Chapter 13 [Later that Night]
Jack Frost's icy breath billowed across the landscape. Light snow coated the ground. Christmas lights attracted Passersby with their Reds, Emeralds and Yellows.
Holiday Magic, it seemed had something else in mind….
[A/N: It wouldn't be one of my stories without an intervention on Clark's behalf, right? Let's see what the Muse has up her sleeve this time around. LOL!]
[Sullivan House]
Lana tossed and turned in her bed. On the one hand, Excitement raised her spirits over the connections between Miranda's family, Lex and her own parents. Furthermore, Clark finally granted her request. He'd opened up to her. Still, Revelation blew her mind….
…Clark Kent, Farm Boy, Former Neighbor, Her White Knight of the Plaid had powers. Meteor Person? Mmm…more than that. Super Strength, Fire Vision, Invulnerability, Super Breath and Floating awed and unnerved her….
Clark can really do all of that? How many times has he been there? I know he tried to save me from those KU guys. He really threw those guys over the Sheriff's car? Her eyes snapped open. Questions bubbled in her mind. What else can he do? No wonder Mr. and Mrs. Kent are like the Secret Service around him. Memoria recalled Ryan and Garner's pursuit onto the Kent Farm. Did Clark break Ryan out of Sommerholt? Her eyes rolled. Her earlier words echoed back to her. Clark thinks that saving people means breaking the rules. What happens if people see him doing it? What if he gets caught? She bit her lip. I wish he'd think things through. She slapped at the mattress. "Might as well get up. I'm not sleeping tonight." Her eyes glanced at the clock. "4 AM." She stretched her arms overhead. She pulled her robe on. Her sleepy feet shuffled toward the bathroom.
Light shone from downstairs. Creaking akin to someone walking about reached her ears.
Chloe and her Dad left yesterday. I locked that door. Who'd be in here? Great. I wish I could call Clark! Her mouth pretzeled at the early morning wake up call. I don't want to upset Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Bad enough I'm dealing with this stuff. I hope Mr. Kent realizes that Clark exposed himself. I didn't make him do it. She crept down the stairs.
"Lana? That's you?" a voice almost like her own called out to her. "Sorry. I let myself in. Come down. It's all right."
What the? Lana narrowed her eyes. That sounds like me! How? Tina Greer's dead! Could it be another metahuman like that? Caution urged her down the remainder of the stairs. She stuck her head into the kitchen and stopped dead in her tracks.
Her mirror reflection looked back at her from beside the table. She wore a white blouse under a blue sweater. Her dark skirt reached to her shoe tops. Beehive swept her tresses up into its design. A smile raised the corners of her mouth. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come down. I knew you were having problems sleeping. You sure had one heck of a time earlier tonight. I can assure you that I am not here to hurt you. You know who I am. You found my things and looked through my letters."
"Aunt Louise?" Lana stepped onto the kitchen floor. Aghast and Confused Thoughts crashed into one another in her mind. She stared at the reincarnated woman. "You…you're dead. I…How are you here? You're in the cemetery."
"My body is. Kind of a shame really. The times back then…they held me back." Louise let a deep sigh escape her mouth. "I really could use some coffee. We don't have any up there. Then maybe we can talk?" She marveled at Lana's similarities as well. "I can't believe how much that boy and you resemble Joe and me."
"So that drawing's accurate? Is that what he looks like?" Lana filled the coffee pot at the sink. Then she set up the coffee maker and let it perk away. Her brain cells slowly started to function. "Sorry. This is how we make coffee now. I remember seeing Grandma Potter's old glass one. Was that the one you used?" She grimaced. "Sorry. You're here and I'm asking about a coffee pot. I…."
"Why not? You're curious about our family. Don't be so hard on yourself, Dear. It's all right." Louise observed Coffee's flow from plastic into the glass pot. "My stars! I saw things kind of like this in those sci fi movies! Never thought I'd be really there." She studied the filling pot. "Smells strong. I always did a strong cup. My Daddy…Your Great Grandpa MacCallum…he would've loved this."
"We have a lot of different coffees now. People make what they want. It kind of comes down to our own tastes." Lana brought out two mugs from the cabinet. "So you do yours black? Sugar?" Disbelief forced a sniff through her nostrils. "Guess this is just how the entire day's going. One unbelievable thing after another."
"That's how the men in that family are, my Dear." A playful giggle spurted out from Louise. "They sweep into town and knocked us off of our feet. They're like nobody else you'll ever meet. We're the stars of our own drama!" She twirled around in a complete circle.
"So, this Joe's really like that?" Louise's assessment clashed with Clark's and Martha's. "It's not what Clark told me."
