Chapter 20 [Talon—Five minutes earlier]
Lana slid her phone back into its waiting pocket. She looked around the empty café. She'd locked the front door ten minutes earlier. She'd set the coffee pot on its latest perking session. A couple of pieces of chocolate cake sat waiting on a nearby table. Her eyes riveted on the door.
She'd wanted Truth. She'd pursued it. Now like Pandora, she wondered if she'd bitten off more than she could readily chew. She still struggled with Louise's earlier revelations. On top of that, Dread ate at her over Clark's reaction. Did he know these things? How would he take her knowing? How would his parents react?
Now that the box was open, it couldn't be shut again.
Guess the whole 'forward and damn the torpedoes' thing is overrated. Isn't it? She bit her lip. Her fingers tapped on the counter. How she wanted to talk with Miranda, Chloe, Pete or anyone about this stuff before going to Clark with it. She wished she could ease her way along this particular rough stretch.
Nothing easy about sharing this chunk of news. That was for sure.
A knock on the glass jarred her back to reality. Her eyes saw the Plaid Farm Boy in question waiting for her. Right on cue and…for once…on time. She coughed allowing herself a slight smile. She slowly meandered across the floor. Her feet weighed increasingly more with each passing stride. Her key turned in the lock. She pushed the door open. "Hey, Clark. Thanks for coming. Come on in."
"Hey, Lana. Everything okay? You seem kind of tense. Did I do something?" Worry numbed him as well. He almost crept across the metal threshold and into the echoing area. His heart's beating echoed in his ears. "We alone?"
"It's after closing. I figured this was the most private place." She shrugged. "I've got cake and coffee."
He considered the set table. On the one hand, his mouth watered from the decadent treat, the javanated aroma and his heart's desire serving it. On the other, he picked up on her anxiety. He eased his way into the café. "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"It can be a great thing. It depends how honest we are with each other." She shut and locked the door again. "Relax, Clark. I just want to talk and get things straight." She smiled for his benefit. "Take a seat. I'll pour the coffee."
"Uh okay." He started for the booth in question. As he did so, he x-rayed the eating area and surrounding rooms. Despite Assurance's promises to the contrary, Paranoia urged caution. If it had been anyone but Lana, he'd have turned and sped away. As he eased himself into the booth, none of the symptoms associated with meteor sickness surfaced. She wouldn't spike the cake. Come on! Still why is she so on edge? He saw her coming toward him with the two coffees. "You made the regular stuff?"
"You seem to like it better, Clark. I know you'd drink the other blend for my benefit. I really appreciate that. Guess that's part of any relationship. Isn't it?" She set the two mugs on the table. "I do know how you like your coffee."
She said relationship. That means she wants it too! He grinned at her. "You do. Thanks, Lana. You seem tense. What's going on? Is it something I did?"
She sucked in a tortured breath. "No, Clark. You're fine. It's just been a really weird day." She eased herself into the seat across from him. "Another day…more crazy revelations. Chalk it up to another day in Smallville." She rolled her eyes and coughed.
"Another crazy revelation? You've seemed out of sorts since second block. What happened before that?" He allowed the fork to sink through the decadent fudge layers. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth.
"I was using the Torch's computer to do research. I found out about how the Talon was nearly torn down. Mr. Dubois really got hurt in the standoff." She ground her teeth and looked toward the front window. "He ended up going through that window over there. Wow."
"Yeah. That's kind of intense. No wonder he's so angry. Still there's more going on with him. He has his reasons for being like Byron. My folks know something too but they're in that hush-hush mode," he agreed.
"Clark Kent being shut out of a Kent Family secret. This is a sight," she teased. "How does it feel?"
He frowned. "I didn't have a choice, Lana." Discomfort pushed him down into the cushions. "I did want to tell you after the twisters."
"Your Mom said that. Thanks though, Clark. I appreciate that. What I found out about you in the Torch kind of freaked me out. You might want to brace yourself." She gulped down a draught of coffee.
"Brace myself? For what? I'm not on some legal database, am I?" Fear stabbed at his spine. His eyes went wide. His face turned pale.
"It wasn't on the computer. Someone showed up at the Torch to talk to me." She shook her head. "It was really strange. My Great Aunt Louise just appeared out of nowhere."
"Great Aunt? Lana, I thought Nell and you were the last members of your family," he presumed.
"I found her obituary from 1961. Clark, she came back from the dead." She shook her head. "She interceded on your behalf."
"My behalf? Lana, I don't know this person. I wasn't even alive in 1961," he pointed out.
"I know, Clark. You weren't." She sipped on her coffee. "Aunt Louise told me about this guy she was in love with. His name was Joe. He wasn't just not from around here. He was from another planet called Krypton. Anyhow they had a brief time together. Then he had to go back. She begged him to take her with him. He couldn't. Just before he was to leave, she was shot." She exhaled and sucked in another deep breath.
"I'm sorry, Lana. That's really harsh. I hope that doesn't mean we can't be together." Dread chilled his heart once again.
"Aunt Louise said the opposite but let me finish. Apparently Joe went back to that Krypton place. He married a woman there. They had a son. Then the planet blew up. Just before that, Joe and his wife put their son in a rocket ship and launched him into space."
He spat his coffee back into the mug. Surprise startled him. Somehow she was telling a version of what had happened to him. "Did she tell you about the kid?"
