Aftermath

Chapter Two

Discovery

Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed the previous chapter and this one.

Clark Kent was sitting at a kitchen table in his home, enjoying a quiet evening with his mother Martha Kent. Clark was holding a mug of coffee between his hands, an empty tea cup stood on the table beside Martha and two glasses and some dirty plates and cutlery from the evening's meal remained on the table.

Clark looked down at the bitter brown liquid in his mug, taking some time to think, before telling his mother in a subdued voice, "I searched the ship again, but I didn't find anything..."

Martha nodded her head to show her support for her son, encouraging him to continue.

"I thought that if I searched it enough, I might find something, but I just don't know what to do anymore Ma, should I even keep looking?" Clark asked his mother, truly needing her guidance.

"Do you still believe that you'll find something there?" Martha Kent asked him.

"Yes, but..." Clark frowned, almost unsure of himself.

"If you still believe that it's worth searching, then don't stop. You have to believe in yourself Clark." Martha squeezed her son's hand and smiled.

Unable to resist the smile, Clark stopped frowning and smiled back, he got up from his chair, kissed his mother on the cheek and said, "Thanks Ma."

Clark then left the kitchen and entered his room to retire for the night, the door squeaking as it closed.

The next morning Martha Kent went outside Clark's room and opened the door and said "Good morning Clark."

Clark did not reply, so Martha opened the door but found that Clark was not in his room. His bed was also unmade.

Martha smiled at this, and said out loud to him, "Good luck son."

In the Arctic, Clark was having no such luck, he was storming away from the scout ship with a frustrated expression on his face. Unable to accept that there was nothing left for him to be found.

Clark dropped to his knees and punched the ground hard in frustration.

Unfortunately Clark had punched the ground so hard, that he had unsettled a layer of snow that had been covering a very deep crevasse.

The snow plummeted down, taking Clark along with it. The snow eventually crashed down at the bottom of the crevasse.

The bottom of the crevasse was cold and dark and although the soft snow had somewhat cushioned Clark's fall, Clark was left a little dazed from the impact.

Normally Clark would simply fly out of the crevasse the way he came, but this instance he did not do so straight away. The freezing temperature at the bottom of the crevasse, was making him acutely alert.

Somewhere in this crevasse, Clark could hear something making a dull rhythmic sound. A drill perhaps? Or maybe someone's heartbeat, Clark thought.

So Clark decided to investigate, he walked between the narrow edges of the crevasse and walked closer towards the source of the sound.

Although the bottom of the crevasse was dark and had a limited light source, there was enough light for Clark to see the gleaming ice around him, like a beautiful, fortress of ice.

After walking for a brief time Clark came upon a big frozen pool of water, within it Clark could see a dark mass.

Clark then used his heat vision to melt the ice, the ice making a loud hissing sound as it evaporated from the intense heat.

Once Clark had finished melting most of the ice, Clark saw what had been hidden in the ice. It was a woman!

The woman was unconscious, she had a pretty face with small burns upon it, her blonde hair covering some of it. She wore a slightly scorched dark suit, not unlike a Kryptonian suit that General Zod had worn.
What was most fascinating and startling to Clark was the emblem on her suit, it was the emblem of the El family, making this woman a relative of Clark!

Clark's eyebrows raised, he opened his mouth wide in disbelief. For most of his life, he had always believed that he was the last of his kind from a long lost civilization, but now he wasn't alone anymore.

Clark put two fingers on the woman's neck to check her pulse. It was weak, but she was still alive. Clark smiled in relief and then lifted the woman up and placed her in his arms.

He then used his heat vision to widen the gap in the crevasse and he took off into the sky. He flew as fast as he could, back to Kansas. Clark soon arrived home and knocked on the door. Dusty the Kents' dog barked at Clark's sudden arrival.

"I'm coming!" Clark heard his mother cry out. Martha opened the door, when she saw who it was she gasped.

"Ma. There's someone I'd like you to meet." Clark said with a smile, his unconscious relative in his arms.

This chapter is dedicated to Carlos Diaz III, because without him this chapter would not have existed.