Chapter 3

Kal led the way back to the house. He figured they should have this very sensitive talk indoors. When he reached the living room he stopped and turned to his dad. Once again he had a hard time masking his emotions. He cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the lump that formed. "Ask away."

"Where are we from?" Clark asked quickly. His burning desire to know where he came from was obvious.

Kal smiled softly. "We come from a planet called Krypton. Our parents sent us here to save us."

"Save you?" Martha questioned. "From what?"

"From Krypton's destruction." Kal said sadly. "My father, Jor-El, was a renowned scientist on Krypton. He discovered that Krypton was on its way to self-destruction, but when he tried to warn the high council, they rebuffed him. They then forbade him and my mother, Laura, from leaving Krypton. They didn't want to cause a panic." Kal said sarcastically. "So in the little time they had left, my father built a ship for me and sent me to Earth, along with all the knowledge of Krypton."

Clark, Martha and Jonathan were staring at him with wide eyes.

Kal smiled at his parents. "In fact, it wasn't luck that made you two find me."

Jonathan's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, son?"

"Jor-El had been to Earth before. He met Grandpa Kent."

Jonathan's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Kal smiled. "He was sent here when he was young as a rite of passage. He fell in love with a woman, Lana's great aunt actually, and they had an affair. Someone else, who was in love with her as well, flew into a jealous rage and shot Jor-El. But because he is like me, the bullets bounced off him and one hit the woman, killing her. Her husband was framed and Jor-El was being hunted on suspicion. He ended up here and met Grandpa Kent. Grandpa helped Jor-El hide, even gave him some new clothes. Jor-El said he would never forget Grandpa's kindness. He knew there would be no one better to raise me than the family that helped him so much."

The others stared at him in astonishment as they tried to digest the new information.

Kal continued to smile at them for a moment before he froze, a sudden thought creeping in his head. His father wasn't the only one to have been here before…

He stood up suddenly, startling the others. He moved around the house, looking for that one picture of his parents that had never changed. He found it on the table in the entrance hall, surrounded by pictures of himself and his parents. He grabbed it and went back to the others.

"In fact," he said as he carefully took the back off the frame, "my father wasn't the only one to have visited this house." He gently took the small, hidden photo out of the frame and smiled sadly at it. He walked up to his younger self, who was sitting in between their parents on the couch. He held the photo out to him. "This was our mother."

Clark's eyes grew wide as Martha gasped. Gingerly he took the photo, fearing that it would break if he wasn't gentle. He stared at the young blonde woman in the photo for what seemed like ages, desperately drinking in her image. She was beautiful.

"She was here?" Martha whispered, staring at the young woman.

Kal nodded. "She wanted to see the kind of people that would be raising her son." He smiled. "After the visit, she agreed that there was no one better to raise me."

A tear fell from Clark's eye, barely making it to his chin before he wiped it away impatiently.

Martha shared a gentle smile with Jonathan. "She was beautiful Clark." She frowned suddenly. "I can't imagine what she had been going through. Knowing she had to give you up to strangers to save your life. I can't even imagine…"

Kal nodded. "Her only worry was that no one would love me."

Martha got up and gave her older son a hug, not just for him but she needed reassurance that he was ok. He hugged her back tightly. Despite having known all this for quite a while now, it still hurt.

"H-how," Clark's voice cracked. He cleared it roughly before trying again. "How did you find out all of this?"

Kal smiled. "Over the course of several years, I learned bits and pieces. I learned what I know about Jor-El by myself, but Kara was the one who told me about our mother."

"Who's Kara?" Clark asked, still clutching the photo in his hand.

Kal smiled widely, though a sharp pang went through his chest at the thought of her. "She's our cousin, and the only other survivor of Krypton."

"Wait," Jonathan leaned forward, an intense look on his face, "I thought you said that you were sent alone?"

"I was," Kal agreed with a nod, "but Kara was sent by her father, Zor-El, after me. He didn't tell her what his plans really involved." Kal scowled. He would forever hate Zor-El for all the pain he put his cousin through. "He wanted Kara to kidnap me as a baby, release a cloned version of himself and my mother, who he was in love with, and they would take over the world."

