Chapter 14: Obsession.

The autumn breeze, with hints of winter, blew throughout Smallville. Harry and Kara flew up to the Kent Farm House. They held hand, before they touched down onto the ground.

"So, you thought about it, and…I for one think you're doing the right thing," said Harry.

"After having a weekend to cool down, I'm ready for this," said Kara, taking a deep breath. "I would have preferred that he would be the one to come to me, but I guess stubbornness runs in the blood."

"Speaking from experience?" asked Harry, with a teasing smile.

Kara just responded with a smirk, before she grabbed Harry and kissed him full on the lips, not caring who saw her. Harry was her mate, and she wanted to display her love for him whenever she had a chance to.

Harry returned the kiss with equal passion. Their relationship escalated rather quickly, because of their powers and the fact they had repressed themselves in many ways. It was all about making up for lost time.

The two broke the kiss after a time. Kara remained in Harry's embrace, almost as if she was procrastinating to avoid the awkward situation.

"You sure you don't want to come?" questioned Kara.

Harry shook his head.

"No, I've got business to do, might swing back around in an hour or two," said Harry, before he leaned forward and gave her one more kiss on the lips. Kara sighed deeply into it, and once again they broke apart, too soon for either of their liking. Harry looked at her with an encouraging and warm expression. "Good luck."

"Thanks," said Kara, watching Harry pop off.

Kara moved over towards the front door and raised her hand, biting her lip nervously, before she knocked on the door.

She waited a moment, before Clark opened, and saw Kara standing there waiting for him.

"Kara, it's…sorry I didn't know you were stopping by," said Clark, but he looked happy that she was there. A part of him wondered if she would ever talk to him again after their unpleasant parting on Friday afternoon. "It's a bit of a mess in here…"

"Don't worry about it Clark," said Kara walking in and sure enough the house looked like it was in a state of disarray. That was nothing compared to how Clark looked however. Worry immediately flooded Kara when she saw how her cousin looked. "Clark, what happened to you? You don't look like you've gotten any sleep."

"Well, yeah, but I can normally run off of as little sleep as possible," said Clark. "But it's what I'm seeing in my sleep…"

"The crystal, it gave you nightmares," said Kara promptly, cutting him off. "And it was because of what you heard, your mother calling for you in there."

Clark nodded, but Kara gently guided him to the couch, before motioning for him to sit down.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about the entire stunt I pulled on Friday," said Clark. "I wasn't really thinking, and…really it came back to bite me."

"It's okay, you made a mistake," said Kara gently. "We all make mistakes, it's only human…"

"I'm not human through," argued Clark.

Kara just scoffed and glared at Clark at this statement.

"You sure look like one, act like one, and were raised by them," said Kara. "Jor-El has been feeding you information about how your emotions are going to cloud your judgment, and not allow you to accomplish your destiny, hasn't he?"

Clark nodded. Kara closed her eyes and sighed.

"Your emotions make you who you are. Don't try and shut them out."

"I don't know what I should do," said Clark.

"What do you want to do?" asked Kara.

Clark answered without any hesitation.

"I just want to do good with my powers, but I can't save everyone," said Clark.

Kara just smiled. The fact her cousin was worried that he could not please or save everyone in the world did make her feel confident that he was on his way to something great.

"No one expects you to be perfect," said Kara, before she gave a long sigh. "The real reason why I was upset about what you did is…you could have gotten hurt. The security force at the Shining Light Foundation…well they do take their jobs kind of seriously."

"I found that out the hard way," said Clark.

It was funny how spending time in a holding cell could give one a reality check.

"The real question is will you do it again?" asked Kara, looking him in the eye.

"No," said Clark. "Especially when the consequences were just so…"

Clark paused, before he voiced something that had been bothering him. "Is it a crime that I faltered for a brief second? That I wanted to save my birth mother. Even after both Jor-El and Harry told me the dangers of what would happen if the crystal was not destroyed."

Kara gave him a sympathetic look and shook her head.

"If I was in your place, I might have been tempted to save her," said Kara. "And no matter what, you would have done the right thing eventually. And you did, and you are wondering if you could have saved Aunt Lara. The answer is no. If Harry could have done it, he would have found a way."

Clark nodded, but Kara was not done speaking.

"But even with great power, there are limitations. The greatest power is in the mind, your ability to adapt and learn. Without a trained mind, even power beyond your wildest dreams is essentially useless."

Kara closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment for thought. She could sense Clark's questioning gaze. She sensed many other things since her other powers manifested.

The powers she felt it would be prudent not to tell Clark about, at least for now.

"That's something that my mother told me before she died," said Kara. "I think she didn't want me to be dragged down with Zor-El's obsession. Of course, she couldn't save herself from being a victim of it. First she became…I believe the term humans use is dead on the inside. The lights are on, but no one's home."

Horror appeared on Clark's face.

"Your father he didn't…." started Clark, but Kara held up a hand.

"He didn't need to use force, his words were enough to cause my mother enough agony," said Kara sadly. "And I ignored them, because he had duty pounded into my head. He always did imply my mother was always his second choice, how she should be thankful that he allowed her to have his child. I didn't recognize it until now, but my mind's clearer than ever before."

'He blocked all of my memories of her when he erased my mind,' thought Kara. 'He wanted complete obedience to him. And…Harry brought them back. I can never thank him enough.'

