SVsleuth
07-05-2006, 01:22 AM
Note: This fic has been revised & updated to take into account seasons 6 & 7. Click here for the new version:http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3705799&postcount=1 (http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3705799&postcount=1)
(Rated G)
What REALLY happened…
Lana turns back to look at Clark as they stand upon an icy platform in the Fortress of Solitude.
Clark looks at Lana and begins to speak. “Wh…When you asked me if I believed in life on other planets you had no idea how ironic that question was.”
Lana stares at him, confused.
Clark gathers up his courage and speaks the words he had for so long avoided, “I'm from a planet called Krypton.”
Lana walks towards him slowly, reaching her hand out cautiously to touch his face. “But you're just like everyone else,” she says softly.
Clark then lifts Lana into his arms, and looks up, determined to follow through with his plan. In a moment they begin to fly straight upwards. Lana turns her face toward Clark’s, a smile breaking over her features, in awe of what is happening. They fly to a platform on the top of a huge column of ice, high above the floor of the fortress. Clark sets Lana gently down on her feet and she steps away from him, gazing around in wonder.
“This isn't the first time you've done that, is it?” she asks him straightforwardly. “How many times have you been there when I didn't know it, saving me?”
“It doesn't matter, Lana,” Clark replies with much emotion. “I couldn't let anything happen to you.”
“And no one knew,” she says in amazement, unable to tear her eyes away from his face.
“There were so many days I wanted to tell you,” Clark declares with deep sincerity.
Lana looks at him, a bit puzzled. “What makes today any different?” she asks.
Clark looks into her eyes lovingly. “I want you to know who I really am.”
Clark holds out his hand, showing Lana a lump of coal. He clenches his fist around it, and golden light shines from between his fingers as he squeezes tightly, frowning with effort. He holds out his hand to Lana, and blows away the coal dust to reveal a diamond. Lana looks at it and then at Clark in wonder. Clark smiles as he takes a gold band from his pocket and places the diamond on top of it, then uses his heat vision to solder them together. He goes down on one knee in front of Lana, holding the ring up for her to see.
He asks simply, “Will you marry me?”
Lana’s eyes widen as she looks down at him, breathing hard.
Before she can say a word, a booming voice calls out, “Kal-El! Kal-El, come. I must speak to you. It is urgent!”
Lana’s eyes widen and she looks to Clark, “Who was that?”
“That is my Kryptonian father, Jor-El,” Clark replies, sounding annoyed with Jor-El for having interrupted his proposal. “Come, I must speak with him. Then we can continue our talk.”
Clark again lifts Lana into his arms, and floats down to the floor of the Fortress. He sits her on the platform, then moves toward the console of crystals. Lana watches in awe as one crystal rises of its own accord into the air, right in front of Clark. Clark grasps the crystal, and is immediately enveloped in a bright beam of light. Lana is frightened at what she sees happening to Clark. His eyes seem to be transfixed on one spot, his head tilted back, his body stiff. Lana watches, not daring to move from her spot on the ice table. A few tears fall from her eyes, and immediately freeze on her cheeks. Lana cannot bear to watch the scene before her. She closes her eyes tightly, hoping that when she opens her eyes, Clark will be alright. Every minute or two, she peeks out, and, still seeing Clark in the trance-like state, she cannot bear to watch, and closes her eyes again.
After about an hour, when Lana opens her eyes, the beam of light is fading, and Clark slumps to the ground, seeming to be exhausted, defeated. Lana jumps up and runs to him.
“Clark! Clark! Are you alright? Clark, please be alright!” Lana sits on the ground and pulls his head into her lap. She strokes his face with a gentle hand, toying with his unruly locks as well. She blinks back the tears that try to form in her eyes, but won’t because of the cold. She leans down and kisses Clark upon the lips, then continues to caress his face.
Clark opens his eyes and looks up in confusion. “Lana? Lana, what are you doing here? How did we get here?”
Lana stares at him with concern. “Clark, what do you mean? You brought me here, through some kind of transporter in the caves. Don’t you remember? You told me who you really are and where you are from - and then you asked me to marry you. Don’t you remember that, Clark?”