Martha gasped as Clark and Jonathan looked angry.

Kal shook his head. "Kara had no idea that was what Zor-El had planned. She didn't even know about Krypton's destruction. She thought she was sent here to watch over me and protect me. She loves me and I love her. She's family."

"Well where is she?" Clark asked, excitement in his voice. Just knowing that he had family out there, flesh and blood family, filled him with such joy. He wasn't as alone as he thought.

Kal shifted. He didn't know if he should tell them yet. He had no idea what he was doing. Messing with the time stream was extremely dangerous. He already revealed way too much. Until he knew that being here wouldn't drastically change the future, he should probably stop talking. "I think I've said too much. I revealed too much about the future. I need to find a way home."

Clark frowned, not happy that Kal wouldn't tell them anything more.

Jonathan nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I agree. Knowing too much about one's future isn't good."

Kal smiled. "No it's not."

Clark sighed, knowing there was no way to change his mind. "So how are you going to go back to your time then?"

Kal frowned thoughtfully. "I don't know. When I time-traveled before, I had items that did it. Those items don't really exist right now. Unless…" A thought crossed his mind. Of course it would work, but it would also drastically change his history. After all, he didn't create the Fortress until almost three years from now.

"Unless what?" Martha asked, leaning forward curiously.

Kal bit his lip. "The only way I can think of would change my history, and your future."

Clark frowned. "But isn't that what you are trying to prevent? Changing the future?"

Kal sighed. "Yes, but it is the only way for me to know how to get home. I have to create the Fortress."

Jonathan frowned, a quizzical look overtaking his face. "Fortress? Like your Fortress of Solitude?" He asked with a slight grin.

Kal smiled. "Not quite. I do call it the Fortress of Solitude but it is so much more than the loft ever was. It's a giant structure made of ice and crystals from Krypton. It houses my father's Artificial Intelligence along with all the knowledge of Krypton. Creating the Fortress is the only way I will learn how to get home."

Kal stopped, his head cocking to the side, a frown adorning his face. "We have company."

Jonathan straightened from his slouched position. "What do you mean? How can you tell?"

"I achieved the power of super hearing a while ago." Kal explained, head still tilted as he listened to their unwanted visitors. "I heard them as soon as they reached the main road. It's Chloe and Pete. They're about to pull into the driveway."

Martha and Clark jumped up and ran to the kitchen, pulling back the window curtain slightly to peek outside. Sure enough, there was Chloe's red car pulling up to the barn.

"What are we going to tell them?" Clark asked his mom, panic in his voice. He knew he could tell Pete what was going on but Chloe was with him.

Martha bit her lip. "We're going to have to get rid of them somehow."

"No."

Everyone jumped at Kal's sharp voice. He was staring at the window with regret in his eyes. "You tell them the truth. The entire truth."

"Clark," Jonathan grabbed his shoulder. "We can't risk Chloe finding out about you."

Kal smiled. "In my time she already knows."

Martha gasped and Clark froze. "And she's… ok with it?"

"She found out on her own and kept it a secret from me for months." His smile widened. "She wanted me to tell her when I was ready. Unfortunately, something happened and she had to reveal that she already knew about me. I have never regretted her knowing my secret."

Clark bit his lip but before he could make a decision there was a knock on the door.

"Clark!" Chloe's voice came through the door. "You home?"

Kal looked at Clark with a raised eyebrow.

Clark took a steadying breath before opening the door to his two best friends.

"Hey, wanna go to The Talon where we can gorge ourselves in caffeine and work on our Torch article?" Chloe asked teasingly, big smile on her face as she bounded over the threshold. Her smile disappeared once she spotted Kal standing by the fridge.

"What's going on?" Pete asked, eyes wide in confusion and slight panic as he looked from Kal to Clark.

Clark bit his lip. "So, funny thing happened…" He looked toward his parents for help, only to receive a shrug from his mom and his dad looking as clueless as he did.

Kal stepped forward. "I'm Clark, from the future."

Clark closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. Probably could have handled that better.