Chapter 1: Arrival to Earth - Written by Sky_walker_123 (Based on Superman: Earth One, Luke5921's A Supe of a Man & Man of Steel: The Early Years)

Edited by DarthWizard

(Music: "Day One (Interstellar theme)", by Hans Zimmer)

(Earth - October 30, 2005 - Smallville, Kansas - 5:30 pm)

The stars and the Moon dominated the sky of Earth. The couple came to a stop when they arrived at the top of their favorite hill when they went stargazing. She laid on her back next to her husband as the two started looking at the night sky. Martha Kent felt the soft, damp grass as she guided her hands along the soft blades and took in its rich aroma. This land had been in her blood for generations, since before her grandmother was born. It gave her hope knowing life still flourished between her fingers, below her feet, and everywhere around her. In Death, there could be rebirth. The stars told this tale. Here, she dared to believe this was true.

It also reinforced that there was courage in expanding beyond what was believed to be the only truth. There was courage in accepting death when that expansion was over, but she smiled knowing life still was strong. She wondered what it meant for the time she had left, and those who were dead that didn't deserve to be. The ache of her muscles matched the ache of deep sorrow she felt inside. Jonathan once said they'd have a large family to share their plot of land. The very land she was stargazing on with her only love, yet the heartache still tormented her. They had been trying for years to create that large family they agreed to form.

That family was but a fantasy now after her failed pregnancy, her body could recover, but her heart still ached from the loss. Her mind needed to heal, to maybe forget if possible. She kept her eyes on the glittering stars, remaining unmoved in her spot. The pull of the great white moon above, broke Martha's gaze from across the stars as night settled around their favorite hill. All aches, pains, and torment vanished among the atmosphere of the night. Crickets chirped, coyotes howled, frogs croaked, yet those sweet delicate notes only made her appreciate Jonathan's presence even more.

This had always been her home since she was a child, but after losing what was supposed to be their child, Martha felt her heartache once again, they couldn't experience this wonderful moment of life with one more soul. Except now, her back was firmly planted on the ground. It was sturdy, but soft enough to where she felt connected to the Earth. Her mind traveled to how many times her life had been overturned. Then all the wounds or memories smoothed over so she could live with herself. Her past. The soil was cool and damp. The town in the distance lay nestled in a protected valley of immense natural beauty that consisted of houses built right next to each other, each of various sizes, colors and materials, as well as the firehouse and the police station that watched like a silent sentinel.

It was a simple living, but peaceful. Honest work, amongst honest people.

"Martha." Her head turned to the familiar voice. Her heart beat a little faster despite the moment of rest. The white light of the moon cast a small, but bright hue against the man who said her name, still knowing who it was. Jonathan. His brown eyes locked onto her azure, ocean blue as they lay there on the grass, still taking in the sight of the stars and the moon.

"Did you hear me?" Jonathan asked? Martha chuckled a bit, wondering if he was gonna ask her what star constellations she can see.

"No. I was too focused on all of the stars." Martha smiled, and Jonathan chuckled again.

"I was asking you if you can name one of the constellations." Jonathan replied. Martha burst out into small laughter. Of course he was gonna ask that, but she couldn't exactly blame him. Jonathan wasn't that big of a space-expert like she was. Martha on the other hand, was always fascinated with the stars during her childhood, the studies of space, exo-planets, nebulas and whatnot.

It just so happened that it got her the nickname The Astronomer during her school years. She didn't mind the nickname, but sometimes it caused some unnecessary attention when people were struggling with their work. They'd ask her for help, which she was mostly grateful for, but other people sometimes did it to trick her. It frustrated her indeed, but didn't deter her from that dream. When she met Jonathan however, her path set on a slightly different destination. Sure, she still kept the astronomy teachings with her, but being with Jonathan allowed her some of the happiest moments with him.

He at first was disillusioned with the goodwill of the world, as he blamed himself for the washing of the whole Lang farm near where he lived after he saved his own farm with his parents. Jonathan usually said that he heard the horses wailing in his sleep after that night, but being with Martha helped him see the good in this world again. She is his world, and that is a fact the two will never let go of.

"Ok, ok." Martha chuckled as she took hold of herself, before pointing to a star in the sky, one that was known to be a part of a constellation many would know. "You see Regulus, correct?"