"Yeah she did." She smiled. "The baby landed near here. His real name is Kal-El. I'm guessing he was found by a certain farm couple. When he's exposed to red meteors, he reacts like Pete, your Dad and I reacted to the Nicodemus flower." She looked pointedly at him.
He frowned. "So you're saying that there's another alien here like me?"
"Clark, from what Aunt Louise said, you're this Kal-El of Krypton. You called yourself that while you were exposed to the red rock." She reached out and clasped his hands in hers. "It's really overwhelming to me. I can imagine how this is for you."
He nodded. To say he was overwhelmed was a grotesque understatement. "Uh yeah." He couldn't believe that his father…biological father…had been in Smallville much less involved with Lana's family. He knew the name of his home world. "Krypton."
"She said Joe described it as a wonderful place…really scenic," she noted. "I'll get us some refills." She slid out of the booth and headed across the café.
Krypton? That's my world? He looked up at the ceiling. For so many years, he'd wondered why he'd been so different from everyone else. Just a year earlier, Jonathan had shown him the Ship. He'd discovered his x-ray vision and skin's developing hardness on top of the strength and speed. He could see that green and red meteors affected him differently. From what everyone had told him after the red meteor exposure, he called himself 'Kal.' He knew the octagonal disc and the symbols on it had some tie to this world…this Krypton.
Could that be where I'm from? What else does Lana's aunt know about me? Who was this guy, Joe? Who was his wife? Are they really my biological parents? My world's really gone? Much like being in a runoff-swollen river raging toward the sea, his mind struggled simply to doggie paddle through the torrent. Worry over his parents' (especially Jonathan's) reaction to these insights only piled on further. Could that be why I was calling myself Kal? That was my birth name? He stared into the lukewarm mug.
His self-awareness now seemed as murky as the liquid therein.
She cleared her throat. "Like a refill, Clark?" She resisted Curiosity's desire to pepper him with questions. Yes she wanted to know more about him and his origins.
He nodded. He slowly raised the mug toward her. "Thanks, Lana. Sorry. It's…wow."
"Told you it was overwhelming. Right?" She warmed his mug. Then she refilled hers. "Guess we know why you're so different. You're from this planet, Krypton. Your birth Dad's name was Joe or 'Joe El'. Our families go a ways back." She let a towel drop unceremoniously to the table. Then she placed the coffee pot on it. "I figure we're going to need it." Then she slid back into her former place.
"And you're not running away?"
She bit her lip. "Clark, I'll admit that the whole 'I'm in love with an alien' thing is going to take some time to adjust to. Still you're worth adjusting for. Besides you've been here since we were three years old. Right? Even if you are from Krypton, you were raised here in Smallville by human rules. I know you care. I can tell you want to tell me the truth. I know your Mom trusts me. Hope your Dad's okay with it."
"Yeah my Dad." He shook his head. "Dad's going to freak out."
She trembled. "I didn't go looking for this, Clark. It literally fell into my lap. I'm bringing this to you."
He sucked in a deep breath. A smile spread across his face. "I know. He'll appreciate that. Still he'll go all paranoid."
"If I had an alien foundling kid, I might be the same way, Clark. I get it," she reminded him. "At least I get why your Mom and he were so protective of you."
"Yeah." His eyes twinkled into hers. "Thanks for being so understanding, Lana. It means a lot. You have no idea how scared I've been. I was afraid you'd reject me."
"Not going to happen. Granted I have a lot to think about. Your Mom said it would be okay for me to ask her and your Dad questions. And there was something else." She giggled. "Maybe you could show me your spaceship sometime?"
He rolled his eyes. "I can do that." Still Relief washed across him. "Just as long as Chloe doesn't get the exclusive."
"She doesn't need to know that. I think she'd keep the Secret, Clark. Still I can see why you're careful with who you bring into it. Speaking of information, what else can you do? I've seen the strength, flight and speed. Is there anything else?"
He grimaced. "Yeah there are a couple of other things. The hovering thing…I still don't know how I did that. I guess when I don't think of anything else like during the tornadoes or in the Loft, it can happen. I have x-ray vision and heat vision."
She grabbed for her coat and threw it over herself.
He shook his head. "I'm not using the x-ray vision. Give me more credit than that, Lana. As for the heat vision, well…"
"You caused the fires here and at school?" she realized.
He sighed. "Those were accidental. Much like the floating, it just happened."
"Happened? Clark, how does something like that happen on its own?" She raised an eyebrow.
He shrugged. "You got me aroused. Guess Chloe's wrong about pheromones and me." He sighed and drank from his coffee.
"Wait. So I got you excited. That made you set something on fire?" Her mind pondered that particular thought.
"We were getting pretty intense in here. My heart started racing and my eyes went off." He shook his head. "It isn't going to happen anymore. I've been practicing around the farm."
"Practicing? That's kind of hard to practice. How are you doing that?" She imagined him starting fires and putting them out.
"Right after what happened here, I learned how to focus on various things. I have it under control," he assured her.
"So that's why you were so flushed and hot here," she realized. "Guess we'll need to take it slower."
"I'll be okay, Lana. Just hang in there with me. It means a lot to have your support," he requested.
"I'm not going anywhere, Clark." She squeezed his hands. Acceptance glowed in her eyes.
And like that, the first steps were taken…..