Clark looked at Kara, who fixed her face into a mask, to hide her pain.

"Kara I…"started Clark.

"No, it happened before you were even a thought, don't worry about it," said Kara, regaining her composure.

"Something tells me this has to do with my mother," said Clark, and Kara paused, before she gave him a nod "That's….well…it was all over a woman."

"Oh, I'm sure there were other reasons, but that's just the thing that pushed the entire House of El conflict over to the point of no return," said Kara, shaking her head. "But, never mind that. You've made your mistakes, and I've made mine. Not seeing Zor-El really was…I feel stupid."

"We don't have to let either of our birth father's define us, you know," said Clark.

"Yeah, well yours seems to be making a decent attempt to be putting his stamp all over your life," said Kara, letting a bit more bitterness slip into her voice than she would have liked to. She adopted a softer tone, before she addressed Clark. "The belief in destiny is something that causes us to lose sight of what is here in front of us in the present. Choices define who we are, Clark."

"Did your mother tell you that one?" asked Clark.

"No, I can come up with that conclusion on my own," said Kara, but then she added, "Of course, hanging around Harry all this time, and…well I get the impression that the actual concept of destiny just…well I think it mortally offends him. He lost many friends and family because someone believed in a prophecy, but that's Harry's story to tell you, not mine."

"I understand," said Clark somberly.

They sat in silence for a moment. That was until Clark had to voice a very nagging question on his mind.

"Do you ever wonder what might have happened if Krypton wouldn't have died?" asked Clark.

"At first, I did, but now I'm not going to burden myself," said Kara seriously. "An advanced civilization like that….well there are times where I wonder why it didn't collapse or die before either of us were born. It was teetered on the edge. It's not…well things happen for a reason. Krypton's death happened for a reason."

Kara sighed. She knew the reason. It was the same reason why Harry's world had to die.

"Death is a cruel and harsh mistress, Clark," said Kara, and this statement caught Clark a bit unaware. "She will take many when their time is up, without remorse and without care how many people suffer. In some ways, she's always there, watching, manipulating the strings of life."

Clark decided to breach the one question that had been bothering him on and off for months.

"Kara, I…a few months back, there was someone in a robe that looked like the Grim Reaper," said Clark. "But he saved Chloe and took out…someone I was facing."

"I don't know anything about that, Clark," said Kara, evasively.

Outside, she was calm, but inside she panicked a bit. Harry and Kara both knew from the information that the journal put in their heads that anyone knowing about their roles as the Heralds could be catastrophic.

Technically speaking, Harry was supposed to wipe Chloe's mind when she found out. Given the experiences both of them had with their minds being tinkered with, neither relished having to do that to anyone else.

"Of course, I didn't think you would," said Clark.

She felt bad about having to lie to Clark, but telling him the truth about both herself and Harry could potentially have disastrous consequences.

"Still everything does happen for a reason," she continued. "You were sent to the Kents, to get the upbringing you deserve to turn you into the person that you are today. I slept for eighteen years…and Harry found me for a reason. And Harry was sent here for a reason."

Kara paused and looked at Clark, before she continued to speak once more.

"One day, you'll understand, but the choice of what to do with your life is yours. Not something that is written down before you were even born. If you become a great hero, it will because it's something you choose to do."

"Jor-El seems to think differently," said Clark, his turn to sound a little bitter.

"Yes, well, we know about Jor-El, and what his idea of justice is," said Kara in a sour voice, but she shook it off. "Never mind, we have two parents for a reason. And you were lucky enough to have four. The Kents obviously did something right with you, and…Lara, there has to be enough of her nature within you to overcome the darker impulses of the House of El."

"Will the nightmares go away?" asked Clark.

"When you've come to terms with them, and what happened, yes," said Kara, scooting closer to him. "I might be able to help. If I told you some stories about your mother, it might actually give you something else to focus on. And help you understand that she never would wanted you to put your life on hold because you thought you could have saved her."

"I'd like that," said Clark.

The two cousins spent some time talking. Trust was a shaky thing to build, but it was best done one step at a time and they both hoped things would work out much better for each other.

It was a slow process. In some ways, Kara still saw that young child that she was sent here for, believing that she was to protect him. Even if the reasons were far more nefarious if her father had his way, she felt compelled to do what she could to help Clark, even if he was just a tad bit older than she thought he would be when she got here.

Clark did need to find his own way, and the influence of Jor-El was rather prominent, something that she hoped that both she and Harry could counteract or at least give him another option to take the right path for him.

All she wanted was Clark to be happy, and not be burdened by some doomed destiny based off of the whims of a twisted artificial intelligence.

Was that too much to ask?

Harry popped in the disc with the information he collected from his raid of the Area 51 secret base into his computer. Most of the bases appeared to be secondary all of the experiments that had showed potential were shipped off to Area 51. The others at the satellite bases had been terminated.

That was not the happy news he was hoping for.

Harry just closed his eyes, and gave himself a moment to compose himself. He would still do a sweep of the bases, to ensure that no one had been left behind that was still living.

The green rocks were still a problem, but Harry had people tracking down as many as those accursed things as possible. Between the two meteor showers, they seemed to be scattered, and collected by any number of seedy parties.

