Superman: The New Mythos - Story 1: Kryptonian Invasion

[Nemu]

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that has to do with Smallville. All Falazyan characters and reference are mine though.

Pairing: Ok I'm saying it here. Lex/Lois, Chloe/Pete, Nemu/Lana*, Nemia/Clark*, Nemu/Noxy, Nemia/Keyel, Clark/Lana( of course )
*: those 2 pairing aren’t romantically involved. Just deep friendships.

Other: The Kent, Lionel, Jor-El and Lara will make appearance in this story. I don't know if it will be in this first fic or in the following ones... I'll see... This is a long long story. There will be some Clana in the beginning after the 'introduction parts' but eventually there will be less direct interaction as the heroes training start. But later they will reunite.

Summary: This story is my vision of what should be. I'm all for Clana. It picks up at the end of Commencement the season 4 finale with part of the spoilers for season 5, mainly the name of the 2 Kryptonians and their intentions. Clark is in the arctic to find his FOS. Lex and Chloe are both in the cave at the beginning of the story. The Kent house has been damaged by a meteor. Their barn is intact. Jason died because of the meteor but Martha and Jonathan only got some small injuries. So here goes... the rest will come in the story. Oh yeah Lex is still in gray area (not good but not evil) mainly because I don’t know if I’ll make him evil. Lionel is definitely evil in that... once he broke out of his stone-induce trance.

As for some more information...

First of all this story is complete... so I just have to post it and rework 1 scene...

Tell me if you guys want me to post it... I'll post the story as soon as I get at least 3 green lights from 3 different persons...

I know some of you guys already read it... or parts of it... So speak out ;)

[clark&lanafan95]

This sounds interesting I'm lookin foward to readin it so I say go ahead please.

[SVsleuth]

It's here already - OH!

Nemu, I'd like it if you would post some each day, not try to post the whole thing. It's easier to keep up that way & gives us a chance to give replies as we read... ;)

[SmallvilleFan2001]

Go for it. Sounds interesting.

[Iowanmom]

CONSIDER ME GREEN LIGHT 2!!!! I mean 4. :\ I am so excited, Nemu!!! Let's get this ball rolling!!! Chloe and PETE???? this will be interesting. :D
Hell, I really need to speed up my typing!!! On with the posts, Nemu!!


Originally posted by SVsleuth
Nemu, I'd like it if you would post some each day, not try to post the whole thing. It's easier to keep up that way & gives us a chance to give replies as we read... ;)
Oh yes, Oh yes, give us time to reply, man. We have to reply!!!!!
Good thinking, SVsleuth. :D

[Nemu]

Well... a deal is a deal... so here's the story...

SV... I think I will take your advice... I'll post 1 update per day... sometimes (like today) 1 update = 1 part of the story...

so... without further ado...
------

Part 1: The Arrival

Lana's curiosity overwhelmed all her other feelings as she watched the opening hole in the big black triangle-like ship in front of her. Forgotten was the pain in her leg, forgotten were the leftover meteor still raining down on Smallville. Only one thought was on her mind. What the hell was this thing and what was going to happen once the 'door' was completely open.

What Lana and all the other inhabitants of Smallville didn't see was the man floating over 100 feet in the sky above the landing site of the ship. This man wasn't paying attention to the meteor either, even though some of them crashed and explode on his back, because he knew what was in there and he was closely monitoring what was happening. He was also keeping a close eye on Lana to make sure she was safe. He wasn't the least bit afraid, he was too confident in his abilities and powers for any fear to get a hold of him. His cape was floating wildly behind him as a meteor went right by him to crash over the already destroyed helicopter.

Any minute now the ship would be completely open and things would get interesting. The man in the sky brought his hands to his belt in close reach of his 'tools'. He still hoped he was wrong and that it wasn't the cell-ship containing Nam-Ek and Aethyr. Those two will cause trouble once they find out the effects the Earth's sun has on them.

Lana was mesmerized by what she was witnessing in the crater in front of her. As the door was completely opened, she saw two humanoid shapes in the intense light coming out of the hole. As the two figures came closer she could see what looked like a man and a woman. Her instincts told her those people were up to no good and she prayed they wouldn't see her as she tried to get away as silently as possible.

She should have known better though. Her bad luck strikes again as she turned around and dislodge a stone that went down the slope and hit a metal piece of the destroyed helicopter. As the sound was still ringing in the air she found herself surrounded by the two aliens. The man bent down and asked her something in a strange language. The only word that sounded familiar was Kal-El. But hard as she tried she couldn't remember where she heard that before.

After repeating the same thing for the fifth time, the man was clearly starting to lose patience and grabbed Lana by the neck and was starting to choke her. All she could think, as she felt her life being snuffed out, was the fact that Clark wasn't here for her this time and fate found her. "At least I got the chance to tell him I love him." Was her last thought as she felt herself falling unconscious. The next second she was brought back awake by a piercing scream from the man holding her and by a burning pain in her left shoulder.

"Nam-Ek! What is wrong?" the woman asked clearly showing fear for the first time.

"I don't know... but that girl is more than what she looks. Be careful Aethyr." Nam-Ek struggled to breathe out as he dropped his hold on Lana.

"Maybe we could use some of these long metal pieces to kill her. This way we wouldn't touch her directly." Aethyr was pointing to two long pieces of the helicopter's propeller.

"Great idea as usual Aethyr" Nam-Ek said with an evil smirk.

Lana was beginning to stir as the burning in her shoulder was diminishing. But what she heard made her wished she was already dead. She opened her eyes to see the two coming back each with a propeller blade in hands. She knew then that her time had come. She wished again that Clark would make one of his trademark last minute rescue, but she knew deep down it wouldn't be the case this time.

Another pair of eyes was watching the scene from the trees nearby, waiting for the right moment to make his move. He landed when he heard Nam-Ek screamed and after briefly scanning Lana's mind knew what had happened and that this earthling had made her choice. It was now his duty to do everything in his powers to make sure she came out of there alive. But on the other hand he didn't want to give the two Kryptonians any chances of preparing for his appearance. The element of surprise would be his only ally against those two... for the moment at least. He was also disappointed to have to break his oath to remain a neutral observer. But Jor-El made sure he would have to act someday. Better be today and to protect the girl than later to kill the man he had sworn to protect. A favor he had agreed to take on a very long time ago with Jor-El's great grandsire. Damn Jor-El and Tyr-El for their fall from grace and obsession of ruling.

But as he continued to watch the scene he put all his thoughts of Jor-El and everything else aside and prepared mentally to the fight ahead. His blood was beginning to boil and his hands were itching for the feel of his blades and the anticipation of the fight. His soul was hearing the call of battle. Lucky for him he had abilities that rivaled those of the Kryptonians without having to use his innate power that earthling call 'magic'.

Lana was snapped out of her trance as she saw the two take position on each side of her and ready their 'weapons' to strike at her. As she saw the blades come down to her she closed her eyes and waited for the blows to fall on her back. A split second before the impact was made all that was heard on the field was the screaming shriek of metal against metal. Lana heard the deafening sound and put her hands to her ears to muffle the sound. What she heard next made her open her eyes as hope filled her once again.

"YOU!" screamed Nam-Ek to the man standing over Lana blocking the attack of both Kryptonians.

Aethyr was just too surprise to see the man there to do anything but stare and let fall her makeshift weapon. Nam-Ek wasn't letting surprise paralyze him and started his next attack and concentrated directly on the man. First a blast of heat vision that was deflected by one sword and next his weapon got cut in half by the man's second blade.

The two men having moved aside during their struggle gave Lana her chance to crawl a little out of the way and get a better look at what was happening. Her joy as she first thought it was Clark that came to the rescue was dimmed, but she still had been saved by a knight in shining armor... literally. The man was about the same height as Clark but he was clad in what looked like medieval plate armor. His blue cape was swinging with the wind and his movement.

As the two men were engaged in combat, Lana saw Aethyr pick up her weapon and sneaked to the man's back in hope of finishing him quickly by hitting him in the back.

"WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!" Lana screamed as she saw what Aethyr was doing.

Her rescuer saw the two Kryptonians attack at the same time and blocked both attacks again and this time the three of them remained in the position.

"Nam-Ek... You should leave here while you still can." The man said, anger ringing clearly in his voice. "Earth won’t be conquered that easily. And you two being the last evil of your race won’t help either. If you continue this fight right now all you will achieve is get killed and go join Tyr-El and Zod in hell."

"You are funny Nemu. I thought you had sworn to only observe and not interfere in Kryptonian affairs. And what does this low-life earthling female has that is so important to make you break your oath anyway?"

"She isn't a simple earthling anymore. You should know better since you felt her sting when you tried to kill her at first. HA!"

"Nam-Ek... Let's just leave them for now and try to find Kal-El. Once we reunite with Jor-El's son even he won’t be able to stop us." Aethyr said feeling more and more scared with the situation.

As she finished speaking all of them heard the sirens of the police cars and the sound of more helicopters coming their way. The two Kryptonians used that distraction to run away but not after a last comment from Nam-Ek

"It's not finished Falazyan! Hear my word! Once we find Kal-El you will bow down to us and the Earth shall be ours!"

Right after the two aliens left Nemu ran to Lana with the intention of checking the extent of her injuries. Lana was speechless for a minute and once she found her voice she told the man to stay way from her.

"Miss Lang please let me check your wounds. I don't want to harm you; I just want to help you."

"How do you know my name?"

"I've been around for long enough to know the principal 'actors' of the little drama going on around Smallville. You had a very interesting life so far Miss Lang. If you want it to continue as simple as possible without having to explain to the police and army that there were aliens here I suggest you let me take care of you."

"You promise you won’t hurt me?"

"That I promise. I only want you to get better. You will need my help for a lot of things in the very near future so I suggest we start with some kind of introduction on my part. Around here I'm called David."

"I'm Lana, but David isn’t the name that guy Nam-Ek called you..."

"True. That man used my birth name, Nemu. It is the name I am known as from where he comes from."

"What? So you are saying you are an alien too?" Lana said with some hint of fear creeping in her voice for the first time since the end of the fight.

"Yes Lana. But not all 'aliens' as you call them are evil... But let's talk about this later. We need to get out of here. The authorities are almost here. Here let me pick you up and we will go to a safe place for the time being so I can see what I can do about your injuries. Let me just pick up their ship and we will be on our way."

With that said Nemu went to the crater and took out a piece of the ship which causes it to shrink to the size of a laptop. He picked up the ship and went back to get Lana. Once she was settle comfortably in his arms he super sped away from the scene just as the first helicopter flew over the field taking in all the damage made by the meteor, the ship, the crash and the fight.

[Iowanmom]

But Jor-El made sure he would have to act someday. Better be today and to protect the girl than later to kill the man he had sworn to protect. A favor he had agreed to take on a very long time ago with Jor-El's great grandsire. Damn Jor-El and Tyr-El for their fall from grace and obsession of ruling.
All right, Nemu... color me intrigued!! I am there. What the H is going to happen. I am so excited this is here. I had yet to read it and it being here on my favorite little site makes me all giddy.

I love the post. Wonderful story so far. I am so intrigued to find out what and who this person is. And to learn Lana's role in this tale. Wonderfu post and fantastic description! I can't wait for more!

[SVsleuth]

I love the complexity you have in this story, from the very start: the Falaysian Nemu, there to protect, having made a deal with Jor-El & his ancestors long ago. You pique our interest immediately. I'll be watching for more tomorrow - or rather, later today, since it's 1:40 a.m. ;)

I'm glad to be able to have the opportunity to post replies for this story & refresh my memory on the part I had already read. It will be much easier to get through this long fic with you posting an update or 2 each day. :)

[happycamper]

Very interesting start! Pleast post away... :D

The only thing I can't figure out is how you got a name like Nemu for the new character in your story...:p

[closetfan]

whoa....i was confused at first but now im hooked.....waitin for the next chapter :)

[Nemu]

Well first... what was confusing closetfan?

Here is the second part... also... except for Part 6 and 7 (and maybe 8) 1 update (or 1 post) = 1 part (or chapter)

oh yeah... and as for the Nemu character... His name comes from a radomizer program that my brother built some 12 years ago... and the character was created then. Nemu's story is a lot more than the little glimpse shown in here... And I hope one day to finish and publish my novels....

But for now...

Here we go!!

-------------------------------

Part 2: The Return

“I can’t do this alone!” These words were still ringing in Clark’s head as he watches the crystal soar through the air like a homing missile toward its destination. After a few minute the crystal finally landed on the snow and sank into the ground. Clark could hear a humming through the air and stood there ready to move on the first sign of trouble.

Suddenly a bright light flashed through the air a few times as a gigantic crystal structure rose from the landing spot. Clark looked in awe and fear as the fortress finally stopped its appearance. Awe for the place was incredible and beautiful. Fear because he didn’t know what more troubles his heritage would bring to the lives of the people.

After what seemed like eternity Clark felt a force pulling him to the structure. This force was different than the usual pain he was getting when he was called by Jor-El. It was a warmth, a filling of love and hope, not the usual pain and cold hate. As he came to stand in front of the wall, he saw an opening appear in it to let him enter.

The interior was even more amazing than the exterior. He also felt the change in the temperature. Outside he could somehow feel the cold air of the arctic, but inside the temperature was closer to the coldest day of winter in Smallville. The lights playing on the crystals were amazing. Blue, red and yellow… but also some pink lights hit here and there. As Clark went deeper into the structure he came to what could only be a control panel. Lots of crystals were connected to it and the crystal of knowledge was in a slot on a table similar to the one in the caves back in Kansas.

“Now to find out exactly where I am.” Clark muttered to himself. As he touched the blue crystal an image of a woman appeared in front of him on the other side of the table.

“My son! Finally I can meet you my Kal-El.” The woman said.

“Mother?!?”

“Yes Kal-El, I am Lara your mother. Oh what a fine young man you have become. I am proud of you my son.”

“Mother what is this place?”

“This place is what the people of Earth would call a library. It contains all the knowledge of Krypton. I am the appointed keeper of the archives and your guide as you will learn everything about your heritage and your role in the universe.”

As Clark was going to ask his next question a burning pain shot through his left shoulder and he screamed as he fell to his knees.

“AAAH! Mother what is happening to me?” Were the last words he said before blacking out. In his unconscious state he felt Lana’s pain and distress. After what felt to him like hours but were in reality only seconds, Clark woke up with the image of his mother’s face floating above him.

“Kal-El, I felt the same thing you did. You have to hurry back to the place you call home on this planet. Touch the yellow crystal on the far left of the table and it will transport you back to the caves. Be careful! I can sense that some evil has come to Earth. You will face many challenges in the near future. Trust in those you love and in the man known as Nemu. He arrived in Smallville today. Good luck my son and come back as soon as the situation permits to start your studies.”

“Thanks mother. I hope I can get to Lana in time.” With that said Clark got up and went to the crystal that will send him home.

After Clark disappeared from the room Lara said in a murmur “I am glad my son finally found someone that loves him so completely. Oh Kal-El please don’t mess up this time!”

To Lara’s complete surprise an answer was given to her words. “Don’t fear for your son Lara. My brother already saved Lana from Nam-Ek and Aethyr. She chose him but she doesn’t know the depth of their bond yet. Nemu had to break his oath and that is what I must do too. Kal-El will need my guidance in the days ahead with his training. The appearance of those two Kryptonians changed the plans.”

“Thanks Nemia. How long have you been in here? I didn’t even feel your life force until you spoke. You are getting even better at sneaking around” Lara said with a small smile appearing on her face.

“I entered right after Kal-El. I felt the emergence of the archives and came over. I wanted to know who could have found the stones after so long.”

“Yes I understand. It has been so long since the stones have been divided. You should follow Kal-El for the time being. Please protect my son!”

“I will protect him with my life… my friend.” And with that Nemia walked out of the room and took to the skies to fly to catch up with her friend’s son.

***

Clark took a minute to get his bearing after appearing back in the stones room in the caves. Remembering that Chloe and Lex were there when he left, he walked slowly around through the door making sure the way was clear before getting out of the shadows. Once he saw the coast was clear, Clark super sped away back to the Kent farm. What he saw there made his knees go weak and tears to come to his face. His house was in ruins but what really took all the strength out of his legs was the red truck abandoned in the driveway near the road. His parents didn’t get away. He could feel their presence inside the house.

The first sounds he heard were the barking of Shelby coming from the least damage part of the house. He didn’t lose any time and ran in that direction. He saw his parents lying unconscious on the floor with some blood on them. Once he got close to them, relief flooded through him since they only seemed to have minor injuries. Not waiting he got up and went to the truck to pick his parents and bring them to the hospital. His fear for Lana temporarily forgotten he started to drive away as fast as he could. First he needed to make sure his parents would be ok. Then he would start his search for Lana.

As he arrived at the Smallville Medical Center he could see that getting a hold of some doctor was going to be hard. A lot of people were coming in from injuries by the meteors. As he approached the entrance to ask for help getting his parents inside a young silver haired woman came out of nowhere and took hold of his arm.

“Kal-El, come let us get your parents inside.” The woman whispered to his ear, which made Clark turn back to face her while trying to hide his shock from his face.

“Pardon me Miss but I think you have the wrong person. My name is Clark Kent. But I gladly accept your help to get my parents inside.”

“Don’t worry ‘Clark’, I know all there is to know about you. I followed you all the way from the arctic. My brother and I are here to help you. Now let’s hurry so we can get back to Nemu to learn what happened here since the meteor shower ended. He has been around watching over some people. Oh and you can call me Nemia.” She said with a charming smile.

With that said they walk back to the truck and got the two Kent inside the hospital. As soon as they came in a doctor saw them and called them over to him so they could put the couple down on some beds and to let the nurses and doctors take care of them.

After what seem forever the doctor came back to them with a smile on his face. “Mr. Kent? Your parents will be ok. They only suffered minor injuries. Your mother is awake and has been asking for you. They are in room 315 so you can go see them.”

“Thanks doctor. You have no idea how glad I am to hear that.” Relief clearly shown on Clark’s face and in his voice.

They arrived at the room and Nemia was going to sit on a nearby chair to wait when Clark took her arm and pull her with him inside the room.

“Clark!” Martha was happy to see her son. Her expression change when she saw the woman entering with him. “Who’s your friend?”

“Mom this is Nemia. She helped me get you guys inside the hospital.” Nemia made a small wave to Martha. “Hi Mrs. Kent. Um... Clark we really need to go back to the farm and check on my brother. I’m sure he has news that you will need to know about what came with the meteor shower this time.”

Upon hearing about the farm, Martha’s expression got sad. She remembered what happened before she blacked out. “Clark? How bad is the farm?”

“The house got damaged pretty badly but that’s all. The rest of the farm is ok.”

“Did you see Jason anywhere when you found us?”

“Jason? Why would I see him there? What happened? Mom?”

Martha, with tears coming down her cheeks “He stopped us as we were leaving the farm and he threatened us with a shotgun. I guess if you didn’t see him it means the meteor got him.” As she finished telling him she could see the anger burning in Clark’s eyes.

“Why did he do that? I suppose it was about the stones? Or was it about Lana?”

“It was the stones. He was asking where you and the stones were. He knew things about you, but I don’t know exactly what.”

“It’s ok mom. He won’t bother us anymore.”

The two had completely forgotten Nemia who was sitting on a chair beside Jonathan’s bed inspecting his wounds. She knew what they were talking about and heard everything but played dumb in front of Clark’s mother for the moment until the truth would be told between all of them.

“Ahem, Clark? I think we should leave your mother to rest for now. We will come back with Nemu and he will be able to help them get out of here faster. Mrs. Kent, don’t worry about your house. I’m sure my brother will be happy to take care of the repairs. And with Clark’s help it shouldn’t take too long either.” Nemia came closer to Martha and shook her hand. “Goodbye for now.”

“Goodbye mom, we will come back later. I also need to find Lana. Something happened and I fear she might be hurt.”

“Go then son. We will have a lot to discuss when we get out of here. I’ll tell your father you are ok and will be back later. I hope Lana is ok too. Goodbye Nemia.”

With that both young people walked out of the hospital and started back toward the Kent farm in the truck. Anxious to hear anything new about what happened.

[closetfan]

sweet update.....i was just confused bout the nemu guy thats all, but i figured it out after reading more


:)

[maitriniazngurl]

Wow, that was great Nemu. It's a bit different... but awesome!! Can't wait for more. :D

[Nemu]

sweet update.....i was just confused bout the nemu guy thats all, but i figured it out after reading more

Ah yes... Nemu... well you will learn more of him as the story goes...


Originally posted by maitriniazngurl
Wow, that was great Nemu. It's a bit different... but awesome!! Can't wait for more. :D

Only thing I can say to this.... You have seen nothing yet :D

muahahahahahahahah!!!! (evil laugh)


Next update in 12-24 hours I guess...

[maitriniazngurl]

I hope so. This is really interesting. :D

[SVsleuth]

Clark must be dying to know where Nemu & Nemia came from and also where Lana is. PPMS! Great story. :)

[clark&lanafan06]

Great Updates !!!!!!! PPMS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nemu]

Well here is the next one... Part 3...

Part 1 to 3 are more of the introduction... Part 4 and 5 are plot setting then 6 and 7 are one big mess... Part 8 is the conclusion and the Epilogue is the bridge to story 2... (in a way ;))

Now... Enjoy!!! (and leave feedback please :D)

-------------------------------------------

(A/N: first part is Nemu/Lana. Second part will be Nemia/Clark until they come back to the farm. Then the 4 of them will be together. It’s not really povs but it’s to bring them together)

Part 3: Reunion

After only a few second of blurring landscape Lana found herself sitting on the old couch in Clark’s Loft. Taking a minute to realize where she is she turned to Nemu as he was making his way back up the stairs with some kind of first aid kit.

“Why are we here?”

“Well… This is one of the safest places to be right now. Plus my sister will come looking for me soon and this is the first place she will think of checking… since she is with the Kent at the hospital.”

“Oh my… Are they all right? Is Clark there too? What happened to them?”

“Shh Lana. First of all, yes they are ok. They suffered some injuries from the meteor that destroyed the house. Clark wasn’t here when it happened so he is safe. Nemia will bring him back here with her. As for what happened… beside the meteor I mean, I will let that story for Nemia or Clark to tell once they get here. Now let me take care of those wounds. The one on your leg looks nasty.”

“Yeah it hurt a lot too.” She said with a grimace of pain.

“Ok here’s what I will do. First I will clean them, starting with your leg, to see how deep they are and then we will see what to do about them. I warn you now... it might sting a little while I clean it.”

After saying this Nemu took position beside her and made the hole in her pants bigger so he could access her wound. He started washing it with some warm water. Lana thought it wasn’t so bad. That was until she saw him take some gauss. Now the burning from the contact of the alcohol makes her eyes water and she bites her bottom lip to block the scream that want to get out of her.

Once the pain subsides and her tears stopped, she could see the serious look on Nemu’s face and she began to worry. “Is everything ok? You look so serious.”

“Yeah it will be ok, don’t worry. I was just thinking on what to do with the small shards of metal stuck in the wound. Nothing serious though. Just something I didn’t think about. Now… we have two choices… The long and hard way or the long and smooth way. Long and hard means you will need to endure some more pain as I use the tweezers to take the shards out. The long and smooth means I will use some of my powers to do it. I would prefer the second way but I know you might have had enough weirdness for today.”

“What kind of powers are we talking about? Because the less pain I feel the better I will be.” She shyly said.

“Ah well… people here call it ‘magic’.”

“Like what I used when I was possessed by that witch?”

“Yes something like that. Your magic comes from your blood... but mine comes from the forces all around us that we call elements. Fire, water and air are the most powerful of those. They represent each an aspect of magic. Born from fire, the effects are more to hurt or damage things. The powers drawn from water are gentler. They are those which soothe the spirit and in our case help heal wounds. Air magic takes effect more in the movements and time flow. Like the floating magic I used to get us here. So magic is more of a supernatural or mystical source. Well… Sorry for the long explanation.” Nemu said feeling a little embarrassed now.

“No it’s ok. It’s interesting actually. If it can help me understand what happened to me in the last few months I welcome it gladly... and I prefer you use the smooth way please...”

“Ok… while I start working on your leg you can use the washcloth and water to clean your face. Those wounds are only skin deep. They will heal naturally.”

Once that was said Nemu put his hands above Lana’s leg and a bluish light starts to engulf his hands and soon spread to her leg. Lana could feel a warmth similar to the one coming from sitting in front of a nice fire. It soothes her mind as well as her pain. After the first minute of looking on what he was doing Lana took care of her blood covered face while thinking how nice a shower would feel right now.

The treatment lasted for a good 10 minutes. When he was done Nemu saw that Lana had fallen asleep so he covered her with the blanket that was on the back of the couch. As he was getting up he felt a presence in the walkway to the left of the stairs. On reflexes born from years of training Nemu spun around with a sword in his left hand and a small ball of flame in his right.

“Damn!” He said once he found out who was standing there.

“What are you doing here Jor-El? Came to see if your silly plot to mess around with your son was going as planned?”

“No. I came to see a man who broke his word and took arm against a Kryptonian again.” Jor-El said with a small evil smile playing on his face.

“You know that even though you are only a spirit, I can still kick your ass right? Or better I’ll call Lara and tell her what you did to her beloved Kal-El while she wasn’t looking.” Nemu answered back with his own smirk. He started to laugh when he saw Jor-El’s reaction to his last words. “Who knew the spirit of the great Jor-El would be frightened by some simple words…” He added.

“Careful with your threats ‘boy’.”

“Um… boy fit more for you than for me you know. What would your great-grandfather think of you if he saw you? I know he was as disappointed as Zur-El when both you and Tyr-El decided to plan your little coup to seize the power on Krypton. Lucky for them I was around at the time. Oh! Since I got you here right now… how goes the knee? Still hurting?”

“Grrrrr… You were lucky on that shot...” Nemu cut Jor-El before he could start rambling.

“You know it wasn’t luck. But let leave this behind us… What is done is done. You saw your son. You know you should be proud of him. He already chose his destiny even when you keep trying to make him do what you want. So now Nam-Ek and Aethyr will find an enemy instead of an ally when they meet Kal... And this woman here just sealed both Kal and her destinies today when she met those two troublemakers. That is the reason why I broke my words too. If not for her choice, even though she made it subconsciously, I wouldn’t have interfered. But now... she is bound to Kal-El’s fate. Even Lara saw that or so Nemia told me when she got back here in Smallville with your son. Now you have two choices... either you come back to your senses and start help them or you continue on your evil way and I will have to inform the people concerned of your actions.”

With a sigh Jor-El answered “I know. You are right. I need to help my son. He chose his destiny a long time ago. I just couldn’t accept that. When he got the three stones together I thought I was going to be able to use the archives and his fears to control him. I was surprised when I was denied access to the Fortress of Knowledge.”

“Yes Lara was chosen by the Council to be the keeper of the archives. We knew she would be able to do a great job. You could be proud of her too you know. Only if you came back to us... old friend.”

“I really messed up didn’t I? I hope Lara can find it in her heart to forgive me. And Kal-El... What did I do! He will never trust me again you know. He will always hate me.”

“It’s not true father. Maybe not now but someday we will learn to trust and like each other.”

***

The ride back to the farm was quiet. Both of them had things to think through.

“Clark? Don’t worry about your parents. I saw their injuries and they are minors. I will tell Nemu to go to the hospital tonight and help them. He is quite good with his healing powers.”

“I know my parents will be all right. It’s Lana I’m worried about. The pain I felt earlier and the danger I could feel around her really scare me. What if we don’t find her in time? What if she dies?” Tears started to go down on his cheeks.

“Don’t worry Clark. My brother is by her side and I know he won’t let her die. From what I can feel right now in his mind he is calm and working on her wounds.”

“You can read minds?”

“Yeah kinda... more like emotions... but with Nemu it’s more since we are twins.”

“Ah ok... so how come you know everything about me?”

“See that’s a long story, and maybe a little too long for now since we are getting close to your home. I promise me and Nemu will tell you everything soon.”

They pulled up in the Kent driveway and stopped in front of the ruined house. “Well I guess for tonight I will be able to sleep in the loft, but I will need to find a place for my parents to stay while we rebuild our house.”

“Don’t worry about it now Clark. Nemu and I will gladly help you. I have an apartment in town that your parents can use. Anyway with all our powers combined I guess we will get this house back up in no time.” Nemia said trying to cheer him up.

As Clark’s smile was appearing on his face at her word, it disappeared immediately when he saw Nemia’s scowl. “What’s wrong?”

“I just felt the spirit force of someone I don’t really like right now. But since it’s coming from the barn and Nemu is there I guess there is nothing to worry about. Let’s go see how things are inside.”

“Ok.”

With that they got out of the truck and went inside the barn. Clark was nervous and impatient to meet Nemu and to learn how Lana is. But what he saw and heard as he got to the top of the stairs left him speechless. There standing in front of him was a man with silver hair that must definitely be Nemu and what could only be the ghost of his father.

Nemu was speaking and while he couldn’t see the man’s face, he could see the ghost reaction to the words. From anger to confusion to sadness went the expression on the ghost features so akin to his.

“You know it wasn’t luck. But let leave this behind us… What is done is done. You saw your son. You know you should be proud of him. He already chose his destiny even when you keep trying to make him do what you want. So now Nam-Ek and Aethyr will find an enemy instead of an ally when they meet Kal... And this woman here just sealed both Kal and her destinies today when she met those two troublemakers. That is the reason why I broke my words too. If not for her choice, even though she made it subconsciously, I wouldn’t have interfered. But now... she is bound to Kal-El’s fate. Even Lara saw that or so Nemia told me when she got back here in Smallville with your son. Now you have two choices... either you come back to your senses and start help them or you continue on your evil way and I will have to inform the people concerned of your actions.”

With a sigh Jor-El answered “I know. You are right. I need to help my son. He chose his destiny a long time ago. I just couldn’t accept that. When he got the three stones together I thought I was going to be able to use the archives and his fears to control him. I was surprised when I was denied access to the Fortress of Knowledge.”

“Yes Lara was chosen by the Council to be the keeper of the archives. We knew she would be able to do a great job. You could be proud of her too you know. Only if you came back to us... old friend.”

“I really messed up didn’t I? I hope Lara can find it in her heart to forgive me. And Kal-El... What did I do! He will never trust me again you know. He will always hate me.”

Clark couldn’t take it anymore. He still felt anger for what he had to endure in the last 4 years of his life, but deep down he knew from what he was hearing that maybe someday he could learn to forgive his father. Without thinking and before he could stop himself the words came out. “It’s not true father. Maybe not now but someday we will learn to trust and like each other.”

******

Both Nemu and Jor-El turned to him once they heard his words. Both with a surprise look. “Ah Clark! How long have you been standing up here? And how are your parents?” Nemu couldn’t see Jor-El’s face but Clark did and a smile appeared on his face at the disappointed and little anger shown in Jor-El’s as Nemu called the Kents as his parents.

“They are going to be fine. They suffered minor injuries from the meteor. The worst part was the ordeal with a guy named Jason, who threatened them...”

“Good to hear. I guess this Jason wasn’t your favorite person in the world from the frown on your face.” Nemu couldn’t help but chuckle at this and Clark did the same...

“Erm… Can I ask you some questions? From the way you look and what Nemia said you must be Nemu right?”

“Yeah I am...” Nemu said before adding as he read the next question from Clark’s mind “And yes Lana is safe.”

“How did you...”

“How did I know you were going to ask that? Well I have a better control on my mind reading than Nemia... Isn’t that right sis?” Nemu said with a wink at the girl as she appeared at the top of the stairs behind Clark.

“Don’t let it go to your head buddy! I’m still the prettier and sneakier one of us.” She answered back with a wink.

“Well I guess it’s time for me to go back to the spirit realm and try to get a hold of Lara... I’m actually afraid and I don’t like that one bit. But thanks Kal-El for giving me hope. I want to apologize for the pain I made you endure... and to your lady friend too. She is a fine young woman and has all the qualities to make her a good match for you. Be careful with her my son. I can almost see the same determination and passion in her as there was in Lara... and in her great aunt Louise. Tell her I’m sorry please?”

“I will...” Clark said looking down to the floor with a sad expression as thought of everything that happened in the last 4 years goes through his mind and of what will come as he remembered Lara’s wish for him to go back to study the lore of Krypton.

Both twins could feel the sadness and the cause of it, so they decided to tell him some information that would probably make him feel better. Even if only a little.

“Clark, it’s ok to be sad about the past but don’t let the future trouble you. Lana will have her own path to follow while you are going to be with Lara. She has to learn and accept the destiny she chose for herself and just like you felt her in the Fortress you will be able to develop the link between you two.” Nemu said since he knew what happened to Lana. “Now... She is still asleep but go ahead and check up on her if you want. Just try to let her sleep through the full effect of the healing process. She will need it.”

“Ok... But first my second question. Nemia said you could probably help my parents come home faster?”

“Ah yes... Well when you are ready come meet me outside and we will go to the hospital. Nemia will stay with Lana while we are gone.” Nemu said as he walked down the stairs to get out of the barn to check on the house.

“Thanks...” Clark went up to the couch and sat on the coffee table in front of it looking at Lana’s sleeping face. ‘She looks like an angel’ he thought as he looked on.

“Nemu how do you plan on getting everything together? You know Nam-Ek won’t be gone for long... And neither of those kids is ready to take on a fight against two fully grown and powered Kryptonians.” Nemia said once she catched up with her brother in front of the ruins.

“That’s why I want you to keep a close watch over here while I’m taking Clark at the hospital to help his parents. Then we will make arrangement to try and get all the people to meet here and probably stay together in the new house until the threat is gone. That’s why I want you to plan a little surprise for the Kents. Try to make some good plans for some modification to the house. You know money won’t be a problem so let your creative mind work some. But remember we are not on Falazya here. Try to keep within what would look as normal as possible for Earth.”

“Yeah I know.” And through all this discussion Nemu couldn’t help but smile as he saw his sister’s eyes lit up and her mind spinning around like a twister with ideas.

***

“Lana I’m sorry for everything that happened. I wish I could have been here to help you. But I’m glad to have found two new friends who are so helpful. I can’t help but be a little suspicious though. Once everything settles back around here I swear I will tell you everything. I love you Lana...” Clark wiped away the single tear that crept down his cheek as he thought of how things could have been different if he had been a normal human being. With that said and since she was still not showing any sign of waking up Clark decided to meet Nemu and go help his parents.

After he walked down the stairs a soft whisper could be heard in the loft. “I love you too.”

***

The ride to the hospital was fast this time. Clark didn’t want to leave Lana for too long and he was anxious to get his parents back to the farm so they could talk about everything that happened and the new threat looming above them. Nemu was almost as impatient as Clark but for other reason. He didn’t like cars as he thought they were way too slow when compared to flight or super speed. But he knew they would need the truck to bring back the Kents.

“Clark... I can feel you have a lot going through your mind. Some are questions that I can probably help you with. Other things are linked with Lana and that I can’t really help you with but tell you this. She saw 3 aliens today. Nam-Ek and Aethyr scared her but I think I got through to her somehow. So don’t fear to tell her. I will have more advice and things you will have to do before you do tell her. Just as she has to learn and accept her destiny so do you. You both also have to accept and deal with who you really are. But remember that Nemia, Lara, me and even Jor-El are here to help you both. And you can ask me anything, anytime.”

Clark felt a little relief from hearing those words. But so many questions were in his mind he didn’t know where to start. “Well... I know you know everything about me, but how can you know? How can you talk with Jor-El?”

“Ah well that is quite an interesting tale actually. The long version will have to wait. But our people have been in touch for quite a while now. I came to Krypton for the first time as an ambassador for my home planet. Since we were forging an alliance, the leader of the Kryptonian Council decided, with his brethren’s support, to appoint me as a special advisor on the Council. That leader was your great-great-grandfather. We became quick friends. When some evil Kryptonian named Zod tried to take over the planet I was forced into the fight. That made a big political mess. So after we got rid of Zod, I had to take an oath never to meddle into Kryptonian affairs or take arm against Krypton if I wanted to stay on the Council. So that’s how I came to be an observer and only had to push the limit of this oath one time before I came to earth. That was when your grand-father and father, Tyr-El and Jor-El, tried to follow in Zod’s footsteps to rule Krypton. Jor-El thought I should be the first to be dealt with so he attacked me since he knew I couldn’t actually take up arm against him. But even unarmed I am quite dangerous and your father made the mistake of taking me lightly. The end result was his knee being hurt pretty badly and permanently. And about the talking to the ‘dead’ part well... It’s quite easy. Since I’ll take into account you have heard about ‘ghost’ stories, these so call apparitions were in fact spirits who decided to show themselves in our realm. Jor-El chose to show his real form tonight. When he talked to you before he was trying to force things on you so he was appearing as a blinding light. He knows deep down he can’t do anything to me and now that I have broken my oath...”

“But why did you break your oath? Why now and why to save Lana? Not that I’m not grateful for that. Thanks.”

“Well like I said. She made a choice today even though it was made subconsciously it was made nonetheless. Because of that and its effect on the future of a lot of people, I had to protect her.”

“Well that explains some of the things.”

“It will have to be enough for the time being. We are arriving at the hospital. We won’t stay here long so don’t worry.” Nemu said with a knowing smile.

***

After about 30 minutes of sneaking through the hospital, the three Kents and Nemu were on their way back to the farm when suddenly Nemu disappeared from his seat in the truck and Clark felt scared like never before. He knew something wasn’t right about this feeling, it was like the way he felt in the Fortress but the intensity of the emotion was stronger. “Clark what is wrong?” Jonathan said seeing what he thought was his son’s reaction to Nemu’s disappearing act.

“Something’s wrong at the farm. I think Lana and Nemia are in trouble. That’s why Nemu disappeared.” With that Clark sped up a little to try to get back home as fast as he could without hurting his parents and breaking too much above the speed limit.

***

Back at the farm, Nemia and Lana had been talking when the barn’s door exploded and in walked Lana’s two least favorite aliens of the day. Nam-Ek was in first and Aethyr was right behind him. Nemia just stood looking down on them. “You are not welcome here Kryptonians! Leave now or you will regret it!” Nemia was getting angry and sent a message to Nemu to warn him. Lana was scared of what might happen, but strangely could sense Clark’s presence and calmed a little. Next thing she saw was Nemu appearing beside her and as he was joining Nemia downstairs to face Nam-Ek she could hear a car in the driveway and knew it was Clark.

Before Clark could get out of the truck he saw two blurring forms running away as Nam-Ek and Aethyr decide not to mess with both the twins together. They wanted their revenge and to get the girl but they weren’t foolish enough to take them on together.

