Chapter 2

"Learn from them Kal-El, learn where your special talents can be used."

These were the words that echoed from the crystal after it had teleported Clark across the world. When the bright light had faded, he had found himself in what he later figured out was Africa, near a small village. He looked around, not knowing what he was supposed to do. He looked down to the silent crystal and began to think. He realized this was a chance to learn and discover parts of the world he had never seen before. Clark was always curious about the world and so introduced himself to the village. He quickly picked up the language and was very soon embraced by the village people. He gladly rolled up his sleeves to help the downtrodden village and as a natural farmer; Clark helped the village grow crops for the first months.

In order to always stay close to Clark and never be taken away, within the first few days of his reappearance the crystal formed around Clark's right arm. It projected Jor-El's will, to be heard only by Clark and guide him on his journey. Most did not question the device, believing it was a different model Omni-tool.

Clark did not stay long in the village, wanting to see the whole world and discover all that he could. He left and travelled however he could, be it bus, boat, or even walking. He soon discovered that he didn't ever need a lot of sleep, most nights he would feel fine with only two or three hours of rest. He ate when he felt like it, but realized he could go for days without any food.

For eight years this was the life for Clark; traveling the world, observing and helping those he could. Days consisted of helping the locals where he was and nights consisted of learning of Krypton. Over the eight years, Jor-El taught Clark the entire history of Krypton. The knowledge was passed directly to Clark via the crystal, so large amounts of information could be passed at once. Sometimes the information was overwhelming for Clark's young mind, but over time, he wanted to know more about where he came from.

Whenever Clark found himself alone in the desert, mountains, or beaches he would push himself further and further; discovering his inhuman abilities. Jor-El told him the science behind the yellow sun's radiation and the effects it would have on a Kryptonian's body. Everyday Clark seemed to get stronger and faster. When his journey first began, he did not know the full extent to what he was capable of. As time went on, he gained more abilities, some that initially scared Clark.

One day when traveling on camel back through the Sahara desert, his eyes became irritated. No matter how much he rubbed them, the burning sensation would not go away. When he could no long take the irritation, he could feel the iris of his eyes ignite as they blasted out waves of intense heat. Luckily all that was around him was sand and so all the heat beams did was turn the sand to glass. Clark camped out in the desert for weeks alone, to train himself to control his new 'heat vision'.

At one point, Clark came across aliens that had immigrated to Earth. They were among the first of their kind to visit the human home world. Clark had found them arguing with owners of a lodging rental office in India. He had already been travelling through the area for a few weeks and was visiting the area to find a temporary home for himself. He had come to realize that not all of Earth had embraced the newly revealed galaxy and its inhabitants. The rental office did not want aliens in their establishment. Clark felt a certain connection to the group of three aliens, who seemed to all where environmental suits.

The aliens, who said they were Quarians on a journey they called a Pilgrimage, moved to the back of the office at the request of the owners. Clark slowly moved to the front desk, nervously looking back and forth to the aliens and the owners. He paid the owners for a two bedroom lodge for the next three months. They gave him a key and directions to the small lodging. On his way out the door, he whispered to the aliens to follow him. Clark told them that he felt sorry for them and could empathize and so gave them his lodging key. They were grateful and wanted to pay him back, but Clark responded that meeting a real life alien was all the payment he needed as he continued his own travels.

Time went on, occasionally Clark found himself having to stop mercenaries from harming innocents in different countries. He always did so discreetly, by using his ever increasing speed to remain unseen. When dealing with mercenaries, Clark came to realize how tough his skin was; able to repel fire, bullets, and even missiles.

Throughout the years, Clark had to find work to keep himself occupied and earn money to travel. He started writing for small time travel companies, often recording what he saw and experienced. He began to carry a datapad with him that the agency had given him. Readers loved reading his attention to detail and curiosity when acquiring the facts.

After the eight long years, Clark was sitting in the lobby of the World News network in Tokyo, Japan. He had scrounged together decent looking clothing and collected his sample writings from over the years. He nervously adjusted his old glasses when his pocket started to vibrate. Clark reached in a pulled out a small datapad as a message appeared on it from his mother.

He had remained in contact with his parents over the eight years, telling them where he was and what he was doing. They always worried about him, but he assured them he was fine. They always tried to stay in contact with him via his personal datapad, but this was different.

The message was from his mother, saying there was something wrong with his father and that he was being taken to the hospital in Topeka. Clark's eyes went wide as he leapt out of his chair. He dropped his suitcase with his writings in it and ran for the closest emergency exit. In the stairwell, he took off his glasses and put them in his pocket as he loosened his tie and took a deep breathe.