Harry turned his attention to the twelve new guests. He sent the order to his staff to see what they could do, to get them the medical attention they needed. Hopefully, he could gain an assessment about their powers, their mental state, and who they were within the next couple of days. They could be orphans, runaways, or juvenile delinquents for all he knew.

He made his swept of the floor with the guests, checking in to see if there were any problems. Most of the guests seemed to be settling in well, there were eight currently being helped by the Shining Light Foundation from ten to sixteen years of age.

Most of them had parents or other family members. Harry could tell that a couple of the parents wanted him to fix their children of their "abnormality", so to not embarrass them.

Harry frowned, if he caught any sign of abuse for any of the children, then he would take the steps to correct that unfortunate situation.

So far, he just sensed coldness and disappointment. Most of the parents seemed to be glad that their children could get the help, but there were some who seemed very uncomfortable at best and disdainful at worst.

Everything seemed to be in order with the guests, at least for now.

"Hi Harry!" called Claire brightly.

"Oh, hey, Claire," said Harry, turning around to face the red haired girl. "Kara showed me the picture you drew. That was very nice, I liked it."

Claire gave a slight smile because of this review from Harry.

"You can keep it if you want to," said Claire shyly.

"With your permission, I will," said Harry, but Claire looked at him suddenly. "Do you need anything?"

"I was wondering…about my homework, I'm kind of having trouble with it," said Claire in a small voice. "The teacher didn't really explain it, but…could you help me, please?"

"Of course, I will Claire," said Harry with a smile. "Do you have it with you?"

"Yeah," said Claire. The girl added very nonchalantly, "I kind of have to get it done by tomorrow, it's due then."

There was a bit of a pause at this point.

"And just when was this assignment set?" asked Harry, looking at her.

"Um, a week ago," said Claire in a sheepish voice.

"Claire," said Harry with a stern look that Professor McGonagall would have approved of. "You shouldn't have waited until the last minute."

'Yeah, like I have room to talk,' thought Harry to himself, remembering all of the times he left his homework to the last minute.

The one could thing about his mistakes is he could teach others to learn from them.

"But, you can help me right, please?" asked Claire, and Harry just smiled.

"Right this way," said Harry. "But you need to do these things when they're assigned and not wait until the last minute."

It was at that point Harry wondered if he was subconsciously channeling Hermione's spirit, but he shook off those thoughts.

"I know, I'll remember next time," said Claire. "It's just…with everything that's been happening around here, I got distracted."

"Yeah, that can happen, but you should not neglect your regular education," said Harry, leading Claire into the conference room where they would not be disturbed. She set at her work on the table. She sat down in the chair next to Harry. "Your grades have improved, surprise pop quizzes not withstanding."

"That was a rotten trick that teacher pulled!" yelled Claire angrily. "She…how are we supposed to study for something like that?"

"Well that's why it called a pop quiz," said Harry, watching her set out her work.

Harry was not about to do the work for her. He did walk her through it, and explained it to her. The ten year old got it, as she did the homework.

"I think you did well Claire, I'd give you perfect marks," said Harry, giving it a courtesy check.

"Well, if the teacher doesn't, you could fire her, right?" asked Claire with a smile, but Harry just shook his head at her. She just gave him a little grin, and a shrug. "Yeah, I know."

"You've come a long way since you've arrived here, you should be very proud," said Harry. "I know I am."

Claire tried to hide how pleased she looked at these words coming from Harry.

"Just got to keep your temper in check, and you got to take your studies a bit more seriously," said Harry. "But you're on the right track. The nightmares are fewer and farer between, aren't they?""

"Yeah, not as many," said Claire, but then she added, "Sometimes I still see it. When I discovered my powers, and what happened to my parents."

There was a long moment of silence that followed. She sighed, and Harry put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know that's not your fault, Claire," said Harry softly.

"I know," said Claire, closing her eyes. She turned in the chair to look at Harry. "Do you ever remember your parents, in your dreams?"

"Yes, all of the time," said Harry, remembering those particular nightmares all too well. "Well not as much I used to. When I was a bit older than you, I dreamed about when they died all of the time. And I thought it was my fault they died for years."

"That's stupid!" exclaimed Claire, looking Harry in the eye. "You were only a year old, you couldn't have…"

"Yeah, but is it any less stupid for you to blame yourself?" asked Harry and Claire stopped suddenly, before shaking her head. "You discovered you had powers and you panicked. Your control is much better."

"I still can't cook marshmallows without burning them," said Claire, with a frown.

Harry found a bit amusement that this was the thing that she worried about the most. He really hoped that never changed.

"You just need to work on your temperature regulation control," said Harry. "I wish it was easy to train everyone, but I know better. Mastering your powers takes time. You're only ten years old, you'll get it."

"How long did it take you to figure out your powers?" asked Claire.

Harry paused, before giving her an honest answer.

"Too long."

"That doesn't tell me anything," said Claire, folding her arms and giving a slight pout at the lack of information.

"All of us learn at different speeds, don't get frustrated," lectured Harry. "It leads to self-doubt, and that is our greatest weakness. When we don't believe in ourselves, bad things happen. The sky is the limit and nothing really is impossible."

"I almost feel like I should be taking notes," said Claire.

"No, this is just some friendly advice," said Harry, with a smile. "Make sure you put your homework away safely. The last thing we need is your invisible dog eating your homework again."