Jonathan narrowed his eyes to look at the sky. It took him a hot 3 seconds, but he found it before nodding. Martha then trailed her fingers along the sky as Jonathan followed, while Martha began to name the stars of the constellation. She traced her finger over to the second brightest star of the constellation: Algieba, which means "the Lion's mane."

After spotting Algieba and tracing out the head of the constellation, Martha and Jonathan turned their sights over to the haunches and the tail which are formed by a triangle of stars, the brightest of which is denebola, or "the tail of the Lion." Jonathan, admittedly tried his best to follow along as Martha traced out the stars of the constellation, which Martha ended revealing its name to be Leo.

Not a bad name for a constellation. Jonathan thought, before immediately turning his sights to the rest of the stars in the sky. Except he was interrupted by a soft, maybe too hard slap on the shoulder from Martha.

"Were you even listening, you old fool?" Martha said, a smile evident on her face.

"I tried ok? We both know I'm not that big of an astronomer as you are Martha." Jonathan retorted before chuckling too.

"Oh, now who's too focused on the stars, huh?" Martha said, before belting out a big laugh. Jonathan looked at her with mock offense and shock on his face.

"HEY! You dare use my words against me?!" He said. Martha kept on laughing her ass off. Jonathan tried to defend himself again before eventually joining in the laughter too. Whenever they had the chance to do this thing, this hill would always be their favorite place to go and watch the stars from. Of course, sometimes that meant that Jonathan had to quite literally beg his dad to take the truck so that he and Martha would drive to said location. Plus, this spread like wild-fire. Not the stargazing bit, but the begging for the truck part, which every time Jonathan heard about, he would get insanely embarrassed about.

"And for your information, it was Ellie who let the cat out of the bag with that one." Martha said while chuckling.

"ELLIE?! OF ALL PEOPLE!" Jonathan said, feigning mock surprise and betrayal at one of his closest friends.

"Yeah! If I remember right, she did that to get back at you for asking me out. Ellie had a huge crush on you back in the day." Martha said with a triumphant smirk, remembering every time Ellie tried to get her out of the way so the latter could be with Jonathan. The banter continued, with Martha going so far as to mock her anger and twist Jonathan's arm, eventually making him yield, before the two calmed down and returned their gaze to the sky. Looking at the stars felt like eternal peace. Like all worries could be washed away in the blink of an eye. People wouldn't have to worry about them. Just forget them, like that. Let them be themselves at this moment.

And the thought of how large and infinite the universe is. Which in turn, when people swipe it the other way around, makes them so insignificant. Yet, despite being so small, being so insignificant, people give so much meaning to the universe. The humans on earth are just as small as the rest of the galaxy. It can be the most beautiful thing on the Earth. Then again though, stray thoughts of Dark times always find ways to weasel their ways into the mind's eye, taking all of the excitement of possibilities away. That's what happened when Martha's face dropped and breathed out a deep, sad sigh, softly squeezing her eyes shut.

Jonathan didn't need to know what she was thinking as he went through the same thought process. Albeit a little worse for wear. He cried when he heard the news, and it didn't help when he quickly figured out Martha's state too. He felt like that young kid all over again, the one who saved his own farm at the expense of the Lang farm. Most of the time, he didn't know what to do, and inturn, he blamed himself for Martha's state. Since then, he doubled his work overtime on the farm, refusing to go to bed unless he was absolutely a hundred percent certain everything was done.

"Martha, I-" Jonathan stopped himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't bottle up these feelings, he needed to let them out. It was eating him up from the inside ever since that damn day and he couldn't bottle them up anymore.

"Ever since that day… I've been growing distant from you and I don't know why. It feels like I've lost a part of myself. I know it seems like you've moved on from this already, but the truth is, I'm still dealing with this predicament. I've been neglecting you, I've been working harder than I normally would…"

Jonathan rubbed his eyes, feeling the tiredness and the sadness wash over him like a wave crashing down on the beach. "If only… maybe had I known about this sooner… Maybe I could've done something to prevent it. Please don't be mad at me." Jonathan's voice sounded small at the last sentence. He genuinely hoped Martha would forgive him for his actions after that day. Cool fingertips went to his cheek, his skin twitching lightly at their presence, as his head was gently, but firmly turned towards Martha. Jonathan opened his eyes, the tears threatening to burst out, but what surprised him was the somber, but knowing look Martha gave him.