Clark ran inside the barn to see a small ball of fire dissipating from Nemia’s right hand and small bolts of lightning running between Nemu’s fingers. As he looked up to check for Lana in the loft he barely had time to react as a raven haired missile flew into his arm and Lana’s arms linked behind his neck as she hugged him as tightly as she could. Instincts made him put his arm around her and hug her back. He could feel her calm herself and felt something wet on his shoulder and realize it must have been tears.

“Hey Lana it’s ok... I’m here and we can thank Nemu and Nemia for their help. Even my parents are here, see outside.”

“Clark! I was so scared but then I could feel you as if you were beside me and I felt my fear diminish.”

As the older Kents entered the barn and witness the exchange between the two young people, the twins went to them and showed them what they were planning to do with the house. They told them that while they would repair the house, the Kents and Lana could stay at Nemia’s apartment in town. They gladly accepted and Nemia went to the truck followed by the others, but after only a few paces Nemu called Clark back to speak with him.

“Clark can you stay here with me tonight? We will start working on the house. I have a few contacts that will be bringing materials to build the new house. And with your super speed and my abilities we will be able to have a good part of it done tonight. And I also want to speak to you about what we said earlier concerning you telling Lana.”

“Ok just let me go clear things up with my parents...”

[SVsleuth]

1st! That was quite a long update. Glad to see that Nam-Ek & Aethyr are afraid of Nemu & Nemia. Looking forward to Clark telling Lana everything. PPMS!

[Nemu]

Well I was going to update again but since i didnt get any feedback (well except of course for SV ;)) I will wait a little more...

So next update in a couple hours...

[maitriniazngurl]

I'm sorry Nemu... I just got on. ;) Great update!!! Can't wait for more... :D

[Nemu]

Well... Here's part 4... things get interesting a little...

Enjoy!!!

----------------------

Part 4: Origins and Destinies (Past and Future)

(A/N: Scientific notions mentioned in this part are made up from what I heard about Superman and some other sources (like the suns colors) and also from my own imagination. – Also remember that the people on Earth know Nemu as David and Nemia as Karyn. Only those who really know the truth about them, like the Kent and Lana, call them by their birth name.)

After saying goodnight to his parents and a sad Lana, Clark came back to Nemu to start planning the reconstruction of the Kent home.

“Clark, let’s talk as we wait for the materials to arrive. First of all from what I saw, or over heard, during the last few years I have been watching over things here, your main obstacle in telling Lana your secret came from three possible sources. The first is from your fear of being rejected. This one is easy to get rid of if you want. You just have to remember that we are all ‘human’ but from different planets. What makes us different comes from the environment we come from. Rao was an old sun and Sol is a young one. My planet is even more complex. My home star system is called Enke from our main ‘sun’. This sun is between Sol and Rao in age. We also have a blue sun which is even younger and smaller than Sol. These and their effects in space and the environments of our different planets are what affect our genes and DNA.”

“So if I understand correctly what you are telling me is that even though we are aliens here, we are in truth as human as the people of Earth?” Clark said with a thoughtful look.

“Yeah exactly. You already know you get your energy from the sun. But you also get your powers from it and if you were to be exposed to a red sun like Rao, you would be as normal as the Kents.”

“I see... Well this explanation does help a little. At least now I can tell Lana more than just ‘I’m an alien from the planet Krypton’.”

“True. Now... the second source of the problem comes from your fear of Lana getting hurt because she will know your secret. Well I can assure you now that she will have more means to take care of herself. She isn’t a normal young woman anymore. Not that she ever was either. The choice she made has ‘awakened’ her own powers. Just like her ancestor Isobel, Lana will have use of some magical energy. So you see she isn’t really as helpless as you might think. And of course, until you are both ready, Nemia and I will be keeping an eye out for Lana and your safety.”

“But won’t that magic be as much a danger to her as to the others?”

“Are your powers a danger to you?”

“Well I do remember setting a few fires when my heat vision kicked in...”

“True but you learned to control it and so will she. Right now she doesn’t even know she has those powers or how to access them. That is something she will have to learn just like you with your powers. Now for the third source... It is your fear that she will hate and blame you for what happened to her parents. Just remember one thing. The meteor shower would have happened with or without you. You were sent away only a few weeks after you were born and when you arrived here you were only 3 years old. You couldn’t have stopped what happened in any way.”

“But that doesn’t really help with convincing her that...” Clark started to answer before Nemu interrupt him. “It has everything to help. Now you won’t have to go and say something stupid like ‘I’m sorry for your parents, it was my fault’, because it really isn’t your fault.”

“I see your point. But it’s difficult to really believe it.”

“Don’t worry Clark. Give Lana a little more credits and believe in her. She loves you as you could see tonight. Now... the next thing we will have to work on is your ‘inner’ problem in accepting who you are. This will also help you when you tell her your secret. If I’m right, and I’m pretty sure I am, it will also help you get rid of one weakness. The Red one.”

“What? What you mean?”

“Well Red K is like a drug. This can’t be helped but affect you psychologically. But what accepting who you truly are will do is diminish its effects. Meaning you are Clark Kent, but you are Kal too. Never forget that. When on Red you act like a jerk but that’s only because right now your mind has divided your mind in two. The alien part that is Kal and the emotional one that is Clark. Take the night as we will work to think on that.”

Any answer Clark might have come up with was going to wait since the contact Nemu spoke about was arriving with a truck load of materials of all kind for the house. As the truck stopped in front of the barn, a car pulled up behind it.

“Ah Nemia is as good as ever...” Nemu said with a little laugh.

“What you mean?”

“She knew I wouldn’t want Ricky to stay here so she sent a car to pick him up.”

“Hey David... Here’s the stuff your sister asked, I hope it’s the right ones and that it will be enough for your little project because some of this is very hard to get your hands on at this late hour.” Ricky said as he approaches them.

“Yeah it should be ok. Ricky this is Clark Kent. Clark this is Rick Garfield, one of my close friend around here.”

“Pleased to meet you Mr. Garfield.”

“Same here, but call me Ricky. Everyone does anyway.” The man answered with a wink and a laugh.

“Well Ricky your transport back home is waiting for you so I won’t hold you up. Thanks for your help. I’ll see you later.”

“Don’t worry David; it was my pleasure as always. Even more since I got to hear Karyn’s sweet voice. Well goodnight gentlemen.”

“Goodnight.” Both Nemu and Clark answered.

Once Ricky was gone they turned to the truck and start unloading some of the stuff. They worked all evening and when the sun had set, Nemu conjured some magical light to continue to work. When 2 a.m. came, they were about halfway done with the reconstruction. Clark was amazed at the new house and had to ask “Hey Nemu, I was wondering... Why are we adding more rooms to the house?”

“Well since there will be 3 more people living here and some more will be visiting soon I thought it might be appropriate to have room enough to have everyone sleep in the house. Unless you prefer to take permanent residence in the loft.”

“Who... What? Who’s coming?”

“Ah a few people we have to invite over. Your friend Pete is one. As for the 3 new people living here well... Nemia has to leave her apartment, Lana lost almost everything in the meteor shower since the Talon has been destroyed and I never had a house here in Smallville to begin with. So now we have to find a new home. I’m sure your parents are ok with this. I asked them while I was treating their wounds back in the hospital.”

The only thing Clark got out of this explanation was that Lana was going to be staying in his house. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He felt happy but at the same time scared because of what was to come. Nemu could feel those and knew why so he said nothing and decided to leave Clark to his own thoughts.

“Clark you should go sleep a while. And remember to think about what I told you of Kal. I will take care of the chores around here and do some finishing touches in what is already done of the house. Your parents should be back soon. I asked Nemia to take Lana out to do some shopping since she will need new clothes and other stuff.”

“Yeah I guess I will do that. All this work and thinking kinda made me tired. Goodnight.” That being said, he went up to the loft and lied down on the couch and fell asleep immediately.

***
Clark woke up as he heard a woman scream. Without thinking he sped out of the barn to see what was happening but stopped when he saw his mother in his father’s arms both looking surprised and very happy with the work Nemu and Clark had done during the night. Once she saw him, Martha ran to Clark and hugs him as tightly as she could.

“Oh Clark! That is amazing!”

“Yeah son, you made a lot of progress in one night.”

“Well I wasn’t alone. Nemu helped a lot. By the way have you guys seen him? He stayed up after I went to bed.”

“Yeah he came by the apartment earlier to take a shower and change clothes. He said he had business to take care of and that he would be back later. He also said we could come here anytime we were ready.”

“Ok. You guys want a tour? The twins sure didn’t go slow on their plans. There are 3 more bedrooms.”

“Lead the way son and show us our new home.” Jonathan answered taking Martha by the hand and motioning for Clark to lead the way.

After the visit, the 3 of them were sitting on the porch and talking about the aftermath of the second meteor shower when Clark got a serious and sad expression on his face.

“Mom, dad, I have something to tell you. I have to tell Lana my secret. Something happened to her and I can’t hide it from her anymore. But the main reason I want to tell her is because I love her and now I know she loves me too.”

“Yeah we saw that son. It’s better you tell her now than have her catch you using your powers once she stays with us. But I can see there is more to it than that isn’t there?” Jonathan said seeing that his son’s expression remain sad.

“You’re right. I don’t know when but I will have to leave soon to go back to the place the 3 stones took me when I united them. They joined into one big crystal and that crystal made a fortress appear far in the arctic close to the North Pole. It is called the Fortress of Knowledge by the Kryptonians. It contains everything about my people. An image of my mother Lara appeared to me there and talked to me just like Jor-El was doing. But all she asked was that I return to study the history contained in the crystals. She let me come back when I felt Lana was in danger from the two Kryptonians who came with the second shower.”

“Clark? Are you sure it’s safe? I mean so far all Jor-El did was hurt you!” Martha said with fear for her son.

“I know mom, but it was only Jor-El that was bad. And even he is scared of Lara. It was funny when Nemu spoke to him yesterday in the loft. The expression on his face was one to remember.”

“Wait! You are saying that Nemu spoke to Jor-El in our loft yesterday? And you actually saw him?”

“Yeah it was his spirit. Some kind of ghost. But he was definitely there. And he saw the error of his way. Nemu made sure of that. He also asked me to tell Lana he was sorry for all the trouble and pain we went through because of him.” Seeing his dad’s expression of doubt Clark was quick to add. “I could feel he was sincere. He was really scared of Lara and from what I know and understand of Nemu, Jor-El knew the threats weren’t empty.”

***
After a few hours of going through their stuff they could save, the Kents heard a car pull up in the driveway and they walked out the barn to see who it might be. Clark was in the house doing some painting inside the house and came out too when he heard the car.

“Wow! The house is even more beautiful than before. And that’s saying a lot since it was already impressive.” Lana said as she got out of the car.

“Well I do like space. And with 6 persons living together it needed a lot more rooms than before.” Nemia answered as she walked to join the Kents. Lana walks to meet Clark and hug him. “I missed you.” She whispered into his ear before giving him a quick kiss on the lips before pulling away. “Can we visit the house?” She said louder and with excitation in her voice.

“Yeah come on, I’ll show you around.”

“Go ahead you two. I need to talk to your parents Clark.” Nemia told them holding in her laugh at Lana’s behavior.

The two young ones walked into the house and Clark went through each room telling Lana about the new additions they made to the house. After their private tour they went back out to find that Nemu was back and he was trying to calm Jonathan.

“Are you crazy? He is very dangerous on that stuff! And you want him to use it!” Jonathan was yelling. That was a bad thing. Clark knew almost at once what was happening so he went there and tried to help calm his father.

“Dad don’t worry. You know Nemu and Nemia are more than able to stop anything bad from happening.”

“Actually it will be you, your fathers and I. Nemia is going to stay here with your parents and Lana, but if you are ready it will only take about 1 hour and we will be back here with plenty of time for dinner and other things.” Nemu says while making a wink to Martha.

“Lana, Nemia, you girls want to help me prepare dinner for them?” Martha asks as she starts walking to the house with the food Nemu brought.

***
The 3 men walked into the Kawatche caves and went to the main chamber. After making sure they were alone, Nemu started to use his powers to make some kind of force fields in front of every exit. Once that was done he told Jonathan to stand to the side with the lead box containing the green kryptonite and made Clark stand in the middle of the room.

“Ok. Now I’m going to give you the Red K. If you have accepted who you truly are you wont feel much different than now and you will not break the handcuff I’m going to put on you.” After handcuffing him, Nemu put a piece of Red K in Clark’s shirt pocket.

The stone took effect fast and both men could see Clark’s eyes flash red and go back to their original blue/green color repetively. With every flash of red, they could see Clark’s arm muscles tense as he tried to break the handcuffs.

After about half an hour of struggle, the red flashes were getting slower and taking more time to disappear. It was as if the two personalities were getting tired of fighting. Then the moment Nemu was waiting for arrived. The struggling stopped. Nemu came closer and removed the handcuffs. After that he moved in front of Clark.

“Who are you?”

“I am Kal-El of Krypton. Last heir to the house of El and last hope of my people. I am also Clark Kent of Earth, son of Jonathan and Martha Kent.”

Even Jonathan could hear the change in the voice.

“Now for the real test. Give me the red stone in your pocket.”

Without a second thought Clark took out the stone and gave it to Nemu. As soon as he removed his hand from it Clark let out a sight and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Finally one thing is done. And you were right my friend. Accepting who I truly was did a lot to help me. It unlocked some better way to use my powers. They should be stronger now.”

“They are my son. And they will continue to get stronger. You will also get some new powers as you will learn when you go back to your studies.” Jor-El said as he appeared in front of them. Jonathan was shocked of seeing the man who tortured his son for so long. But the sound of the spirit’s voice was what truly surprised him. It sound happy but in the same way his voice would sound saying the same thing. Not like the Jor-El of only a year ago sounded.

***
Back at the farm the girls were having fun exploring the new kitchen and preparing the food for dinner. When the men got back to the house they arrived to the sound of laughter.

“Well ladies, what is so funny?” Jonathan said as he got inside.

“You should have seen Lana a few minutes ago. She had a small disagreement with the flour bag.” Nemia said once she could control her voice enough to speak.

“I wouldn’t speak too loudly if I were you sis. I seem to remember some embarrassing moments in your culinary past that would even make old man Zephyr laugh.” Nemu said as he walked in the room.

“Well as sure as I am that this story is a good one, dinner is almost ready so you men can go and get cleaned up and we will eat.” Martha told as she pushed them towards the washroom.

***
After dinner, Nemu and Nemia set out to clean the dishes while the two older Kent went to the living room to relax. Clark took Lana’s hand and pulled her out to the loft.

“Lana we have to talk. All the things that happened in the last few days got me thinking and some of these events put things in new perspectives. I can no longer hope to remain by your side as long as we aren’t completely open to each other.” Seeing Lana getting a little angry at that, Clark quickly correct his mistake. “Well at least as long as I’m not completely open with you. Nemu helped me a lot last night and today with finding the right way to let you in. I wanted to tell you everything for as long as I can remember but a lot of things happened that made me reconsider every time. This time will be different. I will not let anything interrupt us.”

“Clark, I love you and I can’t see anything you might say that will make me not love you.”

“I’m glad about that Lana. I can’t make you promise that you will stay with me after I have said everything but I want you to promise me to stay and not interrupt me at least until I’m done.”

“Ok I promise, if that will make you happy. I don’t see why I would want to go away.”

“Well I should probably start with the beginning. I arrived here on October 16th 1989, the day of the meteor shower. My parents found me in a field near town and took me home. On the way back they helped Lionel Luthor to bring Lex to the hospital. He had been near the crash site of the first meteor. So in return for helping save Lex, Lionel helped with my adoption.”

“But where were your real parents? Did they die in the meteor shower?”

“See Lana that’s where my secret starts. My birth parents weren’t from around here. And I don’t mean Smallville. I come from the planet Krypton. It exploded three years before the meteor shower hit. My parents sent me away in a space ship right before the planet exploded. Since my father had been here on Earth before and met my grand father Kent, he sent me here in hope that I would be found by the man he knew or his family. That’s what happened.”

“So you are telling me you are an alien?” Lana said with tears she couldn’t contain in her eyes. She was angry, sad, confused, but mainly scared.

“Yes and no Lana. I am human like you. I just come from a different planet. Just like Nemu and Nemia.”

“Ok... I guess I can believe that... So that was your big secret then? You are from another planet?”

“It’s a good part of it yes. The yellow sun here also gives me special abilities. I am very strong, I can run faster than sound, I can see through almost everything except lead, I can set things on fire with my eyes, I can hear a leaf falling miles away and I’m practically invulnerable. Only thing that can hurt me is the green meteor rocks called Kryptonite. Until this afternoon, the red variant was affecting me psychologically. Removed my inhibitions and made me do things without any care of the results around me. Like the way I was acting when I was in Metropolis. But this afternoon I went to the caves with my fathers and Nemu and we got rid of most of the effects the red k had on me.”

“Ok... That is a lot of information, but things are getting clearer now. All those times you saved me. The twisters, Adam, Emily... Is there anything more?” Lana said calming a little and wiping away the tears.

“A little bit more and yes my abilities helped in saving Chloe, Pete, you and countless others but now on with the telling. Until yesterday, I was trying to fight the will of my birth father Jor-El. See he had this idea that I would be a conqueror here on Earth and rule the world. I never wanted that and I fought his will since I learned about it the day before Lex’s wedding. That’s one of the reasons why I left that summer to go to Metropolis. He had threatened me to hurt those I loved if I didn’t do what he asked. So instead of listening to him I blew up the ship. In the process my parents got into an accident and my mom lost her baby.”

“The crater where I found you... that’s what happened?”

“Yeah.”

“Why did you say until yesterday you fought him? You didn’t decide to do what he asked did you?”

“No! I mean... When the meteors came two days ago I was gathering the stones in the caves like he asked me to try to prevent them falling in the wrong hands and to prevent a terrible evil to arrive on Earth. What it did once I got the three stones together, they merged into a big crystal that took me to the arctic and made a big crystalline structure appear that is called the ‘archives of Krypton’. It contains all the knowledge of the Kryptonian race and there I saw my birth mother for the first time. I didn’t get the chance to see much there because all of a sudden I felt a burning pain in my left shoulder and I could feel you were in danger and hurt. So Lara, my mom, told me how to come back here to try to help as much as I could. But I had to promise her I would go back and study the history of my people.”

“The stones... I wish I never had to get pulled into that drama. Clark I have something to confess too. The morning of the meteor shower I came into my apartment and Mrs. Teague was there. She wanted the stone I gave you. So she attacked me and we fought. Last thing I remember was getting strangled by her then I blacked out and next thing I know, I was kneeling over her corpse with my hands covered in blood. It must have been Isobel that possessed me again. I saw later that my tattoo was gone.”

“Oh Lana! I wish you didn’t had to go through this. Well I should tell you that your tattoo was a Kryptonian symbol. It meant water and transference. That’s probably how Isobel could possess you and since it’s gone we can assume that Isobel is too.”

“Good to know.”

“Well I think I said everything. Except maybe for the fact that my powers are getting stronger and I’m supposed to gain some more during my studies.”

“I have one more question. Did your birth parents give you a name?”

“Oh yeah. My Kryptonian name is Kal-El.”

“Kal-El!!!! That’s who those two evil persons were looking for!”

“Yeah I would bet they were. Nemu told me. They thought I would join their plans to take over. But they don’t know me and the fact that I never followed the ‘destiny’ Jor-El had planned for me. Now we have to thank Nemu for making him see his errors and that what I was doing here was better and that I already had chosen my destiny. And so have you.”

“What? How could I choose my destiny? I don’t even know if I will go to college next year.”

“Nemu said you made the choice subconsciously when Nam-Ek tried to kill you.”

“The pain we both felt?”

“Yeah probably.”

Unknown to them someone had come up the stairs and was listening to their conversation. “Yes the pain you felt Lana was a result of your choice. The link between you two came from that choice too. Clark come here and let’s see your left shoulder.”
Nemu said getting in the circle of light coming from the lamp on Clark’s desk and making both of them jump in surprise.

“What? Good god Nemu you scared me.” Clark said turning to face him.

“So much for your super hearing.” Nemu said with a smile while Lana let out a small giggle.

“Well come on we need to see that shoulder. I would ask Lana but I am a gentleman.”

“Ok.” Clark said coming closer to the light and turning his back to them while removing his shirt. He heard gasp from Lana once he was done. “What is it?”

“Just as I thought. You have the air symbol and emblem of your house on your left shoulder. I’m pretty sure Lana has the same. You want us to check Lana? Or do you prefer I ask Nemia to do it?”

“No let’s do it now and be done with this.” Lana said turning her back to them too and uncovering only her shoulder. It was Clark’s turn to gasp. There on her shoulder was the exact same symbol he had. The size of an egg in the middle of her shoulder blade.

“You have the air symbol too. It’s the size of an egg. Smaller than the water tattoo you had on your lower back.” Clark explained to Lana as he went to touch it. As soon as his finger made contact a yellow light emitted from both their tattoos and a warmth invaded their bodies.

“Well now we can talk a little more. Your destinies are linked just as you are bound together. What created the bound is what both of you wanted deep down at the moment Lana made her choice. Her magic will be accessed and influenced by the air spirit. Remember Lana I told you Isobel’s magic came from her blood. So do yours but you have another influence in your life that makes it possible for you to overcome the boundaries of your ancestor’s magic. The symbol you have on your shoulder is a seal from the power that govern the whole universe.”

“You mean I can use magic?” Lana said a little afraid and also feeling a little excitement.

“Exactly. And you will have to train hard to learn how to use and control it. It won’t be easy but you will have help.”

“Wow.”

“Well you guys should come back inside. I think it’s time for us all to go to bed.”

“Yeah we will be there in a minute. I still have one question to ask Lana.” Clark said looking her in the eyes showing her all his love for her and some nervousness.

“Ok goodnight.” With that Nemu went back to the house for a night of rest.

“What did you want to ask me Clark?”

“How do you feel now that you know everything? And how do you feel about this new tattoo?”

“Well... I am still a little confused about everything but I’m both happy and angry at you. Angry you waited that long to tell me and happy you finally did tell me. I love you Clark or Kal-El. I love the whole you. And I’m glad we have this link now because I can feel some of your emotions and love is one of your strongest.” Lana answered with a big smile walking closer to him.

As she finished speaking, she put her arms behind his neck and brought down his face and kissed him passionately. Putting all her love for him in her kiss. Clark was surprise at first but returned her kiss with as much passion and love.

After what seemed an eternity, they broke the kiss and Clark said the 4 words Lana wanted to hear from him for the last 2 years. “I love you Lana.”

“I love you too Clark.” With that they shared another small kiss and went back to the house hand in hand. “I guess we can say we are together again.” Clark said with his Kent smile as they entered the house.

“Yeah I guess so.” And they went to their respective rooms to get to bed and dream of their future.

[closetfan]

wow....thats alotta stuff happening....

great update

[SVsleuth]

Wow! So much happened!
I like the idea that when Clark accepts who he really is, Kal-El & Clark work more in harmony - they really are one person. I used a variation of that idea in my fic too. :)

Lana has magic - interesting to see where this will lead. And Clark & Lana both having the same symbol - their oneness expressed.

Cool! PPMS!

****
Tangential thoughts from a person still living through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: There is NO WAY they found building matierials anywhere near Smalville that soon after the meteor shower. Home Depot, Lowe's, and even Wal-Mart would be closed, their employees having evacuated. Same for the groceries, & clothing. Stores all closed - no supplies, except what you had before. Also, no electricity. Even the National Guard & the Red Cross wouldn't have arrived yet with the MRE's & bags of ice. ;) But I won't hold you to that kind of reality, Nemu. Just thought you'd get a kick out of knowing my real thoughts, as a Katrina survivor, as I was reading this. LOL

[happycamper]

I guess that there always needed to be some integration of Kal with Clark, after all they are the two faces of the same coin. I just never considered the possibility of merging them...

I like Nemu and Nemia, and their explanation of how they and the Kryptonians are all humans.

Since you indicated that this story is already complete, I'll make this a wish instead of advice, but...I hope N&N are not too much like a deus ex machina. I wouldn't want too much handed to Clark and Lana on a plate.

In any case, I am anxiously waiting for your next update(s)!

:) :)

[Nemu]

Originally posted by SVsleuth


****
Tangential thoughts from a person still living through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: There is NO WAY they found building matierials anywhere near Smalville that soon after the meteor shower. Home Depot, Lowe's, and even Wal-Mart would be closed, their employees having evacuated. Same for the groceries, & clothing. Stores all closed - no supplies, except what you had before. Also, no electricity. Even the National Guard & the Red Cross wouldn't have arrived yet with the MRE's & bags of ice. ;) But I won't hold you to that kind of reality, Nemu. Just thought you'd get a kick out of knowing my real thoughts, as a Katrina survivor, as I was reading this. LOL

that's because you don't know the extent of Nemu's influence yet ;)


Originally posted by happycamper
I guess that there always needed to be some integration of Kal with Clark, after all they are the two faces of the same coin. I just never considered the possibility of merging them...

I like Nemu and Nemia, and their explanation of how they and the Kryptonians are all humans.

Since you indicated that this story is already complete, I'll make this a wish instead of advice, but...I hope N&N are not too much like a deus ex machina. I wouldn't want too much handed to Clark and Lana on a plate.

In any case, I am anxiously waiting for your next update(s)!

:) :)

ok as for the twins... I'm not sure about the Deus Ex Machina... but believe me... Lana and Clark will have a lot on their plates to deal with while N&N will be only helping them... You will see... I think in the next part... I will address this issue...

And yes Story 1 (Kryptonian Invasion) is completed... and Story 2 (Heroes Rising) is in the work... Story 3 (The Lost Prophecy) is already forming too (nothing written yet)...

So... once I get my computer back... Stories will come out quite faster...

As for the next update... It will come later tonight... cause im the cook for dinner and very busy ;) so stay tuned and Part 5 will appear sometime tonight...

[SVsleuth]

You're the cook? What ya cookin', Nemu? BBQ? Pizza? Pasta? Steak? Mmmm... I'm getting hungry.

Awaiting the next update.... ;)

[Nemu]

Originally posted by SVsleuth
You're the cook? What ya cookin', Nemu? BBQ? Pizza? Pasta? Steak? Mmmm... I'm getting hungry.

Awaiting the next update.... ;)
Well first of all... I cooked an asparagus cream (some kind of soup) as the entrée then some chicken rolls (the white meat of the chicken with some bacon in it rolled up) with carrots and potatoes for the main dish and a chocolate cake with French vanilla ice cream and a fudge sauce over it...

let's just say it was good... but we all ate a little too much ;)

And now... I present to you... Part 5....

The El family tree is made up by me... i didnt do research in it...

Enjoy... and please leave some feedback ;)

-------------------------

Part 5 : Meetings and Partings

(A/N : The Kol’rek is a state of mind akin of what we call berserk. It was also believed to be a rite of passage into adulthood on Krypton. It is entirely made up be me. Since I don’t want a berserk Kryptonian on my hands we will say that what Nemu think is right.)

The following days were very busy ones in Smallville with all the repairs going on. The town was getting back on its feet slowly and with the same determination shown throughout the years and the natural disasters that it suffered. They found both Lex Luthor and Chloe Sullivan stuck inside the caves, both in perfect health with only small cuts and bruises.

The new layout of the Kent farm was taking shape at a good rhythm now that the whole family was working together. In two days they had finished most of the general repairs and were almost done with the work on the house. Nemu had planned something special for the weekend and he was driving everyone hard to get everything ready for Friday. Nemia didn’t really mind since she knew what was coming.

Thursday evening, Nemu came to see Clark and Lana in the loft. “Clark, I have to tell you something and ask you your opinion.”

“Sure Nemu, what is it?”

“Well tomorrow we are gooing to have some visitors coming. I’m sure you felt the tension growing in the air in the past few days. Both of you should have felt it actually.”

“Yeah.” Both Lana and Clark answered.

“Well this is going to affect both your future so we need to plan what we are going to do. First thing we have to do is bring those of your friends that know about you, together here. That means Pete will be arriving tomorrow.”

“Really? It will be nice to see him again.” Clark said with a smile appearing on his face.

“Yes well... There is another one. The blonde girl that was working at the newspaper at school. I never catched her name.”

“Chloe?” Lana asked feeling a little hurt thinking Clark told Chloe his secret before telling it to her.

“Yes Chloe. She saw Clark use his power to stop a car one night and kept quiet on what she knew until Clark got his mind wiped out. She helped him that day with his powers. All she knew about at that time was the speed and strength. But during that day she learned about the others. Only thing she doesn’t know yet is the whole other planet side to the story.”

“You mean she was with Alicia when she called me for help that night?” Clark said feeling somehow betrayed.

“Exactly. She also learned, during the events that happened on the night of the prom , that the green kryptonite was hurting you.”

“Well I guess since she knows already that much we should ask her to come tomorrow. Anyway with Nam-Ek and Aethyr around, it will quickly be widely known that extra-terrestrial beings exists.” Clark said with a sigh. The prospect of telling Chloe don’t make him happy, but it is better if she learned it from them instead of other people.

“Well you better call her then and tell her to come for dinner tomorrow.”

“Yeah I will.”

***
Friday was a busy day for the twins as they wanted to make the perfect dinner. They sent Clark and Jonathan to Metropolis to pick up Pete at the airport and sent Martha and Lana shopping for the decoration of the house.

They wanted tonight to be special. And a surprise mainly to Clark. What no one knew was that today was Kal-El’s 19th birthday. A new marker in his life. They told only Lana about their birthday plans and sent her on a mission to get him the perfect gifts.

As dinner time was approaching and the food was ready, Nemia started decorating the kitchen and living room for the party. As for Nemu, he went outside to watch for the others to arrived. The guys would be arriving in less than one hour and he was wondering how much longer it would take for the women to get home as they were supposed to pick up Chloe on the way home.

Once she was finished, Nemia came outside to stand with Nemu. “How do you think he will react to our little surprise?”

“Oh I guess he will be confuse then happy and maybe embarassed a little. It’s so easy to make him blush. Unless his kryptonian side is stronger than it was last night. Which should be the case. You know how important the 19th birthday is to Kryptonians.”

“Yeah. As long as he doesn’t enter the Kol’rek we should be ok.”

“Nah I don’t think it will happen. The difference between Earth’s and Krypton’s atmospheres should prevent it. What I fear most is that his new powers might choose tonight to unlock. The mind powers aren’t too bad, but his breath ones could cause problems. Remember when Zarnia got them? We cleaned the leftovers for weeks from all the small places in the house.” Nemu finished with a burst of laughter.

“Yeah poor her. She went so red after that.” Nemia answered with equal laughter. “Oh here they come. Good it’s the girls.”

“Look again sis. The guys are right behind them. I need to go and prevent Clark from entering the house. Get Lana and check if she has the box.”

“Ok.” With that they both walked toward one of the arriving cars.

“Hey Clark can I speak with you for a minute?” Nemu asked as Clark came out of the truck.

“Yeah sure, let’s go to the loft.”

“Mr. Kent, Pete can you help the girls with the stuff?”

“Yeah sure.” They both answered.

As they enter the barn Nemu have to make sure everything is ok with Clark. “Hey how are you feeling today?”

“I feel great actually. I only had a small headache this morning. I don’t know what might have caused that but it’s gone now.”

“I see. It might have been some of your mind powers that are unlocking. We will test those later. Beside that no urge to use your powers today?”

“No why? Is something wrong?”

“Nah was just wondering. Well let’s go back to the house. The food is ready and I’m sure everyone is waiting for us.”

As they walk inside through the kitchen door, everything is silent and no one is in sight. That is until Clark enters and everyone pop out of their hidding places yelling “SURPRISE!!”

Clark’s reaction was exactly what Nemu thought it would be. He was confused until Nemu put his hand on his shoulder and wish him happy birthday and explained that today was his real birth date. Then a happy smile made its way on his face.

“Well today we celebrate our friend 18th birthday. Nemia and I wanted to make something special for dinner so if everybody would take his and her place at the table we could bring out the food and start eating. We have a lot to discuss tonight.” Nemu said sending them toward the table.

***
Diner was over and as everybody settled in the living room, Nemia went to pick up the boxes containing Clark’s gift from her and Nemu. They were containing some clothes from a strange material and also a decorative ceremonial dagger. “This dagger was normally worn during the Council’s ceremonies back home.” Nemu explained to him as he examine the masterwork weapon.

“Thanks guys.”

“Well since no one else knew it was your birthday, I suppose those are going to be the only gift for now. So let us get on the topic at the source of our meeting here tonight. First of all I want to thank both Pete and Chloe for joining us here since they need to be brought up to date with the happenings around Earth. Now you all must also promise everything that will be said here tonight will remain between us, at least for now.”

“We promise.” They all said.

“Nemia if you would do the honors of proofing this house against anything and anyone that might be eavesdropping.”

“Right away bro.” Nemia said standing up and making some quick hand movements and muttering some words. “Done.” She declare after a minute of her strange dance.

“Ok. I guess we should start by telling Chloe here the rest of Clark’s secret. Then I will tell you all some historical information on me and Nemia and Clark’s people. So Clark you want to say it or should I do it?”

“I will. Chloe you already know I have special abilities. Well I haven’t been infected by the meteor rocks as you first thought. I was born with them. They come from the Earth’s yellow sun. You see I come from another planet. Its name was Krypton. It was destroyed 19 years ago.”

Chloe was ready to call off his bluff but when she saw everybody else was serious all that came out was. “Wow.”

“Well that’s pretty much the basic stuff that was really needed to be said. Now I will start my tale.” Nemu said after that.

After a few minutes of silence Nemu says. “See Nemia and I are from a planet called Falazya that is in the Enke star system. We have been visiting other planets in our system for quite some time before we got our first encounter with Kryptonian people. The first encounters were friendly, but eventually some rift spread between the friends and some Kryptonian called Pax-Nol tried to take over Falazya. That’s when we learned the first weakness of the Kryptonians. That weakness is magic. What occurred then was a bloody era for both races as war was wage throughout both Enke and Rao systems. Pax-Nol didn’t survive the first year of war. It was actually my father Kryn that killed him. After the war had ended, we tried to establish a new peace between our people. The war went on for years and left scars. The planet Jiket was turned into an ice wasteland and one of Krypton’s moon was destroyed. It was also then we learned about the meteor rocks effects on the people. Here you are calling it Kryptonite Clark because they are the remains of your planet. But it’s not just meteors from Krypton that could hurt you. It’s actually the radiation to which they were exposed that made them dangerous for you.”

“It was also after that war that I was sent to Krypton to become ambassador of Falazya. I successfully made peace and chose to remain there to help make sure it was maintained and respected. I had also made a promise to my closest Kryptonian friend. He was head of the Council at the time and he was the head of the house of El. One of the oldest family of Krypton. His name was...” But before Nemu could say anything else another voice said the name.

“Mar-El, my great-grandfather.” Jor-El appeared out of thin air. Another figures appeared. This one was a woman.

“Good evening everybody. I am Lara, wife of Jor-El and birth mother of Kal-El.”

“Ah Jor-El, Lara, I am glad you could join us. Yes Mar-El. He was a good friend and he had asked me to protect his bloodline and his heirs. I accepted at the time and hold it until the time when his gand son and great grandson decided to try to seize the power. By that time I was already forced into making another oath not to get mixed up into Kryptonian’s affairs. So I was torned inside. I almost broke both my oath when Jor-El attacked me. Once this insurection was dealt with I decided that I had over stayed my welcome on Krypton. I went back to my home planet to find it in total chaos and my father was on his death bed. With his last strength he sent Nemia and I away against our wills and we ended up here on Earth. That was a very long time ago. Since then I have kept looking on what was happening here on Earth. I saw the people progress with time.”

“The Middle-Ages were probably one of the most fun times. I saw some humans develop some magical powers. Some of them went at it the right way and ask the elements for guidance. Some others decided to take the easy way and use some dark power. Those were the blood witches. I saw them kill a small battalion of Kryptonian warriors in the year 962. Those Kryptonians were the ones that brought the stones of knowledge here. I knew what they had and instead of letting them fall into the hands of the witches I took them and hid them all over the world. The closest people got to find them was a spirited blood witch of the 16th century. She had actually found the location of the stones but never got the chance to gather them. She was burn at the stake. She vowed on that day to take revenge on her nemesis’s blood line. That woman was Lana’s ancestor Isobel. Her nemesis was another Blood witch named Gertrude. She was the ancestor of Genevieve Teague.”

“Well let’s say after this excitement in the Middle-Ages the years after were boring, until a few years ago. I was surprised to meet Jor-El here on Earth about 44 years ago. He had changed somehow. I didn’t make my presence known and just observed. Since he didn’t try anything to disrupt the life of the people here I didn’t had to say or do anything. So I left and went back to the home I had made for myself in Canada. I came back here to Smallville 16 years ago after receiving a message from Nemia about Krypton’s destruction and that who we thought was the last survivor of the race had been sent here. I was very happy to learn that the little boy was of the house of El. It gave me a chance to renew the oath I made to my friend and we started looking over this boy. He had found very good parents here and our role was back to be observers. We saw him struggle against Jor-El’s will and get hurt and beaten down but standing up again and again. We remained on the side until about a week ago when another space ship landed on Earth with on board 2 of the foulest Kryptonians I had ever seen. They had served under Zod, the most malicious Kryptonian since Pax-Nol. So it brings us to today and to what the future holds for us here.”

Jor-El made a sound to get attention. “May I say a word?”

“Sure go ahead.”

“I want to say I’m sorry to each of you for the troubles I caused in the past 4 years. Most of all to you my son and also to the Kents and to you Lana. I loved your aunt and her death was an accident.”

“I am glad you came back to your senses Jor-El. I was your friend and very sad when Tyr got you to join him. Well that’s the past and now we have to think of the future. Lara I supposed that it is for that reason that you are here with us tonight?”

“Yes Nemu, it is one of the reason. I also want to thank the Kent for the way they raised Kal-El.”

“You’re welcome.” Martha told her.

“Well we won’t reach a decision tonight. But both Clark and Lana have choices to make that will decide how they will spend the next few months. Clark you have to go back to the Fortress to study the knowledge that is stored in the archives. And Lana you need to go into training. We also need eyes around here to monitor the movements of Nam-Ek and Aethyr. There is also another one we need to take great care of. The human named Lionel Luthor. Something happened to him before the meteor shower.”

“He was downloaded with a part of the knowledge contained in the water stone.” Lara answered.

“Well even more reason to keep an eye on him. This knowledge could really be dangerous. But our first order of business is to get prepared to face Nam-Ek and Aethyr. They will be ready next time. They know Nemia and I are together so they will try to attack the others and then make us split so they can finish us one by one. The only way to prevent that is to get Clark and Lana ready to defend themselves as fast as possible. But I won’t make that choice in your place. You guys have to decide what you want to do with your life. Once you choose you can’t turn back. So all I ask tonight is that you take some time to think about it. As for the others... In the eventuality that we have to go away, you will be our eyes and ears around here. Jor-El can you serve as liaison between them and Nemia or me?”