"It breathed fire too, I can't believe you forgot that," said Claire, looking flushed. "And it was one time!"

"I would hope you would come up with a more original excuse," said Harry. "But you're doing well, and turn that in tomorrow….I'm sure you'll get top marks. You have your classes on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, right?"

"Uh huh," said Claire with a nod of her head, pleased that Harry remembered.

"I wish I could have Monday off many times when I went to school," said Harry, cringing remembering some of those tough Mondays. "I never wanted to get out of bed, and my school seemed to do the worst schedule on Monday."

"It couldn't have been that bad," said Claire.

Harry chuckled.

"My fifth year, I had all of the worst teachers in a row," said Harry. "And one teacher, she was a horrid excuse for a woman. Looked like a toad."

"I wonder if you kissed her, would she turn into a prince?" asked Claire innocently.

Harry grimaced at the very thought of anyone, but a Dementor kissing Umbridge. Then again, Umbridge would likely get off on a Dementor kissing her. For some reason, Umbridge and Dementors just struck him as soulmates.

He would need some brain bleach after the last image conjured up in his mind's eye.

"Well, no one was ever going to find that out," said Harry, shaking his head.

"I didn't see, Kara," said Claire. "Is she here anywhere?"

"No, she's visiting her cousin, they have a lot of catching up to do," said Harry. "Kara and I, we spent the entire weekend together."

"So are you two going out or not?" asked Claire.

"Yes, we are," said Harry.

"Finally!" cried Claire in a jubilant manner, but Harry looked at her, with a questioning look. "It's just…well you two seemed like you would be happy together. And it was getting kind of annoying to see you two not get how you felt about each other."

Harry just smiled.

"If you two weren't going to get together soon enough, I swear I was going to have to lock you in a closet or something," said Claire firmly.

Harry did not have the heart to tell the girl that they would have gotten out easily.

"Well thankfully you didn't have to do anything that drastic," said Harry, with a bit of a laugh.

A buzzing of the intercom caused Harry's interest to be diverted. Claire sighed, and crossed her arms in annoyance.

"What is it?" asked Harry, business like as usual.

"Lex Luthor is here," said the voice over the intercom. "He just wishes to have a brief meeting with you, if it is convenient."

Harry wondered if Lex suspected his deception regarding the journal. There was only one way for him to find out.

"Have security escort him up to conference room three," said Harry.

Claire sat, spinning in the office chair for a little bit. A moment later the doors swung open and two security guards escorted Lex inside.

"Claire, could you be a good girl and wait outside for a little bit?" asked Harry. "After, I'm done in here; I'll take you outside for a little bit, I promise."

Claire looked excited about the promise of actually leaving the Shining Light Foundation building.

"Okay," said Claire, with Harry giving her a hug goodbye. The redhead walked off but not before she gave Lex the evil eye the moment she walked by the bald man.

Lex just chuckled.

"I can see I was interrupting some kind of bonding moment," said Lex, reaching forward and shaking hands with Harry. Both maintained eye contact, which presented Harry a chance to take a look at Lex's surface thoughts. They were guarded, as Harry suspected. "So what's her power?"

"She's a Pryokinetic," said Harry in a conversational tone.

"Yeah, I should have figured, she was looking at me like I was a chunk of firewood," said Lex with a crisp nod. "Security's pretty tight around here. I thought was going to be submitted to a body cavity search for a minute."

"After some incidents, do you really blame me?" asked Harry.

"Yes, my father and Clark," said Lex, whistling and both of his eyes were on Harry. "For the record, I apologize for what my father did. And Clark too, but he always seems to have a knack for showing up where there is trouble."

"Could it be that trouble just seems to find him?" asked Harry.

Lex pondered this question.

"Maybe," said Lex grudgingly. "I've always been interested in what his secret is. Every man has to have a secret and I've always gotten the sense that he was hiding something."

"Well would secrets be such if you just told everyone?" asked Harry.

"Well we were friends, so I assumed he would give me the benefit of the doubt," said Lex. "You know his cousin; surely you have noticed anything odd about him?"

"What in this world is normal?" asked Harry airily, with a faux dreamy expression in his eyes darting around erratically.

Lex sighed. He was not about to get any straight answers out of Harry. The young man was eccentric and kind of scatterbrained.

"So did you get a chance to look at your mother's journal?" asked Lex.

"Just nothing, but blank pages and empty words," said Harry.

Lex nodded, he was hoping that Harry would give him a bit more of a hint since he had the real journal. If he could activate it, he could be sitting on secrets that could master the universe.

"What did you hope to find?" asked Lex. "Surely, if you spent all of the time looking for it, there had to be reasons beyond sentimental value."

"It was a journal written by a twenty one year old girl before she died," said Harry. "I was just hoping to get a picture into my mother's life, where her head was, when it happened."

"Yes, the car accident if I'm not mistaken," said Lex, and Harry nodded. "When you were a year old, that must have been tough. But you were sent to aunt and uncle and lived there before you went up to that boarding school."

Lex laughed at something, and he decided to elaborate based on Harry's questioning look.

"My father seems fascinated about your mother's side of family. Seems to me he might have got burned pretty badly by them in the past. Maybe that's the real reason why he showed up on Friday."

Harry gave a stoic nod.

