26thJanuary2006
Star pulled up outside the farmhouse and started to recount what she was going to say. There was every chance she could be carted off to some lunatic asylum before the morning was out. She had spent the last 16 years of her life working out her plan so she needed to pull it off.
She climbed out of her car and walked over to the veranda. As she climbed the stairs she heard a voice she had not heard for years – Martha Kent.
"Lana, I have no idea where he is. He headed over to the barn to do his chores a few hours ago. Are you sure he is not in one of the back paddocks?" Martha sounded fed up.
"But Mrs Kent, he said he had something very important to ask me, and I needed to be here spot on 10am. I am here and now there is no sign of him." Lana moaned.
"Well if you have looked everywhere for him, I do not know what to suggest. He will turn up."
Lana tutted. "Ok, tell him I came to see him and I do not appreciate making the journey from Metropolis for no reason."
"I will…" Martha said, sounding relieved at the idea of Lana finally leaving.
Star knocked gently just as the door opened. Lana looked at her. "Can I help you?" She asked.
"I am here to see Martha Kent." Star announced.
"It's ok! I have it." Martha took hold of the door and waited for her to leave before turning her attention to the newly arrived visitor.
Martha looked at her, the recognition soon becoming apparent. "Star, I don't believe it. What are you doing here?"
"I was passing by." She replied, bending the truth quite a lot.
"It is great to see you. Come in and have some breakfast. I was just cooking my son some breakfast but it seems he has done a disappearing act."
Martha just kept smiling. "So tell me about your life? How long has it been?"
"I left Smallville on the 25th June 1989 to be precise. I was so sorry to hear about the devastation which occurred during the meteor shower."
"I was shocked that you had left town. It seemed to be so out of the blue." Martha suggested. "Mind you, I know you only had Lucy's welfare at heart. It was terrible how Tom just ran out on her like that."
"Do you remember much about Tom and Lucy?" Star asked, not hopeful that she would.
"It is really odd, but I can remember every little detail of their stay in Smallville except what they looked like. Jonathan said the same thing."
Star sat back in her chair, unsure whether she should admit that she was to blame for their temporary amnesia.
"How is Lucy? No doubt she is married to a lovely young man by now, and has a few little ones."
"I will tell you all of that in good time. First I want to hear how life has treated you. I am so glad you managed to have the child you always longed for." Star asked, as she needed to make sure the coast was clear.
"Well, we adopted Clark. He is 18 years old now. I cannot believe he has grown so much."
"So are you and Jonathan ok?"
"Yeah fine. To be honest, that book you sent the other Christmas has really changed his outlook in life. He does his Tai Chi every morning before he starts work. Although he does still have stress in his life, mainly caused by a certain teenager; he does not get as worked up as he used too."
"That's great, Martha. He is a great guy, and you two were so meant to be, which is more than I can say for that girl who just left."
Martha grinned. "That is Lana Lang… the love of Clark's life. Although they have been getting a little distant since she started university in the city."
"You don't care much for her?"
"Star… don't get me wrong. I love Clark…. I love Lana….separately but together it is a different story. They cannot stay together more than a week without some drama breaking them up again."
"Sounds like a nightmare!" Star laughed. "So is Clark around?"
"Well he was but I am wondering if he has gone off because Lois has arrived home. Although saying that, I do not know where she is either. Her car is there but she has probably taken the dog for a walk. She claims she is allergic to him, but I often see her heading off to throw a ball for him."
"Lois?"
"Yeah she is a house guest who we have kind of adopted. She is great, although Clark does not seem to think so."
"So tell me about you? Are you married?"
"No, not yet but I am dating Nick Haddon."
"Not Nick, the clairvoyant who is on that daytime show. He is amazing! "
"Is it serious?"
"Yes, it is. We are getting married in a few months. I am 38 and I don't want to leave it too long. Although we are both pretty sure that children will be on the cards soon." Star laughed.
"Yeah, I guess it is easy for you both considering you both see the future. It is a pity you did not see the meteor shower happening?"
Star went quiet. "I did see it, Martha but I could not decipher when and where it was going to happen. I was actually in town the day it happened."
"Were you? Why?" Martha asked puzzled.
"Because Lucy told me we had to be in Smallville on that day."
"Why would she want to come back?"
"Because she knew the meteor shower was going to happen, and she wanted to make sure that you and Jonathan found Clark."
