Nearly thirteen years later, both Clark and Kipo had grown into bright, energetic kids. Living with their respective families in the underground burrow, the two grew up to be really close friends. Kipo became bright, optimistic, and quite intelligent. Clark became a hard worker who cares for others before himself.

One fateful day, after getting dressed, Clark came down from his room to greet his adopted parents. To this day, they still haven't told him of his true origin, and it was reaching the point where they could no longer keep it from him.

"Morning, Ma. Morning, Pa." Clark greeted.

"Morning, Clark." Martha Kent said giving Clark a morning hug.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Jonathan said.

"Well, yeah. I need to go get something for Kipo. Her birthday's coming up, you know." Clark said.

"Don't count yourself out, Clark." Jonathan said. "Remember, her birthday is the same as yours."

"Well, it's not like I can get myself a present." Clark said. "I should probably go and get Kipo's while it's ready. Love you." He kissed his mother's cheek before heading off.

Seeing their boy head out into the market, Jonathan and Martha couldn't help but feel both proud of him and guilty over keeping something from him.

"Can you believe it, Martha?" Jonathan asked. "Just a few more days, and Clark's going to be 13 years old."

"Yeah." Martha said sullenly. "John, we can't keep this from him any longer. He has a right to know."

"I know." Jonathan said. "But we promised Hoag…"

"Forget Hoag. I don't care if he is from another planet. Clark is still our son." Martha said. "Besides, we've had him with us for so many years, and he's been nothing but the best boy to everyone in the burrow."

Jonathan smiled. "You're right. We'll tell him, but only on his birthday."

"I have the perfect idea for a gift for Clark!" Kipo said to her friends; Asher, Dahlia, and Troy. The four of them stood in a circle just in the middle of the market. "On his birthday, I am going to play him… a song!"

"A song? Really?" Asher asked.

"Yes. A whole new, personal song just for me and him." Kipo said.

"I think it's sweet." Dahlia said.

"Thanks." Kipo said. "I just need a heartfelt premise with a poetic title. Something like 'Never Sever the Bond' or 'You're With Me Always'."

"How about 'I Love You'." Troy said smiling.

Kipo's face dropped into a blush. "Uh, what? What are you talking about?"

"Kipo, you're about to be thirteen years old." Dahlia said. "I mean, let's face it. You and Clark have already been together ever since you were babies, and you already have feelings for him."

Kipo twirled her hair bashfully. "Is it that obvious?"

"Girl, anyone with eyes can see that." Asher said. "Just look at you. You're cute. You're nice. You're smart."

"And Clark's handsome, caring, and clearly a hard-worker." Troy added.

"And he's right over there." Dahlia said pointing over across the area.

The four of them turned their eyes toward Clark, who stopped at a wood-carving stand. They immediately hid themselves nearby while listening in as the carver passed a blue present with a red bow to him.

"Here you go, Clark. I'm sure Kipo will love it."

"Thanks, Mr. Gatlin. I just know that this is perfect for her." Clark said.

"Perfect?" Kipo asked quietly squeaking

Clark headed over when his eyes caught a small speck of purple around the nearest corner. He headed over to investigate and made a small gasp of surprise seeing Kipo and her friends.

"Oh! Clark! Funny running into you here." Kipo chuckled nervously.

"Were you guys spying on me?" Clark asked.

"What? No." Kipo lied. "We were just… having a staring contest tournament. Right, guys?"

"Uh, yeah." Dahlia said. "And I won."

"Why do you win?" Asher asked their sister.

"So… Clark," Kipo said trying to hold in her embarrassing moment, "You, uh… You doing anything later on?"

Clark widened his eyes realizing the present he had intended for her was right between them. He moved it behind his back. "Well, I was about to drop something off back at my place. But other than that, not much."

"Cool. That's cool." Kipo said. "Actually, I was wondering if, maybe, you would like to… join me and my dad on our stalactite-climbing trip. How about it?"

Clark smiled. "Sure. I mean, I need to tell my parents, but I'll definitely make it."

"Really?" Kipo asked happily.

"Sure. I always enjoy our time together. Well, I should head on home. See you later." Clark said before heading off.

Troy smirked seeing Kipo's smile. "Wow. Not thirteen yet, and you're already hitting puberty."

"Hey!" Kipo cried out. She took a breath and calmed down. "All right. Now, let's get started on brainstorming a song."

Later that day, Kipo, Clark, and Lio grabbed their pick-axes, strapped on their harnesses, and began their climb up the rock pillar. The three of them climbed halfway up.

"Glad you could join us, Clark." Lio said.

"Thanks, Mr. Oak." Clark said. "But I admit, it is a lot of fun being with you and Kipo."

"I bet." Lio said before looking up at Kipo, who was already ahead of them. "What's the holdup, slowpoke?"

"No holdup." Kipo said chuckling nervously. "Why? Does it look like I'm holding up?"

"No, you're clearly not holding up." Lio said playfully. "But while we're waiting, what minerals are in most abundance at this stratum?"

"Dad, that's easy." Kipo said. "Azurite and malachite, two of my favorite 'ites'."

"If you can ace a pop geology quiz, then I know you can make it the rest of the way." Lio said.

"I'm not sure if I have a favorite 'ite' myself." Clark said catching up to Kipo.

"Do you have a least favorite 'ite'?" Kipo asked. "So far, I don't have one, but then again, I like pretty much everything."

"Can't really think of anything." Clark said. "Tell you what. If I do find a least favorite 'ite', I'll tell you."