"I don't know why he would," said Harry in a casual voice. "What my family did before I was born, I have no idea. My aunt was less than forthcoming about any information…I'm guessing because she didn't want to talk about it because my grandparents and my mother died."

'No hint, no clue about what might be in that journal,' thought Lex to himself.

"I see, well…I'll just leave you with one word of warning," said Lex, sensing an opportunity. "If Clark's been working with my father to get something from you, then I wouldn't trust either of them."

"Your father said the same thing about you when I met him," said Harry nonchalantly.

'Just as well, he would,' thought Lex, making sure to nod politely and shake hands with Harry, before he saw himself out.

"As for Clark, you really shouldn't be bothered," said Harry. "Obsession is dangerous; it's lead to the downfall of many far greater men than you or I."

"Yes, thanks for the advice, I'll keep it in mind," said Lex, with security seeing him out at that moment.

Lex might not have gotten any use from that meeting, but Harry sure did. He knew Lionel Luthor had dealings with the Evans family in the past. He knew Lex was still obsessed with Clark. And Harry knew that he would have to keep a closer eye on both Luthors, to see what their ultimate games ended up being.

Harry and Claire completed their journey to the Kent Farm House. He decided it would be best to let her out for some fresh air, since she really come far in her time and it might do her some good. There were some ground rules set in place for her. No accepting candy from strangers, look both ways when she crossed the street, and no setting anyone's car on fire.

No matter how ugly the car was.

Harry saw some rather ugly ones, but then again who was he to judge?

He walked up, and overheard Kara and Clark talking from inside with his enhanced hearing. He wondered if he should offer them a few more moments together before he intruded on their bonding.

Claire, being a ten year old child, had no such tact or patience. She walked up and knocked on the door, with a smile on her face.

The door opened, with Kara answering it.

"Harry, I was hoping you'd be here soon!" exclaimed Kara, and she threw her arms around Harry, before giving him a passionate kiss in greeting. Harry wrapped his arms around her.

Claire just shook her head, with a bit of a smile. While she wanted them to get together, she did not need to see that.

Clark had just returned from upstairs, and was about to ask Kara who was knocking on the door. He was taken off guard to see Kara and Harry making out with each other, arms wrapped around each other. Before their activities could escalate, Harry noticed Clark standing like a deer in the headlights.

Kara hid her smile, before she decided to break the news.

"Oh, Clark, I forgot to mention, Harry and I are dating," said Kara nonchalantly.

"It took you long enough," mumbled Clark regaining his bearings, but then both of them looked at him. "Congratulations, I wondered when it was going to happen."

"You and the rest of the known galaxies," said Harry, with a smile, taking a seat. Kara shamelessly sat down on his lap. He put his arms around her waist, with the blonde lazily leaning back into him. "I was going to swing by bit earlier, but there were things that I got caught up in. Claire here decided to neglect her homework until the last minute, so I had to help her."

"Claire," said Kara in a stern voice and Claire looked at the floor with an apologetic expression. "What did I tell you about leaving your school work to the last minute?"

"Don't do it," said Claire, with Clark looking a bit amused and Kara just sighing.

"So how are you doing, Claire?" asked Clark.

"Fine, Harry and Kara really are helping me out, after what happened," said Claire brightly. "They're kind of like…well they're just helping me and the others too. But the other kids, they have parents that they can go home to."

Claire realized what she said, and started backtracking over her own words.

"Not that I'm mad about them," said Claire. "It's not their fault they have family members. It's…."

"And it's not your fault that you don't," said Clark in a kind voice.

"Harry told me that, Kara told me that, the counselor told me that, but …never mind," said Claire in a heated voice, but she calmed herself down before she set the chair she was sitting on ablaze. "I'll just let you guys talk, I'm doing fine."

Claire picked up the comic book she brought with her, and allowed the other three to talk. She buried herself into it, hiding the embarrassment she felt for how much she let slip.

What Claire implied did not go unnoticed by Harry or Kara, but this was not the time or the place.

"So, what about the journal?" asked Clark.

"Not what I was hoping to find," said Harry in an evasive voice.

"And what you were hoping to find?" prompted Clark.

The two exchanged a slight look, but remained stoic before one spoke.

"Something more useful than what Harry found," said Kara, shifting herself on Harry's lap.

"So it was just a journal?" inquired Clark.

Harry considered telling Clark about what truly was in that accursed book, but that would invite questions that he did not feel comfortable with answering at that moment.

"Yes, and not one word was written in it," said Harry. "Three months of my life, that I could have been spending my time doing something else, wasted on that useless witch hunt."

Clark had a feeling that there was something that either Harry or Kara were not telling him. In particular, Harry seemed to be in a weird mood when he brought up the journal. Almost like there was some kind of horrific secret that he found out.

He was not about to press the issue. He was in the stages of patching up some semblance of a family relationship with his cousin, and he did not want to undo all of that work just by sticking his nose into something like this.

Getting Harry upset, would likely upset Kara, and upsetting Kara would likely upset Harry even more, and it was just one huge cycle of people getting upset.

So, Clark reined in his curiosity.

"So any adverse effects from what happened the other night?" inquired Harry, looking Clark in the eye. "You did destroy it, right?"

"Yes, and it was…." started Clark, but Harry cut him off.