She already forgave him, and she wasn't going to let him hide from her, and beat himself down over this.

"Hey…" Martha whispered. "You couldn't have done anything about it if you knew beforehand. Believe me, this was hard for me too. But I've been able to accept the truth, and let go. Since then, things have become easier for me. What I want to say Jonathan, is that it's not your fault. None of this… is your fault."

Jonathan squeezed his eyes shut, the sadness coming over him again.

"I can't stand seeing you work overtime, and blaming yourself for something that never happened Jonathan." Martha whispered, her voice cracking a little. "You're hurting yourself more than you know, and I don't want to see you lose yourself. Please Jonathan, try to let go. You couldn't have done anything about it even if you knew beforehand."

Jonathan still kept his eyes shut. These last few weeks were hard for him indeed. But one thing that nagged him in the back of his mind, which he acknowledged, was that during his work overtime, he neglected being with Martha, and he hated himself for that. But here she was, pleading with him to come back to her. He needed to set himself right. It's not going to be easy, that's true. But he couldn't just skulk around and live in his despair. He needed to get a hold of himself. With a deep sigh, he turned over and looked at Martha, with tears threatening to leave his eyes.

"I don't know if I'll be able to overcome this feeling. But… I would like to try." He said. That was all Martha needed to hear, as the two embraced each other, letting their emotions out.

"Thank you." Martha said, a sad smile crossing her face. The two held each other for what seemed like an endless time before breaking off the hug and looking at each other with newfound feelings; Jonathan, a resolve to overcome his grief, and Martha, always being there to support him no matter what.

"For you my dear, anything." Jonathan replied, as the two returned to laying on their backs to watch the stars.

"So, what's next?" Martha asked.

"Wellllll…" Jonathan said in a very sarcastic tone, earning a chuckle and an eye roll from Martha. "I guess for now we'll just have to be the cool childless Aunt and Uncle that will spoil my sister's kids whenever they come to visit us."

"Really?" Martha chuckled, wiping away the tears, threatening to leave her eyes.

"Yeah, I was thinking like, maybe movie nights, hiking, Mario kart races, fishing, you get the gist of it. I am going to be one radiant uncle." Jonathan declared with a grin on his face, earning a laugh and a slap on the shoulder from Martha.

"Oh what have we come to since high-school huh?" Martha laughed, with Jonathan joining in immediately after…

(Music: "The End of Our Island", by James Newton Howard [Start Song at 1:32])

BA-DOOM!

…Only to be startled by the loudest sound the two have ever heard without warning, and were forced to cover their ears after sitting upright instantly. Not only that but the sound spooked so much of the wildlife that hundreds of flocks of birds flew off from their sleeping areas. Maybe even some smaller wildlife scampered to wherever their safe-places were too.

"WHAT THE-" Martha screamed, covering her ears.

"Sonic Boom!" Jonathan yelled back. "But what could-" Jonathan was interrupted as his eyes landed on a blinding white light that soon overtook the entire area, turning it almost day for an entire second.

"-Dear lord…" He whispered. Martha turned to look at the light that was coming, and her eyes widened at the blinding sight that was before the two, caught in a trance-like state.

"DOWN!" Jonathan yelled, pushing Martha to the ground as the meteor shower flew over their heads. The ground shook with the power of a massive earthquake as the meteors kept coming in the thousands.

"THE FARM!" Jonathan shouted as loud as he could over the meteor shower. Martha seemed to hear him as she turned her head in surprise. The Kents owned that land for 5 generations and if they didn't get there fast, all of their hard work would be for nothing. Jonathan glanced at the parked car down the hill and back to Martha who seemed to follow his intent. His expression turned grim as he held up 3 fingers as a sign for a countdown.