“Yes I will. I will also keep my eyes open and watch over this Lionel.”

“Thanks. Well Lara, Nemia will get in touch with you once the decision has been made. I guess that’s all for tonight. I can see you are all getting tired and it is kinda late too.”

***
When Clark came down for breakfast the following morning he went by the living room and what he saw made him stop in his track. The expression of anger and sadness in the twins’s faces made all thoughts of food fly out of his mind. He had to know what had happened to cause them to be showing that much emotions so he decide to sit with them and watch the TV. The news were on and the images were of pure chaos and destruction.

“Yes Sandy, as you can see it is a sad day here at the military base of Fort Peter. From what little information we could gather, late yesterday afternoon 2 persons with strange powers came and started attacking the base. Nothing could hurt them as you can see when this brave soldier tried firing a rocket to them.” The newsman was saying while images of Nam-Ek and Aethyr were shown on the TV.

Clark felt his anger rising. “That’s IT! They need to be stopped. Nemu, Nemia can’t you guys do anything?”

“We are sorry Clark. To protect the house of El we would do anything. But we can’t fight them here on Earth. That is your job. If we were to fully enter the fight we might do even more damage then them. Only you and Lana can do something. Unless you are ready to tell the world to use Kryptonite.”

“Hell no! That would be causing more trouble. So I guess my choice is made. I just wish I had more time here with my family and Lana.”

“Well you have sometime. We can’t leave right now anyway. You and Lana have some work to do before you start your training. And Lana still have to decide for herself.” Nemia said to calm down Clark.

“My choice has been made for a while now. I want to use my powers to help and support my people.” Lana said entering the living room after listening to the discussion.

“Well I have to explain some things to you before you really make your final decision. If you embrace your powers you technically stop being a ‘normal’ human being. There might be some changes in your body that will clearly mark you has different. What those changes will be I can’t say for sure. They might be as subtle as a change of color of your eyes or as showing as a change of color of your hairs. Before you comment on that, I know around here a lot of people dye their hair. But it is just an exemple. One thing I can say for sure is that through your training, your mind and your body will take new forms. Your muscles will be trained and developed. Your mind will be enhanced through the process of the magical powers being manipulated and controlled by your will.” Nemu explains with an inner resolution to train her to use her full potential, and he could feel it was almost boundless. Mix that with her innate determination and it could be a very effective combination. “But in the end, like I said, you will become something more than ‘human’, a magical being.”

“I understand. But I want to help. Will those changes prevent me from being with the people I love? If not then what does it matter if I stop being ‘normal’? Not that anybody out of here will ever know anyway.”

“You are right. It won’t prevent you from being you. To be with those you love, but you will have a busy life from now on. Your training will also be hard at times. So I guess I said everything. It’s now time for you to decide.”

Lana listened to everything and once Nemu was done she realised that her mind was already made up. She wants to follow that path. Before saying those words that would change her life forever she looks to Clark. All she can see in his face is the love and admiration this man holds for her. She can also feel his emotions, mainly love and fear for her. “I made up my mind. Everything you said doesn’t change anything. I want to do this. I’m ready to take on the challenge and I know I won’t be alone.” She says keeping her eyes in Clark’s.

“Very well. The first step before we leave is to strengthen and develop the new telepathic link that was made between the 2 of you.” Nemu said with a smile. He feels happy with her choice. He told her everything and she made the choice he thought she was going to make. To show how much determination she can have. But only the future will tell if she has the perseverance to go through the full training. “You have one week to work on your link. We will leave next Saturday at noon. Until then Nemia and I will go out and monitor the movements of our ennemies.”

***
The week was almost over and their link was getting stronger. They established a routine during the first days. Clark would do his chores in the morning then him and Lana would withdraw to the loft or go on picnic to be alone and train. It also had an effect of having them to get closer. Both could feel the endless love which they have for each other. By Thursday evening they could communicate more than feelings. They started to talk to each other. Clark was at the store to get groceries for dinner when suddenly he heard Lana’s voice asking him to bring some strawberries for dessert. He was so surprise that he jumped. After realizing what happened, a goofy smile spread on his face. He answered back through his thoughts that he had understood and that he would be back in half an hour.

After that incident they both got more comfortable with their new power and hold quiet conversations with each other without anyone around them knowing. Except for some looks they got from the twins at times.

Friday night was coming and Clark wanted to prepare something special for Lana since it would be their last night together for who knows how long. So he went to his mom and asked her to help prepare a special diner and then he asks his dad and Nemu to help him set things up in the loft while Nemia and Lana were gone to visit Chloe and do some shopping. Lana knew Clark was preparing something special but she couldn’t figure out exactly what he had planned. Has time went by she was getting more and more excited at the possibilities of how the evening, and night, might go.

At dinner time Clark entered the house and stopped once he saw Lana’s outfit. ‘Wow!’ he thought. “Thanks Clark.” She said laughing. Clark’s face went red when he realized she had understod his thoughts. He quickly pulled himself together and said. “Well if the lady would do the honors of coming with me. Dinner will be served in the loft tonight.” The adults were smiling at the couple’s behavior and overflowing happiness.

“Wow! You made a wonderful job in here.” Lana said as they entered the loft. There was small lights and candles everywhere and a table was set for 2 in the middle of the place. The couch had been pushed in front of the window.

“Want to watch the sunset before we eat?” Clark asked taking her to the couch.

“Would love to. Clark, I’m happy we are finally together. I love you soo much.”

“I love you too Lana, more than I thought possible. My love keep growing with each passing day. I’m happy and sad. Happy we are finally together with nothing standing between us, but I’m sad since we have to go our separate ways tomorrow. At least we have our link so we can keep in touch.”

They shared a passionate kiss as the sun was setting outside. “We didn’t miss it this time.” Lana said once they pulled away from the kiss and she turned her head to look out just in time to see the sun disappear in the horizon.

After that they ate their dinner of chicken casserole with a strawberry shortcake for dessert, Clark move the table to the side and turned on the stereo. “Would you like to dance?”

“I thought you would never ask.” Lana answered with her trademark Lang smile, remembering their prom night.

They danced on many of their favorite songs. Clark had made the cd just for the occasion. After dancing for a while they went back to sit on the couch looking at the stars while cuddling. All they need for now was to feel each other at their side.

As the evening was turning into night, the two of them fell asleep on the couch, listening to the song ‘You and Me’ by Lifehouse. Clark woke up a couple of hours later and changed position to make them as comfortable as possible. He kissed Lana on the forehead before going back to sleep.

Lana woke up with a blinding light in her eyes as she was facing the window. It took her a minute or two to remember where she was. She sit up and as she was getting up from the couch to stretch she was stopped by Clark’s big arm snaking around her waist and pulling her back down. He kiss her lightly before pulling away. “Good morning angel.”

“Good morning baby.” She answered before pulling him into a deeper kiss. After a few minute they both broke the kiss to catch their breath.

“Lana I had something I wanted to give you last night. But since we both fell asleep I guess I’m going to give it to you now.” Clark said getting them up.

“Lana, I know we have to be apart for a while but...” Clark start before kneeling in front of her. Seeing this Lana bring her free hand to her mouth. ‘Oh my god!’ she thought.

Clark understood from her reaction what she thought he was about to do so he continued. “Lana we are too young right now to get married or even to get engaged. But I want to give you this promise ring with those words. I promise to do everything in my power to always come back to you no matter how far away we go from each other or how long we stay away. And someday I will replace this promise ring by an engagement ring. You are the girl of my dreams, the love of my life. I loved you since I was 5 and I always will love you. What I said last night is the truth. My love for you grows with each passing day.” Once he said this he gave her a beautiful plain silver ring with a small inscription on the inside that said ‘Love for eternity’.

Lana couldn’t hold in her tears of joy. To her this simple silver band and more importantly the words he said were the most precious things in the universe. “Clark, I also want to make you a promise to use everything in my power to get back to you. And when the day come I know I will accept the new promises we will make. I always loved you and will do so forever.” With that they shared a passionate kiss and then seeing they had just enough time to prepare for their trip they went back to the house.

After getting their thing together for the trip, they went back to the kitchen. The twins were sitting at the table with Pete, Chloe and the Kents. “I promise I will look out for your son. And I know Lara will do too. She never wanted to send him away but she knew she had to so he could be safe and live up to the El family name.” Nemia was telling them.

“I will be training Lana and protect her until she is ready to truly protect herself. Don’t worry, both your children are going to be fine. I know that you see Lana as a daughter and how important she is to you. She is even more important to Clark. Their link will help them on this time away from each other. Jor-El will also let you know how things go. Remember to keep your eyes open to everything strange or ‘inhuman’ that might happen around here. Nam-Ek and Aethyr will be back. I don’t know when but they will. So keep some kryptonite close by just in case.”

“We will. Just make sure they stay safe and come back to us in one piece.” Jonathan said to the twins as Clark and Lana decide to make their entrance.

“Don’t worry dad. I will probably be locked up inside the Fortress of Knowledge most of the time and only me and those with me can see it.” Clark said as he sat at the table.

“Well are you two all packed up and ready to go?” Nemu ask looking to them. He could see and feel the sadness of the moment. “Don’t worry Clark, I will take good care of Lana. Also since you two made so much progress on your telepathic abilities, you will be able to talk to each other most of the time. But I must warn you both that you must be careful not to get distracted by that link. I do have power to read minds too so I will know.”

“I know you will Nemu. Well I guess we should be going. The sooner we leave the sooner we will be back.” Clark went to Lana and give her a hug then bring her into a kiss filled with all his love for her. “Take care angel. See you soon. I love you.”

“See you soon. I love you too.” Lana answered as Clark pull away and walk to his parents to say his goodbye to them. She went to Chloe and Pete. “You two take care and stay safe.”

“Yeah don’t worry about us. Just concentrate on your training and come back soon. We will miss you.” Both of tem told Clark and Lana.

“Well Nemia are you taking Clark back through the caves or by the Yxis-express?” Nemu asked his sister.

“Depends on what he choose. Clark which way you prefer? Teleport through the caves or a little flying?” Nemia answered looking from Nemu to Clark.

“Erm... I kinda have a fear of height. I think we should use the teleport for now.” Clark told blushing, a little embarrassed.

“Well that decides. Well off to the caves we go. Come on.” Nemia said with a look of understanding, motioning to Clark to follow her.

“We have to take off too. We have to run to Metropolis to catch our plane.” Nemu said after Nemia and Clark left.

“Where are we going exactly?” Lana couldn’t refrain from asking.

“Well first we will fly to Canada because I have to get some things from my home there. Then we are going to fly over to Europe and visit some places in different countries. Then we will head farther east.”

“Wow. I can’t wait.” Was all Lana could say. “Goodbye everybody. See you soon.”

With that they left the Kent farm and Nemu picked Lana up in his arm and used some of his powers to make them move in super speed to Metropolis to start her training and her new life.

[happycamper]

1

Wow, so much happening here - another whole history.

I guess Clark can never get away from the need for more training, but at least this time Lana will be training too (even if apart).

Why are Aethyr and Nam-Ek being so pointlessly vicious? Is it to draw Clark out before he is ready?

One question, though: A group wielding magic (blood witches?) was able to destroy a band (battalion = 800?) of Kryptonians more than a thousand years ago. What happened? Has earth lost all of its magicians/witches, or is it just the knowledge that is gone?

:) :)

[SVsleuth]

After that incident they both got more comfortable with their new power and hold quiet conversations with each other without anyone around them knowing. Except for some looks they got from the twins at times.

Now I wonder what messages Clark & Lana were sending that made the twins give them "looks" when they read their minds? That was cute.

Sad that Clark & Lana will be apart, but at least they have their link. That helps a bit. PPMS!

[Nemu]

Originally posted by happycamper
1

Wow, so much happening here - another whole history.

I guess Clark can never get away from the need for more training, but at least this time Lana will be training too (even if apart).

Why are Aethyr and Nam-Ek being so pointlessly vicious? Is it to draw Clark out before he is ready?

One question, though: A group wielding magic (blood witches?) was able to destroy a band (battalion = 800?) of Kryptonians more than a thousand years ago. What happened? Has earth lost all of its magicians/witches, or is it just the knowledge that is gone?

:) :)

The mayhem of the evil duo is simply because they are evil...

And yeah the inquisition cleaned out a lot of the witches and magicians... also later in Part 6 you will get some hint as to what might have happened to the magical community...

the Blood witches of old were very powerful... todays witches are different... but the true magicians (sorcerers and sorceresses) already rare back then were very powerful...


Next update will come tomorrow... it should be part 1 of 3 of the Part 6...

As for the messages that Clark and Lana were sending to each other... they were just sappy... like a challenge of 'I love you's

[Nemu]

Well here is part 6-1... Part 6-2 will be posted tomorrow... and 6-3 the day after... Since im going back to work my update frequency is going down to 1 per day...

Enjoy!!

---------------------

Part 6: Training

As they got settled into their private jet, Nemu and Lana were engaged in small talk about the events of the night before. As Nemu went through his back pack, he found a small box with a card saying ‘Lana’ on it. That box made him remember his conversation with Clark while the both of them were finishing packing Clark’s stuff this morning.

~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

“Nemu, can you do me a favor?” Clark asked holding a small box in his hand and his indecision showing on his face.

“Sure what is it?” Nemu said looking to Clark with curiosity.

“See I wanted to give a few things to Lana. The ring was one. This necklace was hers and I have been keeping it for a while now. I don’t even know if she thinks about it still sometimes. It was made of green K.”

“Ah yes I remember. It’s the one that was purified by the ship right?”

“Yeah. I wish I could give it to her but we don’t really have the time right now. Could you give it to her later?”

“Sure Clark. It will be my pleasure.”

“Thanks. I also have another item to give her, but that one I want to give it to her myself and tell her in person the story behind it. Also I think I can learn more about it at the Fortress.”

“Well, here give it to me and I will put it in my stuff so when I see it I will give it to her. For now let’s finish packing. Not much time left before we have to leave.”

~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

With a smile Nemu took the box out of his bag and called to Lana who was looking out the window lost in her thoughts.

“Lana? Hey Lana?”

“Hmm?” She answered being brought back to reality from her daydream about her evening with Clark.

“Here’s something Clark wanted you to have. I think the letter that is with it will explain everything.” Nemu told her handing her the box and letter.

“From Clark? How sweet.” She said taking them from Nemu with a big smile.

“Yeah, he wanted to give it to you himself but he kinda forgot with all that happened last night.”

“Sir. We are going to take off in a few minutes. Please can you and the lady buckle your seat belts?” The pilot asked over the speakers.

Lana hurriedly fastens her belt and took the letter out and started reading.

Hey angel,

Here is a little something for you that I have been keeping for a while now. It is time it is returned to its rightful owner. As you know now, this was hurting me in the past and even though it was a memento of your parents, it hasn’t brought us much luck. But maybe now it will mean a new beginning as you start your training and I think it shows very well the purity of my feelings for you.

I wish I had remembered to give it to you along with your ring. I forgot and I am sorry. It is the second item I wanted to give you. For the third one you will have to wait until our trainings are over.

Infinite love,

Clark

As Lana was reading in her mind she felt the love of Clark and the tears coming to her eyes. She knew what she would find in the box. She remembered how Clark was always acting like a klutz around her, until the night of their first conversation in the graveyard 3 years ago. ‘I’m sorry about my necklace hurting you Clark.’ She sent through their telepathic link.

‘Don’t worry about it Lana. I didn’t even know at the time and you didn’t either. Have you opened the box yet?’ Clark answered her.

‘Nope not yet. I was about to do it. And Clark, I love you too.’

Lana can’t help but let out a gasp when she sees the pure white stone of her necklace. Hearing the sound, Nemu look over to her. “Wow it is even more beautiful now then it was before. It is actually the real color of the stones on Krypton. Almost everything was that color there. There was some green and red but those stones were not like the meteor rocks. They had those colors naturally and not from exposure to radiations. I guess the ship turned it back to normal.”

‘It truly is beautiful. It now reminds me even more of my parents while it also symbolizes a turning point in our life together.’ She said as she put on the necklace.

The rest of the flight to Canada was silent. After 2 hours they landed in a small airport. “So this is where your home is?” Lana asked as they got out of the plane and moved toward a blue Subaru Impreza.

“Yep this town has a big place in my heart. Hop in and we will drive to my home.” He answered opening Lana’s door for her.

15 minutes of driving later they arrived in front of a big fence. It slowly opened in front of them and after another 2 minutes they came to a house that was somewhere in size between the old Kent farm and the Luthor mansion.

“Not as big as I thought it would be. But I guess, you being more modest and humble than the Luthors, it shouldn’t surprise me.” Lana said while walking inside following Nemu.

“Yeah well I prefer to remain as anonymous as possible. Remember while we are around others my name is David. The outside is ok. What is really interesting is what is under the basement anyway. We will be spending the night here and we will leave for Amesbury in Wiltshire, Southern England in the morning. Our first stop will be the town then we will go to Stonehenge. There will be your first training. So I’ll show you to your room now, follow me. Diner will be in 3 hours. You can snoop around the upper levels of the house or anywhere outside on the property. Just stay inside the limits of the fence.” Nemu told her taking her luggage and leading her up the stairs to her bedroom.

***

After putting her things in her bedroom and snooping a little around the upper floor, Lana decides to go take a walk outside. She is filled with wonder at all the different kind of flowers that could have put her Aunt Nell’s flower shop to shame. Some of those were exotic; others were just the usual wild flowers. Some had really been cross bred with others. She had never seen blue roses before now. She didn’t know this variety even existed. Even their smell was different and they had a little something in it, she just couldn’t put her finger on it. ‘Oh well I guess I will have to ask Nemu about them.’

“Ask me about what Lana?” Nemu asked in answer to her thoughts.

Lana jumped upon hearing his voice. “Whoa you scared me!”

“Oh I’m sorry. So want to tell me what you were talking about?”

“Oh yeah, I mean I never knew there was blue roses in existence in the world.”

“True. I think I’m the only one with some. There might be a few laboratories scattered throughout the world that have a specimen, but I know for sure none of them have the same true blue color as those.”

“Wow. And their smell. There is something in it I just can’t say what it is. It’s more than normal rose perfume.”

“Actually, it’s one gene of the flower that I had to change for the color that brought out this fruity odor to the perfume.”

“Yes that’s it! It’s the smell of some kind of mix between strawberry and blueberry.”

“Ah ah. You are cute Lana. Well come on, dinner is ready. We should have an early night tonight. We have to get up at dawn tomorrow.”

They had spaghetti with home-made sauce as the main dish and apple pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. “Hmm. This is good. You made all this yourself?”

“Yeah. After spending as many years traveling all around the world you kinda learn eventually to cook. I was lucky to study with some of the best chef in the world at some time. Even attended the school of Fine Cuisine in France a few years ago.”

“Well thanks for the great food. I think I will head for my room now. Good night.”

“Ok. Good night to you too. I’ll wake you up tomorrow morning.”

Lana woke up the following morning at the sound of knocking on her door. She looks at her clock and sees it’s only 6:30 AM. “Too early to be up.” She groaned.

“Lana get up. We have a long journey today. We leave for the airport in 1 hour no matter if you are ready or not. Hurry up and you might even have time to eat breakfast.” Nemu tell her through the door before heading back to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” Lana grumble as she come into the kitchen and sits at the table to eat the waffles.

“Well, I actually went to wake you up 2 times before the last one. Once at 5 and then again at 6. But both time you groaned and stayed in bed.”

“Sorry about that. I’m just not used to getting up this early. I’m not a morning girl.”

“It’s ok. We will have to run instead of taking the car. I have someone picking it up to send it to Smallville today anyway.”

Exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes later, they were at the customs in the airport in order to be controlled before going up on board their plane for the flight to England. Lana was getting excited again. She was going to see even more of the world. After Paris she thought she would be stuck back in Smallville or at best Metropolis.

Now she is boarding a plane that will take her to many places all over the world. Her only wish at that moment is that Clark was by her side.

“Hey Lana why are you going from feeling so much excitement to being sad in a second?” Nemu asked feeling the change in her mood.

“I miss him so much. I wish he was here with us on this trip.”

“He is... In a way. He always was there, but you never acknowledged it. Just as you were by his side throughout his life here on Earth.”

As they were boarding the plane, a little girl of about 4 years old came running toward them screaming “Uncle David! Uncle David!”

“Hey you! How is my favourite niece doing today?” Nemu asked the girl as he picked her up in his arms.

“She saw you leaving this morning and came to wake us. She wanted to see you. You missed a lot while you were away. Mom and dad really miss you.” Her father told them as he got near.

“You know that’s not true. They were very happy when I left home. Their only reason for missing me was the lost of another income in the house. I was sick of hearing them bickering for any reason every other week.”

“Well as much as I doubt that they were happy to see you leave I do have to agree that the situation could have been uncomfortable at times. But now, where are you off to? And who is this young lady? What happened to that girl Karyn?”

“Whoa slow down will you? First of all this is my friend Lana. Lana this is my ‘brother’ Frederic. This here is his lovely daughter Lia.”

“Hi.” They said at the same time.

“As for Karyn she is off with another friend of ours in some ski resort somewhere in Nunavut. And we have to go now. Have a plane to catch as you can see. Tell the parents I say hi. Lia go with your dad. I promise to bring you something back from my travels.”

“Ok.” Lia said pouting.

“Bye.” Was all Nemu said to his brother, turned around and got inside the plane.

“Bye.” Lana said following Nemu inside. ‘There are some more stories to be told.’ She thought.

“It’s just that I have been living with them for a few years now. The real David had ran away and we became friend so when he died in my arms, after getting shot during a hold-up in a gas station, I came back here and played his role. I felt so sad doing it in the beginning. I mean I was living under the name of a man that died trying to save me from burglars. Even though he didn’t know that I was in no danger at the time.” Nemu explain to her with tears coming up.

“Wow that is a sad story. I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. He was a good man and his parents would have been proud of him if they knew the truth. Too bad when I came back they acted really cold. That is where the bitterness between Frederic and me comes from. Anyway, you ready to start your training?”

“Yeah I can’t wait to get there.” She answered getting excited again.

“Well only a few hours I guess.” With that said, Nemu told the pilot they were ready.

***

They arrive in the town of Glastonbury at 10:00 pm. Lana can’t wait to get to the hotel to sleep. What she doesn’t know is that their destination isn’t a hotel but a small cottage on the outskirt of town. ‘Could be worst I guess.’ She thought.

‘Don’t worry Lana. They are friends of mine and I have to say their beds a really comfortable. Probably even better than the five star hotel we pass on the way here. Plus this place is close to our first destination.’ Nemu said as he talked to the people of the cottage. They seem friendly. Lana felt a little reassured by seeing that.

Since it was late, their host lead them to their room. It was a decent size and separated in two by heavy curtains. “Sorry we don’t have each our room.” Nemu said once they were left alone in the room.

“It’s ok. So we start tomorrow then?”

“Yes, at dawn. How do you feel about cemeteries?”

“Well, I don’t mind the places that much. It’s what we do there that bothers me more. So much sad events kinda give them a permanent aura of sadness.”

“Ah well, I see you are already perceptive to that. Good. Means you can feel the energy left over from peoples. Well as for tomorrow, we aren’t attending a burial. We are going to visit the grave of some friends of mine. Old friends. I think even the people around here don’t know the treasure they have there. Sure they think they know, but the truth is that when they built the shrine for the tomb of King Arthur, they built it in the wrong place. They thought since he was the king he had to be buried up the hill in the secluded grove. But that was just the way Merlin planned it. Arthur deserved to rest in peace. All the wars had taken their toll on us all. Lots of the gentlemen of the time died by Arthur’s side. Many of those were true ‘magicians’.” Nemu finished with a far away look of sadness as images of times long past went through his mind.

“Wait! You mean those people really existed? And you were actually there?!? Just how old are you?”

“Oh, I guess I didn’t think how that would sound. Yes they really existed and yes I was there. I have been coming to Earth for a long time. I think the first time I came was with the first of the Kryptonian race. It was at that time that we brought the stones of knowledge here. Hmmm... How many millennia ago was it. I saw the rise and fall of so many civilizations. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans... Those were the most notable I guess.”

“Wow that is more than 2000 years ago you know.”

“Yeah well... It’s over 2000 Earth years ago but on some other planets time goes by faster or slower. It all comes down to the stars. Funny isn’t it? But back to me. I guess you can say that I am over 4000 Earth years old. In the beginning I was coming and going from here. But Earth became my permanent home some 1000 years ago. It’s easier to live longer here on Earth with the effects of the yellow sun. Clark is going to live for as long as he wants, and now so do you. Like I said, you are no longer a normal human being.”

“Now, we need to rest. Goodnight.” Nemu went to the other side of the curtain to prepare for bed.

After what felt only minutes to Lana, Nemu was shaking her awake. “Wake up Lana. The sun is rising soon and if we want to see what we came for we need to be at the tomb. The portal to Avalon should be there still or else there will be a clue to where it is now. It's been many years since I have visited, therefore it could have moved to protect the entrance of the insular kingdom.”

If she wasn’t awake before she felt sleep get out of her system upon hearing his words. “We are really going to visit Avalon? I always wished I could go there when I was young.”

“Yeah we are going there. You will see people there that may seem strange to you at first. My only advice is follow your heart and gut feelings when interacting with them. Sometimes those feelings will tell you the right way to talk to someone or how to act around them no matter their social standing. They come from the aura of the person. Now get ready because we leave in 30 minutes. We don’t need all our stuff, so pack lightly.”

Nemu was right. The walk to the cemetery was a short one. It took them 15 minutes to get there and another 10 to find the right tombstone. Lana had doubts since there was nothing written on the stone. It didn’t look like a king’s grave at all. As the sun started to rise behind them, its light fell gradually on the stone in front of them.

“I knew it. The portal moved. Well let’s wait and see what clue to its new location we get. Here let’s sit down, it might take a while.“

After sitting for a few minutes in silence, Lana sees a strange blue mist start to appear around the stone. As it gets centered on the clean part of the stone, words start to appear. * In the middle of the blue circle I moved. Uruz-Ansuz-Raidho-Kenaz-Dagaz * As soon as she read it the words disappear and the mist once again dissipate in the air.

“Nemu? What does it means?”

“Hmm? Sorry I was lost in thought.” Nemu follow Lana’s eyes to where she is looking on the stone to see the last of the mist disappearing.

“Was there something written?” He asks her, having a vague idea of what might have happened. He cursed himself for not paying enough attention, but a telepathic message from Nemia distracted him.

“Yes, it said ‘In the middle of the blue circle I moved’. And there were 5 runes that appeared under it. They were Uruz, Ansuz, Kenaz and Dagaz.”

“Hmm... Knowing the region, the only possibility that comes to my mind would be the circle of blue stone in the middle of Stonehenge. So I guess we now know our next destination. No more reason to sit here. Let’s go back to the house and pack our things. We are leaving as soon as we are ready for the town of Amesbury. As for the runes, they must be the key to the portal.”

“Does this mean we just lost a whole day?”

“I don’t think so but we will know for sure once we get to the place. We would have to go there eventually anyway since there is something you need to get from there for your training.” As he said that Nemu looked briefly to Lana and saw right away something that made him stop. “Lana can I see your necklace please?”

“Wha?” She stopped as she looked down to her necklace. It had changed color again. ”How come it is now blue? Just like the mist was. You think it is linked to that?”

“Probably. Do you feel any different yourself?”

“I feel at peace.”

“Well it might come from it. We will see. As long as it doesn’t go black she should be all right.”

“Why? What happens if it goes black?”

“Well with that type of stone all I can say for sure is that black would be a bad color. Might bring out the remnants of what Isobel was in the end. She is your blood ancestor and some of her taint went down her line or else she would never have been able to possess you. But the bright side is that it also allowed you to get the powers you have now and will develop in the future. Some of those powers will be as ‘flashy’ as a lightning bolt, while others will be as subtle as being able to read auras.”

As they resumed their walk back to the house, Nemu decided to explain a little more about Isobel and the difference between her and Lana.

“You know this difference between you and Isobel will also show in the fact that Isobel’s magic wasn’t natural. She had to use a spell book at some point to teach herself some spells and also had to ‘force’ some energy in herself. The only way at the time was through different potions. The blood witches had perfected their skills in potion making over a span of 500 years and that is why Isobel gained her powers fast, but it also what was limiting her and those limits are the reason why she wanted the stones. In your case, the energy is already in your system. And you also have access to the energies around you which will give you almost unlimited potential. Working under Merlin and I is sure going to help you understand yourself.” They entered the house and Lana went over to their room in silence to finish packing her stuff while Nemu remains behind to thank their host then went to pack up his stuff.

“Nemu? What kind of powers will I have? I saw you and Nemia use different powers and I was wondering what I will have. And how will I use them?”

“Very legitimate questions, Lana. Well as for the kind of powers. I suppose you will get a wide variety that goes from the balls of energy that Nemia was using to some version of the flight power I used to get us from the crash site to the loft and from the farm to Metropolis. The powers you will have will be shaped through your training and your needs. You might never have a ‘lightning bolt’ type like I used until the day you need it. But once you get a power you have access to it from then on. Your training will also show you how to use and shape the energies around you into the effects you want.”

“Now, if you are ready let’s go. We have a 2 hours trip in front of us. Then we need to figure out how to ‘wake’ the portal that will grant us entrance to Avalon.”

“Ok, let me thank Mrs. Evans and I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Ok, here give me your bags and I’ll put them in the trunk.”

The trip to Amesbury and to the famous Stonehenge circle was a silent one. Both lost in thoughts. Nemu was trying to figure out how to use the new portal. Lana was imagining what type of powers she would have and which ones she really wanted. They stopped in town to eat lunch and then they left to find the next step in their journey.

When they arrived to Stonehenge, Lana was in awe. Sure she had seen pictures of the place, but seeing the real thing was something else. ‘The aura of the place must be the source of the awe. It is almost overwhelming.’ She said over the telepathic link.

‘Yes the aura does inspire awe. But it is also all the history of the place that makes it so overwhelming.’ Nemu answered.

‘What are you two talking about?’ Clark and Nemia piped in at the same time.

‘Stonehenge.’ Both Nemu and Lana answered.

‘How goes the studies Clark?’ Lana asked since she had to occupy herself while Nemu searched the answer to their riddle.

‘Going well. I learned that I will get the ability to fly and also some different type of breath abilities. Cold breath is one of them. I also learned a lot about the history of Krypton. They were much more advance in technology than Earth. The first of them to actually make the trip to Earth wanted to share the knowledge with the inhabitants, but when they saw how far behind they were they hid the stones After that others came from time to time to see the evolution of the Earth’s civilization.’

‘Actually Nemu and I came with some of them. There were some of the civilization that made lots of breakthrough in their research but some of them were not to be trusted.’ Nemia answered.

‘Well continue your hard work Clark. Also my necklace is blue now. We don’t know why yet. And Nemu is trying to get the portal awake so we can travel to Avalon.’

‘Avalon huh? You must be thrilled. You always wished you could go there after reading those books when we were younger.’ Clark said.

‘That’s it! Lana you found part of the solution. Sorry guys but we need to cut the discussion short.’ The tone in Nemu’s telepathic voice made them all feel the urgency and the authority in his words.

“Lana you see the inner circle of bluestones? Look at them and tell me what you see.” Nemu took her toward the center of the clearing.

“Well...” Lana concentrates on the stones and slowly she can see runes appear on their surfaces. “Wow. There are runes on the stones.”

“That’s what I thought. The runes you saw. They weren’t in the right order. Figuring the right order will give us the key to access the portal. So we had Uruz, Ansuz, Raidho, Kenaz and Dagaz. Their meaning will give us more light. Uruz means physical strength and speed. Ansuz means insight, inspiration, and power of words. Raidho means travel or journey. Kenaz stands for knowledge and Dagaz for awareness or awakening.”

“Ok, so now we have to figure the right way to use them.”

“You already sparked that idea in my mind. The way you told Clark and Nemia what we were doing might be the answer.” Nemu start moving towards the stones as he continues to talk. “We are trying to ‘awake’” He touch the stone bearing the rune for Dagaz, “the portal so we can ‘travel’” he then moves to the stone with the rune of Raidho, “ to Avalon to gain some ‘knowledge’” he touches the stone of Kenaz, “about magic which is the ‘power of words’.” He touches the stone of Ansuz “Which leaves us with one rune left. Now let’s see what happen when I touch the rune of Uruz. But first if you put it all together it makes ‘Awareness of the journey to the knowledge of the power of words over physical strength.’ This was a saying in magician circles in ages past.” With that he touches the Uruz rune and all the lit stones shoot a beam of light to the center of the circle creating a swirling circle of blue light.

“Well here we go I guess. Give me your hand Lana.” Lana walked to him and takes his hand. Both of them walk to the portal and bracing themselves took the next step in their journey.

After what seems an eternity of feeling pulled in all direction, they appear on a grassy slope in front of what can be only a monastery. While they get back their bearing, a man and a woman, both dressed in blue, approach them.

“Nemu is that you my friend?” The man spoke.

“It is Nemu. Your sight still hasn’t deceived you Merlin.” Something in Nemu’s voice had change and Lana turn to look at him. What she sees make her gasp. Gone are the short blond hairs, replaced by long silver ones. His eyes that were green/brown are now entirely black. ‘Just like the aliens in the movies.’ she thought.

‘Sorry I should have warned you. Here in this realm, disguises are not necessary and not tolerated anyway.’ He answered her.

“Merlin let me introduce you to my friend and pupil Lana Lang of the Theroux bloodline. She actually had an encounter with her ancestor Isobel and that has awakened her hidden powers. She is more than Isobel though. Her magic is akin to ours.”

“Lana this is Merlin, or you might hear his other name Myrddin Emrys. He came here when Arthur died.”

“You mean the real Merlin?” Lana was in shock. “Wow! Enchanted to meet you.”

“Ah ah. I like her already Nemu. She is much better than her ancestor and you are right about that. I can sense so much potential in her. Leave her to me for an age or two and I’ll make the most powerful enchantress out of her.” Merlin said with a wink to Lana, who blushed furiously.

“Forget it old man. You have better thing to do here than chase her around. Anyway she isn’t free or didn’t you sense the love she has for the young man under Nemu’s care?” The lady by Merlin’s side said with a mock look of anger on her face.

“Yes my dear Nimue, I actually felt her feelings. I even saw a brief image of the young man’s face. Nemu isn’t he of the line of El? The knight that made so much trouble to Arthur and later became his most powerful ally?”

“Yes that same line. The knight you are talking about was Zur-El, the young man’s great grandfather. His real name is Kal-El but he is known to the world as Clark Kent. Nemia is actually training at the newly emerge Fortress of Knowledge.”

“What? You mean the fortress has finally been found?”

“Yeah it was Clark that did it. It was part of his destiny to find it. Anyway this is a story for another time. We are here to train this young lady into the ways of magic. She already has the power to sense and read auras. Her love for Clark created a link between them and now they can use it to communicate by telepathy.”

“Ah so she isn’t as clueless of her powers as some others we had to train. Perfect!”

“Talk about yourself old man. As far as I remember, you were the worst apprentice when you started.” Nimue said as she turned and left Merlin with them.

“Well isn’t she lovely!” Merlin said as Nimue entered the monastery. “Now to the serious part. The first order of business is to find under which influence is the base of your power Lana. Nemu here is a special case. Even if his major influence is coming from the air spirit, he has a lot of power also coming from the ones.”

“Well Merlin my guess would be air for her too. The symbol on her shoulder would indicate that since it means ‘air’. But from what I can sense in her I wouldn’t dismiss her as another person of mixed influence. And I’m sure you have some tests that could help us find out in no time.” Nemu told Merlin without really giving more information than necessary. Aliens might not be a very good topic of discussion with the people here. He also made sure to send this piece of warning to Lana through telepathy.

“Yes I do have those. It will also depends on which powers she will develop and which ones she wants too and you know that very well Nemu. So... Lana, I guess that your first ‘homework’ would be to think really hard to what kind of magic would interest you. Also you will have to follow my instructions so that you can meditate and really get in touch with the spirits.”

The next few days were mainly filled with meditation methods. She could sense that the call of the elemental forces became stronger as she spent more time in trance. She felt the energies of all the spirits but like Nemu guessed it was from the air that the strongest pull came.

She got a very big surprise as she came out of her meditation on the morning of what she thought must be her twelfth day in Avalon. She was floating close to the ceiling of her room. When she realised what she was doing she lost her concentration and crashed down to the floor with a big THUD!

“Owww!” She whimpers as she gets up. «That will need some training. I’m glad I was alone in here. Clark would surely make fun of me if he saw that.” Thinking about him made her a little sad. She wished more than once that he was here with her. She misses him so much. ‘Clark I miss you. I wish you were here with me.’

‘Don’t worry Lana I’m sure we will see each other soon. Just concentrate on your training and things should be ok. I love you and miss you too.’

---Knock, knock, knock.---

Lana go open the door and sees Nemu standing there with a tray full of fruits and some fresh bread. “That looks delicious!” She says moving from the door so he can enter the room.

“Yeah I supposed you might be hungry this morning. I came to check up on you a couple of hours ago and saw you were still deep in meditation.”

“Yeah I just got brought back to reality. I was floating! But when I woke up I fell down to the floor.”

“Ah so I guess we can add a new power to your list. It’s good. You got the power to levitate and fly early in your training. Maybe once we leave here you will be comfortable enough with it so we won’t need to use other means of transportation. Now I want to try something with you and that will occupy most of our time for a while.”

“And that is?”

“Fighting. I want to see if you will get any power to defend yourself and others. Also if you have a taste to fight too. Sometimes the best defence is attack. And with invulnerable Kryptonians, magic would be the absolute best weapon if you plan to fight by Clark’s side. Because kryptonite will be out of the question.”

“I know. I did what Merlin asked and thought about what powers I would get. I liked the energy balls Nemia used. I can charge them up with any power right?”

“Yeah that’s basically it. Nemia is under the sign of Fire so that is why she had a small fireball that day. Since my dominant is Air, lightning bolts come more naturally to my hands. Eat now and gather your strength Lana Lang because starting this afternoon you are going to be tested.” Nemu said as he gets out of the room and close the door.

Lana was getting restless. She spoke to Merlin about her powers everyday. She now was able to conjure up mists, light and darkness with a flick of her hand. On the battle front she was getting better everyday. Her control over her energy balls was getting better. She could now fill them with the power of Fire and Ice. She even succeeded once to call up a lightning ball, but it didn’t last long. Nemu told her that time that Lightning didn’t like the limitation of the sphere. That is the reason why a bolt was more often pictured for lightning.