"Good, you destroyed it," said Harry breathing a sigh of relief. Naturally he was there, watching, but appearances had to be kept up. "And for the second part of my question…"

"I keep hearing my mother's voice calling out for help," said Clark. "But Kara…after she talked to me, I think they'll cease."

Harry nodded, feeling a great deal of sympathy for Clark.

"They would have in time, but Kara was right to talk about you," said Harry in a serious voice. "Nightmares…well they are far worse the more powerful that you are. Trust me; regrets will be powerful for powerful people."

'He's speaking from experience,' thought Clark.

The three made a bit of small talk for a while, and the time seemed to fly by.

"I'm surprised you and Kara are actually sticking around this long," said Clark, before he added. "Not that I don't mind having you around, it's just, I'd figure you'd be busy."

"Well I had a few things to take care of this morning," said Harry. "But after that, it was smooth sailing. My staff is good enough that the company runs itself. I just like to pop in to make sure everyone's doing alright. And after the day Kara had on Friday, I figured she should enjoy a day off, especially given what happened."

"Yeah, about that, I apologized to Kara so…" said Clark. "I'm sorry, that was…it was wrong what I did."

"Yes, I know it was, and you know it was, but I don't blame you and I'm sure Kara doesn't either," said Harry, and Kara shook her head, trying to convey Clark that she was not going to hold one moment of weakness and desperation against him.

Clark felt a bit more at ease that things were less awkward, but a knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

He hastened to answer the door, in case it as an emergency. Claire continued to flip through her comic book, and Harry and Kara continued to sit, enjoying each other's company.

"Oh, hi, Lana," said Clark, and this caused Kara to frown. "So, you came back."

Things seemed to be rather cool at the moment, and Harry wondered if Clark and Lana had a bit of a tiff about the entire journal escapade.

Not that it was any of his business, but he just sensed some underlying awkwardness between the two.

"Yeah, I had some time to think, and…." said Lana, but she stopped as she spotted Harry and Kara over Clark's shoulder. "Oh, hi, I didn't know you two were here."

"Yeah, we're just visiting Clark, but…something just came up," said Kara, looking at Lana with a forced smile. "So, you two…well whatever you do is your business."

"Claire, you about ready to leave?" asked Harry, and she nodded, as the girl followed Harry and Kara out the opened doorway.

"So did you find your mother's journal?" asked Lana, catching Harry off guard.

"Yes, but it wasn't anything of value," said Harry waving his hand dismissively. "Nothing you or Lex Luthor should have been concerned about."

Lana blinked, before she shrugged. The situation was awkward. Kara smiled as she wished her cousin a goodbye.

"Clark, take care of yourself, I don't want to have to fly out here if something bad has happened," said Kara, in a half joking manner.

"Kara, don't worry, nothing's going to happen," said Clark.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Clark stays out of trouble," said Lana trying to lighten the mood.

Harry and Kara both turned away from her, but not before Kara had one more thing to say.

"Just see that nothing bad happens to him, he's the only cousin I have," said Kara, voice dripping to hints of a veiled threat towards Lana.

Lana's eyes widened and she took a deep breath.

"So…we'll just let you two catch up," said Harry. "Good luck Clark."

'You're going to need it,' thought Harry.

"Bye Clark," said Claire, before she followed Harry and Kara off the Kent Farm.

Lana shook her head. She proceeded to turn her attention towards Clark.

"So you two have been catching up," said Lana, trying to keep any distrust out of her voice.

"Yeah, we've been catching up, it's good to talk to someone who was there," said Clark, with a fond smile. "About what happened on Friday..."

"Clark, I'm sorry, alright," said Lana.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too," said Clark.

Lana shook her head and gave a long sigh.

"It's almost like those two have it in for me," mumbled Lana, closing her eyes.

Clark had no idea what to say. The incident with the journal would make things awkward between them. He half wished that Lana would have showed up a bit later, as Harry and Kara seemed to be more relaxed and less guarded than they were before around him.

"I had fun, it was good to get out of this place for today," said Claire with a bright smile. "Thank you both of you."

"It's not a problem Claire, but you should get washed up for dinner right now," said Harry. "And remember; don't set the table on fire this time if you don't get the last dessert."

Claire had a sheepish look on her face. She hugged both Kara and Harry goodbye, before she walked off. Kara had a smile on her face, looking from Claire to Harry.

"What are you smiling about?" asked Harry.

"Nothing," said Kara, as they turned to walk down the hallway. "I think it did her some good to get out there today. She's…well she doesn't have anyone like she said. The other guests, they have family, while she has to stay here all weekend with the staff."

Harry nodded, he knew the feeling. He and Kara made their way into his main office and made sure the door was shut and locked behind them.

"So how are you coping with what the journal let slip?" asked Harry.

"About the Herald of Krypton thing…not exactly something I was expecting," said Kara. "So, how long does a Herald live?"

"We can be killed, but it takes something extreme," said Harry. "And trust me when I say this, you don't want to be thrown at Death's feet, and have her chew you out for screwing up so bad that you died."

"Extreme, as in almost the end of the world extreme?" asked Kara.

"Yeah, pretty much," verified Harry.

Kara sat on the desk to face Harry before he explained more to her, but there were things that he was not sure of.

"We age rather gracefully, as in we stop once we hit our physical prime," said Harry, grabbing her hands. "Just imagine that, I found the one other person who is as long lived as I am."

