Hope you like the chapter. I think it makes Mallory and Conner bond more and shows that they really are like siblings, even though in the cave characters like Wally or Zatanna end up taking the attention. Also I wanted Mallory and Conner to meet Clark's parents and bring Lois into the story in person instead of just her byline. Hope you like the chapter, please review.
Mallory sighed and stared out the bus window as it sped along the bumpy country road. "Why couldn't we fly again?" she asked, looking at Clark. He and Kara were sitting behind her and Conner, and he smiled at her impatience.
"We don't want anyone to be suspicious about why four supers are going to a small country town. Besides, the bus ride is part of the experience," he explained. Mallory sighed and slumped in her seat.
"We could've been there by now if we'd just gone ourselves," Conner muttered.
"Oh, come on, you guys. Be glad that they've fixed the roads since I left. This ride used to be murder," Kara told them, and Mallory looked at her in surprise as they went over a particularly deep rut that sent her slamming into Conner.
"This is fixed?" she asked.
Kara shrugged. "The town's just another two miles down the road. Hang in there," she said.
Mallory sighed and leaned her head on the window. She'd lost cell reception as soon as they'd come into the county, so she couldn't even complain to the team.
It had been four days since she and the other female members of the team had rounded up the gang in Dakota City, and she found herself wondering why she'd decided that going to meet Clark's parents would be better than patrolling Metropolis without him. She sighed. Peter and Gar had gone home, leaving the cave seeming too quiet, which had been part of the reason she'd come.
The bus slowed to a stop, the rusty brakes screaming in protest, and the driver turned in his seat. "Smallville," he announced.
Clark, Kara, Conner, and Mallory stood and got their luggage, then filed out the bus. They were the only ones to get off, and no one got on.
"Well, what now?" Mallory asked, looking around.
"There's the car," Clark said, pointing to a two seater pickup truck.
"Where's Pa?" Kara asked.
"In the store," Clark replied. They went to the truck, and an older man came out of the little convenience store a few minutes later.
"Well, Clark, good to see you," he said, shaking his son's hand.
"Hey, Pa," Kara said, walking over. Pa Kent's face broke into a smile and he gave his lost daughter a hug.
"Kara, oh it's been so long," he said. Kara smiled, hugging him, then they stepped away and the man turned to Conner and Mallory, who were standing shoulder to shoulder waiting to be acknowledged.
"Pa, that's Conner Kent and Mallory Johnson," Clark told him, then he turned to Mallory and Conner and said, "This is my father, Jonathan Kent."
Mallory held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Kent," she said. Jonathan brushed her hand to the side and gave her a hug.
"Nice to finally meet you, Torch," he said, a sparkle in his eye.
Mallory smiled. "So you've heard of me," she said.
"Yep, Clark's told us a lot about both of you. Why, we already think of you as part of the family. As a matter of fact, you can both just call us Ma and Pa. It's easier than all that Mr. and Mrs. junk." He shook Conner's hand, then they turned to the truck. "Well, who wants to ride up front with me?" Pa Kent asked.
"I will. After all, we have a lot of catching up to do," Kara said.
Everyone loaded up, with Clark, Mallory, and Conner piling into the bed of the truck with the luggage, then Pa started driving down the road, this one even worse than the one the bus had been on.
"You two are quiet," Clark commented a few miles into the drive.
Mallory and Conner exchanged a glance, and he shrugged. "Not exactly what I was expecting," he said, and Mallory nodded.
"What were you expecting?" Clark asked.
Mallory shrugged. "I don't know, but not this. Did you really grow up in this tiny little town?"
Clark laughed. "Sure, what about it?"
"Well, how'd you ever become a big city reporter? I mean, this place doesn't really scream social skills."
"For your information, a lot of people from here go on to get good jobs. Lana Lang is from Smallville too."
"Lanna Lang, the big designer? You know her?" Mallory asked, surprised.
Clark nodded. "Sure. We grew up together."
They went over a rut and Mallory almost fell off the bed. Conner and Clark each grabbed an arm, and she steadied herself.
"Thanks," she muttered. "Why are the roads so bad?" she asked irritably. Clark shook his head and smiled, not answering.
"Are we almost there?" Conner asked. He was as impatient as Mallory to get out of the car and stretch his legs.
"Almost, the house is just about a mile down the road," Clark assured them.
Mallory sighed. "Can we fly at the house?" she asked hopefully.
Clark nodded. "Yeah, the house is far enough away from everything that no one will see you," he told her.