3

2

1

Jonathan and Martha crawled on the grass until they grabbed their bags and slowly descended the hill to their car when they picked up the pace and began running to the car. The two of them threw their baggage in the cargo bed before getting in the drivers seats, with Jonathan at the wheel and Martha in the shotgun. Jonathan turned the key and the engine roared to life, pushing on the pedal as hard as he could, turning to the road and racing as fast to the farm as possible. Luckily, the hill that they go to for star-gazing wasn't that far from their home so in a good 3 minutes, the Kent farm then came into view.

He struggled to take control of the wheel as the blinding lights and the rumbling kept on going, making the world shake around them. But after what felt like an eternity for them, both the rumbling and the bursting lights of the meteorites ceased. The two looked at the sky while keeping their focus on the road. The stars were no longer falling, and everything was crystal quiet again. Except that was the least of their worries, as Jonathan laid eyes on the home. Moonlight exposed the farmhouse, a large red barn and a grain silo. A tall, wooden windmill towered over the farm, while acres of freshly grown wheat and corn waited to be harvested.

Jonathan parked by the field and saw the smoke rising up from the field where the meteorite, or whatever the hell it was landed. Honestly, he was relieved the meteors missed the houses, but the crops worried him more, as he began to smell the all-too-familiar burning odor emanating from the field.

"The crops!" He yelled. "They're on fire!" The Smallville fire station was miles away and there was no time to run home and dial 911. Being the team that they are, Jonathan and Martha grabbed the heavy-duty tarp from the cargo bed of their truck and raced over to the fields, following the smell of the smoke. Their hearts beat faster as the distance closed between them and the fire.

But as they moved towards the fire, a loud shrill sound rang into the air, causing the two to freeze in their tracks, instant recognition filling their minds. No. No way on God's green Earth was this possible.

"Jonathan, that's a-" Martha said, her eyes seeming as if they were about to bulge out.

"A… a baby?!" Jonathan finished his wife's words, his eyes going wide too. He didn't know how it happened, but his fatherly instincts kicked in and he bolted down the trail, with Martha right on his heels. Upon reaching the crater, they were greeted with an unusual sight. What they thought was a meteor turned out to be some sort of capsule, roughly the size of a tractor.

These two knew immediately that this was no ordinary meteorite, as this wasn't the first time they have heard of things coming out from space, like Omni-man or Martian Man, the former of whom Jonathan had a slight suspicion about.

"Waah!" The shrill from the baby's cry could be heard even more clearer now, albeit a little muffled, coming from the pod. Martha and Jonathan looked at one-another and nodded, before bolting off in different directions, as saving the crops and their lives took second place over saving the baby.

Fascinatingly though, the walls of the crater were keeping the flames from spreading too fast, making it easier for Jonathan to do the hard work as he used the tarp to beat down the larger flames while Martha fought the smaller ones with her jacket. Not a single spark was to be let out or the entire farm could be set ablaze. This was no easy task though. The heat from the fire was intense and the smoke stung their eyes.

(Music: "Steve Jablonsky - There is no plan (Slowed + Reverb)", by Urbanize)

Sweat dripped from Jonathan and Martha's faces as they frantically beat down the remaining embers with all of their strength until every last one was extinguished. Soot covered their faces, and both of them were breathing hard. The air smelled like popcorn. Jonathan grounded a stubborn red ember beneath his foot, and let out a deep sigh of relief.

"I think that's it." Jonathan said, panting hard. He looked around the field, double checking if he missed anything, but all he could see so far was just pure ash, and smoke steaming from the remains. His aching arms let go of the heavy tarp which was singed around the edges. "Fire's out." He'd expected Martha to say something, but no word came from her.

"Martha?" Jonathan asked, looking for his wife. Nothing. "Martha!" He tried again. This time, he heard the dirt slip as he turned around and saw Martha staring at the pod, and the sounds of the baby registering in his ears again from the crashed space capsule. Of course, he hadn't forgotten about the baby. Now it was finally safe to inspect the UFO-and find out who was crying.

"Who in god's name drops a baby out of the sky?" Martha asked, looking between the stars and the pod.

"I wish I knew." Jonathan said. The two cautiously approached the capsule, but almost immediately, a loud sizzling came as a white smoke erupted from the object and the curved hatchway, blackened by the heat, slowly started to open up. Jonathan and Martha covered their eyes to block out the smoke that was coming out of whatever this thing was. The capsule doors then came to a halt and another mechanism opened up from within and as soon as it started, it stopped. When the smoke cleared, it revealed a padded cavity inside the capsule. A healthy, breathing baby was tucked inside, crying his lungs out.