Kara shifted with a smile, as he joined her. They sat face to face with each other on the desk.

"I'll be around for as long as you'll put up with me," said Kara.

"I can put up with you, forever," said Harry, pulling her close towards him. "My feelings for you…I don't know how to say it, without coming off sounding corny."

Kara leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips tasted sweet, soft and moist. Harry grabbed her and pulled her deeper into the kiss. Their fingers intertwined into each other's hair.

They kissed for a few minutes, and Harry pulled himself away from her. He looked into her, taking in her beautiful features. She wore a blue blouse that really fit her nicely. It was unbuttoned to show a generous dose of cleavage and also was a bit short, so the lovely skin on her midsection could be seen. The red skirt she wore showcased her legs nicely, and gave a nice little tease to what was beneath. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail, and allowed Harry to see her beautiful face, with her blue eyes looking at him with so many powerful emotions in them.

"I never thought this would happen, but there's just something about you that makes me feel like I can take on the world, no the universe," said Harry. "And win."

"Really, you too?" asked Kara. "I feel the same way about you."

The words seemed on the tip of both of their tongues, so they just blurted it out in unison before they lost their nerve.

"I love you."

Harry and Kara looked at each other, taken aback.

"How could you…" started Harry, but Kara shut him up with a swift kiss to the lips.

She broke apart after a minute.

"I could ask you the same thing," said Kara, with a challenging look that cut Harry off from further protests. She placed her arms around Harry's neck and whispered in his ear. "But maybe we shouldn't be asking questions, and just keeping going with it."

Harry cleared off the desk, so he and Kara could have plenty of room. He leaned forward, and pulled her into his arms, into a kiss. Kara returned it. Harry leaned her back, kissing the side of her neck. Kara returned the favor, straddling Harry's lap, and peppering his neck with a series of light, but loving, kisses. She sucked on his neck, with Harry rubbing the back of her neck, before putting her hands on the small of her back.

The two lost themselves and their inhibitions to each other. They continued their activities.

Harry cast the necessary charms to prevent any unplanned consequences. His hands removed her clothes with ease, as their hands roamed over each other's bodies. Kara returned the favor, and they just let their instincts take each other to what felt right.

Harry was thankful for his foresight to put silencing charms around the office. Kara could be rather vocal when she was in the heat of passion.

They were living life, with each other, and what they felt for each other could not be measured in mere words.

Harry never truly knew what love was, and all of the benefits that came along with it until his relationship with this beautiful blonde Kryptonian currently beneath him and urging him to continue his activities. The world could end now, and he would find himself not caring. And judging by Kara, she mutually agreed with this assessment.

It was only a taster for what they would do later that night, in the comfort of their bedroom, but their escapades in the office satisfied their rather powerful urges.

Chloe arrived at the Shining Light Foundation, armed with the information she looked up for Harry. She moved her way towards the office door and knocked on it. There was a bit of a pause before Harry answered her.

"Just a minute Chloe."

She waited and a few minutes later, Harry invited her in. Kara was also in the office, and Chloe could have sworn she saw Kara buttoning her blouse back up and making sure her skirt was on right.

"Hi, Chloe, sorry, Harry and I had to finish before we let you in," said Kara, with a slight smile, discreetly licking the excess off of her lips and from her fingers when she thought Chloe was not looking.

"I see," said Chloe. "So, I see you're diving into the whole relationship thing with reckless abandon."

"One could say that," said Kara with a far off expression in her eyes.

She was in a good mood after what Harry did for her and what she could do for him, what they did to each other. Kara tried to not get lost in her thoughts of what was to come tonight. Always two hours before they went to bed, to make sure their powers remained stabilized.

"I hope I didn't cut anything prematurely," said Chloe, fully aware of the euphemism she had given.

"No, you're good," said Harry. "We just need a little pick up, because it was a long day. With our powers, we're…well that's not a matter to be discussed in polite company."

"Are you accusing me of being polite company?" asked Chloe.

"No, but you do have information for me about the turnover in management at Belle Reve," said Harry carefully changing the subject. "I made a couple of trips there. Some of the cases…well there are some rather extreme cases over the years. I'd like to avoid sending any of my guests there. But…it's inevitable that some people won't be able to function in normal society. Some people might say that about me."

Kara just placed her hand on Harry's. Chloe took one seat, and Harry took the other. Kara took a seat on Harry's lap.

"Your quirks pale in comparison to the new chief doctor at Belle Reve," said Chloe. "I've done my homework on this guy…well you take a look at this, and you'll see why I thought you'd like to know about him."

Harry and Kara browsed the information that Chloe had passed over to them.

"So, Hugo Strange," read Harry, after a moment.

"His name is rather fitting," said Chloe. "He worked for a place called Arkham Asylum, in Gotham City, around Chicago I think it is. But he has the distinction of being the other doctor ever to be fired for any reason."

"Unethical behavior," read Harry, frowning. The more he read, the more disturbed him. "And half of the staff becomes patients and they haven't had a cured patient in twelve years. Most either die or become permanent guests or…"

"Escape," gasped Kara.

"Do they have a revolving door installed or something?" asked Harry, looking at the escape statistics. A few times could be coincidence, but there were many escapes with the same patients.