Louise rubbed her forehead. "Those people back on his planet made him like that." She made a face. "My dying had a lot to do with it too. It's really dumb! That old stuff! His family! Our family! They'd never let us be! I told Joe I'd deal with it if I could back there with him. I would've too! Your Great Granddaddy stuck me with Dexter. He was in love with me. He was nice but…I didn't love him…not like that."
"He came to understand that before he died." Lana brought the pot over to the table. She filled both mugs. "Sorry. I have milk, sugar, diet future sweetener stuff, honey."
"Milk and honey would be nice. Thank you, Lana." Louise exhaled a sharp breath. "I'm sorry about him. Dex and I ran into each other. It means a lot that you helped him to find peace. I'm glad that Billy Tate was brought to justice for my killing. That boy, Clark…he's so much like his Daddy. He even acted like Joe did. My word! He said he was sent back here to learn some lesson." Now her eyes rolled. "What a wagonful of manure that was! It just hardened him." She shook her head.
"So, Joe did all of those things too? He really floated?" Lana nearly spilled the milk. She set the bottle down. "Did you say 'his planet'?"
"Yes. He called it Krypton or something like that. He said it was as different to Earth as night is to day. He did take me up into the night sky. That Moon kept getting closer and bigger! I saw bullets deflect off of him. He was so strong! My stars! But he did love me. He wanted to be with me. I sure did want to be with him. I wouldn't have cared! That Lara…" Louise grimaced. "She cared in her own way. She didn't love Joe the way I do. They died when Krypton exploded. Kal…Clark got away on a spaceship just in the nick of time. Those glowing green rocks? They're part of the planet."
"The meteor rocks? They're part of this Krypton? Just like the ones that killed my parents?" Lana rasped a sharp breath. Her heart sunk.
"Lana, Joe, Clark and the other Kryptonians had no idea about that. You think you're going to tell God His Business? My word! There are bigger forces out there other than us out there. Clark and you lost your parents in that disaster! Joe wants to restart Kryptonian culture here on Earth. He's obsessed. Clark wants to live like one of you. Others want to take Kryptonian stuff for themselves. What a mess!" Louise drank a mouthful. "Mmm! That is so much better than what we had back then. Thank you!"
Lana stared at him. "So, Clark's an alien? And…wait…you said Kal. That's what Clark called himself when he went crazy."
"Clark and we are biologically compatible, Lana. Kal was…is…his birth name. The red stones bring out his alien side. You have to keep those nasty things away from him. The green rocks make him sick. Yes, he is from another planet. Yes, he has all of those awesome powers. No, he hasn't changed. He's still the same boy. He still loves you. He's hurting right now because he thinks you'll reject him."
"Reject him? Aunt Louise, I said I needed to think! I love him too. I want to be with him. I want the Kents to accept me. Your story was so tragic. I…." Lana scoffed. "I can't believe Clark would think that. Of course I'm overwhelmed by what he can do. Who wouldn't be? I…"
"Lana, you have a chance that I never had. Times have changed. Why do you think Eleanor moved away to be with that guy in Metropolis? Now there's nobody to stop you from being with Clark. Mr. Kent likes you. He's so protective of Clark. Our remaining family knows about you two. There are two others who watch from a distance. One day, you might meet them. In any event, they approve. Besides, we are descended from an Earth-Krypton marriage a long time ago. Guess that means you're set to star in that ol' drama?"
Lana listened to Louise's words. Her heart skipped and leapt at the other's assurances. Barriers seemed to fall away. More things intrigued her. But those were matters for another day. "I can be with him." Relief pressed a deep breath from her. "But what about that Joe? Clark said he threatened me."
Louise rasped a sharp breath. "He thinks you're a distraction from Krypton. Well, I'll give him a piece of my mind if he tries anything. You can be assured of that." Purpose glinted in her eye. Her jaw set. Crimson streaked across her cheeks. "Go and make Clark happy, Lana. Have what Joe and I couldn't. You wanted to know about Clark. Now you do." She glanced at the clock. "My stars! It's almost 5:30! I have somewhere else to be!" She finished the coffee mug. "Thanks again." She held her arms out. "I really enjoyed this visit."
"Me too, Auntie." Lana shared the embrace with Louise. "I just want Joe to know that I respect his culture. Guess Clark and I can be both?" She scratched her head.
"That is exactly what he wants to hear, Lana. There'll be a point someday. Right now, there's a farm boy waiting for you! Go and make his day! Your Mom and Dad say hi! Everyone loves you!" Louise regarded Lana once again. "We are so proud of you." She waved as she vanished into thin air. JUST GO TO HIM!
"Aunt Louise?" Lana looked about the area. Then she regarded Louise's mug. Lipstick's faint marking rested on its rim. "I wasn't dreaming. This is real. It happened." She set the mug back on the table. Then she hustled up the stairs toward the bathroom.
Her knight was waiting. She'd received an early present. Time to give a certain farm boy one of her own….