "If we are heading to where I think we are we will have to be very careful not to be followed by Zod or any of the other prisoners" she stated as she gathered the few things she had brought with her from Krypton especially her crystal the last gift Jor-El had given her and the only reason she had survived this long in the zone
"I know, one thing I do not need right now is Zod getting out of here" Clark said with a shake of his head "Hopefully if we take the southern route we should not attract much attention as so few prisoners reside there" he added using the memories of his future self to plan the best way to escape this place
"How do you know that? You sound as if you have been here before but that is impossible if you are who I think you are" Raya inquired a little surprised by his suggestion
"It's a long and complicated story Raya and I promise once we are out of here you will hear it all but we have to move as quickly as possible" Clark responded hoping they would not encounter too much trouble on the way to the portal
"Agreed" Raya said knowing he spoke the truth before she led him out of the tent and began to run south followed by her new friend
(Kent Farm)
Lana looked around feeling very confused as she found herself in the fortress of solitude however she did not remember coming back here, she looked around and noted there was a strange purple glow around the entire structure that looked a little familiar to her. She tensed as she felt someone appear behind her and she quickly turned to find an almost exact duplicate of herself standing behind her just with longer hair and an air of confidence about her that she did not process
"Hello Lana" the woman said with a smile "It is a pleasure to finally meet you without the taint within me controlling me" she added "I thank you and Kal for freeing me" she continued
"Isobel?" Lana asked shocked wondering if this was actually happening or was she dreaming this
"Yes and you are correct this is a dream Lana" Isobel responded "We have talked before but sadly I was not myself, the taint placed in me by my enemies caused me to torment you in those moments but that is all changed now thanks to you and Kal" she explained
"His name is Clark" Lana pointed unsure how to precede this was so unreal
"That is his human half Lana how he was raised, but he is a Kryptonian and that is what Kal represents" Isobel responded "He will have to find a balance between the two in the future and you will help him as I helped his ancestor my husband all those years ago" she continued
Lana remembered what Clark had told her about Isobel been married to his ancestor and that he had been forced to leave her due to his responsibilities back on Krypton, she wondered what her ancestor had learned in her time together with Clark's ancestor
"I learned much from him Lana" Isobel said and suddenly Lana realised Isobel could read her thoughts but as she went to say something she realised as they were sharing the same body that was not really surprising "His name was Xan-El although I did not learn that until after we fell in love, he called himself Alexander before that" she explained "We had two years together, they were the best times of my life and after he was forced to leave I took it upon myself to protect the stones of power sadly I failed" she said and Lana watched as her face conveyed the pain that thought brought her
"It wasn't your fault Isobel, you couldn't have known others knew of the stones presence on earth" Lana tried to reassure her "I am sure Xan-El would have warned you of the dangers before he left" she added going of what she knew of Clark and what he had told her about Jor-El during his time with her aunt Louise
"He did warn me many times of the dangers of been with him as well as the fact he could not stay, but I did not care I loved him and that was all that mattered" Isobel answered "Xan-El is a lot like Kal-El especially his constant worry about helping people and the ones he loves" she told her with a gentle smile "But unlike Kal-El he was raised to follow in the footsteps of his family, Kal or Clark if you prefer does not know much about his real home or his people and that will change, you just have to be strong and stay true to your feelings for him" she advised
"How did you do it?" Lana asked "How could you marry him knowing he would leave you?" she asked again
"Sometimes you can love someone so much you would be willing to do anything for them even give them up or share them if needs be" Isobel responded "In time you will learn this Lana, I will explain when you sleep tomorrow it is time for you to wake up" she added with a smile before she the fortress and the purple light vanished
Lana jerked awake and quickly looked around noting she was in Clark's bed and she sighed wondering if what she had dreamed had been real or so kind of wishful thinking, she guessed she would find out tonight when she went back to sleep all she could be thankful for was if it was real she was thankful they had removed the taint from Isobel.
She thought over what Isobel had said and wondered at the things she had learnt from Xan-El and her mysterious smile as she spoke her last words before she woke up, What had she meant by that?. She sighed before shaking her head and getting up to have a shower as her mind wondered to how Clark was doing.
She quickly shook her head again before getting ready for the day and joining Chloe and the Kent's who were already awake and downstairs having breakfast. They all smiled as she joined them at the table and she returned it as Martha placed some cereal before her
"Did you have a good night Lana?" Martha asked as drunk her coffee
"I had a weird night Mrs Kent" Lana replied deciding to be honest about what she had experienced the night before "I met Isobel, somehow she appeared in my dreams so we could talk" she explained
"Are you sure it was real?" Jonathan inquired looking up from the paper he was reading
"I think so Mr Kent" Lana responded "I'll know tonight she said she'd appear again" she continued "We know for a fact she is still inside me all we did before was remove the taint within her, I do not believe we have anything to fear from her now I think she is trying to help us and especially me" she went on
"How do you mean?" Chloe asked intrigued by this new development
"Isobel's last comment seemed to be advice for the future; she told me she learned a lot from her husband about Krypton and I think she is going to teach me it" Lana explained
The others all exchanged looks between themselves wondering what this would entail but knowing it was Lana's choice to do it and they could all see she had chosen to do it just by the look on her face.