One day as she got to the eating area she saw Nemu and Merlin in conversation. Merlin’s expression was somewhat sadder than usual and Lana thought she knew why. Nemu had probably realised that she had learned all that she could from the marvellous people of Avalon.

“Hey boys! What is going on? Why the sad face Merlin?” Lana decided to act like she didn’t saw them before entering the hall.

“Ah Lana. Well the thing is that you learned everything you could here. You both will have to go back to the world and be started on your next step of your training. That makes me a little sad. It had been a while since we had visitor from the outside world.”

“Ah don’t worry. I will try to come back as soon as I can. But I’m anxious to go back. I want to know what is going on out there and even more so since I didn’t hear from Clark for a long time now. I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry Lana, Nemia is still in contact with me and she says Clark is doing fine. He even got some new powers of his own.” Nemu says as he walks over to her and put a hand on her shoulder squeezing it just to show his support.

“We are leaving today so I’ll leave you to say your goodbyes to everyone. I also know for sure that today you got an invitation to meet the Fisher King himself. Remember what I told you when we first got here. Follow your gut feelings and instincts when meeting him. They will guide you through the conversation.”

“Wow! I really get to meet him? And actually talk with him?” Lana can’t believe it. Her luck is turning. To meet the Fisher King she read so much about when she was younger.

Lana entered the room slowly. She still couldn’t believe she was allowed for a private meeting with this man that was more myth than reality. The Fisher King was often associated with Arthur and Merlin’s stories, but never in her wildest dreams has she thought of them as real people. Meeting Merlin was a shock. Meeting this man has an even more powerful effect on her. His aura imposes humility to all around.

“Your majesty how are you feeling today?” Lana asks shyly.

“I’m feeling good today. I’m sorry we haven’t talked while you were staying. Young lady come closer. Don’t be afraid I won’t bite. I wanted to speak to you before you leave because my people and I have a few congratulatory gifts for successfully completing this stage of your training. I also have to admit I was curious to see who my friend Nemu brought with him. It had been quite a while since last I saw him this excited about anything. Last time I think it was when he actually found his twin sister and brought her here for the first time. She was so shy. Look at her now.” The King finishes with a contagious laugh.

“Your majesty I don’t know what to say. Thank you very much for opening your home to travellers and allowing me to train under some of the most renowned magicians the world has known.” As she finish talking there is a knock on the door and two servants enter with some wrapped boxes.

Lana knew those were the gifts. She couldn’t wait to find out what they were. After the servants put the boxes down on a table near Lana they excuse themselves and as she turn to face the King again she sees him nod his head telling her she can open the gifts.

“This first gift is from Merlin and Nimue. It was made using some magic and some special fabric Nemu brought us the last time he visited. You might not like the design but they tried their best from what Nemu described as today’s clothing trends were.” The King said pointing to a medium size square box wrapped in blue paper with a red bow. It contained a set of tight fitting shirt and pants. “That might look a little to tight but just wear it under your clothes when you expect danger and that will protect you. That is also a reason why they chose black, navy blue and deep forest green.”

“Yeah I was wondering how to wear this. It looks like a second skin.”

“Yes you can call it that. A virtually unbreakable skin to protect yourself in case you don’t have the chance to put up a magical shield to protect you.”

“Well I will have to thank them. Now for the next one. Hmmm, I hope this one is not a wand or something like that or else I will kinda look silly running around with it.” Lana said pointing to a rather long but thin box.

“No, but close. This one is from me. Did you know that the sword Excalibur had originally been made upon my daughter’s request as a gift meant for me? But since we had to flee our homes and come here I never needed the sword. So when Merlin came we gave it to him as a present. Later he gave it to Arthur’s father and it eventually led to the events that are written in books. But don’t worry. Excalibur is now back in its rightful place on the wall of my bedchamber. This package contains another sword made especially for you. It is lighter than a traditional medieval sword. It was made more like the far eastern type of weapon. I think Nemu called it Katana. If you listen to its inner voice it will tell you its name.”

Lana rips through the paper and tears open the box. The sword was a masterpiece and she could feel the powers laying dormant in it just waiting her call to awaken. Lana tried to concentrate on the sword just like the King told her to. There was nothing but silence at first. After a few minutes she starts to hear a whisper. She focus on it and in no time can make out what is being said. ‘I am Hageina. Call upon my powers and use them to punish those who would bring harm onto you.’ Lana saw 4 runes flash through her mind and without even registering what she was doing she murmurs... “Hagalaz.” As she says it the runes take form upon the blade of the sword in bring blue light. “Eihwaz.” This time the rune shines green. “Nauthiz.” The third rune comes to life in a bright red light. “Algiz.” The last rune envelops her in a yellow light and brings the different lights into one and a warmth goes through her body.

“The gift has been made and accepted. Hageina is now yours to summon in battle. May you never need to call upon her. But trust in her powers as much as in yours. She is more than a normal tool. She will become, as time passes, more like a friend.” The voice of the King brings her out of her trance.

“Thank you your Majesty. This is a very thoughtful and beautiful gift. I will take good care of her.” Lana says bowing to the King.

-- Knock, knock, knock --

“Sorry to disturb you guys but Lana it’s time to leave. I will wait in the courtyard near the portal for you.” Nemu says showing only his head in the space between the partially opened door and the wall.

“Ok.” Lana says then turns back to the King. “Your Majesty I want to ask for your permission to return someday.”

“Of course Lana. You are always welcome to Avalon. We will keep a close eye on you. Maybe someday some of us will visit you in the outside world. As the legend says, ‘Someday the island of Avalon will be once again open for the entire world to see and that day will mark the return of Arthur.’ Well except for the return of Arthur part it might come to pass someday. Once we feel the world is ready for us to come back. Now go my child and return to the outside world with your head held high and proud for the accomplishments you did here. Train hard and keep listening to Nemu and Hageina.”

Lana goes to the king and gives him a hug then pulls away quickly turning pink, bows then exit as fast as she can.

The trip back was the same as the trip there. Short and uneventful. “Nemu now that we are done here what is the next destination?”

“Well do you feel like testing those powers of yours? I have the perfect place that needs some ‘cleaning’.”

“Well if you are by my side to help I sure could use some practice.”

“In that case our next destination is Bran Castle in Romania. Well at least that’s where our next quest starts...”

“Bran Castle?”

“Yep. A temporary residence of the one called ‘Dracula’. Don’t worry that man is dead. Today the castle is used as a tourism attraction.”

“Well let’s get going then. Romania isn’t close to here.”

The actual trip to Romania went faster than Lana thought. And flying was tiring. It was her first time trying to fly that much in one trip and she was exhausted.

“Let’s try not to do this too often shall we? This is exhausting.”

“Lana only by doing it will it become easier. But true we might have flew a little too far without rest. But we won’t have to do that for a while. We are going to spend the next few days training in sword-fighting so that Hageina can be any help to you in our journey.”

“Can we rest first? I mean night will soon come upon us. I’m hungry and tired too. So I think we should wait until tomorrow and start early.”

“Yeah you are right there. Let’s go to a restaurant in the city over there and then get a nice camping spot close to the castle.”

The rest of the evening went by without much excitement. They ate some local food and found a nice spot in the woods off the roads and inhabited areas. The following days were spent in a routine of getting up early, training until noon then a brief lunch and more training in the afternoon. A bigger meal at dinner time and then meditation during evenings. After 2 weeks of this routine Lana could feel a lot more at ease with handling Hageina and her powers. She also discovered that she could create some shields around herself with just a thought and that was a really good thing at times. Nemu was a great teacher and expert swordsman. Lana could often see how much efforts he put in holding back. She couldn’t help but fear how powerful he might be when he was using all his powers. She could understand now what he meant the morning back in the Kent farm when he told Clark that the fight against Nam-Ek and Aethyr would have to be done by Clark and herself.

At the end of the second week they were getting ready to enter the castle and search for clues as to what their next step would be when their path was suddenly no longer free. Jor-El appeared right in front of them and the expression on his face told them that something bad was going on.

“Jor-El what is it? You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.” Nemu asks with some nervousness in his voice.

“Nemu, Nam-Ek and Aethyr have joined forces with the human called Lionel. They now know the identity Kal-El is using here on Earth. The people back at the farm will need help and I can’t get in touch with Nemia or Lara. I could talk to Kal-El but he must not be bothered right now since he is in a crucial stage of his studies. The son of Lionel is trying all he can to prevent his father to mess with the farm but his suspicions about Kal-El doesn’t help right now. He still has doubts. The young man that you call Pete and his girlfriend Chloe are both at the farm with the Kents now. I have warned them already since I couldn’t get in touch with you while you were in Avalon.”

“Thanks Jor-El. I guess our little ‘escapade’ in the realm of the ‘Impaler’ will have to wait. Lana get ready. We need to get back to Smallville. I will take us there so just pick up your stuff and we will leave. Jor-El go back now and tell the Kents we will be there in a couple hours. After that is done go out there and try to gather more information on our enemies’ movements and also try again to get in touch with Nemia and Lara. It’s not like Nemia to completely shut her mind off.”

“Of course I’m on it right away.” With that said Jor-El disappeared into thin air.

“You know I saw a lot of things in the last few weeks but I have to admit that this ‘spirit of the dead’ thing will need a lot of time getting used to.” Lana said coming to stand by Nemu’s side with their bags.

“Yeah it can get pretty unsettling at times. So we ready?”

“Yep let’s go. The sooner we get there the better I will feel since I will know they are safe.”

In no more than 2 hours Nemu took them from the outskirt of Bran Castle, Romania, to Smallville, Kansas.

“Well we will have a big jet lag tomorrow I guess. Lucky I could use some extra sleep.” It was almost Dinner time when they arrive at the farm.

“Mr. Kent? Mrs. Kent? Pete? Chloe? Anyone home?” Lana calls when she enters the house.

“Lana? Is that you? You sure got back quickly. Jor-El left only a couple of hours ago and we didn’t think you would be back before tomorrow at least.” Martha said as the group entered the kitchen.

“Well Nemu was pretty motivated to come back fast. If it’s not asking too much could I know how long it has been since we left?”

“Well it has been a little over two months now. Did you guys hear anything from Clark?” Chloe answers sitting at the table and preparing herself to ask a lot of question. Her reporter side was getting excited at the possibilities of hearing tales of wonders.

“Two months!! Wow it’s crazy how fast time flies when you are busy almost non-stop. And as for Clark, I haven’t heard from him for a couple of weeks now.”

“Well at least we have you and Nemu back here. Nasty business happening around here. Lionel came out of his coma about 3 weeks ago and he got some real deep knowledge of Clark now. Lex tries to keep him away from here as much as he can but his curiosity and doubts about Clark aren’t helping. I guess it won’t be long before he comes here with Lionel and the 2 aliens. Those 2 are something else entirely. They appeared back in town from out of nowhere all of a sudden and went straight to the mansion the day Lionel came back.”

“And now they are all in there?” Nemu interrupts the girls wanting to know what the situation is.

“Last we heard yeah they were in there.” Jonathan said as he enters the kitchen.

“Well since I’m around I’ll go out and check on things. I might need you guys help to gather some green rocks. Since Clark is away for now we have to prepare to withstand a possible attack from the Kryptonians. Lana will be a great help but as long as Clark is away the green K. is our best ally.”

‘Nemu? Come on bro where the hell are you? You were supposed to be out of Avalon for a while now and should be close to Romania.’ Nemia’s panic shoots through with her message.

‘Whoa Nemia calm down! Lana and I are back in Smallville. Nam-Ek and Aethyr got a new ally and are stirring some trouble around here. How soon can Clark and you get here?’

‘Well Clark finally got the last of his powers. And finally got control of his flight. So I guess if we went as fast as we could we can arrive in two days. I don’t want to make the distance in one shot because Clark will be tired as hell when we get there.’

‘Well get your butts here as soon as you can then. Lana and I are going to prepare. I was planning to get as much kryptonite as possible but if you guys make it here that fast I will only get one piece for each of the earthlings.’

All of a sudden Lana tense up feeling Clark’s fear and worry shot up through their link. She had no clue what was happening since she didn’t heard the twins thoughts.

“Oh my god! Nemu! Something is happening to Clark! I can feel fear and worry. We have to find them they might be in trouble.”

“Calm down Lana. It’s not them that are in trouble but us. Nemia must have told him what was happening here. They will arrive in 2 days so in the meant time we are going to gather one piece of kryptonite for each of you guys to keep with you at all time in case we get unexpected visitors. Once Clark arrives you will all need to be careful with the rocks and make sure to use them only in critical situation.”

[deanyouk]

Loving this story Nemu! keep it coming

at

WOW At long updates!

[Lost_In_Clana]

Wow, that’s awesome!!! It’s cool how Lana and Clark are getting control of their powers. Hope everything goes well. Update when you can!!

[maitriniazngurl]

Wow awesome update!! I love the whole history and traveling thing... amazing!! Keep up the awesome work!! Can't wait for more!!

PPMS!! :D

[SVsleuth]

Wow! A really long update. I read about half, Nemu, but I can';t stay awake any longer. will try to finish later today. ;)

[closetfan]

that was a long read......cant wait til the battle :)

[HP_DRAGON]

Wow this is fantastic just found this fic and now i'm addicted.....
anyway PPMS

[Nemu]

Well here comes 6-2...

SV I tried to wait for you to finish the 6-1 but... I know you are busy and well... I did say that 6-2 was coming today ;)

So for those who still might be wondering... 'PURPLE' text is what they share with their link...

erm... the 'witch' in there are to replace another word... just read it by replacing the w with b and you will understand... sorry!!

now... Enjoy!!!!

------------------------------------

As everyone starts to leave to get their piece of meteor rock, Nemu call Lana back to him and bring her outside in a secluded part of the farm.

“Lana I want to use the little time we have right now to teach you a few more spells that will help you. First of all remember Hageina. Don’t hesitate to call on her. And I want you to wear the clothes you received in Avalon. Those will be your best protection against most of the physical stuff they might throw your way. Be attentive of their breath and their heat vision. Those you can take care with your shielding powers.”

“Also I know you have basically no time to practice but first I want to teach you how to call and use the true shape of Lightning. This one should be the easiest for you since Air is your main influence.”

“You mean shooting lightning bolts at them?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan. You have to be careful though since a miss fired bolt can really wreck havoc out here. Now picture the bolt in the same way you do for your balls. Think about Lightning and how it forks. Once that is done just look at me and will the bolt to hit me. Don’t worry about hurting me. I will have a shield spell up. Now you need to keep visualizing the bolt racing through the air to me or else you might send it elsewhere and we don’t want that.”

“Ok. I have the picture in my mind now. Whoa I can feel the energy building up.”

“Yeah that will happen. Ok now I’m going over there and when I say go you launch it at me with all your will.” Nemu finish then runs to the other end of the field. ‘GO!’

As soon as the command enters Lana’s thoughts the bolt shoot from her hands and run straight toward Nemu’s chest. The force of the impact throws Nemu back a good 5 feet.

“Nemu are you ok?”

“Never better. That was quite a bolt there. I guess if you can always keep control of them you wont have to fear anything coming too close. But in case they do get in close to you, either call Hageina or use this little trick. Charge up your hand with Lightning and picture it as if it was a glove over your hand. Then if your opponent get close to you just shake his hand or touch him and release the energy. Even invulnerable Kryptonians will feel it.”

“Just like with static shocks?”

“Exactly. It was actually that phenomenon that inspired the shocking grasp. Now you can also use the grasp power with your sword and envelop the blade in lightning. You could also use other type of energies. Fire usually works well with this type of shaping.”

“Ok. Well anything else?”

“No we are done here. Let’s go back to the others and prepare as best we can. I don’t think they will come now but we never know. I will need to talk to Clark once he is here. Explain some of the things that happened with Lex. They will need to work through their different no matter how painful it might be.”

Nemu send a short message through some personnal thoughts right from him to Clark. ‘Clark, we will need to talk about Lex when you arrive. He is trying really hard to help your friends and family right now and he is struggling with his inner self to not betray you. His good and bad sides have been fighting fiercely since the accident at the lab.’

All the answer they got was what could only be called a sigh through the telepathic link.

****

“I AM KAL-EL OF KRYPTON! KNEEL BEFORE ME! I AM NOW YOUR RULER AND YOU WILL OBEY OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!”

He sits up in his bed shaking as the last echoes from his dream goes through his head. “Argh not again! Stupid dream. Why do I keep having this freaking dream. I don’t even know who this Kal-El guy is. No chances the dream would show his face to me. Oh well better get up now and see what new crazy plan those 3 made up this time.”

He slowly gets up and get dressed before heading toward the small house where his 3 least favorite person of the moment are preparing for the assault on the location where they think this Kal-El person is being held prisoner. In the last month alone they had tried to launch attack after attack and he was the one that successfully prevent them to get through with it.

As he walk into the last hallway toward the door of his house, he can see a man standing there blocking the way and looking right at him. Before he can say or do anything the man said. “My son wants to see you at the place he calls home in 4 hours. He has a lot to tell you and you should cast aside your doubts and the darkness inside of yourself. Walk up to him with a pure heart and you may live. Go there harboring negative feeling and today might be your last day on this Earth.” After he said that the figure disappear into thin air leaving behind only shock and confusion.

“Great, just great. Better be careful or I will end up in mental institution again.” With that he continue on his way to spy on his ‘guests’ while pondering what the man told him.

****

She walks toward the tree at the top of the hill. As she gets closer she can see someone sitting there looking like they are lost in thoughts. ‘Wow I’m lucky. At least this person should be able to tell me where I am.’

10 feet away she could see that the person was wearing a hood on his head and she couldn’t tell if it is a man or a woman. “Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?”

Upon hearing her voice the figure jumps up and turns around quickly. “Lana?”

“Clark?? Where the hell are we?”

“Well to tell you the thruth I don’t know. I guess we might be in a dream since the last thing I remember before getting here is lying down for sleep somewhere around Minneapolis.”

“Well what should we do then? Things were crazy at the farm when I went to bed. We are prepared for an attack any minute now. Nemu made each of the others keep a piece of Kryptonite on them at all time in case. As for me, well lets say I’m no longer the scared little girl I was the first time I met Nam-Ek. What about you? I heard you got some new powers?”

“Well yeah. I finally overcame my fear of height and controled my power to fly. It’s amazing the feeling of going through the air.”

“I know what you mean. That was one of the few powers I got on Avalon. It drains a lot of energy, but it has always been my dream to fly. Since I met you a lot of those dreams have come true.” She says as she gets closer to him and put her arms around his neck bringing him down for a passionate kiss. “Thank you...”

“Lana! Lana! Can you release the pillow now?”

“Hmm? Wha..? What pillow?” Lana opens her eyes and sees the wet pillow in front of her face and can’t stop turning beet red upon realizing what has happened.

“Oh my god!”

“Pretty intense dream you had there miss Lang. Care to share?” Chloe said standing beside Lana’s bed with a smile on her face.

“It’s not what you think Chloe. Yes I saw Clark in it but we talked and kissed. He is somewhere near Minneapolis.”

“Well you didn’t have to tell me that Clark was in there. I could have guessed myself by the way you were acting on this poor pillow.” Chloe starts laughing but is cut short by the said pillow being thrown at her head. “Eewww! It’s wet!”

It is Lana’s turn to start laughing and soon Chloe joins her. “Glad to hear some people having fun around here for a change.” Martha Kent says poking her head in the door. “If you girls would come to the kitchen, breakfast is ready.”

“We will be right there Mrs. Kent. Thanks.” Both girl answer.

Breakfast was a team effort this morning on the farm. Once everyone was sitting and eating Lana couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Clark stopped near Minneapolis last night.”

Everyone turned to her and she could feel her cheek grow a little warmer from the attention. Seeing Chloe’s grin doesn’t help.

“So you 2 talked then? How is he? We haven’t heard from him since he left the farm 2 months ago.” Martha was concerned and happy to hear the news her son was almost back home even if for only a short while.

“He...” Lana started but got interrupted by a telepathic message. ‘Lana call Lex and tell him to come to the farm in 2 hours. I need to talk to him. He already knows that I will be calling him for a meeting. We should be there by then. I miss you and can’t wait to see you... For real this time.’

“Lana?” Everyone was growing concerned at her expression.

“Oh it’s ok. Clark wants me to call Lex to tell him to meet Clark here in 2 hours. To answer your question, he is fine and learned to control his flying power. He also got over his fear of heights. They will arrive within the next 2 hours. If you will excuse me I will call Lex now.” With that Lana got up and went outside to make her call.

“I don’t like this. Telling Chloe and Lana was one thing but telling Lex?” Jonathan Kent said still harboring doubts about everything Luthor.

“Don’t worry about Lex Mr. Kent. In the end it might be more helpful to tell him the truth ourselves than have him learn it through his father. At least we might reach his good side where his father will play on his hatred and greed.” Nemu said, talking for the first time this day. “Let’s get ready everyone. I can feel today will be a long day.”

“You are right Nemu. The one you call Lionel has already designed a new plan. Lex have been warned that my son would be come calling for him today. Right now Lex is spying on his father and his new partners.” Jor-El appeared in the middle of the kitchen making everyone jump a little.

“Thank you Jor-El. Can you make sure he isn’t discovered? What he have heard so far will be a great help in preparing for them.”

“I will.” With that he fades back into thin air.

“That is something I still have difficulty getting used to.” Pete says.

***

--- Ring Ring Ring ---

‘Come on Lex answer the phone’ Lana thought.

“Hello?” A voice whispers at the other end of the line.

“Lex? Is that you?”

“Lana? What is it?”

“Clark wants you to meet him at the farm in 2 hours. We have a lot to talk to you about.”

“Lana please. Why would Clark wants to talk to me? He has practically shunned me all of the last year.” Bitterness sounds through his voice.

“He wants to work out the problems between you two. He miss your friendship. I can see it in his eyes.” Lana doesn’t want to beg, but her voice have a hint of pleading in it.

“Wait a minute...” Lex’s voice trail as he remembers the ‘ghost’ he saw 2 hours ago.

“I’ll be there.” Without waiting for Lana to say more Lex hang up.

“O-“ click. ‘Wow. Didn’t even let me say goodbye. Oh well guess I’ll see him in 2 hours.’

‘Clark it’s done. I called Lex and he will be here in 2 hours.’

“Thanks Lana.” ‘Wow this link is getting more and more powerful. I could swear I heard his voice this time.’ Lana thought as she turned around only to come face to chest with a very real Clark Kent.

“Wha.. Clark!!” Lana jumps into his arms and kiss him letting out all her feelings for him.

“Miss me?” Clark says with a wink.

“You could say that!” Lana answers letting go of his neck. “Nemia. Nemu should be in the kitchen with the others.”

“Well let’s go in then.” Nemia says, a small smile playing on her lips. “I can’t keep it in. You guys are soo cute.” She adds laughing as she enters the house.

Upon hearing the laughing everyone inside turns to the door to see the trio enter. Martha was the first to react. She jumps out of her chair and runs to give her son the biggest hug she has ever given him. “Oh Clark! I’m so happy you are finally back home.”

“She is right son. Glad you’re back.” Jonathan says as he pats him on the back.

“Hey Clark.” Chloe greets him. “Nemia.”

“Hey man!” Pete gets up and walk to Clark for a friendly man hug.

“So guys how was the flight? Nemia I thought you would stop somewhere in Canada. The way you said you wanted to take your time so Clark wouldn’t get too tired.” Nemu says to his sister with a questionning look at her smiling face.

“Actually I was planning on stopping in Canada but mister Loverboy there wanted to continue.” Nemia says as her smile grew. “So we ended up landing somewhere near Minneapolis.” As she said that she could see the reaction from both Clark and Lana and couldn’t help but start laughing again.

“I guess I wasn’t the only one to have a laugh this morning.” She adds as her laughing stops.

Chloe seeing what was going on whispers to Nemia. “No. Lana was getting rather friendly with her pillow this morning.” Both girl burst out laughing again as Clark looks to Lana and turns 10 different shades of red.

“Chloe! And you too Nemia. Shame on you girls. Can’t you leave us in peace.” Clark tell the girls. Lana could only guess what he had heard. But she had an idea of what was going on.

“Can we get back to the business at hand please? We have about 2 hours to prepare for Lex’s arrival and We need to start planning for our defenses. I don’t think they will attack the town but just to make sure I want Nemia to take Pete and Chloe to the Talon. Since they know how important that place is for you, I would try to draw you out by attacking it if I was in their place. Pete and Chloe keep your kryptonite within arms reach at all time.”

“For the rest of us we will stay here at the farm. The house should be able to withstand some attacks but we need to make sure to keep them as far from the buildings as possible. I will need a big empty room somewhere so I can put their ship and bring it back to normal size. If we can get them back in there we might be able to trap them.”

“You have their ship????” Clark could not help to say.

“Yes I picked it up when I rescued Lana the day they arrived.”

--- 2 hours later ---

Right on time they heard and saw a silver porshe coming up the driveway at top speed. Soon it stops and Lex gets out walking to the house with determination. He wants answers and he watns them now.

“Hey Lex. Come on in.” Clark greets him at the door.

“Hey Lex.” Everyone says has he enters the kitchen. “Take a seat Lex.” Jonathan tells him pointing to the remaining chair at the table.

“So Clark, you claim to want to work out the problems in our friendship but you don’t even have to use others to send me message?” Lex starts with still some bitterness in his voice.

“It’s-“

“Watch your language boy!” Everyone is surprised by the harsh tone of Nemu’s voice. “You have been warned this morning to watch your manners when you would come.”

Lex couldn’t help but feel the presence of this man who he thought wasn’t older than 25 or 26 years old. “Boy? You look kind of young to be calling me that.” Lex hates what he is feeling right now. Years of being under Lionel’s shadow thought him to answer those feelings with even more rudeness...

This time it isn’t Nemu who spoke but Lana. “Lex calm down. We called you here to talk with you about the events going on here in Smallville and on Earth since far longer than Clark or any of us were born except David and Karyn here.”

‘Good thinking Lana. Thank you for using our Earth given names.’ The twins send through telepathy to her.

“Ok. I guess I should listen to you. At least for now. So Clark, what did you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Well Lex, we know your father and those 2 aliens are planning to attack here and probably the town too. We need your help to protect everyone. But I don’t want you to get into this mess without knowing everything.”

“Aliens huh? I thought they were some meteor freaks that my dad had somehow hired or created with his experiements.”

“Believe us Lex, they are aliens. They come from the late planet Krypton. It was destroyed 18 years ago. They arrived here on Earth with the last meteor shower.”

“Interesting. So how did you get a hand on this knowledge that no one else in the world would know?”

“Actually Lex we aren’t the only one with the knowledge. The Swann foundation knows about it. They probably know even more details than we knew until David and Karyn came into our lives. But we are getting ahead of us now. We need to come back to Smallville. Like I said they came with the last shower. But the fact is there was another one that came in 1989 with the first shower. This one was only a little boy at the time. I was this little boy. The Kents found me and raised me. Every unexplained events that happened around town comes from that first meteor shower. The ‘freaks’ as you called them, the way I saved everyone a few times. Everything goes back to the events that took place in 1989. I have powers Lex, much like our ennemies have. Super strength, super speed, I’m invulnerable to anything except kryptonite.”

“So I did hit you on that bridge.”

“Yes Lex.”

“Wait! Edge! Argh! My head!” Lex holds his head as a spliting pain goes through it. Images of the memories his father wiped out in Belle Reeve starts to come back to him.

“I remember. You pushed me out of Edge’s way. I knew there was something different about you. I was right all along.” Lex’s escitement was rising and everybody could hear it in his voice and see it in his face.

“Lex calm down please. Yes you were right. I always hated to have to lie to my friends. You are the second person I choose to tell my secret to. The others found out by accident. Some died, others are in Belle Reeve and the rest are here in this room with the exception of Lionel and by now Nam-Ek and Aethyr.”

They can see Lex is calming down a little. “You know Clark, this is big.”

“I know Lex. There is some more.” Clark then continues to tell Lex everything about his life. About the caves, the stones, what exactly kryptonite is. This takes the better part of the morning and early afternoon.

“So Lex now you know everything. Well except my Kryptonian name. My birth name is Kal-El but”

“Kal-El!!!! You are the one that keeps poping in my dreams lately saying stupid things about ruling the world.” His anger rising.

“No way Lex. I never wanted to conquer and rule the world. It was my biological father’s dream never mine. Maybe if I had been raised by someone else than my parents I would be this evil man you dream about but being here with my family and friends changed everything. I chose to help people and not conquer them. You know what I can do and yes if I wanted I could conquer much like Nam-Ek and Aethyr plan to do with your father’s help. Their only problem is that they want the stones. They don’t exist anymore.”

Slowly calming down Lex replys “Ok let’s say I believe you. What are you waiting from me?”

“Your friendship for one thing. I miss how we were before your father’s trial. Also we know you spied on them and we want any information you can tell us about their plans.”

“Well they plan to come here tomorrow. My father still have a small army under his orders so they will send those in town with the woman and my father and the man are supposed to come here with some more troops. Hearing them go at it it was as if they were planning World War 3 or something.”

“Well that’s pretty much what could become the first step for it.” Nemu said talking for the first time since his outburst.

“So we keep the first plan then? Send Pete Chloe and Nemia to town and the rest stay here?” Clark asks Nemu.

“Looks like it. Clark I want you to wear what we gave you for your birthday. Lana you keep on the gifts from the King.”

“Ok. But I don’t know if I will be that much help.” Lana says feeling nervous as the moment of battle come closer.

“Don’t worry. Clark and I will be here. That’s one of the reason why we took the trip. Too bad we had to cut it short or else we would have taken care of this nervousness you are feeling.”

“Well now we only have to figure out where to put Lex I guess.”

“Kal-El, Nemu, I have bad news.” Jor-El says as he appeared in front of them.

“What is it?” Both men ask at the same time.

“Aethyr was tired of sitting at the mansion doing nothing so she decided to have a little fun. She flew towards the east. Last time I felt her presence she was coming close to the city they call ‘The Big Apple’.”

“New York!” Everyone say at the same time.

“Nemia I leave everything in your hands. Make sure everyone is ready and take their position. We will all stay here for now. Clark go get dressed. Lana too. I’m going to make sure she doesn’t do too much damage and be back as soon as I can. I might have her on my tail though so be ready for anything.” Once said Nemu gets up and runs out before taking to the skies.

“What the hell?” is all Lex can get out.

“Well Lex, Nemia and Nemu, well David and Karyn actually, comes from a different planet than mine. Their home is called Falazya. The ‘ghost’ over there is my biological father Jor-El. He is acting as some kind of scout. Nemia take care of the rest. Me and Lana have to go get changed.” Clark walks out of the room pulling Lana by her hand.

“Lana are you ok? I mean you look so tense and I can feel so many different emotion coming out of you.” Clark is really worried about Lana. He knows she can take care of herself but she never had to go into battle like that before. He never had too either but he understood. His studies showed him a lot of what happened. The wars as well as the consequences of them on many of the worlds that were touched by them.

“I will be all right Clark. As long as you are near me I should be all right. I love you.”

“I love you more than anything, my angel. I wanted to wait to give you this but since we meet again for now I want you to have it now. I see your necklace and its new color. Blue suits you way much better than green. Stay here let me get something in my room.”

Clark zips away to his bedroom and come back 5 seconds later holding a bundle of clothes over one arm and a small box in his hand. Opening the box Lana could see a familiar bracelet in it.

“Lana this bracelet was handed down the kawatchee people since a long time ago. In their legends it was said to belong to the one woman in Naman’s life. Kyla had it and when she died her grand-father Professor Willowbrooke gave it to me. And now I know you are the true one for me I want you to have it. Who knows, it might even me useful to you. I have a feeling that your magic might have some effect on it or it on your magic.”

(Lana’s POV kinda)
--- x weeks later ---

It’s been almost 3 weeks now since we came back to Smallville. The news that Aethyr had left for New York messed up our plans but also messed up their plans. We all stayed at the farm and the attack came the following morning as we thought. We did well on this first day. Clark looked like a god in his black and red outfit. There must have been lead in that suit since Kryptonite didn’t seem to hurt him as much as usual.

Not that there was a lot of it around. They feared its effect as much as we did. Nam-Ek was their best asset in this fight but he hold back preferring to study Clark from afar. I think he was trying to measure how strong he was. That day was probably one of the worst of my life. It rank at the top with the day my parents died, the day I killed one of Edge’s men in the barn and the day Isobel killed Jason’s mother. What was so bad you ask? It was that day that I felt the guilt of killing someone again. Granted it was a life and death situation but the feeling of killing someone isn’t a good one.

~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

Clark is fighting against 3 very built men trying to keep their kryptonite infused blade at bay and as I get a little breathing room from my last opponent I see another man come up behind Clark and prepare to stab him in the back.

“CLAAARK!” As soon as the word is out I feel a power surge through my outstretched hand and a bolt hit the sneaky devil. Once the air clear we can see nothing is left from the guy but the little blade stuck in the ground. No blood, no ashes, nothing.

“Oh my god! What did I do!” I say but my thoughts are saying something else. ‘I just killed a man. No! More than that, I pulverized him to nothing. I can’t deal with this. Not again. How do the soldiers get through this when they are at war?’

~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~


After that display of power they soon retreated from the farm. Since his return, Nemu worked with me to control the strength of the bolts and now I can paralyze them instead of killing them.

Nemu came back the following day and his arrival was frightening as well as spectacular. Seeing silver lightning bolts streak through a clear sky can have this effect. Aethyr was hot on his tail and we could guess he was only teasing her to follow him back here. We learned later that evening that he had caught up with her on the outskirts of the city and not too much had been done.

We were lucky at the farm. The worst we saw was Pete getting shot in his left leg and in his right arm when he pushed Chloe out of the way of some of the mercenaries. Not everyone got that lucky. A good part of Smallville lay in ruins now. The return of Aethyr marked the day they started to attack both place at the same time. We even had to retreat to the caves at some point. The town itself suffered a lot but what is worst was the body count. The first day they went into town they were opposed by the sheriff and her men. Half the force was killed that day, including Sheriff Adams. She was the first to go down or so the survivors claimed. I don’t have difficulties believing this story. Some others got killed too. Too many to remember them all. Some of the people that were with us in high school, those were just too young to die.

But there weren’t only bad things to come out of these 3 weeks. Everyone understood the situation and after the first 2 or 3 days the Kents understood the need Clark and I had to be as close as we could. Even if in normal time they would object more, right now they leave us alone and we spent most of the free time we had together. After the second day we slept together when we could sleep. Everybody knew we were getting closer everyday and they also understood we were mature enough and responsible enough. What they didn’t know on the other hand was that sleeping together was all we wanted. No sex. Just the feeling of being in each other’s arms when we went to sleep and still being together when we woke up.

I was glad. The first night was horrible because I spent half the night having nightmares about the events of the day and from every other bad memory I had finally put behind me. I was glad to see that when I was sleeping in his arms the nightmares kept away. He is my hero even in my sleep. His mere presence is enough to calm me.

--- Present Day ---

I find it kind of funny seeing Chloe and Pete setting their things in their dorm rooms at Met-U while I came with Nemu to make sure everything is alright with them. They are off to college while Clark has gone back to his studies and, after we leave them here, Nemu and I are going to resume our training back in Romania. Nemu assures me that this part of the training will be very easy now what with all that happened during the last weeks.

Last night was very hard for both Clark and I. We knew that since our foes had pulled back to regain their strength and that it would take a while for them to get ready to strike again, we had to take the chance and go back to our training so we would be ready for the next time they would come calling. Next time they will be more dangerous since they now know how we can defend ourselves.

~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

“Lana I love you more than anything in the world. I wish we didn’t have to leave each other again.”

“I know Clark. I love you too more than anything. But we have to go back and learn as much as we can to prepare for the next time. Which I hope will be the last time we will see them.”

“It will. Nam-Ek saw what he wanted and I know he will be on the front lines next time. I can feel it in me and in the air.”

“Yeah and I’m pretty sure Aethyr won’t be going away again and stand right by him.”

“Well I’m lucky to have the most beautiful woman in the universe standing by my side when that day come. Plus the fact she can use magic really is going to help a lot!” He said with his famous Clark Kent smile on his face.

“You know Clark, now I say this and I realize that it is the simple truth. I will be by your side forever. I love you.” With that Lana pulls Clark to her and kiss him deeply letting her love for him reach him with the kiss.

“Forever. I love you too.” Clark said as they broke the kiss to get much needed air.

The rest of the night was spent in each other’s arms making out until they fall asleep.

~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

***

As they land in some remote location near their campsite they left 3 weeks ago, Nemu and Lana started to feel a little less nervous about possible pursuit. As the minutes go by without any sign of trouble they decide to resume their journey. “So Lana let me explain a little of what we are doing here before we enter Bran Castle.”

“Ok go ahead.”

“Well our stay in the castle should be a short one. We are here to locate the portal that will take us to the realm of the dark. We have to pay a visit to Poenari Castle. That is the real place which had the name of Castle Dracula.”

“Vampire? You think I look like Buffy the vampire slayer?”

“He he.. Not at all. Dracula was not a vampire. Those were folklore tales. The real story is more gruesome I think.” Nemu pause before starting to give some details of the one named in books as Dracula and whose real name was Vlad Tepes ‘The Impaler’.

“More than anything else the historical Dracula is known for his inhuman cruelty. Impalement was his preferred method of torture and execution. Impalement was and is one of the most gruesome ways of dying imaginable, as it was typically slow and painful. In 1461 Mohammed II, the conqueror of Constantinople, a man not noted for his squeamishness, returned to Constantinople after being sickened by the sight of twenty thousand impaled Turkish prisoners outside of the city of Tirgoviste. This gruesome sight is remembered in history as ‘the Forest of the Impaled.’ “

“The worst though is that even if impalement was Vlad’s favorite method of torture, it was by no means his only method. The list of tortures employed by this cruel prince reads like an inventory of hell’s tools. No one was immune to Vlad’s attentions. His victims included women and children, peasants and great lords, ambassadors from foreign powers and merchants. However, the vast majority of his victims came from the merchants and boyars of Transylvania and his own Wallachia.”

“So you see so much attrocities taking place around these places made the spirit realm as well as some of the magical essences go wild and corrupted. Some of the bloodwitches came here to gain their power. Drawing help from the remnants of the pain, distress and pure evil that permeate the place were catalysts for their powers in the beginning.”

“Our mission here is to purge some of those lingering feelings from the places. We will have to fight some type of spiritual forces. Ghosts if you want to call them that. That is one of the reason why Jor-El was happy to find us still here when he came to get us. He can’t enter there without great risk for himself. With the knowledge he has we need to be cautious. Same goes for Lara. And since you have been in battle already it will help. I want you to remember one thing and it is that in there you must not hold back. Use every powers you got and keep Hageina close at hand. In there she will be more powerful and helpful. We might see things that will bring us down to our knees but we have to go through it. Take some time to go over everything and we will rest until tomorrow morning before heading down to the portal.”