Kipo chuckled as she continued her climb. A moment later, the ground above them began to shake along with a distant booming sound.

"What was that?" Clark asked.

"Just a giant creature passing by." Lio said. "Little close, but nothing to worry about."

The giant footsteps continued from above. Kipo counted silently to herself until the next footstep.

"Five seconds between footsteps." Kipo said.

"Whoa. This one's big." Lio said. "What do you think it is?"

"I'm guessing… a 400-foot-tall squirrel with eight tails." Kipo said.

"Maybe it's a giant dolphin that's adapted to walk on land." Lio guessed.

"Why assume it's a Mega-Mute?" Clark asked. "There are aliens up there too. For all we know, it's a giant starfish alien the size of a building."

Kipo laughed. "Where do you come up with stuff like that?"

While Kipo and Clark shared their laughter, the beast above the ground roared sending a chill down Lio's spine. His face dropped filling with fear and worry.

"They found us." Lio said silently. He looked around and found a river directly beneath them leading out of the town. After unstrapping his tether between him and the kids, the yanks it down forcing both Kipo and Clark to let go.

Kipo and Clark yelled falling rapidly until they hit the water. Lio unhooked himself and followed just as a violent shake made several rocks fall from the ceiling. Lio tried to swim towards Kipo and Clark, but he was cut off by several boulders that fell in front of him. The kids were already long gone into the tunnel system out of the burrow.

"KIPO! CLARK!" Lio yelled. He rushed over to try and remove the rocks blocking his path, but before he could, the ceiling gave way allowing a very large tree to puncture through. As it was lifted, he looked up to the hole and saw the creature that made it: a colossal monkey with red skin, black fur, a white beard, and six arms.

"Attention, burrow residents! We are under attack!" Hoag called through the intercom. "This is not a drill! We are under attack! Report to the emergency bunker immediately!"

Following Hoag's instructions, most of the humans made it to the bunker by the time the burrow had fallen completely apart. The Mega-Monkey went after Asher, Dahlia, and Troy, but the sound of Lio Oak's noise drew her attention.

"HEY! DOWN HERE! TAKE ME, NOT THEM!"

The Mega-Monkey turned to Lio and picked him up. As he was lifted, he looked up at the beast that carried him.

"I know who sent you. This isn't you."

The Mega-Monkey snarled softly before beginning to lose her ferocity. But then, a beeping sound came from her neck. A metal collar was wrapped around it that let out a cloud of pink smoke. When the Mega-Monkey breathed it in, her ferocity returned and she roared to the sky. Lio managed to slip out of her grip, but he lost a bass pick on her fur as he fell. He limped, but thankfully, Troy carried him over his shoulders and helped him make it to the bunker before it closed.

After the bunker closed, the entire burrow turned their attention to Hoag.

"Did everyone make it through okay?" he asked.

"Not quite." Lio said. "I had to get Kipo out through the aqueduct."

"What about Clark?" Martha asked loudly. She and her husband approached Lio. "Last we saw him, he was heading to you. What happened?"

Lio lowered his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Martha. Clark fell through the same way."

"We have to evacuate to Site B." Hoag said.

"What is Site B?" Lio asked.

"The council kept it a secret so it could never be compromised." Hoag said. "Down this bunker is a labyrinth of ancient subway tunnels and sewer canals. And at the heart of it is a fully-equipped back-up burrow. Our new home."

"I have to go up to the surface to find Kipo and Clark!" Lio said. "If I had known there was a backup, I never would have sent them up there!"

"Well, I'm sorry you didn't follow burrow protocol." Hoag said. "But if you ever want to find Site B, you will march with us."

With very little choice, Lio, Martha, and Jonathan reluctantly joined the crowd and entered the tunnels.

"Be honest, Lio." Jonathan said. "Is Clark going to be okay?"

"He will. I know it." Lio said. "After all, he's with Kipo. Don't worry, you two. I promise, I'll get both of them to Site B."

Lio went on ahead leaving the Kent parents sharing worried expressions.

"What are we going to do?" Martha asked.

"We'll have to hope for the best." Jonathan said. "What happened with the spaceship that Clark came in on?"

"It must still be underneath our house… or what's left of it." Martha said. "Same thing for the present he was going to give to Kipo. Oh, I hope they're safe."

At the end of their wild water ride through the aqueduct, both Kipo and Clark found themselves in the middle of an old, busted-up bridge in the ruins of Las Vistas. Once they had stopped, the two of them took deep breaths and examined their surroundings.

"We're on the surface!" Kipo gasped before looking up. She yelled and covered her eyes. "AH! THE SUN!"

"Are you okay, Kipo?!" Clark asked standing back up in the ankle-high water.

"I think so." Kipo said recovering from the brief flash of light. "Oh, no! We're on the surface! We shouldn't be here!"

Clark looked at the pipe where they fell out of and saw it filled with rocks. "Well, I don't think we can go back the way we came out of.

Kipo took a deep breath. "Okay, Clark. We're going to have to make the best of it and try to find our own way back home."

"How? We've been going through a hundred turns in that pipe. Maybe even more. We could be miles away."

"I know. But I'm not going to give up." Kipo said.

Clark smiled at his dearest friend. "Okay. Then I won't either. Where do we start?"

"I have no idea!" Kipo proclaimed. "But however we do it, we're going home."

Kipo and Clark exited the canal and began talking through the ruined streets. They were careful to keep an eye out for wild mutes and destructive aliens that might be lurking.

As for Clark himself, he had no way of knowing it just yet, but as soon as he first felt the sunlight shine on his skin, his super transformation began.