Mallory let out a sigh of relief. Soon they pulled into a long driveway and came to a small house seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Pa Kent pulled the truck up next to the house and Mallory and Conner immediately jumped out.
"Well, come on, kids. Martha's been waiting to see you all day," Jonathan said. Clark gathered everyone's luggage and the five of them filed into the house. A sweet-looking older woman was waiting by the door.
"Oh, Kara!" she exclaimed, wrapping the girl in a hug.
"I missed you, too, Ma," Kara told her.
Martha let her go and took a long look at her. "You look good," she said finally. Kara smiled and stepped to the side so Ma could see the others. "You must be Conner," she said, looking at the clone with a smile. "Well, you are the spitting image of Clark when he was younger." Conner's face didn't change, but Mallory felt his body tense a little beside her. Then Martha leaned closer to him like she was going to tell him a secret and whispered, "You're better looking, though." Conner smiled, and Martha gave him a hug before looking at Mallory. "Well, Mallory, it's so good to meet you. Clark's told us so much about you, I feel like I've known you for years," she said. Mallory smiled and returned the woman's hug, then went to stand with Conner while Martha said hello to Clark. "Well, I'll show you where you're going to be staying. I hope you don't mind bunking together," Martha said, leading the way up the stairs.
Martha put Mallory and Kara in the girl's old room and Clark and Conner in his old room. Mallory looked around. There was a bed and an air mattress, and a shelf full of comic books. Mallory walked over to the stack and thumbed through it.
"You don't strike me as a comic fan," she commented, holding up a book with a man spider on the cover.
Kara shrugged. "Everyone's got something," she replied. Mallory chuckled and started unpacking her bag. They would be staying with Clark's parents for two days. She just hoped it wouldn't be too boring.
Mallory woke up the next morning to literally being picked up and thrown onto the bed. She started awake, looking around, and saw Clark standing in front of her in overalls and an old shirt.
"Rise and shine, Torch," he said.
Mallory rubbed her bleary eyes and groped for her phone out of habit. "What time is it?" she asked.
"5:30," he replied, pulling her to her feet.
"Right, right. And why are we awake in the middle of the night?" she asked groggily.
Clark laughed. "It's the morning, and I want you to get the full farm experience, so you've got some chores to do before breakfast."
Mallory groaned, but she went to her dresser and pulled out the first thing her hands came across. Clark left so she could get dressed, and she stumbled out into the hall a few minutes later in a pair of old jeans and a t shirt. She ran into Conner by the stairs. He was obviously wearing some of Clark's old clothes, some overalls and a button up plaid shirt, and she couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" Conner asked.
Mallory got control of her laughter enough to manage, "Nothing," before bursting into laughter all over again.
Conner crossed his arms and smiled. "You're no prize, either," he said.
Mallory looked down at her outfit and shrugged. "Hey, at least I look real. You look like something out of Beverly Hillbillies."
They went down the stairs and Martha smiled when she saw them. "Well, good to see you awake at a decent hour. I always had to fight with Kara to get her up in time to do the chores."
Mallory smiled. "Yeah, that's what we're on our way to do," she told her, and she and Conner went outside to find Clark. "He's in the barn," Conner told her, and they went over to the building.
"Well, that wasn't as long as I thought it was going to be," Clark said.
"Ok, what are these chores we're supposed to do?" Mallory asked. Clark stepped to the side, gesturing to a cow behind him. "You're kidding," Mallory said.
"Nope. you're going to milk old Bessie. And Conner, you're going to split some wood."
Conner shrugged. "Sure, no problem," he said.
Clark handed Mallory a bucket and grabbed a stool. "I'll show you what to do," he assured her. He did a few pulls, showing her how to aim the milk, then got up and gestured for her to sit. She did, and attempted to copy the way Clark had done it, but the first stream that she pulled ended up on the ground beside the pail. Clark chuckled and knelt beside her.
"Not as easy as it looks, huh?" He put a hand over hers to show her how to do it, and Mallory rolled her eyes.
"You just can't wait to have kids to show them how to do this stuff, can you?" she asked.
Clark smiled. "For now, I'll settle for you," he replied, and Mallory sighed and continued milking the cow.
When Clark was satisfied that she had the hang of it, he left her alone to go see how Conner was doing. Mallory finished milking the cow and brought the pail to the kitchen where Martha was turning the heat off the oatmeal.
"I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I brought it in here," Mallory explained to the woman.
Martha smiled. "Is that what Clark had you doing out there? Well, just leave it on the counter, Jonathan will take care of it after we eat. If you want to go get Clark and Conner, I'll find Kara and we can eat."