Lana gets up and move to her things and sleeping spot. As she lay down she keeps going over all of what Nemu just told her. Fear is not a feeling she is experiencing right now. But disgust, hatred, and queasiness are what she feels. The rest of the night goes by in silence as both of them are lost in thoughts and slowly drift to sleep.

Lana opens her eyes to a strange environment. Everything seems distorted and blurry. As she made this discovery she realized something else. Something or someone was observing her but try as she can she couldn’t see the source of this uneasy feeling. Then out of nowhere she could sense Clark’s presence. She turns around and there he is standing there looking at her.

“Clark! Oh my god I’m glad you are here. There was this creepy feeling like someone was watching me and I was getting scared.”

“Lana? What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? And where is here anyway?”

“Well last thing I remember is going to sleep in the Fortress so I would guess we are in a dream. But as often as it happen that I see you in my dreams, I never had this long of a conversation with you. Or with a you that seems to be as real as me.”

“Well, maybe it’s the link? It might be getting stronger since we spent so much time together during the last 3 weeks.”

“You know that must be it. I’ll ask Nemia and Lara when I wake up. Since we both are here let lust sit here and talk or anything else you might want to do.”

“It’s ok Clark. Let just sit down so you can hold me in your arms. You make me feel safe. I don’t feel the creepy presence anymore.”

Both sat down by one of the dream tree and soon drift off to sleep.

When Lana opens her eyes again she is back with Nemu and the sun is slowly rising.

“Rough night?”

“Huh? Not really. I had seomthing close to a nightmare that turned into a good dream.”

“Well just take your time to get ready. We have a few hours still before we leave.”

“Ok. Nemu can you tell me more about the link me and Clark have?”

“Sure what do you want to know?”

“Can we share dreams through the link?”

“Yeah it has been known to happen sometimes. But you have to be really close to the other person for that to work. Not many of even the longest link go that deep. Why do you ask? Is that what happened last night?”

“Well when the dream first started I was feeling a creepy presence watching me and couldn’t find it but then Clark appeared and we started talking. That’s when the dream went from bad to better. We realized we were in a dream and thought it might have been the link. We sat down and fell asleep and here I wake up to see the sun rising.”

“Hmmm. It’s the first time that I see a link grow that strong so fast. It usually takes years to get close enough with the link to pull the dream sharing dimension. Usually it happens faster for twin borns since they share the link from the moment of conception until one of the pair dies. So for you and Clark to be there at this time means 2 things.”

“Ok. Any explanation will be useful.”

“Well the first meaning is that you are very close to each other. I think people call it soulmates. But I know you didn’t need this dream to figure out that you and Clark were soulmates.”

“True, I always had this feeling and from the way Clark tells me how he fell in love with me when he was 5 years old I guess he feels the same.”

“Yes about that. It might be the second reason. I think the link between you two has been made that day when Clark was 5 years old. It was just uncomplete and hidden since only 1 of you had made the choice then. So it would explain why the link grow stronger fast.”

“Wow you mean he could hear my thoughts?”

“No, no. He couldn’t hear anything but I’m sure you always felt like he could read you better than anybody and sometimes even better than yourself. And the same goes for you. I heard you one time tell him that you could always tell when he was less than truthful. That might have come from the hidden link.”

“Yeah it happened a few times and more frequent in the last 4 years.”

“That’s when you really started to come closer. You made it complete and brought it out when you made the choice. That is what enabled you guys to share feelings more clearly and also to talk to each other. Now with the dreams, you will have to learn to control the access so that you don’t get pulled into his dreams and him into yours when you don’t want that to happen.”

“Well finish getting ready. This talk took some time and we have a lot to prepare for the trip. First lets eat breakfast and then we will start heading to Bran’s Castle. It might take us a couple of hours to find the portal. Lucky for us this one is always in the same place and open to who knows how to find it.”

After picking up all their stuff and cleaning the camp spot, they made their way to the castle and start to look for the portal. Since Lana’s first power was to sense magical energies, it has become one of her most powerful power as she developped and trained. Finding the portal took less than 30 minutes. Making sure they were alone they stand in front of the mirror portal. To normal persons it would be a simple mirror but for people with the right powers it become a window to another place. A permanent deep cold sensation is seeping through the portal and that feeling gave Lana goosebumps.

“Well here goes! Stay close to me until we reach the otherside.” Nemu tells her trying to make her less nervous.

“Ok. Let’s go. Sooner we go sooner we can come back.”

With their words said they walk through the mirror and after a short walk inside a tunnel they come into the foyer of another castle. The feelings that assaults Lana as she steps foot inside overwhelm her and she falls to her knees. She can feel hot tears falling down her cheeks. “This place is horrible!”

“It is and more.” Nemu says with a grim expression on his face and some sadness in his voice.

“We need to find the source of those overwhelming feelings. It won’t be easy so draw your sword and don’t wander off on your own.”

Lana gets up with Nemu’s help and then take out Hageina. The blade starts emitting a soft blue light and some heat rush through Lana’s entire body. After walking through the outer walls of the castle they make their way to the central keep and that is where all hell fall down upon them. Lots of ghost-like creatures spawn and pour from the doors to the keep. Their fighting goes on and on with no end coming in sight but with a lot of progress. They make their way through the creatures and enter the keep. After another hour of non-stop combat Lana is getting exhausted from using both might and magic.
They finally come to what can only be called the throne room. The room is empty but for a high-backed chair with a lonely boyish figure sitting in it. They slowly make their way to him and can feel that all the hatred and negative energies are coming from it.

“Don’t let yourself be fooled by it’s appearance. He is the source of this mess and it’s not for nothing. Trust your instincts where you eyes can fault you.”

As Lana concentrates on her instincts and expand her search to the room she can feel something is wrong. Suddenly she can see all the lines going through the air and coming together at the throne. So to get rid of this she has to find a way to sever the link this place has on all the spirits. Telling herself the little boy in front of her is already dead Lana start running through the room toward the chair and sitting figure her sword leading and lightnings crawling all the length of it. Nemu look at her actions and start behind her making sure no other surprise wait to spring at her back. As the sword is about to collide with her target Lana close her eyes and let herself being controlled completely by her instincts putting faith that she will strike true on the first try. She can feel the impact and before she can open her eyes she hears an ear splitting death scream and after a major wave of relief wash over her. After a minute of standing there letting tears fall from her eyes, catching her breath and letting her heartbeat calm down, she opens her eyes to see Nemu smiling at her and she can see the same little boy with a big smile on his face as he holds the hands of what can only be his parents. After hundreds of year his little spirit can finally find peace with his parents.

“Lana, Lana?”

“Hmm?” Nemu’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. She turns to face him.

“So what can you tell me about this place and the events that just took place?”

“Well as strong as the negative feelings were in here I can’t sense them anymore. And as fr my action and the consequences I guess all I can say is that sometimes even doing bad things for the greater good can be acceptable. And not all noble acts are good. Even the purest of soul can be wrong and do bad things. This little boy was sad and angry because he wasn’t allowed to be with his parents for so long. What started as some loneliness turned into despair and hatred for the living.”

“Yes, very good. I see the lesson as been taught and learned. So let us go. Time doesn’t flow at the same speed in this place. What is for us only a couple of hours was for the outside world more than a month. We are lucky to have only been here. Some places deeper can go as slow as being 1 hour there for a whole year on the outside. Let us go back and head for our next location. Our training here wasn’t for you to learn a new power but a lesson about how to choose your actions.”

“I understand. Let’s go I can’t wait to get back. I want to talk to Clark and maybe call home to have news of what is happening.”

As they came out of the castle they could feel the change in the weather. They could also sense a great unrest in the air. After taking only a few steps in the surrounding woods they find the reason of their strange feelings. An army of men wearing black swarm them and cut all possible escape route. From the line in front of them come a voice that neither of them was ready to her.

“So this is where you were hiding little man. With the 'witch' no less. Time for payback Falazyan. We got some new allies now that you won’t like very much.” Aethyr came to the front of her army and stood there looking straight to the pair. She makes a quick sign over to the left and 3 women come forward. Their aura told their story to all who would listen.

“Lana prepare yourself to run back to Smallville and then north to find Clark. Ask Jor-El for help he will guide you. Those 3 are bloodwitches and you are no match for them yet. Watch out for Aethyr since she is the real threat for you. The witches are here for me and the rest of them are normal human beings. Use your flight ability as soon as you can. If you shake off Aethyr when you get home wait at the farm for me for 1 day. If I’m not there leave for the Fortress to find Nemia and Clark. Try to avoid using telepatic communication for a while since Clark is in a crutial stage of his studies.”

“But I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“Don’t worry about me. Now on my signal you leave. It was a pleasure fighting by your side Miss Lang.”

Lana nods and then wipes the tears from her cheeks. “Ok I’m ready when you are.”

“So Aethyr, you now have to go as low as to ally yourself to some of the most wicked being on this planet. And some that wont hesitate to turn on you and Nam-Ek once they got what they want from you.”

“Shut up Falazyan. We could have been great ages ago if you had joined us instead of going head-on against Zod. Now you are only a mere nuisance in our plans.” Aethyr says with anger in her voice. She then makes a movement with her hand. “Men! FORWARD! GET THEM!”

“NOW LANA!” Nemu screams as he takes out his swords and runs to meet what would be a normal man’s doom.

Not waiting for anything and not looking back Lana shot up through the sky and start heading west toward home. After a few minutes of flying at speeds that could rival even Clark’s running speed, Lana could feel someone following her. She looks back for a second and see Aethyr and one of the witch following her. ‘Nemu what should I do? I got both Aethyr and a witch following me.’

‘Don’t worry, Aethyr is following you because she thinks you will take her to Clark and the stones. The witch is actually the weakest of the 3 that were here and I know you can handle her. Again it is Aethyr that you must watch closely. She is your greatest threat out there. Use your shielding abilities if you need to defend yourself. I don’t think it will ask you too much energy to maintain a strong shield while flying.’

The booming sound coming from behind the 3 flying figures have them turning their head in the sound’s direction and what they see steal their breath away. For a few seconds they could see a dome of lightning cover the place where the fight started. Lana is the first to react and resume her flight to Smallville and double her speed. By the time Aethyr and the other witch turned back to her, Lana was long gone.

“Damn we lost her. She will be in Smallville soon so I will also go there. You go back and check to make sure the man is dead.”

“Ok.”

After a couple of hours, Lana finally land behind the Kent barn making sure no one could see her. She makes her way through the barn and when she arrives on the other side stop right in her tracks. There between her and the house stands the one she tried to get away from. ‘At least Aethyr is alone.’ Lana thinks.

“Well, well, well. You certainly took your time to get here. I have been waiting for a while now. It is not nice to make your executioner wait. Bad girl, I guess I will have to take care of being extra painful now.” Aethyr says with a cruel smile on her face.

“Maybe or maybe not. Let’s see how long you can stand here alone without anybody to call for help.” Lana says with confidence as she sees the Kents inside the house. Her resolve to protect them and aso the knowledge they can come out with Kryptonite if things go wrong makes her more bold.

“My, my, the little 'witch' does have some fighting spirit in her. Great! This kill might not be as boring and quick as I thought. Come play with me little girl.” Arrogance is pretty clear in Aethyr’s voice.

“As you wish Miss alien.” Lana answers while planning on her next moves.

‘Hmmm. Maybe I should work on my come back someday.’ She couldn’t help thinking.

As the girl starts to circle each other, Lana is carefully planning her attack. She is happy to have been able to train a little with Clark during their last stay here. She can plan with the Kryptonian speed factor in mind.

One of Clark favorite tactic against her was to circle a few time to see how focused she was on his movement and then all of a sudden he would speed to her back. He got her the first few times but she quickly learned to anticipate the move by looking closely to his body’s position and by looking right in his eyes.

So now here she was circling another Kryptonian and using her knowledge. ‘Here it comes.’ Lana thought as she sees Aethyr start to tense up and ready to spring. In a split second Aethyr disappear and Lana turns around sending her energy ball right where the other woman had just appeared. Aethyr was shocked and go blast right in the middle of the chest. The burn really hurt.

“Now you have done it!” Aethyr growled standing back up.

“Yeah I did, didn’t I?” Lana can’t help letting some sarcasm and laugh in her voice.

“Now we can continue this for a while or you can just get out of here now. Or maybe you prefer the pain from kryptonite exposure?” With that Lana summons a piece of green rock to her from the lead box they always keep in the barn in case of a possible attack.

Aethyr starts to feel some fear for this woman. She also starts to feel some respect for her and never will she underestimates her again. “This is not over! I will be back.” With that Aethyr takes off and leave Lana alone in the courtyard.

Falling to her knees, Lana let out her breath. “Finally. Well at least that went better then I thought.” She heard running feet coming toward her.

[maitriniazngurl]

I've got to say... WOW!!

The story is amazing!! And Long... you updated like you said!! Keep it coming!!!! :D

[superman8s]

this is a great fic...very very well written i have read it all beginning to end....its good...you all will like it. i know i did after the 3 and 1/2 weeks it took me to read it....good job david you should be very proud of this one i look forward to the next

[HP_DRAGON]

This just keeps on getting better and better PPMS!!

[happycamper]

Yeah, a really good job. This story is very compelling, and just has so much going on. I don't know how you manage to juggle it all together.

Looking forward to the rest of the story!




:D :D

[deanyouk]

Great update Nemu!!

[Lost_In_Clana]

Great update!!

[Nemu]

Well... here's the last post of Part 6 and Lana's official training...

Without anymore blah blah... I present to you Part 6-3 ;)

Enjoy!!!

----------------------------------------


“Lana are you all right?” Martha asks with concern in her voice.

“Yeah I’m ok. Just glad how things went and a little worried about Nemu. They ambushed us when we came out of a castle in Romania. Nemu sent me here and he stayed back to face them. He will come here tomorrow if he can. If not I have to find Clark and Nemia up north to warn them. They got some new allies and things will get complicated next time.”

“Come inside dear. At least you can get a bath or shower and some food. I take it you flew from there to here without stopping.”

“Yeah and this last fight took a lot more out of me than would have been. We went through an emotional roller-coaster over the last week… sorry month, and coming out to find this army in front of us was hard. Hardest was leaving him there alone where he might die. And the flight at faster than normal.” Lana stops thinking back to her time in the air and a smile appears on her face.

“I don’t know what you are thinking but it seems to be a funny thought.”

“I think I made 1 or 2 sonic boom over Europe on my way here. I’m glad I could use a bubble shield while up there or else I might be a little less dress then I am right now.” Lana blushes as she realize what she just said.

The rest of the evening was spent in a bath, eating and swapping tales of the happenings of the last month. Lana was happy to learn that things had been pretty quiet around here. She laugh at Pete and Chloe’s struggling in Met-U with their feeling for each other that made her think of how Clark was acting around her back in freshman year of high school.

She also realize how much had happen in so short a time. It has only been 4 months since they finished high school but to her it feels like a lifetime away.

As the evening turns to night the Kents say their goodnight and everybody goes to sleep.

***
~~~~~~~ The Next Day ~~~~~~~

Lana wakes up early and goes down to eat breakfast with the Kents.

“So Lana what are you planning on doing today?” Martha asks the young woman as she puts the plates on the table.

“I don’t know. I will probably go through my books on Egypt and the hieroglyphs that I bought last year when I researched my tattoo. Since our next destination for my training is Egypt and the pyramids.”

“Ok. Well if you want to call Chloe you can do it. She doesn’t have classes this morning and Pete does so she should be home.”

“Thanks Mrs. Kent.”

“Please call me Martha. You are family now. Well not officially yet but someday I know Clark will make it official. But Jonathan and I think of you as our daughter already.”

This brought tears to Lana’s eyes. Happy tears, the kind she doesn’t mind having. “You both are like the parents I lost so early in my life. Thank you. I can’t wait for all this to be over so that Clark and I can start to really work on our life together.”

Drying her tears Lana got up and starts to head to her bedroom. “I will be in my bedroom if you need me.”

“Ok Lana.” With that Martha went back to her cleaning and Lana goes to her room to go over some of her books that might be useful for the next stage of her training and also that will interest her enough to get her mind off Nemu and Clark. As time go by and she is spending most of it with Nemu she can feel their friendship running deeper. Her feeling for him are changing. At first she liked him as she liked most of the people she knew. Now it is deeper. She really cares for him and more as a brother-sister relationship.

As the sun set on a day that worn Lana emotionally she found out that her fear were not founded. As Martha serves dinner they her someone coming to the door. They turn their heads prepared to anything and see Nemu standing there with a dazed expression on his face and signs that he cried at some point during this day.

“Oh my god Nemu! What happened? What made you cry?”

“Even after centuries passed it is never easy to kill a man. Now try to think what it would feel like to kill a hundred in one shot. That can be hard on a person’s mind unless you are a cold-blooded murderer.”

“Oh! I’m glad you sent me away before everything started. So the big dome of lightning was your doing?”

“Yes Lana this was my doing. Let me tell the story if you think you can handle it. I know it will help me and then you tell me how was your trip back here.”

“Ok go ahead. Unless you want to go get cleaned up and eat something first?” Martha asks him coming in the kitchen.

“Thanks Mrs. Kent I would love that. Let me go take a quick shower and I’ll be right back.” With that said Nemu head toward his room and then the bathroom.

After 1 hour has passed and Nemu has been cleaned and fed they all sit in the living room with cups of hot chocolate in their hands.

~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

“NOW LANA!” I scream to her while drawing my swords and turning to face the army of running men. I can see from the corner of my eye that Lana has taken to the sky and is getting away. I then see Aethyr and the weakest of the 3 witches follow her. ‘Great 2 less to fight with.’

After reassuring Lana of the 2 women following her I turn all my attention to my ennemies. I will have to raise the fighting a notch this time.

‘Oh power of the Air hear my call. Grant me my wish and come to my aid.’ I can’t help call out to the spirit.

“LIGHTNING DOME!” I scream materializing the powers I was building inside me and shaping them to my will.

The next minute will be burned in my mind forever as the screams of the dying along with the smell of burning flesh fill the air around me. As fast as it started everything goes back to normal. I can see some of the men are now blind from the intense light of my spell.

The witch that went after Lana is coming back. I can see the 3 of them closing in on me now. They are in for a surprise.

‘Noxy hear my plea. I will grant you release for this. Send my love to my sister and to ‘her’.’ With that last call to my most cherished possession I send my sword with all my powers through the skies and I know the 2 women will receive my message in time.

“Well ladies shall we dance you and I?” I tell them with a smirk appearing on my face. They are blood witches and probably some of the best this age knows but they are nothing compared to the ones back in the Middle-Ages or to my powers.

I see them send 3 different spells my way. All are variants of the energy ball. I dodge one and block the other 2 with a force shield. My turn to attack and from their position I know exactly what to do. I aim carefully and release the bolt I was holding in. Much like Lana I pulverised the first 2 and the last one is deeply wounded. I can’t take care of her as the rest of the army is closing in on me. No more magic for me except for enhanced movements. I take out my second sword and carve my way through the sea of men. There must have been over 200 men there this day and more than half of them were killed on the first attack by my dome. This day will really haunt me. I have no more taste for fightning in me I have to get out of here. As the second wave of men are coming closer I took to the sky and fly as fast as I can toward Smallville. Maybe there I will be able to find some quiet time before heading out again with my friend to train her. Egypt will be hard for her in some way. I could feel she is much like me. I am glad now to have sent her away at the beginning of the fight.

~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

“Well that’s pretty much what happened. I flew until I reached Paris then I spent the night in my appartment there. Then this morning I called for a plane and flew back to Metropolis and came back here with my car.” Nemu conclude his story. He can see how right he was of sending Lana just by looking at her reaction to his story.

“Lana we need to get as much sleep as we can tonight and tomorrow. In 2 days we are leaving for Egypt. I will try to contact some peoples to help us. Also Mr. Kent I would like you to try to get Lex out of reach of his father for the time being.”

“I will think of something.”

“Jor-El!”

“Yes Nemu?”

“Jor-El I want you to contact Lara and ask her to use some of the power of the archive to have Nemia talk to Noxy back home. Nemia will know.”

“I will do it. I am glad to take this moment to also tell you that Clark will be back here in less than 2 months. His studies are pretty much completed. He has faced Nam-Ek in single combat 2 days ago and came out with barely a scratch on himself. Nam-Ek will take some time to recover. As will Aethyr from what I saw when they arrived at the mansion yesterday.” With that said Jor-El disappear.

Nemu turns to Lana and she tells him her story of her trip home and the fight against Aethyr.

“I’m proud of you Lana. And I see you made good use of your training with Clark. But for now let’s go to bed. The next stage of the training will be hard. Even more now since we have to do it faster than we should. Tomorrow I will give more details of the goals to achieve there. Good night everyone.” Nemu gets up and goes to bed.

“Good night.” Lana follows.

“Life sure got interesting in the last few months didn’t it?” Martha asks her husband on their way to the bedrom.

“Life got interesting 15 years ago when a certain little boy came into our life.” Jonathan answers with a smile on his face.

--- Next Morning, Kent kitchen ---

“Good morning everyone. Martha these pancakes smell delicious!”

“Thank you Lana, have a seat and eat. Nemu and Jonathan will be back form the field in a few minutes. I heard Nemu say you guys are leaving again today?”

“Yeah we are going to Egypt this time.”

“Good. I have to say you seem to be doing very well in your training.”

“Thanks Martha.” Lana says before taking a bite of her breakfast. “HMMM! These don’t just smells good they are delicious.”

“They sure are. Good morning Lana.” Jonathan Kent says as he enters the kitchen followed by a very happy Nemu.

“Hey why are you so happy Nemu?” Lana asks as she sees his smile.

“Well the sun is out and we are going to have perfect condition for our flight. Also Egypt has always been very interesting to me. The way the Fire mix with the Air there creates very interesting phenomena. You will see.”

“When do we leave?”

“Well as soon as we are ready I guess. No real point in staying here and the sooner we go the sooner we get back. We should be back around the same time Clark does and that means 2 months. As I plan it it will be 1 month in Egypt and 1 month in our last destination. The last one is a surprise and I think will be a really interesting part of your training.”

“Well ok then. I guess I will finish eating then I’ll call Chloe and I should be ready.”

“Great. Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent thank you for letting us stay here. As before if you need anything you can call my home and they will take care of most ‘earthly’ things you might need. If there is any problem just call Jor-El and send him to Nemia or me.”

“We will don’t worry. And it is our pleasure to have you stay here with us. We are glad Clark isn’t alone anymore.” Martha answers him while taking care of the dishes.

“Mr. Kent the sooner you do what we talked about to bring Lex out of there the better it will be. If you need any help there just call Jack and Jerry at this number and they will be able to help. Also I think there are a 2 other men that could help us in our fight and I will try on my way to reach them. One you already know and he is the kid that could run faster than Clark. I think he likes to be called ‘The Flash’ these days. He runs around so getting my hand on him will be tricky. The other one lives in Gotham City. But I heard he was more of a ‘work alone’ type of guy. I will try my best. If I succeed I will send them here to meet us in 2 months and maybe ask them to come check on things once in a while.”

As Nemu was talking with Mr. Kent, Lana was calling Chloe and telling her that they were leaving today for Egypt and that they would be back in about 2 months. Which would be when Clark would come back and fit perfectly with the fact that it will be winter break for Chloe and Pete. As she hang up she couldn’t help but think how great it will be to spend Christmas here at the farm with what she could only call her family. Tears come to her eyes with that thought.

“Lana is everything all right?” Martha asks concerned upon seeing Lana’s tears.

“Everything is great Martha. I was just realising that next time we are here we will all be together and it will be just in time for Christmas too. Also I can’t think of any other place in the world I would rather be than here for that moment.”

“Yes true this year Christmas will be interesting. Too bad you are all going to miss Thanksgiving, well except Chloe and Pete. At least it won’t be only Jonathan and I. The house is empty when it is only us two.” Martha wipe her own tear as she turns back to her chore.

“Well I guess I am ready to go now.” Lana turns to Nemu as she says this.

“Ok then let’s go. We have a long flight ahead of us. Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent take care and we will see you in 2 months.”

‘Hey Nemia you there and free to talk?’

‘Yeah go ahead. Clark just came back from his training patrol.’

‘Great! Well I wanted to ask if you would like to meet up near New York on our way home in 2 months? I mean so that we can all come back to Smallville together.’

‘That’s a nice idea. It will also give me time to do some shopping there for Christmas gifts.’

‘Well if you think so. Girl will be girl I guess.’ Nemu finish with a little mocking tone.

“Ok let’s go time to go mummy hunting!” Lana’s head whip around as Nemu says that and she send him an evil glare which prompts Nemu to correct himself. “Hey! I’m just kidding ok?”

With that they both take off and fly to their next destination, Egypt and the pyramids.

It’s already been 2 weeks since we arrived in Egypt. First we went to Alexendria to visit the famed archives there and get as much information as we could on the pyramids. That was harduous work. It lasted 1 week and after we got all the information we could gather we left.

So here we are now standing in front of the great pyramids about to enter what must be our tenth catacombs since we left Alexandria. I had to throw away part of my clothes after a misadventure in one of them. They simply reeked and I couldn’t even get too close to them without gaging.

“Must we go in there tonight? I would prefer to spent at least one last night under the stars before going in what might be even smellier than the last 3 catacombs put together.” Lana whine looking all around and to the star filled sky before turning her sad puppy eyes toward Nemu.

“Ha ha! You are too cute. Ok we spend the night outside. Let’s find a suitable spot where we can make some kind of roof to prevent us getting burned by the sun tomorrow morning.”

They quickly find the perfect place. It was a small hole in the side of the pyramid’s lowest stones. They put their stuff in a pile and set up their sleeping quarters. Soon both of them are laying asleep.

“Lana! Am I glad to see you tonight. I miss you a lot, but we will soon be together. Only about 6 weeks. That will go fast I’m sure of it.”

“I’m glad to see you too Clark, this time apart really is difficult. I miss you soo much. At least after this we should be able to stay together for a long while.”

“Yeah I sure hope so. Well since it seems we are together now maybe we should make as much as possible out of the time we have.”

“Yeah well what do you want to do? Sit around and talk or train or something else?”

“Well depends how you are feeling on this marvelous night Lana.”

“Well I’m as good as you can be after spending one week going through catacombs.”

“Ouch! Well I guess I have the easy way of the two of us then. I stay mostly inside the Fortress and only go out to do some training patrols around the northern parts of the countries around here.”

“Well in that case let’s sit here and look at the stars. Can you tell me where was Krypton? And if you know, where is Falazya?”

As they sit on the ground near a tree they look at the stars.

“Well Krypton was there in the blank spot in the sky. As far as I know about Falazya it should be somewhere near these stars to the left of Krypton’s location.” Clark tells her pointing to an empty space in the sky.

“How was it on your planet? I mean you must have learn some more from the archives right?”

“Yes Lana I did learn a lot. I will tell you all of it someday or better yet I will bring you here and you can see for yourself.”

“O-k...” Lana says while stifling a yawn.

“Let’s sleep Lana. Good night my angel, I love you.”

“Love you too Clark.” Lana then close her eyes and fall asleep.

“Lana. Laana! Wake up sleepy head. It’s morning already.” Nemu says shaking Lana’s shoulder trying to wake her up.

“Ok! I’m up!” Lana growls while trying to get the sleep out of her eyes.

“I hope this is the right one. We been at this for a week already plus the week we spent in Alexendria.”

“Have patience my young padawan.” Nemu says starting to laugh. “Sorry lana had to let that one out. Seriously though you need to have faith. I’m pretty sure it’s this one. Can you tell me what those hieroglyphs mean?”

“Well let me see. Hmm. Fire is like a double edged sword, it can be your greatest ally as well as your worst ennemy. It can change it’s ways in matter of seconds.”

“Strange, not what you would think to find in a pyramid. So I guess you were right after all Nemu. Looks like this is where we have to be.”

“I guess so too. Now to find the portal. I must warn you that the resting place of the pharaoh Enke isn’t that cool of a place. It’s more like hell in there. Hope you are ready to face this.”

“Well only way to know is to go so let us do this.”

With that said they start entering the structure and follow the symbols of Fire. After a couple of hours walking everywhere in the pyramid they arrive to some double doors with a huge fire drawn on them with a man sitting in a chair in the middle. Half of the drawing is on the left door and the other half is on the right door leaving what must be the handles in place of the figure’s hands. Strangely as opposed to the rest of the pyramids and other doors inside this one, the double doors look undisturbed which is a rarity since it is rumored that no place has been spared the visit of tomb raiders.

As Lana goes to touch the door Nemu call her back. “Maybe there is a trick to this door and that is why it looks like it hasn’t been disturbed in a long time.”

“Maybe but we followed the signs. This is the door we are looking for and it’s not like we can’t protect ourselves. Let’s summon shields first then try the door what you think?”

“Brilliant idea and since you are the one that came up with it well... The honor is yours.” Nemu tells her with a little sarcasm and a huge smile on his face.

“Pfft! Figures. You are too chicken to do it. Oh well here goes.” Lana call up her shielding powers and start again to grab the handles to open the doors. As her hands touch the figure’s hands an intense heat goes through the chamber and her clothes go up in flames. “AAHH!!!” Lana screams as a first reaction before realising that the fire is stopping on her special second skin clothes and after the initial rush of heat the feeling isn’t too bad. She starts to laugh as some of the flames tickle her.

“Well that doesn’t look too painful. I guess Fire likes you Lana but could you just open the door so we can go on? You were the one in a hurry not five minutes ago.” Nemu poke her on the shoulder while trying to contain his laughter.

“True. Let’s go.” With that Lana opens the doors and what they see on the other side makes both their jaws drop. Mountains of treasures are piled along the walls of the room and behind the throne standing in the middle of the place. Bonfires lining the main path to the throne give the effect as if the gold laying everywhere was on fire.

Lana walks in first, still shrouded in flames. As she takes her first step in the room proper all the fire on her blink out. She can feel a dormant energy inside of her left by the flames.

“Well there stand Enke the first of the Pharaoh and the funniest fact is that he wasn’t human but from a small planet off the deep end of my star system. He was a good ruler at the beginning of his reign but his time here on Earth corrupted him and as you can see all around us he fell to the darkness and greed.” Nemu says with a little sadness in his voice.

“So what do we have to do here? I hope you don’t want me to battle him or what is left of him.”

“No here we have a lesson to learn. What it is I will leave it to you to figure out. There was also a test you had to pass to see how the Fire would react to you. I guess you succeed in the test but the lesson is still out there to learn. We won’t leave this place until you have found it. The longer we stay the more dangerous it will get. Enke was a pretty decent summoner in his time. Calling to other mummies around here shouldn’t be a problem for him.”

“Well I guess I have to get to work then.” Lana says starting to look around the room for any clue.

Days and nights blend in together as Lana continue her quest in the room going through the treasures and looking at the drawings. On their third day of the second week inside they start to hear lots of foot walking toward their position from the hall they entered from as well as from the dark corners behind the throne.

“Great I guess we are reaching the limit of our welcome here. Unless you are done here we will have to face some of those mummies.”

“Argh! I hate mummies. I don’t know why but I always felt strange when I saw movies with those in it. Even the expositions I went to on Egypt were unsettling to me.” As she says that Lana turns toward Nemu and sees five of the creatures walking in.

Listening only to her instincts she snap her fingers and extands her right hand toward the creatures and a line of fire shoot out from her fingers hitting them right in their very flammable chests. With her left hand she sends tiny balls of fire toward the other end of the room where two more monsters had appeared. After the initial shock of her action has passed, she sits down and take a good look at the smoky remnants to see how richly dressed they were. As she took this in realisation dawns on her face.

“That’s it! We need to control our desires. Greed can destroy us as easily as a bullet or a fire. We need to keep our passions in check. And in a lot of cultures the passions and passionate people are represented with fire.”

“Ah you are growing wiser as we progress. The lesson is learned I guess. You mastered your fear of them as sure as you controled the fire. Always keep this in your mind. People that are driven by their passions and desires often end in terrible ways. Sure they live nice life for a while but in the end it never change.” Nemu was glad she had finally got it. He was not fond of mummies and the stench they bring with them.

“Well if you are done let’s get out of here. We have spent almost the two weeks we had left in here. We have to head for the Pacific Ocean soon.”

Their journey back to the light from the deepest part of the pyramid was hazardous at best. Waves and waves of mummies came at them and both were starting to wonder where all of those came from.

“Lana continue toward the exit and take care of those in front of us. Less there than behind us so I’ll take care of that side.”

“Ok let’s do this.” Lana turn back to face the way they have to go and off goes one then another line of fire from her hands. As they progress Lana could feel something building inside of her and suddenly she gets engulf in Fire again. Only difference is that this time the flames were blue instead of the usual orange.

Feeling the change in the air behind him, Nemu risks a glance toward Lana and what he sees just make him stop everything else he was doing. The sight of Lana shrouded in blue flames only makes him realise how well he had seen her potential when he rescued her all those months ago. If Fire flows so strong through her and her main influence come from the Air there is no indications how strong her link to her source can get. He is glad to finally find someone that might come close to Noxy and his level of mastery of magic. Excitement fills him and in a split second he sees what is going to happen. His first reaction is to raise a shield and drop flat to the floor. She is not experienced enough to keep in control for much longer and he is right not 5 seconds after he lands on the ground does the building energies fan out of her and fills the corridor in bright blue fire. This display goes on for a few minutes without showing signs of decreasing then all of a sudden darkness and a heavy silence fall on them.

“Well that makes me proud. Lana are you all right?” Nemu asks as he gets back on his feet and goes to Lana’s side hearing how heavy her breathing is.

“Ye-ah. I... will... be... ok” Lana says while trying to regain control of her breathing.

“Ok well once you are ready we have to leave and get back outside. Then I will fly us to the nearest town to take a most deserve rest before our next step.”

“Ok.” Lana struggle for one more minute before talking again. “I’m ready, let’s go.” With that they start again and all they see are ashes on the ground mingling with the sand of time.

‘Nemia change of plans. We are going to meet in Los Angeles instead of New York since Lana and I are going to be in the Pacific at the time.’

‘Oh my god you are going to try to gain access to that place again?’

‘With the display of power Lana just showed me I know this time will be different and that we will get through.’

‘That great of an impression huh?’

‘She could keep up with you when it comes up to using the powers from Fire. I just saw the blue flames again.’

‘WHAT!! That strong and yet she is only in her training. I never want to get her mad at me if she is that strong already and not even in her principal element. Her power from the Air must be incredibly strong then.’

‘I might witness it before the end of this journey. You know how they reacted to me the last time I tried to gain access to their city.’

‘Yeah well good luck on that. Clarky here is starting to get impatient and that is not a good thing when you try not to turn a town into a giant ice cube.’

‘Yeah not a great thing. Well see you in a month or so and Nemia... I hope you talked to Noxy or else my return home might have to wait another couple of centuries.’

‘Don’t worry. She understood the message loud and clear and will keep your sword ready for your return. But why did you send that sword? Why not the other one?’

‘You know why. It is my most prized possession here on Earth and I didn’t want to chance it getting into the wrong hands. Imagine Aethyr or Nam-Ek with a fully powered Falazyan master weapon and you will understand perfectly.’ Nemu says before sending Nemia a signal to go back to Clark and cutting the telepathic conversation.

After staying for 3 days in a small town near Cairo, Nemu and Lana are ready to continue on their training and pack their things and leave.

“Well for now we are going to visit a friend of mine on Easter Island. He will be able to give us some information on the happenings around the place and of the entrance to our last destination.”

“Easter Island? Well if you give me some time to go sightseeing and give me a camera to take pictures you got a deal.” Lana says with a wink.

Laughing they both find a quiet and hidden enough spot so they can take off and fly into the rising sun. The flight from Egypt to Australia took a few hours and some periods of rest. It is mid-afternoon when they land near Sydney and decide to spend the night here and fly to the island in the morning.

The following morning when she wakes up Lana is happy to have normal dreams while she slept. Well normal as in not shared by Clark or else she would have been embarassed. She didn’t remember the last time she had those kind of dream but she knows they only are about Clark.

They leave Sydney some time later as the sun rise on the horizon. Once again flying toward the east they quickly see the famous heads of the Easter Island and they land in a remote location near a small hut. A young man comes out guiding by a blind old man.

“A Jeros my old friend is Nicholi taking good care of you now?” Nemu asks the old man with a warm smile on his face.

“I’m not Nicholi sir but his son Pietry. My father was killed by a shark 2 summers ago and since then I took his place helping Jeros.”

“Ah well I’m pleased to meet you Pietry. I am Nemu and this lovely lady is my friend Lana.”

“I know why you are here Nemu. So you think she will allow you entrance to the lost city?” Old man Jeros says fixing his dead eyes on Lana.

“Oh my friend I don’t think. This time I am sure she will be more than enough. Even thinking of bringing Claudia here was a mistake and I see it now. Lana is completely different. She as the power and the will to go through with it. And the people be damned if they think of stopping me again. Last time I saw the weakness in my student when they pushed us back. That is why I didn’t fight back. Alira should see the difference this time. If not she will be in for a surprise. I’m sure you guys have heard about the happenings from those rumored extra-terrestrial that are wreaking havoc everywhere on the planet.”

“Yeah we heard about those two. It is said they appeared not too long ago in a small town in the US.” Pietry says, looking proud of knowing so much about the happening outside this secluded location.

“Well this young lady and another friend of ours are the ones destined to battle these bad persons. And that is why she needs to get access to the lost city and complete the last step of her training. Water is the last she needs to overcome before attaining full access to her powers. She is under the protection of the Air and even Fire is so strong in her that she gained access to the blue flames Jeros. How long as it been my friend since the last time you heard of the blue flame? I have been here for longer than you and in all these years I only saw 6 peoples able to call on them. 3 of those are here right now. 1 is back home and the other one is helping our friend getting ready. He is of the house of El, last descendant of the family. The last one is being stubborn and holding grudge against a mistake I took over a lifetime to repent from.”

“I know my friend. I can feel your young friend’s power and it is impressive. You say she asn’t completed her training yet and she already have access to the blue flames?”

“Yeah and not just any type of calling. I’m talking Nemia’s type. The full body suit and Fire isn’t even her principal source. Just imagine how powerful she might become in the other elements. So far only 2 other I saw with this level of mastery and that is Noxy and I.” Upon hearing this Lana, standing a little behind Nemu, can’t hide her look of shock.

“Well if you are so determine my friend I will tell you the entrance is on the North side this time. 3 miles off the coast. Now go and please stop here on your way back.”

“I will my friend. Pietry continue your great job taking care of him and again I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thanks sir.” Pietry answers before Jeros and him turn their back to the other two and walk back inside the hut.

“Well that went rather well. Come one Lana. Tonight we will be dining in Atlantis.”

“A-Atlantis? That is what you meant by Lost City?” Lana is still shocked by his praise and to now learn that she might be entering into the lost city of Atlantis really makes it difficult for her to get any word out.

“Yeah that is where I was talking about. Alira is the chieftain of the people there and another ‘old friend’.” Nemu tells her as he motions for Lana to follow him to the north.

“Well be ready to anything. Just try not to use lightning when things get wet. It is a lot harder to control when under water and it can get messy. Use the blue flame in last resort and mainly try to defend yourself. Once we get inside I will let you know what you are going to learn here in the next month.”

When they arrive at the shore line Nemu takes a few steps in the water before yelling a command to the water. “ALIRA SHA’ARKA!”

The water starts to change color from the normal blue to a little pinkish hue on a straight path from in front of Nemu to a point some 5 miles out in the water. “Well the path as been revealed. Let’s go Lana destiny awaits.”

The both of them enable their levitation powers and start ‘walking’ over the water following the pink path to the point where it stops.

“Well here we go. Keep a bubble shield around you and you won’t have to fear about running out of air in there.” Nemu tells Lana reassuring her.

After spending 15 hours travelling at supersonic speed under the water near the bottom they arrive near the great Marianas trench, the deepest place on Earth.

‘Well it looks like our travel is taking us inside the trench. We will need light to show us the way. I want to warn you now that you might feel a little unsettled after a while because of the amount of pressure the water will put on us and also because there aren’t much anything deep down and we might be alone for quite a while.’

‘Ok well at least I won’t be alone since you will be there.’

‘True. If you need anything tell me.’

Their final dive into the trench lasts about 3 more hours before they can see the portal swirling in the water. They also see the 3 ‘guardian ships’ from Atlantis waiting for them.

“Halt! Nobody can enter the Lost City without the consent of Alira our leader.” One of the ships crew tell them.

‘Here starts the dance. Lana be prepared.’

“Send her a message from Nemu Yxis asking for permission to enter the city with my latest student Lana Lang. She is a wielder of the blue flame and needs access to the Lost City to complete her training.” Nemu tells the ships with authority.

After what must have been an hour has passed, they finally get an answer in the form of a fourth ship coming through the portal. Nemu gulps as he recognise the flagship of the whole Atlantean fleet. Lana sees Nemu’s reaction and starts to get nervous.

‘Is that a bad sign to see this ship come through?’ She asks him.

‘Very bad sign. That is the Typhoon, the flagship of the whole fleet and the personnal ship of Alira their leader. That means she will want proofs and only you will be able to provide them. Do whatever she tells you to do.’ Nemu replies.

“Nemu last time our path crossed I told you to never come back here. Now you think by claiming that this student of yours can call upon the blue flames I will allow you inside? Are you crazy or did you just forget what happened with Claudia? She almost wiped out half our polulation after spending her time learning magics she perverted to her use.”

“I know I made a mistake at that time and I spent a lifetime of atonement for it. I saw the love of my life leave me to go back home and even my sister left my side at the time. I went to the proverbial bottom of the keg. I spent some of the time on Avalon helping their people in their teachings. I then went to live for a while in the middle of the Sahara as I needed some time alone because I thought the world would be better off without me making mistakes in it. But never have I forget the pain, the disappointment and shame I felt on that day so many years ago when she revealed her true self.”

“But Nemia came back. I even have word from Noxy that she is waiting for me to come back when I’m ready. Those are just sign that finally my atonement is at it’s end, but for you to listen to me and trust that Lana here is not like Claudia was. Claudia used her powers to seduce me into bringing her here. Lana is in love with the last descendant of the House of El and even you know what that means. During the last 5 months she became like another little sister to me. Her powers are incredible and I saw her use the blue flames.”

“Well let us witness it then. Lady please show us that your friend there is telling the truth this time.”

Lana don’t know how to call upon the fire but as she thinks about it she starts to realise that all she has to do is let a little of her passions and feeling run freely through her and right then her body light up in flames again. They are orange at first but the laughing from the Atlantean infuriate her and this new surge of feelings made the flames turn blue.

Gasps come from the Atlantean in front of them and the voice of Alira is a lot different when she starts to speak again.

“Ok that is proof. But on your honor Nemu you will have to stay by her side at all time during her stay with us.”

“We will be here only 1 month Alira. That is all the time we have left. And we are going to be studying and training in the white room.”

“Ah good. I feel more at ease that her knowledge will be limited to the white room.”

“Oh it’s not because I want to limit her but because she doesn’t need to spend time anywhere else. Her powers are pretty developped already. Her lack is in the healing department.”

“Well follow my ship through the portal. Once there we will go to the City hall and I will show you to your rooms.”

“Ok. Let’s go Lana.” Nemu says turning to Lana. ‘Great job Lana and I think you just learned something else right now didn’t you?’

‘Yeah, the strongest the feelings and passions the easiest it is to access more powerful powers like the blue flames.’

After their little talk they follow the Atlantean through the portal and Lana becomes the first earthling to set eyes on the Lost City in over a thousand years.

“Wow this is incredible!” Lana says as she takes in all she can of the landscape.

“Yeah pretty impressive when you see it for the first time. After a while you see the flaws in the architecture and the social system. But since they are an ancient civilisation we can pardon them their ‘exentricities’.” Nemu finishes with a small laugh.

“Let’s go to the City Hall before Alira sends a searching party to find us.”

“Lead the way.”

They start toward the center of the city where the hall is located. They could see the people of the city looking at them with mixed expressions on their faces. Some are curious, others are showing some hints of recognition to Nemu and some have what could clearly be identified as hatred.

Arriving finally at the central tower they are met by a tall woman with fiery red hair and two bulky men that could only be bodyguards identifying the woman as Alira, chieftain of the Atlantean.

“Well you sure took your time to get here. Been sight seeing I bet.” Alira says with playfulness in her eyes.

“Bah we weren’t in one of those ships you are so fond of. Also I did want to see how much has changed in the last thousand years or so and showing a little bit of the city to Lana was also on my mind.”

“Well come in and we will talk about the details of your stay here in Atlantis.” Alira then turns around and makes a movement with her hand for them to follow her inside.

“She doesn’t seem as angry with you as she was outside the portal.” Lana whisper to Nemu as they enter the tower.

“Well it’s mainly because she knows how I felt before I left the last time I actually entered the city and also the last try I made to get through the portal. I was desperate and thinking only by coming here and helping the people could I atone for my mistakes. Alira didn’t want to hear any of it back then but she understood where I was coming from with these feelings. She has never admit it but she always liked me. We were very good friends back in the days before she became leader of her people. We were a small group of adventure seekers always getting in trouble with the authorities of the different empires that rose and fell throughout the history of this planet.”

“Well I guess you could use this time to patch up things with her then.”

“Yeah I will try to do that. You will love this place Lana believe me. The white room contains a lot of information about the next abilities we will try to teach you.”

“Hey you guys are lagging again. Your rooms are up ahead so let’s hurry up. Dinner will be ready soon so if you want to freshen up...” Alira calls back from the top of the stairs.

--- 2 weeks later ---

“Wow 2 weeks have passed already? Well at least we both got a lot done during that time. Don’t you agree Nemu.”

“Yeah we did. Alira is back to her old self and you made a lot of progress on those healing powers. Next time we have to face with combat you will be able to help me with the tending of the injuries. What makes me the most happy on the other hand is your budding friendship with a certain redhead leader of the city. She really likes you Lana. You must remind her of Noxy and Fazmy. You have a little of both in you. Both are very passionate women and would give their life to help those they love.”

“Nemu I wanted to ask for a while now. Who is Noxy? You said your name a few times in the past.”

“Well Noxy is really the name of my two most prized ‘possessions’. I do have to state that one of them is the sword I send back home with a message. The other one is not really a material possession but more like you and Clark would say it when you talk about the other. Noxytam Bono or Noxy for short is what you could call the love of my life and my girlfriend. Well she is the love of my life and was my girlfriend but now I don’t know since I haven’t talked directly to her since she left Earth after the Claudia incident.”

“Aww that is soo sweet. Nemu got a girlfriend.” Lana says and burst out laughing once she is done talking unable to stop herself. Nemu joins her soon as her laugh is contagious.

The last 2 weeks of their stay in Atlantis was spent mainly learning to control each and every powers Lana had. They had a room where they could unleash all their powers without any risk for the people of the place. Lana learned that her powers using Lightning could go very deep and she knew she never hit the most strongest of the powers she could call upon and that scared her a little as flashes of the man she pulverized came through her mind.

When Nemu felt Lana had mastered enough of her powers he brought her back in front of Alira and made arrangement for them to be set off the coast of California as close to L.A. as possible so they could meet up with Nemia and Clark at the appointed time.

“Well take care you two and Nemu I am sorry it took me that many years to forgive and understand you. Lana I am happy to have made a new friend in you and I hope you will come back to visit us someday. Or we might decide that we are brave enough to face the world again. That would shock people.” Alira says as she wave her final goodbyes after giving each of them a quick hug.

“We will miss you too Alira. I hope our paths cross again someday.” Nemu answers as he turns around and start to walk away. Lana quickly follow him, getting a little excited to finally be reunited with Clark and also having trouble waiting to see him. Only a couple of hours more left.

[HP_DRAGON]

Great update PPMS! ^.^

[happycamper]

Another wonderful update, Nemu! The complexity and detail in your story literally astounds me!!

Tell me, how is it to write about yourself? :lol:

I was never much for comics because I stuck pretty much with straight SF. But until you started this story, I assumed that your name was associated with the underwater hero, despite your avatar. Is there a Nemu and Nemia in the Superman mythos or in another story line?

:D :D

[Nemu]

no... Nemu, Nemia and everythingg Falazyan comes straight off the mind of 3 individuals... My friend(who helped in the creation of the world), my brother(the world and some back history) and mostly me(the characters and the day to day living of the world)... It was started about 13 years ago...

If you find the details here good... wait for Heroes Rising... Also this being my first work I put a lot into it... and the overall story is far from over...

As for my current avatar... it is linked to Heroes Rising... the Sequel to this fic...

The underwater hero is Nemo (Jules Verne character) and has no ties with my Nemu...

I am not a comic fan either... I just went with what I knew and did minimal research about Krypton...

I'll start posting part 7 either tonight or tomorrow... (depends on the feedback ;) I know I feed you all with very long updates)

So stay tuned and an update will pop up ;)

[deanyouk]

Great update Nemu!

[maitriniazngurl]

Awesome update!!! :D

I'm lovin this more and more!!! I love the changes!!

PPMS!! :D

[treker]

[i

I'll start posting part 7 either tonight or tomorrow... (depends on the feedback ;) I know I feed you all with very long updates)

So stay tuned and an update will pop up ;)[/color] [/B]


tonight? Pleasse....tonight....please...please...PLEASE!!!! <ON HANDS AND KNEES...BEGGING....PLEADING>

PPPPLLLLLEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!!


<can you tell I like this fic?>

:D :D :D :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :p :p

[Lost_In_Clana]

WOW!!! Your a really talented writer. Hope you can post part 7 tonight!

[Nemu]

Well... time for part 7-1....

1 more update then I will have to find a full version of the fic document so I can post part 8 and the epilogue ;)

A little note:

Nell changed her name to Jonson after she got married to Dean

Without further ado... Enjoy!!!

--------------------------------------

Part 7: Studies

After only a couple minutes Nemia and Clark are standing in front of the control panel in the caves. “Well I guess we have to hold hands when I put the crystal back into the hole there.” Clark says taking out the crystal from his jacket pocket.

“Yeah that should do it. Time to turn a page in your history. You will see Krypton’s past is very interesting. Well or was as we lived in it. Maybe for you it will be different. But don’t worry you will be back here soon enough and we can contact everyone easy enough to have news of what happens outside.” Nemia says trying to cheer up the sad expression on Clark’s face.

In a flash of light they were gone from the caves. No more than 5 seconds later the pair appeared in front of a smiling Lara in the main chamber of the Fortress of Knowledge.

“Welcome back my son. Follow me and I will show you to your sleeping quarters so you can put away your things. After that we will go back to the main chamber and start.”

“Alright lead the way. So what are we going to start with?” Clark asks with curiosity and excitement now that he is back here.

As he was about to enter his ‘room’ Clark could feel Lana’s love and some sadness. ‘I’m sorry about my necklace hurting you Clark.’ Clark heard Lana’s message through their telepathic link.

‘Don’t worry about it Lana. I didn’t even know at the time and you didn’t either. Have you opened the box yet?’ Clark answered her.

‘Nope not yet. I was about to do it. And Clark, I love you too.’

Clark smiles at hearing this. He could imagine her face as she opens the box and see the pure white color of the necklace. ‘It truly is beautiful. It now reminds me even more of my parents while it also symbolizes a turning point in our life together.’

Clark was happy now. “So back to my question. What are we going to start with?”

Lara sees how happy Clark is and can’t help but smile at her son. “I see you are happy. I’m sure Lana is perfect for you. I have to tell you that my biggest fear about sending you away was that you might not find anyone that would love you. But now I see you have found not only one person but a whole family here on this planet and I am happy for you.”

“Yeah you are right about that. The Kents have been great parents and love me very much. My friends are great too. Even though I am a little sad about Lex. I’m not sure how to deal with him most of the time lately.”

“Don’t worry about this person. He will come around if he truly is your friend.”

“I guess I will have to wait and see. My relationship with Lana was completely something else. We went through so much because of Jor-El and my origins. But now we are so happy. I love her since I was 5 years old and now that Jor-El, my origins and secrets are out of the way I am probably the happiest man in the world. She is wonderful, smart, kind, beautiful and I think I saw her potential since the first time I met her. I thought she was an angel and I still think she is.” Clark’s cheeks get a little shade of pink as the confession is made.

Lara wipes the tear that was going down her cheek. “Oh Kal, I am so happy for you.” All she wants at the moment is to hug her son but she knows she can’t and gets a little sad because of that.

“Well let’s get started shall we? First we will go through the story of our people. You see the blue crystal over there with the two red lines at the top? Take it and put it in the main console and we will start our journey back to Krypton.”

After spending the rest of the day in a trance going through the knowledge contained inside the blue crystal and then through a yellow one, Clark is feeling tired and needs time to take in all the knowledge he just learned. “Mother? Would it be alright to take a break now to eat and sleep? I need a little time to assimilate all this stuff I learned today.”

“Of course we can take a break. We shall resume once you feel ready to do so.”

“Thanks. Good night.” With that Clark heads to his room. On the way he is intercepted by Nemia. “Hey Clark, want something to eat?”

“Yeah I’m starving.”

“Ok come here.” Nemia guides him to what could only be the kitchen. She shows him how to ‘order’ food from the devices contained in the room. After a nice meal Clark decide to go to bed. He already starts to feel all the knowledge getting into place in his mind.