Martha's face dropped. "How did she know about that? Can I speak to her to find out?". She was worried that Lucy knew about Clark's past.
"No, Martha. She died on the day of the meteor shower, in my arms."
Martha's crumpled. "Oh my god! What happened? She got caught up in the meteor shower didn't she?."
"No she was shot by a mystery assailant. It was actually the threats from Lionel Luthor which made us leave town in the first place. I am sure he hired someone to kill her but I could never prove it."
"Surely the police investigated it."
"They never found out. Apart from Nick, you are the first person I have told about her death. I had to cover it up. Lucy was not meant to be in Smallville that day, or anywhere for that matter." Star explained cryptically.
"Star, what is going on?"
"Ok, this is going to sound crazy but everything I am about to tell you is true and it did happen."
"The reason you cannot remember what Tom and Lucy looked like was the fact that I wiped that part of your memory during the reading I did for you and Jonathan to prove you had a future together."
"But why would you wipe our memories?"
"I will explain that but firstly I can tell you exactly where Clark and Lois are. About thirty minutes ago, Clark was approached in the barn by three strangers from the future telling him he needed to go back in time to save humanity from evil. He agreed to go but just as he did, Lois arrived and ended up being transported with him."
"Where to?"
"To 1989! The night you split up with Jonathan after the argument, it was not Jonathan who said those things to you. It was an android from the 31st Century who impersonated your husband in the hope of spliitting you up. I can see the scepticism on your face. I reacted the same way as you when Lois first told me."
"Lois told you! When?"
Star pulled out a photo from her bag. "This may help you! This is Lucy Mason in August 1989 after we left Smallville." She handed it to Martha who almost dropped it in shock.
"My god. It's Lois!" Then Martha realised what this meant. "So that means that Tom was Clark?"
"Yes, he was. To return back to this time, they needed to get you and Jonathan back together so you would find Clark as a baby. The alternative future had Lionel finding him and turning him into a mass murdering weapon who plunged the world into darkness."
"So Lois is dead!" Martha could feel herself welling up.
"That is why I am here. Sometime today, Clark will jump back after having achieved their mission. For some reason, Lois did not jump back with him. We need to convince Clark to go back in time for her."
"So you are telling me that you have waited 16 years to save Lois, and are willing to risk your present happiness by having the last 16 years erased."
"Yes, I am. I have spent half my life regretting that I was unable to save Lois. I know how important Clark's destiny is and without Lois by his side, he will fail. He needs her. You have seen the way he is with her or should I say how Tom was with Lucy.
Martha was puzzled. "They cannot stand the sight of each other. I admit in 1989, they acted like they were madly in love." She noticed Star's expression. "You mean they really were?"
"They fell in love despite everything, and we need to convince Clark he needs to go back and bring her home." Star explained.
"Well that shouldn't be a problem. After all, when he arrives back here, he will stop at nothing to find out why Lois did not jump." Martha suggested.
"Martha, his mind will be wiped by Jor-el on his return, so he will be unaware of what has happened. If I hadn't come back today, Lois would be classed as a missing person and no-one would ever find her. I have seen Clark's future if Lois does not return and he is destined to wander into an unhappy marriage with Lana."
"Is there any way to get Clark's memories back? Can you do something?"
"No, only Jor-el can do that." Star commented.
"Ok, how do we approach this?"
"We just wait for his return and get him to go back. It is so easy." Star laughed a little.
"Clark is usually open to many possibilities considering he is from another planet, but he may find this hard to take in." Martha commented.
Just then, Jonathan entered the kitchen. "Hi honey!"
He then noticed Star. "There's a blast from the past. Star, how are you? It has been so long." He went up and hugged her.
"I am ok." She replied, but not convincingly.
Martha patted the chair next to her. "I think you need to sit down."
Over the next 20 minutes, they told him everything. He just sat there and listened, taking everything in.
"So I finally know why they asked me to lie to you about the events of that night. Martha, I am sorry I lied but I needed to get you back."
Martha grabbed his hand. " I am glad you did, otherwise this world would be much darker place and more importantly I love you."
"So are we going to see Clark?" Jonathan asked.
"He has not jumped back yet?" Martha replied.
"Well I have just seen him looking out of his loft window, so unless that is an imposter, I would say he was back." Jonathan smiled.