Mallory nodded and went out the front door. They were in the front yard, Clark was showing Conner how to aim the axe, and they were laughing. "Hey, guys! Martha said to come in," she said. Clark put a hand on Conner's shoulder as they walked to the house, and Mallory went back to the kitchen.
"You can call me Ma, if you want," Martha told her. "I already feel like you're part of the family, and I know Jonathan does too."
Mallory smiled and helped her set the table. "Ok, I'll try," she said as Kara, Conner, Clark, and Jonathan came into the kitchen. Everyone sat down and Martha started dishing out the oatmeal.
"Well, Clark, how did the kids do this morning?" Jonathan asked.
Clark smiled. "They did fine. They're naturals. Oh, I forgot to tell you, but Lois is coming today."
Mallory looked up, interested. She'd seen Lois Lane, heard about her from Clark, even been interviewed by her, but she'd never really met her. Not as Mallory, anyway.
"Oh, Clark, that's fine. Is she going to be staying for a few days?" Martha asked.
"No, she's just coming to see you two, meet Mallory and Conner, and spend some time with Kara before she goes back."
Kara shook her head at Clark, and Martha and Jonathan looked at Kara in surprise.
"Goes back? You mean, you're not back for good?" Martha asked.
Kara sighed heavily. "Ma, Pa, I'm sorry, but I don't live in this time anymore. When my team finishes our mission, we're going back."
"Well, at least you have the decency to tell us this time," Martha said, her voice almost bitter and very hurt.
Mallory and Conner looked at each other.
"Ma, I'm sorry about that," Kara said quietly.
Martha glared at Kara even as tears pooled in her eyes. "Well, I should hope you are. You have no idea what it was like to find out that you were just gone. Not dead, but thinking we would never see you again. And we didn't even get a goodbye."
Kara stared at her bowl, unable to meet Martha's eyes. Silence settled over the table, and Mallory shifted uncomfortably, feeling like she'd been thrown into a family fight she didn't belong in.
"Uh, Mallory, Conner, why don't you two go look around the farm, give us time to sort this out?" Clark asked.
Conner shrugged and the two of them left the table. Mallory went up to her room to get her fireproof shorts and shirt, then she joined Conner in the front yard.
"So much for being 'like family'," Conner said.
Mallory shrugged. "Hey, I don't mind not being there for that discussion. We weren't even there when Kara left," she said.
Conner narrowed his eyes and leaned against the barn. "Maybe, but I don't like being sent away like we're kids."
Mallory smiled. "Hey, being a kid isn't that bad. You have more fun that way. Come on." She flamed up and flew a few feet off the ground, then turned and offered Conner a hand. He took it, and she flew them up into the clouds for a view of the town.
"Wow, that's really it? I'm underwhelmed," Conner said.
Mallory smiled. "Stay whelmed. We're only here today and tomorrow, and it'll be fun."
They saw a car approaching, so Mallory lowered them back to the ground. When the car finally got to the house, Mallory recognized Lois behind the wheel and walked over with Conner following her.
"Hey, guys. Is Clark around?" she asked.
"They're all in the house having a family discussion," Mallory told her.
"And why are you out here?" she asked.
"Clark sent us out here so they could talk," Conner told her.
"Oh, he did, did he?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Come with me, both of you." She started striding to the house purposefully, and Mallory and Conner exchanged a look before Conner shrugged and they followed her in.
"Clark?" she called when she opened the door.
"Lois? You're here early," Clark said, opening his arms to give her a hug.
"Why did you send them out of the room like children?" Lois asked, dodging the hug, her eyes narrowed challengingly.
Clark looked at her in surprise. "Well, we were talking about Kara going to the future, I didn't think they should have to suffer through that conversation," he said.
Lois crossed her arms. "They're part of this family, they deserve to make their own decisions, and it's their right to be part of family discussions," she said decisively. When Clark didn't agree right away, she raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"Uh, yes, you're right, Lois. I guess I didn't see it that way," he said, then he turned to Mallory and Conner and said, "I'm sorry. I won't do that again."
Mallory and Conner looked at each other, surprised that Lois had confronted him about them, and even more surprised that he hadn't even really tried to defend himself.
Lois smiled sweetly and opened her arms to him. "I missed you," she told the man of steel, her entire continence changing. Clark smiled and hugged her, and Lois looked at Mallory and Conner over his shoulder and smiled and winked. Mallory and Conner grinned at her, sensing the start of a beautiful friendship.