To the couple's surprise, the baby wasn't even burnt at all; unharmed by the fire or the crash. Martha gasped with worry as she ran over and gently lifted the baby from its cavity, then cradling him in her arms.

"Shhhh, it's okay little one. It's alright. Shhhhh." Martha soothed the baby down, as he slowly stopped crying. Jonathan just stood there, watching the whole thing, as he slowly approached the infant, who was now looking up at the two of them with bright blue eyes. A tuft of black hair clung to his scalp.

Jonathan looked at the baby with a wide smile before looking at the pod, examining it. He was aware of Viltrum from Omni-man's countless mentions of it as he watched the TV, but this looked nothing like it was from Viltrum. There was something almost… Biological about it, as though it had been grown instead of constructed. Overlapping plates, made of hardened bone or shell, protected the exterior of the spacecraft. The padding inside the cavity looked like some kind of silk. A sticky layer of gel coated the silk. He looked to the stars again as if an answer posed itself to an unanswered question Humanity had for a long time now which was probably answered already.

If Viltrum and Mars were just the appetizers, what else was out there? An unseen fear gripped him subtly in the chest, but it was enough for him to notice that there are so many ways this can go wrong, especially with a baby from another potential alien race.

"Martha, maybe we should notify the authorities." Jonathan said.

"No!" Martha exclaimed. "We can't turn him over to the government, who knows what they might do to him, and I don't know about you Jonathan, but as much as I respect the Guardians, I wouldn't want this baby around those monsters! I mean, think it through, they are sponsored by the G.D.A. They might lock him up in a laboratory somewhere… or worse."

"What about that orphanage on the outskirts of the town? Someone could adopt him there." Jonathan tried to reason.

Martha looked at him with another incredulous look, obviously not taking that for a solution either.

"Goddamnit Martha." Jonathan huffed. "We can't keep him forever, someone's going to look for him. I mean… babies don't just fall out of the sky, this is beyond normal! He's not our child, you can't live with those wounds that can't ever be mended!"

"This isn't just my burden to bear. Every day I live with the heartache over their loss. We could have had a large family, but fate took that away from us. Jonathan, don't you see, this is fate at play!" Martha retorted.

"Fate!? Just because you had trouble the last four times, doesn't mean we can't still have a family. Is this because of what the doctor said?" Jonathan blinked, immediately regretting saying that as he realized the hypocrisy of what he just said. He froze under the cold, pained, and bloody stare from Martha's azure eyes.

He knew he had opened up a shitty can of worms. Martha looked at him and said, "Jon, I love you more than the universe. This can be our chance to do something bigger than ourselves. There are aliens living on Earth, the G.D.A. might corrupt this boy, but they'll do it over my cold corpse!

"Martha, are you saying what I think you are saying? This is beyond abnormal, we shouldn't be meddling in things we shouldn't, but I uh… I'm sorry." Jonathan said with his head turned down at the soles of his worn Ariat boots. "You may have a point."

"Nothing about this situation is normal Jonathan. So is it THAT much of a stretch that whoever decided to send us this child right here, be it from god or another planet, which quite frankly we have many heroes from, as a miracle, right when we're talking about taking in a child?!"

Jonathan could tell that Martha's mind was made up. To be fair, as much as he respected the Guardians of the Globe, he didn't like the idea of them bringing the baby onto their team. That and the fact the G.D.A could possibly want to perform inhuman experiments on him, out of fear he might be an agent sent to destroy the Earth. Jonathan wasn't about to let that happen. With a soft, reluctant sigh, Jonathan nodded his head, and raised his hands in surrender, before dropping them back down.

"Ok." Jonathan said. Martha beamed a wide smile that made even him smile a little. They've always wanted to have a child and now, be it divine intervention or whatnot, their dream was coming true.

"Did you hear that? You're coming home with us, yes you are." Martha said in a loving tone, booping the baby on the nose, causing him to giggle again. Jonathan's smile grew bigger as he watched the scene play out before him. But one thing stuck to his mind.

