Chapter Seventy-One

Lana Lang went through the normal closing routine. All the tables were wiped down, then the chairs placed upside on them. She hummed as she went about sweeping, vacuuming, and loading the dishwasher.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand up. She was no longer alone. Lana remembered those three goons that had attacked her. That was months ago, but the fear came back. Quickly she took control, squashed the fear down and calmly reached for the broom. She spun around, handle lifted, ready to hit whoever it was in the head.

"Woah! Sorry!" The intruder took a step back, hands held up. "I'm sorry! Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I know I should have knocked. I just had a key…"

Lana stared, mouth open. It was Clark Kent. Clark was here, standing in front of her. In her shock, Lana found she couldn't move.

"Um, do you know me?"

"Clark!" Lana breathed. All at once, Lana found she could move. She rushed forward, wrapping her arms around him as best she could. "Clark Kent you're back!"

She felt his arms return the hug. It was over far too soon, and he was still apologizing for startling her. Lana insisted on fixing him something, and soon the two were sitting at table with iced coffees, and slightly stale slices of Mrs. Kent's apple pie.

"I felt so guilty about the day you left," she held his hand. "It was the last time I saw you, and I didn't even say good-bye. I always wondered if there was something I could have done to stop it."

"You couldn't have known what was going to happen. No one did."

Lana found herself filling the silence by talking about what had happened while he was away. She shared how everyone had pitched in to try and look for him.

"Mrs. Kent…" Clark stared down at the table, "has a baby now?"

"Yeah," Lana wasn't sure how Clark found out, but couldn't deny the truth.

"When?"

"She was pregnant before you left. Chris, that's his name, was born almost a month ago. Congratulations are in order. You're a big brother now."

Clark still looked distressed.

"You haven't gone home yet, have you?" Clark shook his head. "Why? Aren't you happy to be back?"

"I'm supposed to, aren't I?" Clark laughed with glistening eyes. "I'm supposed to be happy I'm finally free of my kidnapper."

"And you're not," Lana finished for him.

"No! I don't feel happy. So, I feel guilty. And I'm angry. And I don't know how to feel about any this!"

"Angry. At who?"

"Me. I had plans for this weekend and I'm upset that I can't keep my promise to Jeff to be there. I was in charge of revamping the Talon and now I won't be able to see it open. Things were bad with Chloe and now I can't fix it. And I'm angry that I'm angry I'm not there. I'm mad at the Kents. I'm mad at Lex for just throwing me away. How messed up is that? I'm mad at my kidnapper for sending me back. And I know they're not the ones I'm angry at, except I can't talk to them cause I'm now here! Where I'm supposed to be!"

"How did you get back?"

Clark explained how Alex had confessed to everything. "It was so surreal. Seeing myself frozen like that. Before I really understood what had happened, he just pushed me…here. I don't know exactly how it happened. Just after everything, he just threw me away. And I just don't know what to do now."

"Why don't you go home? You parents miss you."

Clark shook his head. "I can't."

"Why?"

"No."

"Why?" Lana pressed. "Is it because of Chris? Why does that matter?"

"Because he's their kid. You wouldn't understand."

"Clark Kent, your parents love you." Lana scolded him. "They have been worried sick this entire time and you can't stop by and say 'hello'?"

"To me they were never gone. I saw them. I spoke to them. And they made it clear I wasn't their son."

"Clark, I can't imagine what you've gone through," Lana's voice became gentler. "But they are your family. It just grew while you weren't here."

"I just can't do it. Not tonight at least." Clark's eyes drifted up the staircase. "Is the apartment open? That's why I came here; I was going to spend the night there."

"No. It's still a storage room."

"Right." Clark got up from the table and started to tidy up the space.

"I guess you can sleep here on one of the sofas," Lana offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll find a place."

"No, I insist. I open anyway, so I can let you know when you need to move. Clark, you are staying, aren't you?"

He just shrugged. "Where else am I supposed to go?"

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"He's back!" Garth let out a whoop as the monitor detected the return of Clark Kent's DNA.

"Easy, Garth. We can't celebrate just yet." Rokk frowned as he studied the readings.

"Why not? We kept the timeline in check. He's back. Things will stabilize and return to normal. Let's do some sight-seeing and go home."

"The readings say the timeline is still in flux."

"How?"

"Changes were made that we couldn't prevent," Imra spoke up. "Mrs. Kent's son was born. That will affect the timeline."

"It also appears as if there's another anomaly of some kind." Rokk surveyed his team. "We can't go home just yet. We will need to observe the events as they unfold to discover the anomaly."

"Surveillance?" Garth scoffed. "If new factors are in play, our history, their present, is already compromised. We have to let it play out. Don't we?"

"I think it's a bit more complicated than that." Imra said. "We don't know what happened to Kal-El during his time on the other Earth. It could have changed him to the point that our hero no longer exists. He's refusing to return to his home."

Garth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Imra was suggesting Clark Kent, Kal-El, the one whose destiny it was to become Superman had become corrupted by this experience. If that were true, it was possible the future where he lived would change forever.

But Kal-El wasn't just any superhero. He was Garth's hero.

And sometimes a hero needed saving. Even from himself.