~~~~ The following day ~~~~

Clark wakes up in an unfamiliar environment and it takes him all of 1 minute to figure out where he is. He walks back to the kitchen room to grab some breakfast before another tiring day of studying. He just knows it will be tiring.

When he enters the eating area he sees Nemia sitting at the table already eating some eggs, pancakes and a strange looking dish that smelled pretty good. “Hey Clark, you want a taste of this pyukya? It’s actually made from some fruits that grew up on Krypton. I found out this place could recreate some of the stuff there was there.”

“Sure a taste would be nice, it does smell good.”

“Yeah I bet it is. This thing was often used to lure creatures into traps by the hunters.”

As Clark made his way to the table a feeling of awe overcame him. Before asking any question about the source of the feeling he got his answer as he hears Lana’s voice through their telepathic link. ‘The aura of the place must be the source of the awe. It is almost overwhelming.’

‘Yes the aura does inspire awe. But it is also all the history of the place that makes it so overwhelming.’ Nemu answered.

‘What are you two talking about?’ Clark and Nemia piped in at the same time.

‘Stonehenge.’ Both Nemu and Lana answered.

‘How goes the studies Clark?’ Lana asked since she had to occupy herself while Nemu searched the answer to their riddle.

‘Going well. I learned that I will get the ability to fly and also some different type of breath abilities. Cold breath is one of them. I also learned a lot about the history of Krypton. They were much more advance in technology than Earth. The first of them to actually make the trip to Earth wanted to share the knowledge with the inhabitants, but when they saw how far behind they were they hid the stones After that others came from time to time to see the evolution of the Earth’s civilization.’

‘Actually Nemu and I came with some of them. There were some of the civilization that made lots of breakthrough in their research but some of them were not to be trusted.’ Nemia answered.

‘Well continue your hard work Clark. Also my necklace is blue now. We don’t know why yet. And Nemu is trying to get the portal awake so we can travel to Avalon.’

‘Avalon huh? You must be thrilled. You always wished you could go there after reading those books when we were younger.’ Clark said.

‘That’s it! Lana you found part of the solution. Sorry guys but we need to cut the discussion short.’ The tone in Nemu’s telepathic voice made them all feel the urgency and the authority in his words.

After the exchange Clark sits at the table and starts eating breakfast. After filling his system with what would be his last meal for a while, he and Nemia make their way back to the main chamber of the tower. Lara appears in front of them again. “Kal today we are going to continue our travel into the past. Take the crystals that are in the blue area to the left and put them one by one into the main console.” With that done, Clark can start the next step of his studies.

The knowledge he already have in his mind is mainly of the early days of the development of Krypton. For centuries Krypton’s history was similar to Earth. First he saw the first ones living in caves and then he saw them evolve and find out how to survive to all the different type of weather. As the time passed though things became different. Probably due to Rao’s age at the time or maybe to the many moons of the planet, the evolution of the Kryptonians took different paths. Some people developed more on the physical shape while others got sharper minds. The later became the leaders of the people and gave their world the scientific discoveries that would even make Einstein’s theories seem like children scribbles. Greed and other ‘evil’ behaviours were practically non-existent in the early Kryptonian population. Those feelings and behaviours started to appear as the spatial exploration started and the explorers came back with foreign artefacts. Greed, jealousy, envy, those were the emotions that drove the worst criminals of Krypton. The worst of those were Pax-Nol and Zod. Foulest of all.

Then the next part of Clark’s new knowledge covered the relations between Falazya and Krypton. How it started as a wonderful opportunity and alliance between the two worlds and soon crumbled and changed to open interstellar warfare. Clark cried when he saw the Kryptonians lay waste to the planet Jiket turning it into an ice covered wasteland. He also cried when the Falazyan pulverized one of Krypton’s moons in retaliation. He saw how the Kryptonians eventually got back to their feet and even became so full of themselves as to think they were immortal, but in the end it was Rao, Krypton’s star that sealed the fate of Clark’s people. With their insight and also their brilliant minds, some of the people foresaw what would happen but the council by that time was too self-centered to believe them. That ignorance was what pushed Nemu and Zur-El to place Lara into a good position as guardian of the archives. They knew how Tyr-El and Jor-El had been plotting something in secret and that they would use the unrest caused by the news of the nearing apocalypse to put their plans into actions. It so came to pass that the so called apocalypse was delayed for a few years and happened quite some time after the coup by Tyr-El and Jor-El and Nemu’s departure.

Clark saw how Jor-El tried to redeem himself in the end after having found out the most accurate approximation of Rao’s remaining time before entering supernova. The council being as bad as ever and Jor-El’s credibility having been reduced to almost nothing after the failed attempt at seizing power, led to the events that made Clark the only known survivor of Krypton at the time. That is where the last study session ended. It has already been a couple of weeks since they arrived at the Fortress.

As he emerges from the last crystal’s trance Clark could hear a telepathic message coming from Lana. ‘Clark I miss you. I wish you were here with me.’

‘Don’t worry Lana I’m sure we will see each other soon. Just concentrate on your training and things should be ok. I love you and miss you too.’

His days went by with the same routine. Wake up, eat breakfast then go to the chamber and learn the stuff from the crystals. After a couple more weeks Clark came to a part of his studies that really interest him, his powers. He learns how to better use, control and hide them to the world.

After the initial burst of crystal download Clark’s time at the Fortress was split in two parts. First in the mornings he would study the crystals and then in the afternoon he would train his powers. As time went by Clark learned to master all of his known powers and to develop all of his breath powers. His super speed has increase so much that Clark estimates he could make the trip around the world in less than 5 seconds. Remembering his meeting with Bart Allen and their race, Clark smiles at how things would turn out if they were to try again now.

It has been almost 2 months now since Nemia and Clark came back to the Fortress and now Clark was in a very crucial part of his studies and training. He has to get rid of his fear of heights so he can learn the last of his powers, flying.

“Nemia are you sure this will work? I mean we are pretty high up in the structure.”

“Ah quit your whining Clark. You can’t even get hurt if you fall and anyway the whole point of being this high is to serve two purposes. First to get rid of your fear of heights and second to have you learn your flying powers. You already know you can do it, now all you have to do is set tell your mind that there is nothing to fear from the height.”

“She is quite right my son” Lara says as she appear in mid air in front of them. “The fall should trigger your instincts and also tell your mind that since you can fly nothing bad will happen.”

Trusting the two women Clark closes his eyes and jumps. His first few tries only give him a little discomfort and some embarrassment as he falls to the ground. He is too nervous, but those falls make him realize that they are right. He can’t get hurt by falling so why be scare of the heights. “Hey can I stay up here alone before my next try please?” Clark asks the two women.

“Sure Clark. Well Lara I guess we will go back down. We should go and prepare some food.” Nemia says as she jumps off and starts falling slowly to the ground.

“I know you can do it my son.” Lara says before leaving him alone and following Nemia to the kitchen.

Clark stays there for a few hours just meditating and trying to come to terms with his fear in his mind. When he feels he is ready Clark gets up and jumps. After falling hard the first third of the way down suddenly his slowing starts to slow down until it stops half way to the ground. With a grin that spread from ear to ear Clark starts to rise up in the air. Getting free from the Earths gravity pull seems to drain him from all his reserves and fears he had ever have about learning how to fly. “This is the way to travel.” Clark says to himself as he starts to go back down to the ground to announce the great news to Nemia and his mother.

Bursting through the kitchen door Clark announce proudly. “I did it! Took me a couple of hour but I finally did it!”

“Congratulations my son. I see now that your development is nearing its end. Now all that is left is to train hard to master your new skills as well as your older ones. There are still also a lot of crystals to be studied and I guess once this is done you and Nemia will be able to get out so you can try your powers in the real world.” Lara is the first to answer.

“That’s great Clark! Finally!” With that Nemia starts to laugh. She stops after a minute.

“Nemia? Anything wrong?” Clark asks seeing her frown and hearing her mutter.

“Where is he? They were supposed to be in Romania by now. Grrrr.”

“Nemia? Come on you are starting to worry me. What is happening?”

“Oh sorry Clark it’s just that Nemu is not answering.”

“Well he might have quite a handful because of Lana. The girl can be pretty headstrong at times.” Clark says that with a goofy smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes clearly showing to the world the love he has for Lana.

“Still this shouldn’t prevent him from at least sending some emotion through.”

“Come to think of it I have felt isolated for the last few days. Maybe something to do with some weather outside the Fortress I guess.”

“You are quite right my son.” Lara says re-appearing in the middle of the room startling both of them since they had not seen her leaving in the first place.

Hearing that Nemia goes out of the structure to see the last remnants of what could have only been a blizzard.

‘Nemu? Come on bro where the hell are you? You were supposed to be out of Avalon for a while now and should be close to Romania.’ Nemia’s panic shoots through with her message.

‘Woah Nemia calm down! Lana and I are back in Smallville. Nam-Ek and Aethyr got a new ally and are stirring some trouble around here. How soon can Clark and you get here?’

‘Well Clark finally got the last of his powers. And finally got control of his flight. So I guess if we went as fast as we could we can arrive in two days. I don’t want to make the distance in one shot because Clark will be tired as hell when we get there.’

‘Well get your butts here as soon as you can then. Lana and I are going to prepare. I was planning to get as much kryptonite as possible but if you guys make it here that fast I will only get one piece for each of the earthlings.’

After the conversation with Nemu, Nemia returns inside and tells Clark about the blizzard and also of the happenings in Smallville. The news fill Clark with worry and fear for his friends and family back home and even more for Lana.

“Clark calm down. We will leave immediately and stop somewhere in Canada and get to Smallville no more later than in two days.”

“Ok then let’s go. The sooner we get there the better I will feel. Mother I will be back after the situation in Smallville is over.”

“I know. Take care my son and be careful.”

Nemia and Clark then walk out of the Fortress. “Well I guess it’s time to put this new power to use Clark.” Nemia says as she slowly rises into the sky quickly followed by Clark.

After a few minutes of flying Clark hears Nemu’s telepathic message.

‘Clark, we will need to talk about Lex when you arrive. He is trying really hard to help your friends and family right now and he is struggling with his inner self to not betray you. His good and bad sides have been fighting fiercely since the accident at the lab.’

All Clark could do was let a sigh through the telepathic link as his shoulders slumped.

They reach Canada a few minutes later and Nemia starts to prepare to land in a small town near the US border. ‘Nemia I want to continue. I want to make it as far tonight so we can get home fast tomorrow.’

‘As you wish. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be tired when we get there in case we arrive only in time to help in the assault.’

‘Nah I’m not tired at all. Since my running speed as increased I have more stamina.’

‘Ok then let’s fly on.’

With that they picked up some speed again and continue south. When it got too dark to continue safely they decide to stop where they are and try to find some place to sleep.

I stand beside a tree at the top of a hill. As there is not much more to do I decide to sit down and try to figure out where the hell I am. I bring up the hood of my jacket and try to get some sleep.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where I am?”

Upon hearing a voice I jump up and turn around quickly. “Lana?”

“Clark?? Where the hell are we?”

“Well to tell you the truth I don’t know. I guess we might be in a dream since the last thing I remember before getting here is lying down for sleep somewhere around Minneapolis.”

“Well what should we do then? Things were crazy at the farm when I went to bed. We are prepared for an attack any minute now. Nemu made each of the others keep a piece of Kryptonite on them at all time in case. As for me, well let’s say I’m no longer the scared little girl I was the first time I met Nam-Ek. What about you? I heard you got some new powers?”

“Well yeah. I finally overcame my fear of heights and controlled my power to fly. It’s amazing the feeling of going through the air.”

“I know what you mean. That was one of the few powers I got on Avalon. It drains a lot of energy, but it has always been my dream to fly. Since I met you a lot of those dreams have come true.” She says as she gets closer to me and put her arms around my neck bringing me down for a passionate kiss. “Thank you...”

“Clark! Clark! Hey come on sleepyhead! You can release your hold on the couch now.”

“Hmm? What you mean... couch?” Clark opens his eyes slowly. “Lana?”

“Oh! So that is what it is about.” Nemia says laughing at Clark standing in the middle of the room holding the couch in his arms.

“What the hell?” Clark finally realizes what is happening and releases the couch back to the floor. He can’t help blushing after that.

“Don’t worry Clark. This will stay between you and me.”

“It better. If this gets to Pete, Chloe or Lana’s ears I will never live it down.”

“Well let’s grab breakfast and then start to head home.” As they make their way out of the room they talk about Nemu’s last message to Clark.

“So what do you think I should do Nemia?”

“My guess would be to invite him to the farm and tell him your secret.” Unknown to them Jor-El is standing invisible behind them. After hearing this he disappear. They both could feel the change in the air and have a vague idea of what happened.

“Yeah I guess that’s what I should do.” They eat a quick breakfast of some toast that was included with the room.

‘Lana call Lex and tells him to come to the farm in 2 hours. I need to talk to him. He already knows that I will be calling him for a meeting. We should be there by then. I miss you and can’t wait to see you... For real this time.’

“Nemia can we leave and fly at full speed? I want to get there as soon as possible. I know if we go all out we should be there in minutes.”

“As you wish Clark. If you can handle it then let’s go.” They find a clear spot and take off as fast as they can, two blurry stripes in the morning sky.

~~~~ 3 minutes later at the Kent Farm ~~~~

They land in front of the house and see Lana on the porch with her cell to her ear. Clark slowly walks up to her making sure to stay as quiet as he can. Nemia can’t help but smile at his behavior. ‘Ah the joy of being in love’ She thinks.


“Lex? Is that you?”

“Clark wants you to meet him at the farm in 2 hours. We have a lot to talk to you about.”

“He wants to work out the problems between you two. He misses your friendship. I can see it in his eyes.” Her voice has a hint of pleading in it.

“O-” Lana starts but stops.

‘Clark it’s done. I called Lex and he will be here in 2 hours.’

“Thanks Lana.” Lana turns around only to come face to chest with a very real Clark Kent.

“Wha.. Clark!!” Lana jumps into his arms and kiss him letting out all her feelings for him.

“Miss me?” Clark says with a wink.

“You could say that!” Lana answers letting go of his neck. “Nemia. Nemu should be in the kitchen with the others.”

“Well let’s go in then.” Nemia says, a small smile playing on her lips. “I can’t keep it in. You guys are soo cute.” She adds laughing as she enters the house.

Upon hearing the laughing everyone inside turns to the door to see the trio enter. Martha was the first to react. She jumps out of her chair and runs to give her son the biggest hug she has ever given him. “Oh Clark! I’m so happy you are finally back home.”

“She is right son. Glad you’re back.” Jonathan says as he pats him on the back.

“Hey Clark.” Chloe greets him. “Nemia.”

“Hey man!” Pete gets up and walks to Clark for a friendly man hug.

“So guys how was the flight? Nemia I thought you would stop somewhere in Canada. The way you said you wanted to take your time so Clark wouldn’t get too tired.” Nemu says to his sister with a questioning look at her smiling face.

“Actually I was planning on stopping in Canada but mister Loverboy there wanted to continue.” Nemia says as her smile grew. “So we ended up landing somewhere near Minneapolis.” As she said that she could see the reaction from both Clark and Lana and couldn’t help but start laughing again.

“I guess I wasn’t the only one to have a laugh this morning.” She adds as her laughing stops.

Chloe seeing what was going on whispers to Nemia. “No. Lana was getting rather friendly with her pillow this morning.” Both girl burst out laughing again as Clark looks to Lana and turns 10 different shades of red.

“Chloe! And you too Nemia. Shame on you girls. Can’t you leave us in peace?” Clark tells the girls. Lana could only guess what he had heard. But she had an idea of what was going on.

“Can we get back to the business at hand please? We have about 2 hours to prepare for Lex’s arrival and we need to start planning for our defences. I don’t think they will attack the town but just to make sure I want Nemia to take Pete and Chloe to the Talon. Since they know how important that place is for you, I would try to draw you out by attacking it if I was in their place. Pete and Chloe keep your kryptonite within arms reach at all time.”

“For the rest of us we will stay here at the farm. The house should be able to withstand some attacks but we need to make sure to keep them as far from the buildings as possible. I will need a big empty room somewhere so I can put their ship and bring it back to normal size. If we can get them back in there we might be able to trap them.”

“You have their ship?” Clark could not help to say.

“Yes I picked it up when I rescued Lana the day they arrived.”

“Well let’s see it then. I suppose it’s one of the black triangle model?”

“Yeah it’s one of those. I see your studies are going well.”

“Yeah they are.” With that Nemu gets up and Clark follows him to his room where the diminished ship is hidden.

“Well I guess we will have to hide it some place for now. I don’t think we will be able to get rid of them on the first try.” Clark says after a few minutes of silence between the two men.

~~~~~~~ The following morning ~~~~~~~

Everybody was nervous about the news Lex gave them yesterday about the imminent attack. The news of Aethyr’s trip to New York and Nemu’s departure didn’t help with the situation either.

They got ready and ate a quick breakfast in the mounting tension. Everyone was up with the sun not knowing when the attack would come. Trying to get a little stress out of his system Clark takes Lana’s hand and pull her outside to help him with some of the chores in the barn.

“Lana I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too Clark. Do you think they will still attack us as they planned?”

“Yeah probably. Not sure if they will go exactly as they planned and attack both here and in town but I know they will be here soon I can feel it.”

Just as he finishes this they can hear cars coming fast toward the farm.

“EVERYBODY GET OUT HERE NOW!!!!” Clark bellows as Lana and he get out of the barn and get ready for a day of fighting.

The fight goes on as the hours passes. Each side got the upper hand at some point. It was a giant struggle between them.

Clark is fighting against 3 very built men trying to keep their kryptonite infused blade at bay and he doesn’t see another man come up behind him and prepare to stab him in the back.

“CLAAARK!” As soon as the word is out Clark’s head turn around toward Lana only to see a bolt of lightning hit the guy that was coming at his back. Once the air clear they can see nothing is left from the guy but the little blade stuck in the ground. No blood, no ashes, nothing.

“Oh my god! What did I do?!” Lana says with a look of pure horror on her face.

~~~~~~~ 3 weeks later ~~~~~~~ (Clark’s POV of the last 3 weeks)

After that day I could feel Lana’s inner struggle to come to term with what happened to the guy. To kill someone is a very bad moment in someone’s life but what she did was more than just kill him. She pulverized him into nothing.

I tried and still try to help and comfort her as much as I can. Nemu’s return, as freaky as it was, helped with the fact he could understand Lana’s magic more than us and could help her control the intensity she was putting in her release.

After that incident the worst moment came when Pete got shot in his leg and arm trying to protect Chloe. News of the rest of the town weren’t as bright though. Half of Smallville’s cops had been slain by Aethyr and her group in town. Not only human loss happened during the last 3 weeks. Half the town lay in ruins now because of the fights between our two groups.

But some good came out of this. Lana and I are closer than ever now. Even my parents realize this now and don’t try to oppose us as much. Jor-El continues his scouting duties to perfection and even Lara came to join us at some point to help.

Both my biological and adoptive parents could see the love between Lana and I. Lara came to me one evening and asked if I had plans for my future with Lana. I told her how much I love the girl and that if I was given the chance I would ask her to marry me once we are done with the current situation. I don’t plan to marry her now but the idea of getting engage has been a dream of mine since I don’t remember. The promise ring I already gave her was the first step. I think once the present crisis is over I will go shopping for an engagement ring and propose to her. Lara was happy and I could see from his expression that Jor-El had heard us and was happy for me too. He came to join us and told me he was glad I had found someone to love. I could see a lingering sadness behind his eyes and I think the cause of it might be Lana’s great aunt Louise. Lara told me she had a surprise for me once I got back to the Fortress and since she left not long after that without giving more details I’m dying to go back to learn what it might be. But with the subject we were discussing I can only guess to what me proposing to Lana could have put through my mother’s mind. I will have to talk to my real parents now. I know dad will freak out and mom, it’s hard to say what her reaction will be. I guess she will be happy in the end.

I have to say if the last 3 weeks with Lana is anything like what life will be in the future I can’t wait for that time to come. There is absolutely nothing better than waking up with her in my arms. Sometimes after a very eventful rest in dreamland we would both wake up floating. Those moments brought laughter to both of us sometimes. We also spent our free time training. I would use my super powers and she would try to beat me before I could catch her. I think using my speed was a good thing because if she ever gets in a fight with Aethyr or Nam-Ek she won’t be surprised by their powers.

~~~~~~~ Present day ~~~~~~~

Nemia and I are heading back to the Fortress to complete my training and studies. Last night was so hard. Having to say goodbye to Lana again after getting so close for the last 3 weeks was breaking my heart. At least we know we can keep in touch through our link and as we were talking and declaring our love to each other we could sense each other’s emotion as the word were said. That made the experience even more intense. But now that we are half way to our destination, another thought is coming to my mind. Lara’s surprise. I can’t wait to know what it is she is planning this time. I’m happy to be able to interact with all of my parents.

***

They arrive at the Fortress of Knowledge after a flight of only an hour. When they enter the structure they can see that Lara had prepared for their return. The walls of the rooms were colored red, yellow, white and blue all around. Clark is very surprised with the setting and is wondering what could be the meaning of the colors.

“Ah! Finally you have arrived. I decided to decorate the Fortress to match what our next topic of studies will cover.” Lara says as she appears in the middle of the main chamber as they enter.

“Oh so you mean you are going to have him learn those traditions then? I was guessing you would hold on to that part until later when you would see it fit.” Nemia says first looking to Lara.

“Maybe it fits now Nemia. There is a lot to be taught and since our last meeting at the farm I think now would be the perfect time for you to learn them Kal-El.”

“And what are those traditions mother?”

“Those you will need to know when you decide it is time to move forward in your relationship with Lana. You will learn the ways of Krypton and that will be the last part of your heritage. After that we will go through the history of Earth.”

“And the décor goes with those traditions?”

“Yes, the different colors each have a meaning. The red shows the passions and the love of the couple. The yellow represent the warmth of the family. The white stands for the purity of the feelings between them. The blue is the driving force under it all. Like water it shows the flow of things and is also in hope to tame the passions, calm the spirits and maintain an atmosphere of peace.”

“I see. So I guess you approve of what we talked back at the farm. I still have to talk to my parents about this. Mom will probably have the same reaction than you. Dad will scream a little but I know deep down he will be happy for me.”

“So you guys are really that serious about each other?” Nemia says.

“Yep. I gave her a promise ring before we started our training. I will give her an engagement ring once we are done here.”

“And you gave her the bracelet which was of a similar meaning on Krypton. It was a promise to spend the rest of your life with the person you chose.” Lara says leading Clark and Nemia to the kitchen. “First you eat then come meet me at the console so we can continue with the crystals.”

After a tiring first day of intensive learning from the crystals Clark went to bed and falls right asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

Clark opens his eyes to a strange environment. Everything seems distorted and blurry. As he starts walking through the woods ‘Woods? I’m definitely not in the Fortress anymore.’ He thought. After a few minutes of walking he come to a clearing and sees someone with their back to him. He knew who the person was as he sense Lana’s presence. She turns around to face him as he stands there looking at her.

“Clark! Oh my god I’m glad you are here. There was this creepy feeling like someone was watching me and I was getting scared.”

“Lana? What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? And where is here anyway?”

“Well last thing I remember is going to sleep in the Fortress so I would guess we are in a dream. But as often as it happen that I see you in my dreams, I never had this long of a conversation with you. Or with a you that seems to be as real as me.”

“Well, maybe it’s the link? It might be getting stronger since we spent so much time together during the last 3 weeks.”

“You know that must be it. I’ll ask Nemia and Lara when I wake up. Since we both are here let lust sit here and talk or anything else you might want to do.”

“It’s ok Clark. Let just sit down so you can hold me in your arms. You make me feel safe. I don’t feel the creepy presence anymore.”

Both sat down by one of the dream tree and soon drift off to sleep.

As Clark wakes up the following morning he goes to the kitchen to talk to Lara and Nemia. “Good morning ladies. I have a question for you two. Is it possible to share dreams through the kind of link me and Lana have?”

“Yes my son it is possible. But for that to happen the two persons must be very close and it usually take years to develop the level of intimacy necessary to share dreams.”