(Phantom Zone)
Clark jumped out of the way of the incoming phantom just as Raya used her crystal to chase it away; he rolled back to his feet and cursed knowing they had to be faster now especially if that prisoner told any of the others about them. He looked around before following Raya as she took off again, he knew they were close to the portal and all they had to do was keep going as quickly as possible.
As they turned the last bend he was relieved to see the portal just as he remembered it, he looked back but saw no one. He ran over to where Raya stood before him next to the panel which stuck out from the portal, he took the knife Raya offered him and as he cut his hand he heard as horrible scream in the distant and knew they had to be quick because the other prisoners would be coming hard and fast. He placed his cut hand on the panel whilst grabbing Raya with the other and watched as the portal came to life and he and Raya were engulfed in a bright light.
Two hilltops away Zod watched Raya and her companion leave with an angry snarl on his face, his body had long ago decayed but his spirit remained just like many other prisoners within the zone. Had he known someone new had entered the zone he would have kept an eye on them but somehow he had managed to avoid been seen by anyone especially his followers.
He promised himself one day he would be free and when he found Raya and her companion he would make them suffer for this indignity whilst wondering how they had escaped as none of the prisoners could work out how the portal worked and none them could capture Raya due to her crystal. He growled again before turning and heading back to his own camp waiting for his followers back in the real world to free him.
(Smallville Woods)
Clark coughed as he opened his eyes and noted with relief that he was back on earth as he saw he was surrounded by trees, quickly looking to his left he saw Raya was beside him looking around with wide eyes as she adjusted to been out of the zone for the first time since Krypton had exploded.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he let go of her hand even as a small park of him did not want to
"I am thank you Kal-El" she said turning to face him with a small smile "I am correct aren't I you are Kal-El son of my mentor Jor-El and this is earth?" she asked as they both stood up
"I am Raya, I am sorry I couldn't say anything back there but I was afraid if Zod found out the son of his greatest enemy was in the zone we never would have made it out" Clark responded not surprised she had guessed who he was
"That is understandable Kal-El" Raya said once again looking around pleased to once again be able to see trees and a clear sky instead of the sandy rocky ground of the zone "How did you find out about me I doubt Jor-El would have sent you into the zone for me?" she inquired turning back to him
"That is part of a very long story Raya and as I promised I will tell you it but once we are back home, we have a lot to do and we need to clean up" Clark replied with a small smile "I take it you know about the sun's effects on us?" he asked his smile growing
"I do although I have never been here before however I have been on other planets that had yellow suns which affected us the same way as they do here" Raya replied with a nod
"Then follow me" Clark said before he shot of heading for the farm knowing the others would have returned there once it was clear he would not be back anytime soon
Raya smiled before quickly following him making sure to keep him in view, she was truly amazed to have been rescued from the zone. She had long given up hope of that happening and yet here she was on earth alongside the son of her mentor and now she knew why she had trusted him when they met as well as the fact that she had felt a strong pull towards him when they had locked eyes.
They were some of the last of the Kryptonian people and it had long since been engineered into their DNA that should they ever face annihilation those that survived would do anything to keep their species alive and that included compulsory matings. Their people had been masters of genetic science and had come up with ways to ensure that in such an event the survivors would feel compelled to mate to ensure their people lived on no matter the circumstances.
She did not know if Kal-El was aware of this but she would have to explain it especially if he already had a mate on this world, she did not want to cause him any trouble due to what their people had done years ago to ensure their race survived.
(Kent Farm)
Everyone looked up as the door opened and Clark stepped inside dressed in some very dirty rags as well as been covered in muck, Lana shot out of her seat and into his arms not even caring about the state of him. As she opened her eyes and looked behind Clark she noted the young woman who had entered behind him dressed much the same way, Lana smiled at her pleased that Clark had managed to rescue Raya.
"Clark, thank god you made it" Jonathan said feeling very relieved to see his son had returned and joined Lana and Martha in hugging him joined a second later by Chloe
"I told you I would" Clark responded "Everyone I would like you to meet Raya" he added as he turned and introduced his companion "She was my father's assistant before Krypton exploded" he added
"I am pleased to meet all of you" Raya said in greeting "I remember listening to Jor-El's tales of his time on earth as well as meeting your father Jonathan Kent" she continued "He was convinced you would be able to raise Kal-El to be someone he could be proud of, Lara herself visited to see for herself what kind of place her son would grow up in and she returned feeling her husband had made the correct choice as she said she felt the house was filled with such a loving atmosphere" she stated
Martha and Jonathan looked at each other not exactly sure what to say in response to this so they just smiled and thanked her, Lana hugged Clark again so very pleased to have him back.