Clark looks at Lana in disbelief. He blinks his eyes several times, and shakes his head as if attempting to clear it. “Lana, I do remember - but that seems like months ago. So much has happened since then…”
“Clark, what are you talking about? It’s only been an hour. Right after you proposed, Jor-El called out to you. You grasped a crystal that floated up from that display, and then you were engulfed in a beam of bright light. You were that way for an hour before it faded. And now we’re here.”
Clark still looks incredulous. He sits up and his mind begins to race. “It can’t be. You mean, none of that really happened? You didn’t die in that car accident? I didn’t rewind time to save you? My dad didn’t die? There was no masked vigilante named Andrea? Chloe wasn’t possessed by the spirit of a dead girl? You didn’t hit Victor Stone with your car - and he didn’t turn out to be a Luthorcorp experimental cyborg? Simone didn’t hypnotize me, and cause us to break up horribly?”
Lana interrupts him, “Break up? Clark, you must have been hallucinating. There is no way I would ever break up with you.”
Clark still cannot believe this is reality. “Lana, I never lied to you and said that I didn’t love you anymore?”
Lana is taken aback. “Clark, why would you ever do that? Of course you never did that!”
Clark continues his questioning. “So you never used an experimental drug to try to see your parents - and I never got accidentally injected with that drug & saw my deceased father?”
Lana shakes her head in the negative.
Clark begins to believe, and a smile begins to spread across his face. His questions become more exclamations than questions now. He grasps Lana’s upper arms, and looks into her eyes. “You never went to Lex and began to get…intimate with him! My mom never got pulled into a dangerous plot against Lionel Luthor that nearly killed her! There was no “Graham” who tried to kill Lex to give you and me another chance! Lionel Luthor doesn’t know my secret - and he isn’t making my mom fall for him! Lex was never the “Vessel of Zod” - and Zod never escaped the Phantom Zone! Brainiac never caused the breakdown of society by releasing a nasty computer virus! I was never trapped in the Phantom Zone! I’ve just been here all along! Right here with you, Lana?”
Lana nods in the affirmative. Clark pulls her into a tight embrace, taking in the scent of her, burying his face in her hair, holding her close to him as if he will never ever let go. “Oh, Lana,” he whispers into her ear. “It was such a horrible nightmare. The worst part of it was losing you.” He pulls back just enough to look lovingly, longingly into her eyes. “Lana, I love you so much. I can never go on to fulfill my destiny without you. You are my strength, my stability. You keep me steady, no matter what I’m up against. I love you with my entire being. I always have and always will. It’s always been you, Lana. Only you.” Clark draws her lips to his own, pouring into it all of the love it seems he was unable to express to her for so long - in the nightmare, or the visions, or whatever it was.
When they finally break the kiss, Jor-El’s voice is heard again. “Kal-El. What you have seen - no, what you have experienced is one possible course of events that could actually happen when you leave here. I have shown it to you as a warning, in hopes that you will not allow it to happen. That sequence of events will send Earth to its doom, to the same fate as Krypton. You must never allow events to turn to that path. Your destiny is to save this planet from such doom. Kal-El, you are the only one who can prevent it. Choose your actions wisely. Allow Lana to help and support you, and you will succeed in saving this planet and its people. Farewell, Kal-El.”
Jor-El’s voice fades away. Clark stands up, and pulls Lana to her feet, and then into his arms. He holds her close, feeling her shivering, even under the heavy parka. He gazes into her sparkling hazel eyes, and longs to kiss her again, at length. But he knows it is time to get her out of the cold. Giving her a quick kiss, he scoops her up into his arms and activates the transport back to the caves. Safe in the warmth of the caves, he keeps her in his arms, her arms around his neck. Their eyes meet in a long gaze that expresses so much more than words could ever say.
Clark smiles and whispers, “So, Lana, will you marry me?” He sees the depth of her love for him shining from her eyes. She smiles beautifully as she whispers to him, “Oh, yes, Clark. I will marry you. Nothing will ever take me away from you. I will love you always.”