The air around Clark shifted and blurred as he started to run down the stair well with accelerated speed. He had run fast before, clocking his top speed at just under the speed of sound. Now he put that to the test as the world around him stopped as he streaked through the lobby and out the door. Knowing exactly where he needed to go, Clark strained his muscles as hard as he could as he saw the world fold around him as he bolted through the lit up city. He quickly reached the beach that connected with the Pacific Ocean and without hesitation; Clark extended a foot out onto the water surface. He was moving so fast that he was able to run on top of the water as his supersonic wake jetted water into the air.

Clark started to breathe heavier as he pushed himself to go faster and faster, fearing the worst for his father. Within seconds he was zigzagging through the cities of California and then Colorado. He started to slow down, fearing that he wouldn't be able to stop in time as he got closer to Kansas. Now in the outskirts of Smallville, he veered towards Topeka, where his mother said his father was being taken to.

A block away from the hospital, Clark had slowed down to a jog and ran into the main lobby of the hospital. Out of breath he asked the receptionist where Jonathan Kent was. All he needed to hear was 'Room 265' before started to head for the stairs. Taking two or three at a time he finally made it to the floor and spotted his mother talking with a doctor.

As Clark walked closer and closer to where his mother stood, he could already see the tears in her eyes. Everything started to slow down around him once more, this time not because of his enhanced speed, but due to the dread in his heart.

"Clark!" Martha exclaimed, surprised but relieved to see her son. She wrapped her arms around Clark, who was taller since they last met.

"Mom, where's Dad?" Clark whispered in his mother's ear as she still held onto him.

"He had a heart attack, Clark. He was having problems lately, but was too proud to get help. He's awake now and but fading quick…they don't think he is going to make it" sobbed Martha as she slowly separated from her son.

Clark turned and looked at the room his mother had gestured at and slowly started to walk in. His mother stayed in the doorway and watched her son, having already said what she needed to say to her husband. Clark approached the bed his father was on and saw him resting. He sat in a chair that was set up and looked around at the holographic computers showing his father's heart rates and saw how they were getting slower.

"Dad?" Clark said putting his hand on his father's shoulder. Feeling his son's hand, Jonathan struggled to get his eyes open and look at Clark.

"Clark" Jonathan whispered. His voice was weak and he fought for every breath he took. "I'm so proud of you, son. Don't ever…forget…who you are" he said as he brought his hand up to Clark's.

"I won't Dad" Clark said as he fought back the tears in his eyes with a forced smile. He saw his father look behind him at Martha, who had walked in and stood beside Clark.

"I love…you both…so..." Jonathan's voice faded as the monitors around him showed that he had flat lined. A doctor walked in the room to reset the monitors and place a sheet over top Jonathan's body.

"I am so sorry; the heart failure was too severe that there was nothing that we could have done." Martha broke down as Clark let a single tear fall down his face as he held his grieving mother.

Days later, Clark and Martha stood on one of the hills on their farm. It was where Jonathan's family had been buried for generations. A small gathering of friends had come to grieve for the friendly farmer. The service ended and all that was left standing over the grave was Clark and his mother.

"I should have been here" Clark said with no emotion in his voice as he looked at the tombstone. His mother gently grabbed his arm and turned Clark so that he was facing her.

"There was nothing you or anyone else could have done. Nothing" Clark did not make eye contact with his mother. "Clark Kent, the heart can only beat so many times and you know your father used his more than most people."

Clark finally looked into his mother's eyes, "All these things I can do, all these powers…and I could do nothing to save him."

His mother paused and brushed her hand on his cheek, "Honor him, by using your heart and gifts to save others". Clark smiled and hugged his mother once more as a gently breeze swept over them just as the sun began to set.

Weeks past, life went on. Clark had stayed on the farm to help his mother. They each mourned in their own way; Clark kept to chores, keeping his mind on work. His father always said, "Work keeps a man honest". The words resonated within him, as he walked around his family farm.

Jor-El comforted his son, expressing his sympathy for the loss of his adopted father, as well as a synthetic voice could. Jor-El's will continued Clark's training, pushing him farther each day.

One day Clark sat in the barn, working on a daily crossword on his datapad. His mother had come into the barn to visit him with lunch and walked up behind her son. She subtly noticed that Clark was not working on the crossword, but instead doodling a large "S" in a strange pentagon.

"What is that?" Martha asked with a curious smile. Clark had heard her coming, but was lost in thought. He looked up at her as he stopped doodling.

"It's uh…well it's the House of El's family symbol. Just something I always see in my head when training with Jor-El. I've seen images in my head of people on Krypton wearing their symbols on their chests." Martha smiled as she gave Clark the meal she had made for him. She put her hand on his shoulder, reminding Clark of when his father would do the same.