“Also it is more frequent with twins because the link is slightly different. Nemu and I share dreams sometimes. It has been less frequent since our permanent and forced move to Earth but it still happens sometimes.” Nemia adds as she joins the conversation.

“Why are you asking Kal-El? Did something happen?”

“Yes. Last night Lana and I shared another dream. It’s the second time it happened since we started our training.”

“Well my son, this shows that you and Lana are already very close. Also it takes years to develop that type of closeness and from what I heard tell by your friends I think I might have an explanation. They say you fell in love with Lana when you were 5 years old right?”

“Yes that’s right, when I first saw her. My parents kept me on the farm for 2 years before realizing that I needed to see other children and that under supervision it might be able to help me feel better. That is when I met Pete and Lana. First time I saw Lana I thought she was an angel.” Clark finishes his story with a big smile.

“Well the link might have been established then. You chose her at that moment and since she chose you only recently that is why nothing really happened before then.”

“I see. Well at least now we know it can happen the next time it does we won’t find it too weird.”

“Well now you must eat something and then come and meet me in the chamber to continue.”

The month was spent learning from the crystals all the steps, procedures and ceremonies associated with marriage on Krypton. At the end of the month Clark was very happy with all the new knowledge and how much he already had done without knowing it. Like giving Lana the bracelet is part of the engagement stage of the relation. Most of the other traditions are similar to the ones on Earth like asking the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage.

That is the one tradition that Clark intended on following as soon as he is back in Smallville. He is planning on going to ask Mr. Lang for Lana’s hand as a symbol of her relation with her parents. He is also planning on going to talk to Nell and at least tell her of his intention toward her niece.

“Well my son this was the last of the crystals concerning your heritage and the knowledge of Krypton. There are a few more that you might want to use at later time as your life experiences increase. But for now and the next two months we will be studying Earth’s history part of the time. The rest of the time Nemia and you are going to go outside and test your powers.”

“Mother I want to go to Metropolis and talk to Lana’s aunt about my plans of proposing to her niece. Also I want to visit her parent’s grave in Smallville and check on things there.”

“Very well my son. This will be the first trip you will take. Nemia, do you mind staying here? I might need your help preparing for the next two months.”

“Yeah no problem. Clark you will be ok right? If there is any problem just send Jor-El or a message through the link and I’ll fly there as fast as I can.”

“No problem Nemia. I will be careful don’t you worry.” With that Clark goes to his room to prepare for his trip back home.

It was sunset over Smallville and a lone figure was walking slowly through the stone markers. Clark decided when he left the Fortress to start with his visit to the Lang. After walking a few more minutes he arrives at their grave.

“Hi Mr. Lang, Mrs. Lang. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Clark Kent and I was Lana’s neighbor when I was here the last time. Now Lana and I are going out together and I love her more than anything. So I came here today to ask you two for your blessing on my plan to ask your daughter to marry me. I promise to you that I will stand by her side for as long as she will let me and also to protect her when she can’t do it herself. She is an amazing young woman now and I know she will do great things in the future as will I.” Once he is done with this little speech, Clark kneels in front of the headstone and closes his eyes before continuing with the more formal part of his visit.

“Well here goes.. He starts as he opens his eyes again. “Mr. Lang would you do me the honor of giving me your daughter’s hand in marriage, allowing us to build a family and a future together. I know you can’t answer me with a voice like my biological father can but I would appreciate any sign you could give me to show me your support.” As he finish saying that Jor-El appears beside him with a gentle smile on his face.

“Kal-El my son, they heard everything you said and they approve of you. They are glad that Lana found a man who loves her so completely. They are proud of both of you for what you have accomplished so far in your short years and how you two faced adversity throughout the years. I also approve of her and I can see how much she loves you. She will be to you what your mother was to me. A balancing force to temper your feelings. Now go my son and don’t fear the future anymore.” With that Jor-El starts to fade away.

“Thank you... Father...” Clark whispers as Jor-El finally disappear.

Not wanting to get the farm back on the radar of their enemies Clark decided to fly to metropolis and stay in his old apartment. So after only a few minutes of flying being careful not to be seen Clark arrive at the door and enters the code that would allow him to enter the place. It was only around 8:00 pm so Clark decides to call Lana’s aunt now to fix an appointment for tomorrow so they can meet to talk.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mrs. Jonson. This is Clark Kent.”

“Oh hi Clark! What can I do for you?”

“Well I was wondering if we could meet sometime tomorrow? I have some things I would like to discuss with you. Please?”

“Well tomorrow is pretty busy but I guess I could make a small hole in my schedule for a short meeting with you.” ‘Sounds serious. I sure hope nothing bad happened to Lana.’ “How about tomorrow at noon for a quick lunch at the Café de la ville near the Metropolis stadium?”

“That would be perfect. Thanks and sorry for disturbing you Mrs. Jonson. I guess I will see you tomorrow then.”

“Ok have a good evening Clark. Bye” Nell finishes before hanging up.

‘Well first step is done. Now to think about how to bring the subject to her.’ Clark thought as he headed to his bedroom to rest.

~~~~~~~ The following day, noon, Café de la ville ~~~~~~~

“Hi Mrs. Jonson.”

“Hi Clark.” Nell says as she gives her hand for shaking. “Is everything alright with Lana?” Nell asks clearly worried about her niece.

“Oh yes don’t worry, Lana is still on her trip, things are great between us now.”

“Ok. So why did you want to meet me?”

“Well... Here goes. Mrs. Jonson since you were Lana’s legal guardian until she turned 18, you are the closest thing to a family Lana ever had. So I would like to ask for your blessing in my plan to ask Lana to marry me. I love your niece more than anything and I know she feels the same way for me. We have been going out officially for a few months already and we are in love since at least 4 years.” Clark says as fast as humanly possible because of his nerves.

“Well Clark, even though I always hoped Lana would do better than the son of a farmer I can see just how much you care for her and if she loves you as much as you say then I guess all that I’m left to do is give you my blessing and that you have my support for your task.”

“Thanks it means a lot to me. I guess there are only 2 places left for me to go. First the jewelry store to order the ring and then off to Smallville to talk with my parents. Bye.” With that Clark raises and goes to pay for his lunch and then heads out. ‘Now to find the best jeweler in town and to try to get him willing to do Lana’s ring and not ask too much for it.’

The visit at the store is a short one. Clark knows exactly what he wants for Lana so he goes straight to the clerk and asks to talk to the master jeweler. He explains to the man what he wanted and how he wanted them on the ring.

After dinner Clark decide it is time to head back to Smallville and face his parents before heading back to the Fortress. As he land in an empty field he sees the figure of a man standing nearby in front of him. As they get closer to each other, Clark can identify his opponent as Nam-Ek.

“Well well, so Kal-El decided to come out and play without his watch dogs I see.” Nam-Ek says with a cruel and evil expression on his face.

“Oh I don’t think I need my friends around when I face the likes of you.” Clark says with a strong and determined voice. He is glad in a way to meet the other kryptonian here right now because as much as he likes having all his family and friends around there is always a part of him that is scared of what might happen to them when they are all together.

“Oh I see the kid got some fighting spirit in him still. I’m glad the son of Jor-El is not a wimp after all. It will make was will happen here tonight even more enjoying.”

“Oh and what is that Nammy? You getting your ass kicked?” Clark can see that his nickname got the right effect on the other man. He can see the anger building in him. “Well come on then, the sooner we start the sooner I can get back to my parents.”

“You ask for it!” Nam-Ek screams as he run to attack Clark.

The two kryptonians fight for quite a while each getting the upper hand for a short time before the other coming on top. After 2 hours of non-stop fighting both men are getting shorter breath and Clark starts to think of what he might do to get this done. The only power he haven’t use yet is his breath but the lack of control over it makes him want to use it in a desperate situation. ‘Well I guess this is the only thing I have left. Might as well give it a try.’ Clark thinks before planning his next moves carefully to pull off his plans.

“So Kal-El ready to give up?”

“Never will I give up and surrender to a low life scum like you.” Clark says while looking around them and taking in every possible advantages coming from the surroundings. He sees a broken tree a few meters on their left side and a greenish glow telling him exactly that some of his favorite green rock is laying there. This image pops up an idea in his head and he moves to take his place between Nam-Ek and the trap.

“So Nam-Ek ready to finish this up?” Clark says gaining back the control over his breathing and getting ready to use his ice breath.

“Yeah let’s finish this here and now. The house of El is getting extinct tonight.” With that Nam-Ek enter super-speed mode to run to Clark.

Just as his opponent was going to ram him Clark let out all of his breath and dives to the side. The next events go in slow motion for Clark. Nam-Ek gets hit by the icy air and get frozen by it but his momentum from the race propel him to the tree and with the kryptonite taking effect and softening him just enough so that a sharp part of the wood penetrate the skin and embedded itself in Nam-Ek’s side creating a large gash and making blood flow.

A scream tears through the night air as Nam-Ek gets past the rocks and fall to the ground with the piece of wood still stuck in him and some minute amount of kryptonite going through his bloodstream preventing him from healing.

Grinding his teeth Nam-Ek growl “This is not over Kal-El. I will be back mark my words!” and with that he gets up as best he can before speeding off towards the mansion.

“Good job my son. Nam-Ek will need time to heal from his wounds.” Jor-El says as he appears beside his son.

“Thanks father. I wasn’t going to let him insult me or our family without getting punished. Now I have to head back to the Fortress sooner than I planned. If I go back to the farm right now my parents will wonder how I got beat up so bad and it will make them worry for nothing. So I will see you later.” With that Clark takes to the sky and flies north to meet with his mother and Nemia.

“You make me proud my son. How could I have been so blinded by false desires for so long? I should have helped you instead of trying to control you.” With that Jor-El disappears into the night air.

[maitriniazngurl]

Wow!!! That was amazing!! I really love it!! THere Getting married!! Well if everything comes well.... Nemu... I've got to say this fic is... WOW!!

This is the first one I've read where Clark askes Nell for her Blessings and Nell says Yes!!

I hope they can be joined together soon... :D PPMS!!

[Nemu]

Originally posted by maitriniazngurl
Wow!!! That was amazing!! I really love it!! THere Getting married!! Well if everything comes well.... Nemu... I've got to say this fic is... WOW!!

This is the first one I've read where Clark askes Nell for her Blessings and Nell says Yes!!

I hope they can be joined together soon... :D PPMS!!

Stay around for story 2 cause that one will really shock you lol!!!..

Also... As you saw in there... Nemia has a smaller role than Nemu... but there is a reason for that...

Lana is starting to learn about her powers and how to access and use them...

Clark had 15 years to adjust to his powers and he already used them a lot... so I can write Clark doing a lot more than Lana... but dont despair... Miss Lang isnt the damsel in distress too much anymore... ;)

I'll post 7-2 tomorrow... And my favorite (Part 8) around the weekend...

[maitriniazngurl]

Maybe Nemia has a smaller role then Nemu b/c... well.. you want to put yourself in the story more... ;) ;) just guessing..

And ever since Precipe she's been black belt barbie...

And I can't wait for more.. I'll definintly stay for story 2.. :D

[happycamper]

While probably bad for your story, I couldn't help thinking how nice it would have been for Clark to finish Nam-Ek off then and there. ;)

So Lana got the physical training, while Clark got - with the exception of flying lessons - the mental (knowledge, history, etc.).

I enjoyed Clark's POV on their time apart, but am looking forward to their reunion, and the climatic battle (?) that I expect to follow...

:D :D



And maitriniazngurl, your suggestion as to why Nemu seems to have such a central role was one I was much too polite to breach... :rotfl:

;) :D

[Lost_In_Clana]

Amazing update!! There gonna get married, well eventually once everything is done.

[Nemu]

Hey guys... just a small post to let you all know I'm taking the night off so no update tonight... I'll post 7-2 tomorrow... and I'll try to post part 8 in full or not this weekend... I know the epilogue will only be 1 update so it will wait too...

This will give some time to ppl to catch up and leave some feedback ;)

[treker]

any chance for the next update be be up before 3 pm central time? Please....Please....Please.... ;) :D

[maitriniazngurl]

With this great story you desever a break... Can't wait for more tomorrow... :D


Originally posted by treker
any chance for the next update be be up before 3 pm central time? Please....Please....Please.... ;) :D

What about you Brian can we expect an update today?? :D :) :p

[treker]

Originally posted by maitriniazngurl
With this great story you desever a break... Can't wait for more tomorrow... :D



What about you Brian can we expect an update today?? :D :) :p

I don't know...is Lana going to stop treating Clark as a second place prize? :) :p :lol:

[maitriniazngurl]

Maybe.... and he's not second... he's third :p [If this is about "I Love You" then here's how I see it... Jason(1)Superman(2)Clark(3) hahahahhahh] lol. But please update!!.. Even though I'm not updating today.. :D :D :lol:

[Nemu]

Well... 1 note... I edited Part 5 to correct Clark's age... He is 19 years old and not 18 years old....

Beside that... Lost_in_Clana... them getting married is the plan... but what does Fate have in store for them? A LOT (and i mean that) will happen in the year 2006... (the year they are in right now ;))

so without further ado... Here's Part 7-2...

-----------------------------------------

~~~~~~~ Fortress of Knowledge, a few minutes later ~~~~~~~

As Clark lands to the icy ground in front of his temporary home away from home, Nemia is sitting in the kitchen fixing herself a warm hot chocolate trying to get rid of the bad feelings she is having right now about Clark. ‘I hope the boy didn’t run into trouble.’

Seeing him entering the room holding his side until he saw her Nemia starts.

“So how did it go back home?” Nemia says waiting for Clark to spill everthing.

“Well I was nervous but Jor-El told me I impressed the Lang with my speech and they approve of me to be with Lana. Then I went to Metropolis to see Nell and it went better than I thought it would. I didn’t really knew her that much so I was nervous. When she saw how much I love her niece she gave me her blessings and the green light to actually ask Lana. I stopped by a shop there in Metropolis to order the ring. I should get it in time for Christmas and our reunion. So I guess that is one Christmas gift I don’t have to worry about now. I mean sure I will get her something else too but if I find nothing suitable at least she will still have this.”

“Well that is great but it doesn’t explain why you were holding your side when you entered does it?” Nemia says with a playful smirk.

“Well that happenned earlier tonight. I was planning on going back to the farm to visit my parents and I landed in a field. There was somebody waiting for me there. Nam-Ek wanted to mess around with me. I guess I have to thank you and Nemu for being here tonight. There was some Kryptonite nearby and with the outfit you guys gave me I didn’t feel much of its effects. Nam-Ek on the other end isn’t in such great shape.”

“He is right Nemia. Kal-El I am proud of you. Jor-El just told me what happened. So I guess we won’t have to worry about him for a while and we can focus on completing your training.”

They sat there for a few more minutes before heading to bed to sleep and get ready for the following day.

As the morning come, Clark gets up and stretch out the last remaining sore spots from his fight and head for the main chamber. Nemia is standing there talking with Lara.

“Good morning girls. I hope you had a good night.” Clark says in a cheerful tone feeling better and happy with himself over what happened.

“Well don’t you sound cheery today!” Nemia says turning to him. “But don’t think it will prevent you from studying.”

“Actually I’m more than ready for studies. So what is the plan for today?”

“Well my son, first we will study some of Earth’s history in regards to law enforcement. And tomorrow you will have to go on a patrol to see with your eyes how the humans put their knowledge to use in this age.”

“Well bring it on.” With that Clark goes to the crystals his mother points him to and start to study the knowledge on law enforcement. From the farthest form of it dating back to even before the first real human civilization up to today’s justice systems Clark saw some extraordinary things and other that made him sick in his stomach.

These lessons had more than one purpose. They serve to show him how things were on Earth but also it teaches him how he can use his powers best in the world of today so he doesn’t get too much attention to his person and only to his act of heroism.

When the last crystal went back to ‘sleep’ it is time for bed and Clark goes directly to sleep to rest as much as possible before heading out the following morning.

Clark spends most of his day flying around and witnessing how the world work. Nemia stayed in the Fortress again to plan on the next steps with Lara.

As Clark lands outside the structure Nemia is fixing herself some food.

‘Hey Nemia you there and free to talk?’

Clark walks in as Nemu’s first telepathic message reach her.

‘Yeah go ahead. Clark just came back from his training patrol.’

‘Great! Well I wanted to ask if you would like to meet up near New York on our way home in 2 months? I mean so that we can all come back to Smallville together.’

Fixing Clark a sandwich too Nemia thinks over Nemu’s proposition.

‘That’s a nice idea. It will also give me time to do some shopping there for Christmas gifts.’

‘Well if you think so. Girl will be girl I guess.’ Nemu finish with a little mocking tone.

Nemia hands Clark his food and goes to sit at the table.

“So how was the patrol? Interesting I bet from the look on your face.”

“Yeah very. I got some good idea on how to use my powers to help them in the future. I also saw that I might be less unique then I thought. I witness a saving from an old ‘friend’ of mine in Central city and also I heard rumors of a man dressing in a bat costume in Gotham city fighting crime there.”

“Well Nemu knows more about this than me for sure. He is the one that travelled throughout the world. I mainly stayed in Smallville or visited him in Canada for the last 15 years. But the Central city guy that you say is an old ‘friend’ wouldn’t that be the kid that could run as fast as you? I think I read something about him in a paper on one of my trip to Canada.”

“Yeah it was Bart. At least now I know that I’m not alone and with Lana by my side I think we will tacle on Metropolis’s dark side once we are ready.”

“Good choice. They will need you in the future but for now you need some rest and to continue your training.”

As she finish this both Lara and Jor-El appear in front of them.

“Wha-? How can Jor-El be here in the Fortress?”

“It’s alright Nemia I gave him permission. He has a few messages and news to deliver to the both of you.”

“Thanks Lara. Nemia your brother wants you to contact Noxy on Falazya to talk to her. He said you would know what this is about and to ask Lara to use some of the powers from this place to do so. I want to also tell you both that last night Lana gave the same treatment to Aethyr that you gave to Nam-Ek. Those two will be out of our lives for a time while they heal their wounds.”

“Well that is a good thing to hear. Thanks for bringing good news father.” Clark says with a small smile appearing on his face as he try to imagine the fight between Lana and Aethyr.

Having delivered the messages, Jor-El decides it is time for him to go away and disappear.

“Well that is interesting news. Now off to bed. Tomorrow we will start exploring other aspects of life on Earth.”

“Ok goodnight.” Clark head to bed. While the two women head towards the central chamber so that Nemia can talk with Noxy.

“Ok is everything ready for the transmission?” Nemia asks after putting crystals in different holes testing the connection.

“Yes this should work. Should I send the query?”

“Yes do it now. Better talk to her now before she gets the wrong impression and send the whole army here.”

“You are in contact.”

“Thanks Lara.” Nemia clears her throat and prepare herself psychologically to her talk with her brother’s girlfriend.

“Noxy this is Nemia. I’m still on Earth as well as Nemu. He had a fight a few days ago but he is ok now. He sent the sword but I don’t know why. I will ask him when I talk to him next. How are things over on Falazya?”

A soft voice filled with leftover pain and a new found hope and joy answers Nemia’s question. “Things are going pretty well. I will send the sword back as soon as the powers are back to it. The little trip cost it about half the powers that were in it. Other than that Nenlar is still assuming both the head of the Council and the school of magic. Nemiafa is back from her exile on Jiket and she is in charge of the defense and also to train the new order of knights. There are some disturbances and those are starting to make Nenlar worry. I miss you two. Keyel is going mad some times. He misses you a lot. He has been promoted to the commanding post of his battalion.”

“I’m glad to hear this. Well about the disturbance. It may be some remnants of Ar’kon’s army. Guess you will have to deal with it for now. We found the last of the Kryptonians here on Earth. As luck wanted it the boy is actually the last heir of the house of El.”

“So you mean the prophecy is coming true? If the boy is anything like you said then he must be around 18 years old now and should have made contact with the magical one.”

“Indeed the prophecy is still going strong. And he met the magical one upon his arrival on Earth 15 years ago. She became concious of herself only a few months ago though. She is going through intensive training with Nemu while Kal-El is studying and training here at the archive’s Fortress.”

“Well I see why you say it is going strong. So he already found the archives. That is a good thing. Maybe with the knowledge contained in there he will be able to find the others. Well it was good talking to you Nemia and I’ll make sure to tell everybody that you guys are doing well. Keyel will be happy as well as those under his command.” Noxy says starting to laugh.

“Ok Nemia out.” With that Nemia turns off the crystals and place them back in their original holding before heading to bed. “Thanks for your help Lara. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~~~~~~~ 2 weeks later, sunset, Top floor of the FoK ~~~~~~~~

“Well these are not as beautiful as the ones from the loft but since we don’t see them too often they are special too.” Clark says to Nemia and Lara as he looks to the setting sun. The night that will follow will last for quite a while so they decided to suspend the studies earlier today so they could witness the show.

“True Kal the ones from your loft are really beautiful.” Nemia says before heading back inside. Lara follows her after a minute leaving Clark alone to his thoughts of Lana and how he miss her.

Once the sun is completely gone Clark enters and goes directly to sleep feeling a bit drained emotionally. He falls asleep almost as soon as his head hits his pillow.

“Lana! Am I glad to see you tonight. I miss you a lot, but we will soon be together. Only about 6 weeks. That will go fast I’m sure of it.”

“I’m glad to see you too Clark, this time apart really is difficult. I miss you soo much. At least after this we should be able to stay together for a long while.”

“Yeah I sure hope so. Well since it seems we are together now maybe we should make as much as possible out of the time we have.”

“Yeah well what do you want to do? Sit around and talk or train or something else?”

“Well depends how you are feeling on this marvelous night Lana.”

“Well I’m as good as you can be after spending one week going through catacombs.”

“Ouch! Well I guess I have the easy way of the two of us then. I stay mostly inside the Fortress and only go out to do some training patrols around the northern parts of the countries around here.”

“Well in that case let’s sit here and look at the stars. Can you tell me where was Krypton? And if you know, where is Falazya?”

As they sit on the ground near a tree they look at the stars.

“Well Krypton was there in the blank spot in the sky. As far as I know about Falazya it should be somewhere near these stars to the left of Krypton’s location.” Clark tells her pointing to an empty space in the sky.

“How was it on your planet? I mean you must have learn some more from the archives right?”

“Yes Lana I did learn a lot. I will tell you all of it someday or better yet I will bring you here and you can see for yourself.”

“O-k...” Lana says while stifling a yawn.

“Let’s sleep Lana. Good night my angel, I love you.”

“Love you too Clark.” Lana then close her eyes and fall asleep.

Clark watches her sleeping for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep himself.

“Clark wake up! God I don’t know how the Kent’s could do it every morning for the past 15 years. I swear if I have to come back to wake you again I will start kicking your butt out of bed and even use magic to do it if necessary.” Nemia says annoyed by the lack of response from Clark.

“Aww come on Nemia let me sleep.”

“No way buddy. You are getting up now. You are in the last stretch of your training.”

The next week and a half are spent with the same routine of studying one day and going out the next to see the application of the knowledge by the humans. Sometimes Nemia goes out with Clark at other time he goes out alone.

“Well today we will be doing more than just observe. I know you still need some practice with your breath powers and you still struggle to control it. So let’s fly to a small town in Yukon and try to master this.” Nemia says to Clark as he enters the main chamber to learn what would be his tasks for the day.

“Well ok. I just hope nothing bad will come of it.”

“Don’t worry. Let’s go.” They both take off and fly to a small town in the northern part of Yukon.

As they practice Clark was gaining more and more control over his latest power. He created a small blizzard on their first try but now he has improved a lot.

“Now Clark I want you to fill your lungs with air and I will tell you how to release it.” Clark fills his lungs as Nemia receive a message from Nemu.

‘Nemia change of plans. We are going to meet in Los Angeles instead of New York since Lana and I are going to be in the Pacific at the time.’

‘Oh my god you are going to try to gain access to that place again?’

‘With the display of power Lana just showed me I know this time will be different and that we will get through.’

‘That great of an impression huh?’

‘She could keep up with you when it comes up to using the powers from Fire. I just saw the blue flames again.’

‘WHAT!! That strong and yet she is only in her training. I never want to get her mad at me if she is that strong already and not even in her principal element. Her power from the Air must be incredibly strong then.’

‘I might witness it before the end of this journey. You know how they reacted to me the last time I tried to gain access to their city.’

Clark could tell by her expression that Nemia was talking with Nemu and he was in serious need to release his breath but the angle he was with the small town below them would only result in a bad situation if he were to release now.

‘Yeah well good luck on that. Clarky here is starting to get impatient and that is not a good thing when you try not to turn a town into a giant ice cube.’

‘Yeah not a great thing. Well see you in a month or so and Nemia... I hope you talked to Noxy or else my return home might have to wait another couple of centuries.’

‘Don’t worry. She understood the message loud and clear and will keep your sword ready for your return. But why did you send that sword? Why not the other one?’

‘You know why. It is my most prized possession here on Earth and I didn’t want to chance it getting into the wrong hands. Imagine Aethyr or Nam-Ek with a fully powered Falazyan master weapon and you will understand perfectly.’ Nemu says before sending Nemia a signal to go back to Clark and cutting the telepathic conversation.

“So sorry Clark. Now you need to breath out slowly and direct it to the river going around the town.” She barely finish that Clark is already going at it. The river below freeze in seconds under his constant breath that lasts for a good minute.

“Well you have pretty big lung don’t ya big boy!” Nemia says laughing.

“Shut up. Wait forget that. Tell me what the hell was Nemu telling you that couldn’t wait?”

“Oh yeah well he told me that we are meeting him and Lana in L.A. before heading back to Kansas next month.”Nemia says as she rolls her eyes upon seeing Clark’s smile when she said Lana’s name.

“Cool that is great!” With that he uses his heat vision to melt the river.

The next month is spent learning the last bit of information about Earth and its people.

As they are out on patrol one day they arrive in a town in Sweden and are witness to a mugging attempt. 3 very built men are attacking to young ladies. Without thinking Clark lands behind the men and enters the fight knocking them out in matter of seconds. After this feat he turns around to see one of the girls standing there looking at him shocked.

Clark is thinkning as fast as he can trying to find a good explanation. What come to him is a completely alien answer. He goes to the girl slowly and showing he doesn’t want to harm her. When he stands in front of him he empty his mind of all emotion and concentrate on what he wants her to forget. Once that is done and keeping his concentration he leans toward her and sees she is letting him do it he kisses her forcing the memories of the rescue out of her memories replacing them with new ones.

Nemia is shocked with the initial action from her partner but when she tries to read him she could sense something very alien in him and knew it was a special kiss and that it meant nothing. She relaxes a little and wait for him to come back to the air so they can head back to the Fortress to prepare for the final night there.

The following morning Clark and Nemia get their stuff ready and go see Lara in the main chamber. “Kal-El I am proud of you on this day that marks the end of your training. Here in the last 6 months you have learn everything this archive could teach you. I must tell you now that there are others archive such as this one scattered throughout the galaxies. You will one day need to find them but for now your destiny is limited to this Earth and your new people. Help them better themselves and guide them to the light through exemple and with the help of your Lana. Come back soon with her because I want to speak with her. I want to know her.”

“I will mother. I’m sure she will be happy to come here and talk to you and just learn to know you.”

“Good bye my friend. I will take care of them for a while. Nemu will too but our days on Earth are reaching their ends I think. A new generation of heroes as started to rise and some trouble is brewing back home.”

“Take care now. May our paths cross again.” After saying her parting words Lara disappear.

Clark and Nemia pick up their bags and head out to fly to L.A to meet their friends.

“Shopping time! WEEEEEEEEEE!” Nemia let’s out as they take off prompting Clark to mutter under his breath.

“Oh great. That will be the biggest test of this training.” Then he starts laughing.

“What is so funny?”

“Oh nothing. Just a thought that crossed my mind. Lets go I can’t wait to see Lana again.” Once he has said this Clark fly away toward L.A. Only a few hours left before meeting the love of his life again.

After a flight that lasted but a few minutes, Nemia and Clark are landing in a shadowed alley in one of the less fortunate neighborhood of Los Angeles. It isn’t their final destination but it is the best place to land without getting too much attention from passers by.

“So have you and Nemu decided on a meeting place?” Clark asks Nemia as they start walking toward one of the main road of the sector.

“Well no, not yet anyway. I will try to talk to him but if they are not back from Atlantis yet there isn’t much chance of communicating with them.”

“Don’t worry Nemia, your brother and Lana are almost here in this city by now.” Jor-El tell them as he appears in a shadowed door near the alley’s exit.

“Thank you for the information Jor-El. I will ask Nemu where to meet then.”

‘Hey bro! Where do you want to meet?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe around the H of the Hollywood sign? What you think?’

‘Good with me. We aren’t too far either so I guess we will wait for you guys there.’

‘Ok we will hurry there once we hit land. Alira want me to say hi for her.’

‘Well tell her hi back and I miss her. With that me and Clark will take our time to get there.’Nemia concludes her telepathic conversation with Nemu and turns to Clark.

“Well we are going to meet them at the foot of the H of the Hollywood sign.”

“Ok. You think we can make a stop at a flower shop on the way? I have an idea for some build up gift for Lana until Christmas.” Clark asks Nemia with a growing smile on his face as his plans are taking form in his mind.

“Sure. Now you know you will have to let me in on your little plan.” Nemia says with a playful glint in her eyes.

“Well I know of 8 color of roses and there are 9 days left until Christmas so I will do a little variation of the Twelve days of Christmas.”

“Ah I see. Lana should love this. Did you know Nemu had perfect blue roses back at his home in Canada?”

“What? Really? Those must be very rare since I never saw one of those.”

“Yeah they are rare. I think only 2 or 3 persons in the world grow them.”

“Well it’s even better now. I will ask Nemu if I can have some of them to give Lana. That will make 9 different color of roses so I can give her 1 color per day.” Clark’s smile can’t get any bigger than it was already as he makes the last touches to his plan.

“Well here’s a flower shop Clark.”

“Thanks. Once I get the rose we will speed to the meeting point.” Clark tells Nemia as he enters the shop.

As Clark walks toward the back of the store the vendor comes to him. “Hi young man how may I help you?”

“Hi, I would like to purchase 1 white rose please and I would like to know if you have many kind of roses here?”

“Oh we have the usual ones I guess. White, red, yellow and pink. Sometimes we get some purple and orange ones too.”

“Perfect then I know where to come when I need those roses.” Clark says with a smile. In his mind it’s another story. ‘I need to find some place to get the others now.’

After paying the man Clark heads toward the exit. “Thank you and I will come back.”

With his shopping done for the moment Clark and Nemia enter a small alley and super speed to the meeting point in hope of getting there before Lana and Nemu.

As fate would want it they all arrive at the same time.

As soon as she sees him Lana runs to Clark and pull him in a hug. “I missed you so much. Thanks to my training at least I was able to keep busy.”

“I missed you too Lana.” With that said Clark gives her the white rose. “For you.”

“Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

“I know but I wanted to.” Clark gives her his Kent smile melting her insides.

Turning to Nemu, Clark take him in a man hug and whisper in his ear. “I will need your help. Think I will be able to have 9 blue roses for Christmas eve?”

“Yeah that can be arrenged.”

“Thank you.” Then louder he says. “Well ladies are you ready for your shopping trip?” He says with a cheeky grin.

“Sure we are! Let’s go now.” Both women answers at the same time.

They head for some of the bigger shopping center around town. “Girls you have to remember that we are flying back to Smallville. So you carry what you buy on your back.” Nemu tells them before they go crazy and buy the whole shopping center. He knows his sister and since she has the money for it he wouldn’t be surprise if that happened had he not thought fast and warned them.

“Well off we go. You guys coming with us or do we meet back here when it’s time to leave?” Nemia asks, knowing full well that Nemu will choose to stay behind and not go with the girl.

“Well you know me Nemia. So it’s all Clark’s decision.” Nemu answers looking at Clark and Lana hugging and whispering into each other’s ear. He laughs because he knows Clark didn’t hear 1 word of what he said.

At the sound of laughing both Lana and Clark look up and see that the twins were both looking at them with playfull mischief glint in their eyes.

“Ok what is it?” They both ask when the twins laughter stops.

“Well I guess you two are shopping together today. So here take this and have fun. Just don’t overdo it.” Nemu tells them handing Clark two plastic cards.

Nemia was coming back toward them after checking the mall map. “So we could meet at the food court for lunch and see what to do from there, how does that sound with everyone?”

“Sounds good to me, you guys?” Nemu asks turning once again to the two lovebirds.

“Yeah fine with us. So that means the food court in 2 hours.” Clark answers for them.

“Ok let’s go, there are a couple of store I want to visit.” Lana says pulling on Clark’s hand dragging him into the crowd toward the shops.

“Well I feel for Clark. It will be a morning he will remember for a while.” Nemu says with a smile on his face, remembering his first trip with his sister when they finally got back together.

“Yeah. Was what you gave them what I think it is?”

“Yep two of my extended credit cards. I don’t really need those and I called the company a while back to have those cards unlocked from only my name and add theirs and the Kents to it. I left one with Jonathan before leaving Smallville last time I was there.”

“Good now I know they will at least have some fun. What are you going to do now?”

“Well shop of course!” Nemu winks at her adding to the sarcasm that was in his voice.

“Be serious for a moment here. I didn’t tell you everything about my talk with Noxy back home.”

“What is it? Nothing serious I hope.”

“Nothing serious but trouble is brewing and I don’t know how long they will last. Nenlar is taking your place as head of the knights and still do his duties as headmaster of the magic academy. Nemiafa is back on Falazya as well and is in command of the defence. So you see it’s more than a little disturbance and must be tied to Ar’kon’s last cryptic message.”

“Yeah I see what you mean, but we can’t do anything for now. We are needed here and I will not leave until I’m satisfied about those 2.”

“Yeah that’s what I told Noxy. She said she would return the sword once the drain you put on it goes away. Half the power in it were consumed by the trip.”

“Ouch it was harder than I thought then. Thanks for telling me this. I guess I’m going to go do some gift shopping for everybody as well as call for the plane to pick us up tomorrow and also make reservation in a hotel near the airport.”

“Ok well see you at lunch. I have some serious shopping to do.” Nemia says cheerfully as she walks away off in the crowd.

Sigh... “Oh well... girl will be girl and young ones will be young.” Nemu says before heading to the map screen to see if the shop names wont spark ideas for gifts for everybody.

~~~~~~~ Meanwhile deeper in the mall ~~~~~~~

“Well Clark what do you think of this dress?” Lana says as she gets out of the dressing room wearing a red dress.

“Well... um... very beautiful, but I think you are beautiful no matter what you are wearing so I’m not very neutral in opinion here.” Clark says with a small shy smile as he starts blushing a little.

“Ok I get it, but does it fit me ok?”

“Oh that it does for sure.”

“Ok!” Lana simply answers giddy and happy for many reason.

“You know Lana I have a confession to make. I think your new hair color is great and the fleck of silver and gold in your eyes are very alluring.” Clark doesn’t know where the courange to get the words out come from but seeing Lana’s reaction he his very happy to have said them.

“Wow Clark. Those studies sure changed you in the shyness department. Thank you for the compliment and I have to admit I like the silver color. I was also a little scared of your reaction when you saw the changes.”

“Aw Lana why would you be scared of that? Remember I saw you in bad shape before and it’s not a little change in hair color that I would put in bad shape. If possible you look in even better shape than before your training, so I guess swordplay and magic does strengthen the muscles.”

“Yeah the training in sword fighting with Nemu was tiring at first but now it’s more easy and I can last longer because of my skills and the stamina I build over time.”

“Well do you have anything else to try here or can we go to another shop? We need to buy our Christmas gifts for everybody at home and I know you will be able to help me figure it all out. I know what to give to my parents, Pete and you but for the others I’m stuck.”

“Oh what are you giving me?” Lana asks showing fully her curiosity.

“Well that is a surprise. But I know for sure you should love it.” Clark says with his Kent smile on his face and a small glint in his eyes.

As they head towards the front of the shop to pay for the blue and red dresses that Lana wanted they walk past a mannequin with a black dress on and as Lana walk on the other side only her head appears over the display. Clark turns his head just at that moment and the image he gets leave him breathless. He lets her continue a little ahead of him and when he knows she can’t see him picks up one of the dress of the right size and head to Lana hidding the piece of cloth behind his back.

Since Clark had given one of the card to Lana as they walked through the mall it was easy for him to change line and pay for his surprise without Lana noticing. They met at the door and Lana eyed the bag in Clark’s hand wondering what he might have bought in this woman clothing store. ‘Oh well I’ll find out soon enough.’ She thinks.

“So where to next Clark?”

“Well we are going to the music store right over there so I can pick up Pete’s gift. DVD collection of some of the best car race movies. He wanted this collection for a while now but never could get it. When he had the money all the shop back home were out of stock and when they had some on the shelves Pete didn’t have the money. And I know he doesn’t have it yet.”

“Ah that is a good idea. Think we can buy it as a gift from both of us? Because I have no idea what to give him since I don’t know him that much.”

“Sure no problem there. After that I want to go to the book store over there and see if we can’t find something for Chloe. For my parents I have some gifts I need to pick up at the Fortress on Christmas morning. Lara used the powers of the place to build them for mom and dad. It’s from her and I have some ideas to add to those gifts. So this leave the twins and Lex.”

Lana is deep in her thoughts as they walk to get Pete’s gift and pay for it. As they come out of the music store and head to the bookstore she comes up with an idea for Chloe.

“Well Clark for the twins I have know idea. I just spent 6 months with Nemu and after seeing his house in Canada and their appartment in Smallville I don’t know what we could give them. Maybe just training hard and make as much progress will have to be enough for a while.”

“Yeah I have the same problem with Nemia. The only idea I have would be to bring Noxy and Keyel here on Earth but I know it’s not...” Clark interrupts himself as the thought cross his mind. “Follow me Lana I have the perfect gift for them.” They get into a closed store to have as much privacy as possible. “Jor-El I need to speak to you.”

“Yes my son what do you want to talk to me about?”

“Do you know Noxy and Keyel?”

“Yes I know them.”

“Could you go to Lara and ask her if there is any way possible to get them here in 9 days?”

“Yes I can do this. But for what reason should they come? If I may ask.”

”Well in 9 days it will be Christmas and it is tradition to spend that day with friends and family and celebrate and give gifts to each other. I want them to come to cheer up Nemia and Nemu and also to know them.”

“Well I will try as hard as I can to help Lara to convince them and bring them in time for the occasion.”

“Ok thank you. I will see you and Lara at the Fortress on Christmas morning then. I have to pick up my parents gifts from there.”

“Ok then if it’s all I shall leave at once.” With that Jor-El disappear to go talk to Lara.

“Wow Clark that is a very good idea. I sure hope Jor-El and Lara can get them to come.”

“Yeah and it will make my mom happy too. The more people that will be there the happier she will get. It was always only the three of us except for the occasional appearance from Pete.”

“Yeah must be sad sometimes. You should warn her of the possibility of more people being there though just so she isn’t too short on all her stuff and the food.”

“Yeah I will tell her once we get there.” They walk back out of the closed store and then head to the bookstore and head to the journalism department. They get a few books about different topics they know will interest Chloe and then they go and pay for them.

“Clark I know you already have some idea of gift for me but I still need to get a gift for you so what would you like for Christmas?”

“Well I don’t know Lana. I will get most of what I want just by having you and the others with us at the farm. So I guess I will just say surprise me.” Clark finishes with a smile.

“Argh you don’t make it easy on me. Well I’m sure I will think of something.” Lana makes a false pouting face while her thoughts go round and round thinking of what to get for Clark. ‘Hmm maybe a trip to Paris or to Italy. Well now it’s so easy to travel it is not as exceptional as it would have been a year ago, but the memories we will make should do it.’

The rest of the morning is spent looking through the different shop windows and buying some clothes for both of them and some other stuff that they will need for college.

They arrive at the food court at the same time as the twins and they make their way to find a table. After getting their food and talking about their morning they decide to go back to the hotel Nemu got and relax for the afternoon and call home to have some news.

-- RING, RING, RING –

“Hello?”

“Chloe is that you?” Clark asks to the voice on the phone.

“Clark! How are you? Where are you?” Chloe is excited to finally hear her best friend’s voice for the first time in a while.

“We are doing fine Chloe. We are in L.A. and will be flying home tomorrow. Is my mom there?”

“Yeah hold on she is running here when she heard me scream your name.”

“Ok thanks Chloe.”

“See you tomorrow then.” Chloe tells him before giving the phone to Martha.

“Sweetheart are you ok?”

“Yeah mom we are ok. Lana says hi. Nemu and Nemia too. Listen mom I have something to tell you and it is a secret. So you can’t tell anybody not even dad.”

“Ok what is it?” Martha asks while a few ideas of what might be happening go through her head.

“Well me and Lana were trying to figure out what to give Nemu and Nemia for Christmas and the only thing that came to mind was to get their significant other to come here and celebrate with us. So I asked Jor-El and Lara to try and get them to Earth and I wanted to warn you that their might be a few more people with us for Christmas.”

“Oh Clark that is so sweet and a very good idea. Thank you for warning me so I can prepare the food for more people.”

“No problem. So how’s dad and the farm?”

“Both are great. Pete has been helping your father and Lex since he came back home for winter break and Chloe is helping me.”

“Lex? He is at the farm too?”

“Yes. Last time Nemu was here he asked us to try anything to get Lex out of the mansion because of what he knows and the fact Lionel and the 2 others are always around there. So he has been living with us at the farm for a while now.”

“Well I’m glad everything is ok. We will be coming home tomorrow so we should be at the farm for dinner.”

“Ok, I will keep you all some food ready to be heated if you are not here when we eat.”

“Thanks so see you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye.” Both Martha and Clark hang up after that.