Her lips move to his, softly, tenderly, at first, then deepening into a true expression of passion and commitment to each other. Clark knows deep in his heart, that Lana is his forever and always.
THE END
(Rated G)
What REALLY happened…
Lana turns back to look at Clark as they stand upon an icy platform in the Fortress of Solitude.
Clark looks at Lana and begins to speak. “Wh…When you asked me if I believed in life on other planets you had no idea how ironic that question was.”
Lana stares at him, confused.
Clark gathers up his courage and speaks the words he had for so long avoided, “I'm from a planet called Krypton.”
Lana walks towards him slowly, reaching her hand out cautiously to touch his face. “But you're just like everyone else,” she says softly.
Clark then lifts Lana into his arms, and looks up, determined to follow through with his plan. In a moment they begin to fly straight upwards. Lana turns her face toward Clark’s, a smile breaking over her features, in awe of what is happening. They fly to a platform on the top of a huge column of ice, high above the floor of the fortress. Clark sets Lana gently down on her feet and she steps away from him, gazing around in wonder.
“This isn't the first time you've done that, is it?” she asks him straightforwardly. “How many times have you been there when I didn't know it, saving me?”
“It doesn't matter, Lana,” Clark replies with much emotion. “I couldn't let anything happen to you.”
“And no one knew,” she says in amazement, unable to tear her eyes away from his face.
“There were so many days I wanted to tell you,” Clark declares with deep sincerity.
Lana looks at him, a bit puzzled. “What makes today any different?” she asks.
Clark looks into her eyes lovingly. “I want you to know who I really am.”
Clark holds out his hand, showing Lana a lump of coal. He clenches his fist around it, and golden light shines from between his fingers as he squeezes tightly, frowning with effort. He holds out his hand to Lana, and blows away the coal dust to reveal a diamond. Lana looks at it and then at Clark in wonder. Clark smiles as he takes a gold band from his pocket and places the diamond on top of it, then uses his heat vision to solder them together. He goes down on one knee in front of Lana, holding the ring up for her to see.
He asks simply, “Will you marry me?”
Lana’s eyes widen as she looks down at him, breathing hard.
Before she can say a word, a booming voice calls out, “Kal-El! Kal-El, come. I must speak to you. It is urgent!”
Lana’s eyes widen and she looks to Clark, “Who was that?”
“That is my Kryptonian father, Jor-El,” Clark replies, sounding annoyed with Jor-El for having interrupted his proposal. “Come, I must speak with him. Then we can continue our talk.”
Clark again lifts Lana into his arms, and floats down to the floor of the Fortress. He sits her on the platform, then moves toward the console of crystals. Lana watches in awe as one crystal rises of its own accord into the air, right in front of Clark. Clark grasps the crystal, and is immediately enveloped in a bright beam of light. Lana is frightened at what she sees happening to Clark. His eyes seem to be transfixed on one spot, his head tilted back, his body stiff. Lana watches, not daring to move from her spot on the ice table. A few tears fall from her eyes, and immediately freeze on her cheeks. Lana cannot bear to watch the scene before her. She closes her eyes tightly, hoping that when she opens her eyes, Clark will be alright. Every minute or two, she peeks out, and, still seeing Clark in the trance-like state, she cannot bear to watch, and closes her eyes again.
After about an hour, when Lana opens her eyes, the beam of light is fading, and Clark slumps to the ground, seeming to be exhausted, defeated. Lana jumps up and runs to him.
“Clark! Clark! Are you alright? Clark, please be alright!” Lana sits on the ground and pulls his head into her lap. She strokes his face with a gentle hand, toying with his unruly locks as well. She blinks back the tears that try to form in her eyes, but won’t because of the cold. She leans down and kisses Clark upon the lips, then continues to caress his face.
Clark opens his eyes and looks up in confusion. “Lana? Lana, what are you doing here? How did we get here?”
Lana stares at him with concern. “Clark, what do you mean? You brought me here, through some kind of transporter in the caves. Don’t you remember? You told me who you really are and where you are from - and then you asked me to marry you. Don’t you remember that, Clark?”