Soon, Clark decided to get back into his writing, sending samples of his writing to different medias. A week later, Clark was getting ready to head to an Alliance shipyard for the debut of a new prototype exploration vessel. He figured that a lot of high end journalists would be there and so thought it would be a good place to introduce himself.

"Hey Mom, could I…" Clark looked to the ground and then back to his mother, "borrow one of Dad's suits?" His mother stood in front of him with a proud smile.

"Of course, but I have a gift for you" Martha walked to the kitchen table where a box on it. "Last week, after seeing you sketch Jor-El's family….your family symbol, I touched your crystal and saw some of the Kryptonian designs you had talked about. Anyway…" she lifted and gave the box to Clark. Clark opened the box, first seeing bright red cloth. He lifted it up, revealing the symbol he had grown so accustomed to in bright red with a yellow background.

"Mom, this…" his mother stopped him.

"Clark, your father and I knew you were always bound for great things. The world will look to your symbol for hope and see the man your father and I raised." She smiled at him, hugging her son. Clark looked once more at the "S" as he hugged his mother.

Clark had never seen so many people in one area, thousands gathered on a cliff that overlooked the Alliance shipyard to see the maiden voyage of the SSV Manaslu. Camerabots floated all over, hovering around covering reporters.

He shifted his glasses up as he tried to get a good vantage point of the ship. He had gone around and introduced himself to a few of the networks. A voice had echoed throughout the area where the reporters were, stating the vessel would take off in approximately five minutes.

Clark found a wall to lean on and saw a woman reporter standing beside him. Just being friendly he cleared his throat.

"Exciting isn't it?" he said with an innocent smile.

"I guess" replied the woman, never once looking at Clark. He nodded to himself and returned to the wall.

A countdown had started over the loud speakers and seconds later everything went mute as the only thing that could be heard was the roar of the massive ship's engines. The shipyard sat near a shallow bay that shook as the enormous ship started to rise off the ground. When the ship was hundreds of feet off the ground, halfway over the shipyard and the bay, the crowd began to cheer.

Clark smiled as he watched the ship rise up into the sky. When a shift in the air occurred, noticeable only by Clark's enhanced hearing, his smile started to fade. The Manaslu had risen to nearly two miles off the ground when the shift in the engine's propulsion could be heard by the rest of the crowd. The reporters began to convey the trouble the ship was experiencing. A loud explosion erupted from the backside of the ship sending fiery debris through the air.

The crowd began to panic and scream seeing the colossal Everest class vehicle begin to fall to the ground. Clark never took his eyes off the ship. He made his way through the panicking crowd, gently pushing through. He took a deep breath and knew it was time. Clark quickly looked around and saw a drop-off, the cliff that lead to the bay far below. The crowd was too busy to notice as Clark ran for the edge and leapt off.

All of his training had led to this one single moment. Jor-El had always said that the yellow sun of Earth would grant him unique abilities. Most he already had mastered, but Jor-El said the ability to defy the Earth's gravity will only happen when he was ready. Overtime he had conquered his insecurities and fears; readying for this single moment.

The wind whipped past Clark's face as he looked defiantly at the incoming ground. He confidently removed his glasses and put them in the crystal wrist device under his right coat sleeve. Clark ripped off his over shirt revealing his family crest on top of a red and blue suit and letting loose a red flowing cape.

Camerabots that had stayed behind, some with their reporters captured blurred images of a red and blue streak rocketing towards the falling vehicle. People, who hadn't run away, began speculating what the blur was, stating it was just a bird or possibly another ship. The crowd stopped running and fell silent as they noticed the falling ship had begun to slow down.

The camerabots attempted to zoom in as best they could to capture more images of the mysterious blur, only to see a brightly dressed man on the underside of the vessel. The people watched in disbelief as the Manaslu started to once again rise into the air.

Within seconds, the Manaslu was merely a small dot in the sky. Debris still fell from the sky, burning and leaving trails behind them. With the Manaslu no longer visible, the crowd started to panic and run again watching a large hunk of metal streak towards them. The piece of the ship got closer to the ground, ready to smash into the cliff side and killing everyone on it. A slight pop could be heard as the red and blue streak broke the sound barrier to reach the burning debris.

Scared reporters and civilians looked up to see in full view a man with dark hair and blue eyes dressed in red and blue holding the large metal piece over his head. The crowd stared in awe, watching the man toss the broken wreckage over the cliff and into the bay below. He broke the silence with his bold and gallant voice.

"Is everyone okay?"