"What are we gonna name him? I mean if we're having a baby, we've got to have a name for him." Jonathan said. Martha looked at him, then back at the baby in deep thought, before a small smile grew on her face, having already chosen a name.

"I was thinking… Clark." Martha said, smiling down at the gurgling baby who looked very content in her arms. "Our little miracle. Clark Kent."

(Earth - Ellesmere Island, Canada - October 30, 2005)

The blizzard howled with the intensity of the storm, as snow began piling up on top of itself. But a cold, rough storm didn't stop what was left of the Eradicator from crash landing on Earth in that exact place. Krypton was on the brink of explosion when he saw Kal-El's pod take off, and he followed the pod, with a slice in his stomach cut through by Thragg, surviving for that long just by the skin of his teeth. The Kryptonian skidded across the snow, blasting through mountains and leaving a giant gash in the dirt behind. His inhuman speed and mass allowed him to retain momentum and he skidded along the snowy grounds, gouging stone and dirt, trailing fire as he shredded through the ground, causing massive avalanches across the area.

But he was already beginning to lose speed, and soon came to a halt. Dust, heat and smoke filled the snowy mountains, flames crackled, and the wind howled across the snowy mountains. Using what strength remained of him, the Eradicator turned on his back and looked into the cloudy, storm-filled sky, remnants of the battle flashing through his mind; taking out hundreds of Viltrumites, ripping off Conquest's arm, before finally meeting his demise by Thragg. When Thragg kicked him to the south side of Kandor, he inadvertently landed by the main citadel of the house of El.

Believing this to be the end, he regained consciousness when he heard the sound of a pod take off into space, and followed the pod, being sucked into the wormhole of the hyperdrive just as the pod left and Krypton exploded releasing that dreaded virus. Now, he was here on the brink of death. He did what he could. Krypton did what they could. Sure the coalition would lose their greatest Ally, but if anything, Viltrum would be extinct by this point. That is, if Thragg hadn't found a way to save most of his people already. Proud with the achievements he, along with the rest of Krypton have accomplished, he finally allowed death to take him.

The Eradicator closed his eyes, letting life leave his body having fulfilled his duty. But as he passed, his Kryptonian genomes seeped into the crust of the Earth and slowly, white, crystalized spikes appeared across his deceased body. His grave indeed, but an operating base as well for the Last Son of Krypton.

A/N: For this one, I had major trouble doing Kal-El's arrival to Earth to Smallville as I wanted to do this one as best I can, while using references from different sources, ie: Chapter Two of The Rebel Moon Novelization, Superman: Earth One, Man of Steel: The Early Years: Junior Novel, and Luke5921's A Supe of a Man. But I want to give a massive, massive thanks to Darthwizard for helping me with the final edits to this chapter, and thanks to Foltest yet again for the Eradicator as he was supposed to follow Kal/Clark to Earth and become the root for the Fortress of Solitude in this universe.

I definitely tried to add my own spin to all of this, and I'm sure when it comes to a good part, I will eventually do that, but for this one, I had to use a lot of references for the Arrival to Earth. The Eradicator crash-landing on Ellesmere Island was something I did my own spin on while also using references from Man of Steel, while also looking back at the Prologue for some reference too. Also, I wanted to add a little bit of fun and character to Jonathan and Martha, and their feelings before Kal/Clark arrived. Now that was a real pain in the ass, but I'm sure there'd be many to top that as this story goes on.

Also, to the anonymous reviewer in the Prologue on FFN, while it's true Krypton can defeat Viltrum like a piece of cake, keep in mind the facts as for that to truly happen, they would need to be under the influence of a yellow sun, which would've happened had Viltrum not destroyed Krypton, then Jor-El would get the plans to the Coalition and Viltrum would be wiped in seconds upon the Coalition receiving this information.

Also, since the Kryptonians were fighting on their home planet which is under a red sun, they were not as strong as they would be under a yellow sun, even with the upgraded armor and weaponry. I was hoping the chapter would be at least a little longer, but given the cards I've been dealt with, I stuck with what I thought out and what I took reference from, otherwise I would've bored the hell out of you guys. XD

For now though, I'm gonna need a little bit of a break, but I assure you, this story will ramp up as it progresses, and you will not be disappointed. See you at chapter two!