Clark looks at Lana in disbelief. He blinks his eyes several times, and shakes his head as if attempting to clear it. “Lana, I do remember - but that seems like months ago. So much has happened since then…”
“Clark, what are you talking about? It’s only been an hour. Right after you proposed, Jor-El called out to you. You grasped a crystal that floated up from that display, and then you were engulfed in a beam of bright light. You were that way for an hour before it faded. And now we’re here.”
Clark still looks incredulous. He sits up and his mind begins to race. “It can’t be. You mean, none of that really happened? You didn’t die in that car accident? I didn’t rewind time to save you? My dad didn’t die? There was no masked vigilante named Andrea? Chloe wasn’t possessed by the spirit of a dead girl? You didn’t hit Victor Stone with your car - and he didn’t turn out to be a Luthorcorp experimental cyborg? Simone didn’t hypnotize me, and cause us to break up horribly?”
Lana interrupts him, “Break up? Clark, you must have been hallucinating. There is no way I would ever break up with you.”
Clark still cannot believe this is reality. “Lana, I never lied to you and said that I didn’t love you anymore?”
Lana is taken aback. “Clark, why would you ever do that? Of course you never did that!”
Clark continues his questioning. “So you never used an experimental drug to try to see your parents - and I never got accidentally injected with that drug & saw my deceased father?”
Lana shakes her head in the negative.
Clark begins to believe, and a smile begins to spread across his face. His questions become more exclamations than questions now. He grasps Lana’s upper arms, and looks into her eyes. “You never went to Lex and began to get…intimate with him! My mom never got pulled into a dangerous plot against Lionel Luthor that nearly killed her! There was no “Graham” who tried to kill Lex to give you and me another chance! Lionel Luthor doesn’t know my secret - and he isn’t making my mom fall for him! Lex was never the “Vessel of Zod” - and Zod never escaped the Phantom Zone! Brainiac never caused the breakdown of society by releasing a nasty computer virus! I was never trapped in the Phantom Zone! I’ve just been here all along! Right here with you, Lana?”
Lana nods in the affirmative. Clark pulls her into a tight embrace, taking in the scent of her, burying his face in her hair, holding her close to him as if he will never ever let go. “Oh, Lana,” he whispers into her ear. “It was such a horrible nightmare. The worst part of it was losing you.” He pulls back just enough to look lovingly, longingly into her eyes. “Lana, I love you so much. I can never go on to fulfill my destiny without you. You are my strength, my stability. You keep me steady, no matter what I’m up against. I love you with my entire being. I always have and always will. It’s always been you, Lana. Only you.” Clark draws her lips to his own, pouring into it all of the love it seems he was unable to express to her for so long - in the nightmare, or the visions, or whatever it was.
When they finally break the kiss, Jor-El’s voice is heard again. “Kal-El. What you have seen - no, what you have experienced is one possible course of events that could actually happen when you leave here. I have shown it to you as a warning, in hopes that you will not allow it to happen. That sequence of events will send Earth to its doom, to the same fate as Krypton. You must never allow events to turn to that path. Your destiny is to save this planet from such doom. Kal-El, you are the only one who can prevent it. Choose your actions wisely. Allow Lana to help and support you, and you will succeed in saving this planet and its people. Farewell, Kal-El.”
Jor-El’s voice fades away. Clark stands up, and pulls Lana to her feet, and then into his arms. He holds her close, feeling her shivering, even under the heavy parka. He gazes into her sparkling hazel eyes, and longs to kiss her again, at length. But he knows it is time to get her out of the cold. Giving her a quick kiss, he scoops her up into his arms and activates the transport back to the caves. Safe in the warmth of the caves, he keeps her in his arms, her arms around his neck. Their eyes meet in a long gaze that expresses so much more than words could ever say.
Clark smiles and whispers, “So, Lana, will you marry me?” He sees the depth of her love for him shining from her eyes. She smiles beautifully as she whispers to him, “Oh, yes, Clark. I will marry you. Nothing will ever take me away from you. I will love you always.”
Her lips move to his, softly, tenderly, at first, then deepening into a true expression of passion and commitment to each other. Clark knows deep in his heart, that Lana is his forever and always.
THE END