"Yeah, it seems like it, and Gotham is not a preferred tourist destination for obvious reasons and there is a rather weird urban legend coming out of there, something that the police want to keep quiet," said Chloe. The little information she had been able to find out was intriguing enough, it was what she could not uncover…that intrigued her. "Strange's predecessor put a paper bag on his head and tried to poison the city's water supply with a fear toxin. So Strange was considered to be even more extreme than that. And now Strange is Belle Reve's new chief psychiatrist."

"I'm going to just have to keep a closer eye on Belle Reve," concluded Harry, or rather he would have his sources inside take a closer look at this Hugo Strange.

"So, what was the big deal about your mother's journal?" asked Chloe, curiosity getting the better of her. "You went into weird and cryptic mode the other day."

"It was…unsettling," said Harry in a voice that was too eerily calm and Kara tightened her grip on his hand, giving him strength. "The reason I have my role as the Herald of Death is because of a deal she made."

Chloe tried to say something but Harry put up a hand to silence her.

"To think that you know someone, but then that vision gets shattered in a few moments and what you thought you know…everything gets challenged. Honestly, that entire deal is quite the paradox. If she didn't make the deal she did, I wouldn't be here. But.. if she didn't make the deal as well, then…well I don't know. I never knew she was that way, but the people in that world seemed determined to build up an idealized picture of Lily Potter."

"Or maybe that's what she made everyone believe she was?" suggested Kara. "She was trying to sway you into her little obsession."

"Wait, a minute trying to sway Harry?" said Chloe, her voice rising because of what she heard. "Last time I checked Harry's mother was dead, that was why he went on the entire mad and obsessive quest for the journal. And…"

"She preserved an echo of herself in the journal," explained Harry, and he could tell Chloe had a million questions, so he decided to take the shortest route to answer them. "In my old world, portraits move and can communicate with people in the real world. The knowledge they have is limited, but it's essentially artificial intelligence."

For a second, Harry remained silent, but he had more to say.

"And when she let me know what happened, and I may have gotten a bit short with her. If she showed a bit more remorse, and wasn't so rude to Kara, I might not have snapped at her."

"That's not the only reason," said Chloe. "I get the sense that your mother was the only untainted link to your past and…"

"My employer knew about the deal, and I don't know what she was trying to pull," said Harry. "Actually I do know what she was trying to pull."

Chloe was about to ask for elaboration, but there was no need for her to.

"Likely another way to demoralize me and…well trying to get me into line to follow her like a dutiful little soldier. She's played these games before. She made people suffer just so she can achieve some grand plan. And my mother…I get the sense she has her own plans regarding this situation. She wasn't too happy that Death changed the terms of their agreement."

"Meaning?" asked Chloe.

"Meaning she thinks she can use me to stage a coup against the guardian of the afterlife," said Harry, almost amused at the thought.

"She really can't think she can outsmart a supernatural force of nature, can't she?" asked Chloe.

There was silence, as Harry did wonder what exactly Lily was trying to accomplish. He had a feeling that there was something else that she was keeping from him, but that was par for the course for authority figures in his life.

"Her mortal counterpart went off with Death, and…it was done quietly," said Harry. "I now wonder if that's because she knew she left a way to guide me and…others."

"You seem to be sucked into it deep," said Chloe, and Harry just narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I know understatement."

"At least she gave me information about my powers," said Harry.

"Our powers," corrected Kara.

It took Chloe only a few seconds before she caught the significance of that particular correction.

"So, you're just like Harry, with being the employer of the Grim Reaper thing," said Chloe, surprised and Kara nodded. "Um…"

"News to me too, but I'm not going to…well it's just something I have to do," said Kara in a determined voice. "I don't know if anyone made a deal for me or not. I have a shrewd idea who might have done it, but I can't prove it."

"How does Clark figure into this?" asked Chloe. "You didn't tell him about this, did you?"

Harry and Kara shook their heads. Chloe frowned. She could tell this was likely going to snowball into something.

"Technically you're not supposed to know, but we're breaking one of the big rules," said Harry.

"Well, I feel privileged then," said Chloe. "Seriously…how does Clark figure into this?"

"He figures into…well it's complicated," said Harry, closing his eyes. "We still haven't figured out all of the angles…excuse me for one moment."

Harry excused himself to take a phone call.

The two girls heard Harry's tone get a bit distressed even if he tried to cover his panic.

"You were….I see, and she…I see…yes Clark…I agree it could be dangerous, both herself and others. Thank for calling me…and don't let her out of your sight whatever you do until we get a full scope of what happened!"

Harry sighed. He put a hand to his head.

"There was an accident with Lana and Clark," said Harry, and Kara nearly jumped up immediately.

"Is he okay?" asked Chloe.

"Accident, if Clark actually admits it, he's not okay," said Kara before she took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"They got struck by lightning, and….Lana received a part of Clark's powers," said Harry, and that point Chloe grew a bit nervous and alarmed. Harry was trying to wrap his head around how this happened. Kara's expression grew impatient, so he regained his bearings. "They're both recovering them. I'll take you both of them…now."

Harry popped both Chloe and Kara away to the Kent Farm, but in the back of his mind he wondered what kind of damage control he to oversee and what kind of hand waving he would have to do.

As long as Lana didn't do anything stupid, he felt he could deal with the situation.

Somehow Harry's confidence faltered at that thought.

To Be Continued in Chapter 15 "Hostile."