"We need to shower and get some decent clothes on, Mom can you show Raya to the bathroom and allow her to borrow some of your clothes for now" Clark said finally letting go of Lana
"Of course please follow me" Martha said and led Raya up the stairs
"Well done son" Jonathan said slapping Clark on the back with a smile "We were getting a little worried" he admitted
"I'm sorry dad but we had to be very careful over wise we may have attracted Zod or half a dozen other prisoners and then we would have never gotten out of there" Clark said "I feel so much better been back, I hate that place" he said with a sigh as he leaned against the wall and pulled Lana to him
"How many times have you been there Clark?" Chloe inquired smiling a little at how easily Lana folded herself against Clark whilst ignoring the slight prang that she would never have a chance with her best friend
"A total of four times according to the memories I have" Clark answered "Any way I need to shower then we'll head back to the fortress to see if Jor-El has come up with any new ideas to free Kara as well as make sure no zoners escaped" he told them as he reluctantly pulled away from Lana and headed for the stairs himself "We then can fill Raya in on everything that has happened in the last couple of days.
(Luthor Mansion)
Lex shook his head as he placed the phone back on it's hook, the doctors still could not tell him how his father had fallen into a coma, if there was another group out to collect the stones they must be highly connected and have access to some top of the line supplies to have got in this place without been seen by anything at all. The cameras had not even seen anything before going off line; he shook his head again frustrated by this before heading to his car so he could talk to Clark and Lana. He knew if his father was correct and Lana was back with Clark she was must likely at the farm so he could talk to them both at the same time.
(Kent Farm)
Clark began to relax after his shower feeling much better now that one of the hardest tasks had been completed and hopefully if he was lucky he would never have to deal with that place again. He put his new t-shirt back on and joined the others back in the kitchen, Raya was been sitting between Lana and Chloe listening to them tell her about some of Clark's adventures dealing with meteor infected people.
That stopped when they heard the rumble of a very powerful car come into their drive way, as soon as Clark heard it he began to growl as he felt an almost overwhelming hate and anger fill him as he realised who had just arrived. He closed his eyes and tried to force it back down but it did not good, the memories of what Lex would do in the future were just too strong and he began to head for the door intent on making sure he never got a chance to do some of his more evil crimes.
Jonathan had been watching his son loose more and more of his control and he quickly intercepted him and with some help from Raya and Chloe managed to drag him out of the kitchen and back up the stairs into his room
"Son get a hold of yourself" Jonathan told him keeping Clark pinned against the wall "Remember what I told you before these things you remember have not happened yet, this Lex is not the one you now remember" he added
Raya was a little concerned to see Kal-El loose his control so suddenly and wondered what exactly Jonathan Kent meant when he tried to advise his son, who ever this Lex person was had obviously had a big impact on Kal-El's life and she was guessing it was not a good one as well as been part of the story he had promised to tell her once they were safe.
Down stairs Lana and Martha barely had time to react as Lex knocked on the door asking if he could talk to Clark and Lana
"Clark isn't here Lex" Martha responded "He said he had a few things he needed to do before Lana arrived" she added
"And I just got here" Lana added wondering how Clark was doing in regaining his temper, never before had she seen Clark in such a rage and it made her wonder what he had not told her about the future concerning the man in front of them
"Oh well I really wanted to talk to you both, there are some new developments concerning the stones, I think you both maybe in danger" Lex replied a little annoyed that it would seem his father had been right about Lana and Clark getting back together "Can we meet up later when you've done whatever it is you two have planned?" he asked "It's important Lana" he added
"I'll make sure I tell Clark when he gets back" Lana promised "I think we maybe be finished by one" she went on "We'll pop over to the mansion when we're ready" she stated
"Okay" Lex nodded in agreement "I'll see you later" he said before turning and leaving
Lana and Martha waited until they heard Lex race out of the drive before running up the stairs and into Clark's bedroom to see Clark on the floor holding his head in his hands trying to calm himself down, Lana quickly rushed over and pulled him into her arms
"Is he going to be okay?" Chloe asked
"He will be, just give me time" Lana said "You better fill Raya in on what we know so far, he's in no state to go to the fortress right now" she added
Raya watched as Lana cared for Kal-El and she guessed she was his chosen mate, she seemed very strong and also seemed to share a deep connection with him and she was sure if anyone could help Kal-El regain control it was her. She allowed herself to be led out of the room and into one of the other bedrooms and then sat down and listened as Jonathan Kent began to fill her in on what had been happening.