Chapter Sixteen
Lana got the door open and walked into the house. She set the groceries down on the counter so she could see. What she saw made her jaw drop. The dining room table was split in two. There were a few holes in the wall. The support beam was splintered. Lana groaned out loud.
"Clark!" Lana called. Clark rushed into the house and froze.
"I was only gone for a minute!" Clark complained.
"You left?" asked Lana.
"The water tower was collapsing," Clark told her. "I sped there and right back. I wasn't even gone for thirty seconds."
"Lara Louise Kent!" Lana called. "Get down here right now!"
Lara supersped down the stairs and stopped in front of her parents.
"Lara, why did you do this?" Lana demanded.
"I don't know," Lara muttered. Clark knelt in front of her.
"What did we talk about?" Clark asked. "You have to control your powers."
"I'm sorry," Lara said, staring at the floor. Clark hugged her again. "It'll take time to learn how to control these powers."
Lana came over. "Promise me you'll never do it again?"
"I promise, Mommy," Lara told her. She hugged both of them, and rushed back upstairs. Clark stood up and looked around in frustration. He flipped into his superspeed and started cleaning and fixing everything. Within a minute, he was done. The placed looked good as new again.
"Nice job, Speedy," Lana said, "but some day we are going to have to teach her to clean up her own messes. She's two years old; she needs to learn responsibility."
"First thing tomorrow," Clark said. It was now one month after Lara's second birthday. She was growing so quickly. Her black silk hair was at her shoulders, and she had the cutest smile. Everyone said that she had her mother's smile, but she got her eyes from her father. Her Kryptonian half was really developing; she already had her strength, speed, invulnerability, and x-ray vision. She was really starting to take after her father, especially when it came to her likeness for plaid…
"You better," said Lana. "Kryptonian heritage is your area, not mine."
Clark smiled. "Alright."
"Lara, you ready to go to grandma's?" asked Clark.
"Yeah!" Lara cried from upstairs. She rushed down in superspeed, and Clark had to lunge a hand out to keep her from running into a lamp.
"Slow down, honey," Clark said and picked up her backpack. He got her into the car, and started driving. The plan was to drop Lara off with Clark's mom so Lana and Clark could have a nice anniversary dinner. Clark's dad had even offered to take a break from his political campaign for State Senate.
"Dad, I know you're busy," Clark had told him two days ago. "You don't have to do this."
"How many times do I get to spend with my favorite granddaughter?" Jonathan had countered. "Besides, the campaign is getting hectic now that the election is so close; I need a break."
So, the grandparents would baby-sit on Christmas Eve for their anniversary. Clark pulled into the driveway and got out. He pulled Lara out, and they made their way to the door. He knocked and came inside.
"We're here," Clark called, closing the door. His parents were in the living room, staring at something.
"Clark, don't come in here," Jonathan warned, "and keep her out."
Clark stopped walking towards them, hugging Lara closer. "What is it?"
"Kryptonite," Martha explained. "Somebody threw it through the glass with a note around it."
"What's it say?" Clark asked.
"'Drop out, or else,'" Jonathan read out loud. He sighed and tossed the rock back out the window. Clark set Lara down and started picking up the glass pieces.
"Who would do this?" asked Martha.
"I'll give you three guesses," Jonathan muttered.
"Dad, this isn't Lex's style," Clark told him. "Besides, he wouldn't do something like this."
"I hope you're right, Clark," Jonathan sighed. "But Lex being the only one running against me, that puts him in a tight spot."
Lex had chosen to run for Senator shortly after Jonathan did. It was the December before the election, and things were going smoothly. Lara was now three years old, and this day would mark Clark and Lana's fourth anniversary. Clark was taking her to a little restaurant in Paris. Lana had suggested it from her trip five years ago.
"Well, Lara's excited to be spending the night," Clark said. He put Lara's backpack on the sofa, and hugged his mom.
"Word of advice: keep her away from anything flammable," Clark informed them. "She's developing heat vision." His parents gave him a look. "It's not the same as me. Apparently with her, what sets it off is extreme excitability. So, keep her away from the anger."
"Sure thing, son," Jonathan said as Clark headed to the door.