~~~~~~~ Following morning ~~~~~~~

Their flight is schedule to leave at 10 am so Clark wakes up earlier than the others and runs to the flower shop to buy 2 peach colored roses for Lana. Step 2 of his plan is on. He runs back to the hotel and arrive as the others wake up and they head to the dining room for breakfast. After eating they go back to their room to gather their stuff and head to the airport.

“Well I talked to my mom yesterday and I told her we should be in Smallville for dinner so she will keep us some food ready to be re-heated if we don’t arrive in time to eat with everybody else.”

“That’s great Clark. I can’t wait to eat some of your mom’s food. It will change from the food at the Fortress.” Nemia says as they walk to their private jet.

Right before they enter the plane Clark holds back Lana and turns her toward him and give her the 2 peach roses. “For you.” Clark says simply with his smile.

“Thank you. You know you will have to explain to me at some point what you are doing. I mean we walked by a few flower shop and you didn’t buy me anything but yesterday was 1 white rose and today 2 peach roses? I’m sure there is something behind this.”

“There is and I will tell you everything in time.” Clark answers mysteriously before the two of them board the plane.

Nemia sees Lana enter with the 2 roses in her hand and smile a knowing smile. “Beautiful flowers you got there Lana.” Nemia teases with a smile.

“Yes they are. Thanks Nemia. Clark just gave them to me.” Lana is feeling shy all of a sudden and she doesn’t understand why.

“Well the flight will take a couple of hours so get yourselves comfortable guys.” Nemu tells them.

~~~~~~~2 hours later, Metropolis airport ~~~~~~~

“Well here we are. Metropolis. Only 3 hours left and we will be home.” Clark says with a small sigh and relief in his voice.

“It will be good to see everyone again after so long.” adds a smiling Lana as she link arms with Clark.

“Yeah it will be nice. Mom’s food will be good too. At least those 6 months gave me a taste of what it will be like when I’m in college away from home.”

“True. But at least we will be together and Chloe and Pete are here at Met-U too.”

“And we can zip back to the farm when we want too.”

The rest of the ride to Smallville was spent in silence both physical and telepathic. Every one of them were thinking on private matters. Clark was reviewing his plan and the timing of everything and giving a silent plea for his biological parents to succeed in getting Keyel and Noxy to come.

Lana was thinking some more on what she could do to make Clark’s Christmas more special and also if she should pull through with her idea of a trip as a gift.

Nemia was thinking on what Nemu had told her of his plans for the near future and also her mind was drifting to her last talk with Noxy.

Nemu was deep in his thought about his conversation with Lex the day before concerning the christmas gift for the Kents and the to young ones in front of him. He sure hopes Lex succeed in convincing the Kent to accept what he was planning on doing for Clark and Lana.

They arrive at the farm right on time as Pete, Lex and Jonathan are walking back to the house for dinner.

“Hey guys. You are just in time for dinner.” Jonathan tells them as they reach the porch.

Dinner at the farm was a joyful event that night as the quatuor tell their story.

Once everything was said it was time for bed and everyone was happy to go.

Very early the following morning Clark gets up and prepare for his trip to the little flower shop in L.A. to buy 3 yellow roses for Lana before she wakes up. After a run that last only a few minutes Clark arrive at the shop and sees the merchant already preparing it for the day.

As the man sees Clark he comes to the door and asks him. “So what kind of roses will it be today young man? You know if you keep coming everyday like that I just might give you a special.”

“Thanks sir, but I don’t need special treatment. I will be happy with just having the chance of buying the roses here from you until Christmas.”

“Well it is very romantic and sweet of you to do that for your girlfriend.”

“Yeah, it is part of the gift I have for her. I plan on proposing to her on Christmas day in front of our family.”

“Well I’m sure she will say yes with all those roses.”

“Thanks for the moral boost. Oh and tomorrow I will come around the same time for 4 purple/lavender roses.”

“Hmm... I see you are doing something like the 12 days of Christmas but with roses and only 9 days? So I guess in two days it will be 5 roses?”

”Exactly what I’m doing. Today I need 3 yellow roses.”

“Well come here and I’ll prepare them.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later after paying for the roses and running back to the farm Clark enters the house to his parents sitting at the kitchen counter.

“Morning guys. Are the others still asleep?” Clark asks getting worried by the expression on his father’s face.

“Clark where were you?” Jonathan asks.

“I had to go to L.A. to buy something for Lana.” Clark answers showing his parents the roses.

“Oh Clark they are beautiful. But why Los Angeles?” Martha asks before Jonathan could open his mouth.

“Well because I found a little flower shop there and they have all the varieties of roses I will need to pull my plan together. Well except for the last 9 that I will have to ask Nemu to provide from his private garden. And now if you have nothing more to say I have to go wake up my girlfriend and give her her gift.”

“Ok go ahead sweetheart.” Again Martha cut any comment coming from Jonathan.

“Lana! Laaanaaaa! Wake up sleepyhead!” Clark voice tells her.

Lana slowly opens her eyes to be face with an image of Clark’s head and 3 very beautiful yellow roses.

“Hi. Wow those roses are beautiful. I see you still have this going. Will you tell me what all these mysteries are heading to?”

“Yes.” Clark simply answers.

“Well? What are they for?”

“They are heading to Christmas and your gift. I have another surprise for you tonight and a small gift before Christmas.” Clark tells her with a smile. Handing her the roses and speeding to retrieve a box from his bedroom and giving it to her. “There you go. That is all you will get for tonight.”

Lana takes the box after putting the yellow roses with the white and peach ones. She opens the box to see a beautiful black dress inside. “Wow this dress is beautiful.”

“The image I saw when you went by it left me breathless and I just knew I had to buy it for you.” He says with his face beaming.

“Was that what you bought in the shop I bought my red and my blue dresses?”

“Yeah when we were heading toward the cashier you walked past a mannequin wearing this little dress and I looked over at you at the moment and I saw how good you would look with it on and bought one.”

“Aww Clark that is so sweet. Thank you. I love you.” Lana then leans up to kiss him.

After the kiss Clark pull away a little. “I love you too. Now mom has breakfast ready and I was wondering if you wanted to come and eat with us.”

“Of course I want to. Just let me get dressed and I’ll be right there.”

“Ok hurry.” Clark says as he walks out the door and goes back to the kitchen.

“Mom, dad? Lana and I are not going to eat diner here. I’m going to take her out to a restaurant in Metropolis tonight and we will be able to dance there.”

“Ok be careful son. Now let’s eat and then you can go do your chores.”

Lana walk in as Jonathan finishes his sentence. “Breakfast smells good Martha.”

“Thank you Lana. Take a seat and eat.”

Breakfast is slow as new people wake up every 2 minutes. First Nemu then Nemia. After that it was Pete and Lex turn and finally Chloe came into the kitchen.

After everyone have finish eating each person get ready for his chore of the day. The men head outside while the women do their work inside the house.

As the evening approached Clark came back from the field to get ready. Lana excuse herself to also get ready for their date.

“What the hell was that about? Do they have special plans and they didn’t tell us?” Chloe asks after Lana’s disapearing act.

“Yeah they do. Clark is taking Lana out tonight to a small restaurant in Metropolis.” Martha tells the other girls.

They arrive at the restaurant and the hostess takes them to their table her eyes never leaving Clark. Lana seeing this gets closer to Clark and link arms with him, clearly showing the girl that he is hers and to back off.

“Clark you didn’t have to do that you know.”

“I know but I wanted to. And here at least we can talk freely without having the rest of them standing over our shoulder listening to everything we say.

Dinner goes well they eat and after dessert Clark stands up and extand his hand to Lana. “May I have this dance Miss Lang?”

“Sure Mr. Kent.” Lana says smiling as she takes his hands and gets up to go to the dance floor.

They spend the rest of the evening talking about their day back at the farm and dancing to the music.

When they get back to the farm only Nemu is up and he just tell them good night and head to his bedroom.

“Well Lana I wish this night didn’t have to end, but it is time for bed.”

“You are right. You think I could sleep in your bed tonight? Last night I had difficulties getting to sleep.”

“Sure. Even though I’m sure my dad wont approve. At least we know it will be only sleep. Come on.” With that they head to the bedroom and get into bed. They soon fall asleep in each other’s arms.

The rest of the days before Christmas goes the same way. In the morning Clark runs to L.A. to buy roses. The following day from the yellow roses he got Lana the 4 purple roses, then it was 5 coral roses, after that 6 orange ones. Yesterday was 7 pink roses and today being Christmas Eve Clark is bringing home 8 roses of the most beautiful red.

As the days pass Clark was getting more and more nervous in anticipation of the day of Christmas.

Today he wants to do something different with the way he gives the roses to Lana. He enters his bedroom and sits at his desk taking a small paper to write the meaning of each color and why he gave them in the particular order.

Dearest Lana,

Here are some more roses from me. I added a note today to tell you some more about what I have been doing the last 8 days.

First, I was walking in front of a small flower shop in L.A with Nemia on the day we met there. And as the song 12 days of Christmas was playing on some speaker near there an idea poped inside my head. I wanted to somehow recreate my version of this song. I call it the 8 days of Christmas. So that is why the number of roses increased everyday.

Now to tell you the meaning of each color.

White: meaning of reverence and humility also of purity.
Peach: can signify either sympathy or gratitude.
Yellow: stands for friendship and joy.
Purple: signify that the giver has fallen in love with the recipient at first sight.
Coral: signals desire.
Orange: shows fascination.
Pink: Gratitude, appreciation and feelings of admiration and sympathy are shown be the pink. Also tells of perfect happyness.
Red: romantic love and passion. Unconscious beauty and says “I love you”.

Well I will say it again.

I love you. Always have and always will.

Forever yours,
Clark

Glad to have done that Clark puts the second white rose he had bought with the red ones in the middle of the bunch and then attached the letter to the flowers and headed to Lana’s bedroom.

He gently knock on the door and quietly opens the door when he doesn’t get any answer. Lana is still sleeping so Clark enters slowly and put the roses on the night stand for her to find when she wakes up. Once this is done Clark gets out as quietly as he came in and goes to the kitchen.

Everybody was sitting at the table eating breakfast and Clark was walking back to them after putting his plate away when they hear the unmistakable sound of someone running and the next thing everybody could see is Lana leaping into Clark’s arms sending the both of them to the floor. She kisses him without a care about where they are and the fact everybody is there looking at them.

After the kiss end Clark looks at Lana’s closed eyes and tells her innocently. “So I guess you liked the roses this morning. Or was it the note that came with them?”

When Lana opens her eyes and sees where they are and that everybody is there she blushes a deep red color making Clark start to laugh. His laugh is contagious and soon everybody is laughing.

As the day comes to a close Clark is standing in front of the window in the loft looking at the sunset and thinking back on Lana’s reaction in the morning. He can’t wait for tomorrow to come and to see her reaction to his surprise. Also he hopes Jor-El and Lara have been successful in bringing the other Falazyan to Earth.

After diner everybody decide to go to bed early since tomorrow will start very early.

[HP_DRAGON]

K now I am officially addicted to this story. Great job PPMS!!

[Lost_In_Clana]

Awesome update!!!
Can't wait 'till he proposes!!

[Nemu]

I was waiting for more feedback... but anyway.... Here is part 8-1...

And HP... funny how you get addicted near the end ;) but at least you read all ;)

And now... Enjoy!!!

-------------------------------------------

Part 8: Final Showdown in the ruined city of Smallville

First thing Clark does as he wake up is to go meet with Nemu in his bedroom to get the access information to the garden at his house in Canada.

Clark is planning on going to Metropolis first to get the ring from the jeweller there and then head north, first to Nemu’s home to get the blue roses and then to the Fortress to pick up the rest of the gifts for his friends and family.

“Hey Nemu, I hope it isn’t too early but I want to be back before my parents get up and the rest of the house too.”

“Nah... It’s ok Clark, come in and we can talk.” Nemu says getting up from the bed and putting on some shirt.

“So you want access to the garden right?”

“Yeah, Nemia said you had true blue roses there.”

“Those I have. I also have some of the most beautiful red roses I ever saw and some of the purest white too so you might think of bringing some of those with you too.” Nemu answers giving him a wink.

“Well if you tell me all the information I need to get there then I will be on my way. I need to go to Metropolis first then head over there and after that to the Archives to get the rest of the gifts.”

“Well here take this paper. All the information is written on it. Now go and hurry back. Be careful too because we don’t know what our enemies are up to.”

“I will. See you in a few hours.” Clark closes the door behind him as he walk out of Nemu’s room.

‘Well it is 2 am so I have at least 3 hours before my dad wakes up. That should be enough to do everything.’ Clark think making his way out of the house and taking off to the air toward Metropolis.

After the grumbling jeweller finally give him the ring Clark looks at it and can’t help but feel nervous and happy at the same time while thinking about Lana’s reaction. ‘Well two hours thirty minutes left. Better hurry.’ Clark thinks as he takes to the sky from a dark alley close to the store. Not caring about the people of the city Clark starts to fly at full speed leaving the Metropolis sky with a sonic boom echoing through the air.

After only 5 minutes Clark lands in front of Nemu’s house and uses the key he was given to enter. Taking out the paper with the instructions Clark walks slowly toward the backyard of the property.

When he enters the garden Clark can’t help but let out a gasp at the sight of wonders in front of him. He goes to the blue roses first and picks 9 of them reverently. After that he heads toward the red ones and take 2 and after that he picks up 1 white rose. Putting the red and white ones in the middle of the blue ones Clark carefully wraps them so they don’t get damaged during the trip to the Fortress and back to Smallville. ‘One last stop and then it will be time to meet part of my destiny. I hope Lara and Jor-El came through with their task.’ Clark thinks as he leaves the house behind for the last part of his journey north.

He reaches the icy structure in a few minutes and enters, going directly to the main chamber of the building. “Lara? Jor-El? Are you here?” Clark asks aloud when he doesn’t see anyone.

Neither of his parent answers but Clark gets a response by the appearance of 2 persons. The woman is shorter than him but a little taller than Lana. She has silver hairs and eyes the color of a deep forest green under the sun. The man is taller than the woman but still a little shorter than Clark. He has golden hair with deep blue eyes the same color as a sapphire.

“Hmm.. Hi you guys must be Noxy and Keyel?” Clark asks shyly.

“Yes we are and you must be Kal-El.” Noxy asks walking toward him.

“Yes I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you and I’m glad you could make it here for today.” Clark let out some of the nervousness he was feeling and smile.

“The honour is ours Kal-El of Krypton.” Keyel tells, speaking for the first time in a rich baritone voice.

“Please call me Clark. That has been my name since I came to live here on Earth.” Clark asks with some uneasiness because of the bad memories linked to the name of Kal-El.

“Ah my son, I am happy that you came back. You are right on time too since we just finished the last touches on your Earth parents gifts. I hope they like their gift. It is both for this Christmas event you talked about and also to thank them for taking you in and caring for you all those years.” Lara speaks as she appears in her usual place.

“Mother, I think you and father for doing this and also for succeeding in bringing 2 new friends to us on this day. I’m sorry to cut this visit short but we have to leave right away if we want to be back at the farm to surprise everybody.”

“Go then my son and make us proud on this day. May your heart’s wish come true. Noxy and Keyel please take care while you are here on Earth and protect my son on your journey back to the others.” Lara says before disappearing again.

“We will.” Both the Falazyan answers.

“Well l guess we should go. You guys have been here before?”

“Yes we have Clark don’t worry.”

“Good well let’s go. We will fly there it is the fastest way.”

With that the trio exit the Fortress and fly toward Smallville for a day filled with happiness and love.

They arrive at the farm as the sun starts to rise and Clark looks at his watch to see it is 4:50 am. ‘Well just in time I guess’ He thinks as a smile forms on his face.

“Come inside guys we will start preparing everything for breakfast. My parents should be waking up soon.” They walk to the house and enter by the kitchen door. Clark goes to the Christmas tree in the living room and puts the gifts there then head back to the kitchen and starts taking out everything he will need to fix the breakfast. “So you guys how was the trip from Falazya to Earth?”

“Well it was nothing really. 1 minute we were in the travel room in the palace in Samaria and the next minute we were in the Fortress here on Earth. All in a big flash of light.” Noxy says as she looks around intrigued with everything in the house.

“So any of you guys know how to cook?”

“Yeah I do.” Keyel says flatly.

“Well you think you can give me a hand? There are 10 persons to feed this morning and we have eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, some ham and sausages to prepare. I can take care of the eggs, bacon, ham and sausages and I need you to take care of the pancakes and waffles.”

“Ok sure. Point me in the right direction and I’ll get to it.”

“Good. Noxy can you set the table please?”

“Sure I’ll do it.”

“Thank you guys.” Clark then shows the other 2 where everything they need is.

A few minutes later the occupants of the house rise to the mixed smells of wonderful food and they come down to see 3 persons running around in the kitchen. At first they think it is Clark and the twins but that idea lasts only until the said twins appear behind them.

“What’s going on here? Why are we all standing in the hall?”

“Well someone is in the kitchen. 1 of them is Clark but the other 2 we have no idea...” Jonathan starts but is suddenly interrupted by Lana’s outburst.

“They did it!!” She then runs to Clark who stops running around at the sound of her voice and turn around in time to catch her in his arms, giving her a kiss.

“Good morning beautiful. I see you are excited this morning.”

“Well you can say that!”

“Guys come here. Nemu and Nemia we will give you your Christmas gift first so come forward.” Clark motions to everyone to come closer.

As they get to the front both twins stop in their track as they recognize who is with Clark in the kitchen. Both talk at the same time. “How?”

Before 1 more word is spoken Noxy runs to Nemu while Nemia runs to Keyel.

“Well we have to thank Lara and Jor-El for that one. They have been working on this for the last 9 days.”

“So you are going to make the presentation Clark?” Martha asks as she goes over to the kitchen to see if everything is ok in there.

“Oh yeah right sorry. Well if the 2 happy couples would give me a chance.” Clark says with a smile on his face. Happy for once to be able to make some fun from someone else instead of Lana and him being the center of attention.

“Ok this lovely lady is Noxy and the gentleman with Nemia is Keyel. They both arrived from Falazya sometimes between yesterday and this morning.” Everybody share their hellos.

“Now breakfast is ready so everybody take a seat at the table and we can eat.” Clark says motioning toward the table. Everyone takes place around the table as Clark starts bringing the plate of food over from the kitchen with Lana’s help.

Once they are done bringing the food Clark goes to Lana’s place and pull out her chair for her and then takes place beside her.

“Well this food sure looks good so merry Christmas everybody and let us eat.” Jonathan says and then takes one of the plates to get some of the food. The next few minutes are filled with clinging sounds from the dishes to get pass around the table until everybody has some food.

“Hmm. This is very good!” Martha says. “If I don’t watch it I will lose my title as the best cook around here!” She adds laughing. Everybody joins her since they all know it would be nearly impossible to surpass her cooking.

“Well Keyel helped with the waffles and pancakes. I took care of the rest.” Clark says. “But I had the best teacher in the world so of course it would be at least decent food.” They laugh again at his comment.

Breakfast lasts for another hour and after that the girls clean the dishes while the guys go outside to do the chores that needs to be done. All that time Clark has a permanent smile on his face.

“Hey son what makes you that happy this morning?” Jonathan asks what all of them were wondering.

“Well I can’t wait to be done here and that we start to open our gifts.” Clark says while a light pink shade appears on his cheeks.

“I should have known. But there must be something in those gifts that excite you to put that smile on your face.” Nemu asks this time.

“Well I’m curious to see what I got this year and I’m curious to see the reaction of everybody to their gifts. Also I’m happy that Nemia and you are happy with your gifts Nemu. I wasn’t sure if Lara and Jor-El would succeed in bringing Keyel and Noxy here in time.”

“Well I thank you and them for this gift.”

“I wish to thank you also for bringing us here because it is also a gift for us.” Keyel adds using as few words as possible.

“Man are you always this quiet?” Pete asks Keyel. “You don’t talk much and when you do say something it’s like you try to use the minimum words possible.”

“I don’t talk if I have nothing to say. It is a waste of time and energy.”

“Oh boy. This one really needs to spend sometime around here. Listen Keyel you need to loosen up a little man!”

“Come on Pete, leave him alone. He will open up in his time.” Nemu tells him before the situation become too severe. He knows how Keyel can explode sometimes.

“Here let’s finish this and then we can go see if everything is ready in the house.” Clark says trying to move things along. ‘I sure hope they like their gifts. Especially Lana.’

Half an hour later the guys are making their way inside the house when Clark turns around and goes back to the loft. “Go ahead guys I forgot something in the loft.”

“Hurry up son because you were the one that was excited about the gift-giving part of the day.” Jonathan says as he walks inside after the others all laughing at his comment.

Everyone was settled in the living room when Clark came in. “Guys I want to give my gift to Lana first.” He says heading towards his girlfriend with his hands behind his back.

“Well I guess we don’t have a choice do we?” Martha says with a big smile on her face as she sees the flowers behind Clark’s back.

“Close your eyes Lana.” Clark says stopping in front of her. She does as he asks and as soon as her eyes are close Clark brings the roses to rest on her lap.

Lana’s nose picks up the scent as soon as Clark put them down and she opens her eyes as a smile going from ear to ear appears on her face.

“Oh my god Clark! They are beautiful!” She says as she stands up and gives him a deep kiss. “Thank you!” While Clark looks at her sitting back down his left hand goes instinctively to his pants pocket to the small jewellery box hidden there. ‘After we are done.’ Clark tells himself.

“So should I play Santa? I will give the gifts.” Clark heads toward the tree and picks up a medium sized rectangular box and read the name. “Well this goes to Chloe from Nemu and Nemia.” The twins share a smile as Chloe excitedly opens her gift. “Wow a new laptop! Thanks guys you shouldn’t have!”

“It’s our pleasure Chloe. It is a special laptop too. We had some new stuff added to it from some of the people we know.” Nemu tells her.

“It’s only part of the gift anyway.” Nemia can’t help but add after her brother.

“What? There is more?” Chloe is stunned by that.

“Yeah but the second part is not for you alone. Clark can you give me the little shiny blue package and the red one too?” Nemu extend his hand toward Clark waiting for the gifts.

“Here this one is for Pete and Chloe and this one is for Clark and Lana.” Nemu says handing the red package to Pete and the blue one to Clark.

Both men open the small boxes to find 2 sets of keys in each box. “What are those keys for?” Both of them ask at the same time.

“Well, those keys will be useful to you all when you go back to college this spring. We knew the dorms were full and after a serious talk between adults we came to the conclusion that giving you these would be the best way to show our trust in you all. You guys have apartments waiting for you in a secured building close to the Met-U campus. Clark and Lana we also have these letters for you that will give you details about your classes. I hope you will find those schedules to your taste and interests.”

“Oh my gosh.. You mean to tell us you guys got us apartments? Thanks!” Both girls exclaim at the same time.

“Yeah we knew it would end like this.” Nemia says clearing her hearing and making everybody laugh.

As the laughing stops Clark clears his throat and takes 2 long and thin packages from the tree. “Erm... These two are for you mom and dad. But first I have a call to make.” The Kent look to their son with puzzled expressions on their faces.

“Jor-El, Lara can you come and explain in better term the use of the gift please?” Clark says and his biological parents appear in the room.

“Good day to you all. What Kal-El means is that these gifts are as much from him than from us. It is a way for us to thank you both for caring and loving our son and rising him into a man we can be proud of.” Jor-El tells them as he appears.

“Clark give your mother hers first.” Lara tells him motioning to the yellow package in his hands. “To you Martha Kent we offer this crystal. Clark will explain how to use it but I am here to explain what effects it will have. First to both of you these will remove some of the marking of time and give you some kind of second chance at life. This particular one will also allow you to make your deepest desire come true. That is of having a child of your own. There is no greater feeling to a woman than having a life growing inside her. This crystal will do what the ship did 3 years ago and heal your body.” Lara finishes her explanation leaving Martha with tears coming down her cheeks.

Clearing her throat and wiping away her tears Martha voices her feelings. “This is very thoughtful and kind of you. I am happy that you are glad of the way we raised him. Thank you.” The last words are whispered and the last she can pronounce, her emotions catching up with her again.

After a minute Jor-El turns to Jonathan and motion for Clark to give him the green package. “As for you Jonathan Kent, this crystal will also heal your body of all the bad treatments you had to endure because of me. It will also give you extended life to see your child grow up and enjoy the family you worked so hard to keep together through the years. I met your father when I came here on Earth. He was a good man and so are you. We haven’t always seen eye to eye you and me but I am glad and proud of what my son became under your tutelage. They will also protect you both from normal illness. Enjoy your gifts and continue your quests in life and keep a close eye on our son.” Jor-El completes his little speech and come to stand beside his wife.

“Thank you both. It is an honour to have been able to raise Clark. He makes us proud and even with all the mistakes he made we love him probably even more than if he was from our own blood.” Jonathan says hugging his wife and putting a hand on Clark’s shoulder.

After saying their goodbyes the spirits leave and the living go back to their activities. After the rest of the gifts are given, Lex’s gift coming close to Nemu and Nemia’s in size, getting cars for each of the younger ones and a new truck for the farm, they took a light lunch consisting of sandwiches. As they were cleaning up the living room Clark got up and stood in the doorway watching his enlarged family and smiling. His left hand had gone again to his pocket and he decided right then to go ahead with the plan instead of waiting for later.

“Excuse me everybody. I have 1 last gift to give.” Upon hearing this Nemia’s head snap up and she looks at him understanding what this last ‘gift’ was.

Clark goes to Lana and offers her his hand so she can stand up. “Lana, no matter how beautiful you think those flowers are they are not nearly enough of a gift for you on this day. That is why I have another one. Remember when we were having dinner in the loft before every crazy thing started at the beginning of the summer?” Lana nods remembering the particular evening clearly and the following morning. That last image made her look at her promise ring and smile.

Seeing her look at the ring Clark knew she remembered correctly. Taking her hand he pulled the ring off her finger to her and everybody else’s surprise. Then he went to his knee and looked Lana in the eyes. Catching on on what was happening she felt tears coming to her eyes and looked on waiting for his next move.

“Lana, the following morning I gave you this ring and I made you a promise to do everything in my powers to get back to you. I kept part of it already and I want to renew this promise. I will always do everything I can to make my way back to you. I also made a promise to someday replace the ring. Today I have a new promise to make you and 1 question for you to answer. Lana Elizabeth Lang will you marry me?”

It took only 1 second for Lana to react and she yelled her answer. “YES!” Tears of joy were flowing freely out her eyes as she goes to her knees to hug him and give him a deep and passionate kiss.

“I am today fulfilling my promise to you by accepting the ring. I also want to renew my promise to always try to make my way back to you.” Lana tells him once she gets back her voice.

Clark took out the box and showed her the ring. “Let me explain the ring as I give it to you. The base of the ring is a platinum band, which is stronger than gold and shows the strength of our love and commitment. The promise we want to keep for each other is written inside the ring.” Showing him an inscription similar to the one in the promise ring but this time it says ‘Eternal Love’. “The diamond means the engagement we took and shows even more the words engraved in the band. The saying goes ‘A diamond is eternal.’ Well it is the truth. Now so far it is a normal engagement ring. Here is the difference. The 2 small rainbow moonstones on each side of the diamond represent my part of the promise as they are my birthstone. The 2 blue sapphires are you. They are your birthstone. So this ring truly put in image the promise we are making together today.”

“Claark.” It is all Lana can say as renewed tears pour out of her eyes. Every woman in the room tears up at his words. After a few minutes spent calming down, everybody start to move again and finish cleaning. The others come to Clark and Lana to congratulate them.

“I always knew that day would come. The way you guys looked at each other in high school was telling the world that it would happen.” Pete says patting Clark’s back and hugging Lana.

Next came Chloe. “Well guys I’m very happy for you two. A few months ago I think I would still have had some jealousy left in me but things change and I found my own superhero.” Chloe says before going back to Pete and hugging him making Clark and Lana smile.

“Well it took some time but you got the girl Clark. You went at it the best way and I’m happy you didn’t listen to my advice. I’m glad to be here today and that we could get our friendship back on track. Congratulation!” Lex gave both of them hugs and went back to help finish cleaning.

“You know, I knew you were going to do it but the words you spoke were very deep.” Nemia says giving him a hug. “You are like a little brother to me. Since I only have older brothers and a younger sister I’m happy for you.” Nemia adds looking to Nemu.

“Yeah well I feel the same way Nemia. Plus I know for sure I won’t feel any different when it’s your or Nemiafa’s turn to get married than I feel seeing Lana today.”

“Thanks you guys.” Clark and Lana say at the same time.

“Congratulation son. We are glad you and Lana are finally at this point in your relationship. We have seen how the both of you were acting since your first meeting in Nell’s shop all those years ago.” Both Kents say as they come to hug their children.

The rest of the day goes by with each of them getting in small groups. Chloe with Pete and Nemu looking at her laptop. Nemia with Keyel and Noxy helping Martha with dinner. Jonathan and Lex talking about how to make the farm more profitable. Everybody was so busy that no one saw when Clark and Lana left the house to go to the loft.

“Lana the flowers this morning. The blue one was to show the rarity that our relationship is. The red and white ones were showing the unity and depth of our love. I know we are still young to get married but all the months we spent apart made me realize that our engagement came only as a natural evolution at this point. I want to wait until we graduate from college to get married and I hope you feel the same way.”

“I do Clark. I am glad about today. It was the happiest day of my life.” As she says this her smile starts to disappear.

“What is wrong angel?” Clark is worried by her changing expression.

“Well as happy as I am, I am also scared because now I have to tell Nell about us.”

Hearing this brings a big smile to Clark now that he knows what is wrong.

“Why are you smiling? You don’t know Nell; she always dreamed that I would marry a very rich and popular man.”

“Well Nell already knows about us and she is fine with it.” Clark tells her and can’t stop his laugh to come out at her surprise.

“WHAT!!! How could she know?”

“Well I talked to her and your parents a few months ago when I came here. My parents would have known too but Nam-Ek appeared before I could arrive here at the farm.”

“That’s what happened when you fought him back then? Jor-El told us about it when Nemu arrived from Romania and learned about my fight with Aethyr.”

“Yeah I heard about that. I was and still am really proud of you.” Clark leans down to kiss her. They walked all the time they were talking and unconsciously making their way to the loft. “Well we are right in time for the sunset.” Clark says pulling Lana by the hand to the window.

“Beautiful as always.” Lana says looking outside.

“As always.” Clark answers looking at Lana with love in his eyes.

As the sun sank in the horizon, they share a passionate kiss filled with love.

It has been a couple weeks since Christmas and things have started to come back down at the farm as the routine settles in once again. The enlarged Kent family got another surprised as New Years came. Lois appeared at the door of the house one morning. She was back from her hunt for her sister and decided to come see her friends. She was as surprised as them to see all the people in the house and how much the farm and the town had changed. She knew what happened with the aliens at the military base but she didn’t know everything.

“So Smallville how do you feel now that you are getting married with the girl of your dreams?” Lois asks as she joins Clark at the window in the loft overlooking the fields on his last morning at the farm before school.

“Well Lois, we are not getting married right away. We decided to wait until after college. Which shouldn’t take us too long I guess. What about you and Lex? You two seem to have gotten really close since you came back.” Clark tells her with a smirk appearing on his face.

“Well he is nice and has the means to fulfill my needs and also I know he can get on the General’s good side.” Lois says bluntly.

“Well as weird as it will sound to you, I am glad for both of you. Lex is a good friend and you two are made for each other.”

“Oh how sweet of you Smallville.” Lois says with sarcasm trying to hide her true feeling of how deeply she is glad for his comment.

“You know Lois you don’t have to hide your true self from us. And please stop calling me Smallville.” Clark replies knowing pretty well her defence mechanism.

“Tell me everything you know about Lex that I should know and you got yourself a deal.” Lois says with a business-like tone of voice.

“Oh boy this will take the day but deal.” Clark puts out his hand to seal their deal then they sit on the couch and spend the rest of the day talking about Lex.

As the day turns to evening and Lana takes Lois place beside Clark at the loft window for the sunset, both of them could feel the tension filling the air once again.

“You know Lana I really don’t like this tension building up. I can feel something bad is about to happen.”

“I know what you mean. This is driving me crazy. It has been building for a couple of days now too.”

“Well I say we should enjoy the free time we have left today. Let’s watch the sunset then go have dinner in town just you and me. What do you say?”

“Well of course I would love to go have dinner with my fiancé.”

“That sounds good doesn’t it? I can’t believe after the last 2 years and a half that we are finally together and engaged. It is a dream come true Lana.”

“I feel the same way Clark. All the angst and the hurt we felt in the past, let’s leave it there ok?”

“Ok.”

As they talk the sun was setting and they turn to see it disappear in the horizon ending 1 more day on Earth and closing the door to that part of their life. Tomorrow another day and a new step in their story were to unfold.

“Well let’s go. Where do you want to eat? Smallville doesn’t have that many choices but we could go try that little Italian restaurant that opened in the old Fordman’s store. I heard they serve good pasta.”

“Alright Clark. Let’s go get ready and head there.”

When they enter the house they could feel the sadness in the air immediately and the head to the living room where everybody is.

“Hey guys why the long faces?” Clark asks as he sees their expressions.

“Well for 1 Noxy and Keyel are leaving tonight.” Nemu says looking to them and then to Noxy.

“Oh I see. What is the second reason?” Clark asks knowing there is more to it than just that.

“Well son, come here and look at the television and you will understand.” Jonathan tells him pointing to the TV.

The news were on and the images were showing archive footage of what happened at the military base a few months ago and also some newer footage of utter destruction of what appear to be a village. The news person was saying that both events were linked to the strangers with superhuman powers.

“ARGH! We have to stop them. I don’t know when or where but we have too. I knew something like that was going to happen.” Clark lets out not caring that not everyone in the room knew their secrets.

“Small... Sorry Clark, I know how you feel but we can’t do much. I mean even the army are having difficulties just keeping track of them. They say those two can move faster than speeding bullets.”

“I know Lois. It just makes me sick of seeing those images and knowing nothing can be done yet.”

Chloe and Lana were surprised by the exchange between them as it was news that Lois would call Clark by his name.

~~~~~~~ Later that night, Fortress of Knowledge ~~~~~~~

Noxy, Nemia, Lana, Keyel, Nemu and Clark are standing in the ‘travel room’ of the fortress exchanging some last goodbye and recommendation.

“Nemu, I have something for you.” Noxy tells him taking out a long and thin package from her bag. “Take care of it this time. I can feel you will need it before everything is over.”

Nemu took the package and opened it to reveal his sword that he sent away before the fight in Romania. “Thanks. So I guess it is back to full power then?”

“Yes it is.” And with that they hug.

“Well this is it. Good bye for now and until we meet again, my friends.” Keyel says shaking everybody’s hand and hugging Nemia close to his heart before turning and heading to the travel platform.

With a last wave Keyel turn into a ball of light before shooting upward to the stars.

“Nemia and Nemu, take care of our young friends here, now more than ever. I can feel a great darkness coming in the near future. Clark and Lana, congratulation once again and stand by each other’s side and believe in each other. Your future is in perpetual movement and only you will decide of its outcome. Don’t let the prophecies and destinies bring you down at any time. You are the masters of your lives.”

“We will.” Both Clark and Lana say at the same time. They smile at each other when they realise how close they are now.

“Nemu, my last piece of advice is to you. Find the Earth and bring him to his brothers. Only then will your journey here be complete. Good bye my love.” And with that Noxy gets on the platform and as Keyel did, she transform into a ball of light and shoot to the stars above.

“Well let’s get back home and get you two ready for your move to your apartment and for school. Then I guess Nemia will be around Kansas while I have to go on a wild goose chase for the Earth element.”

“The Earth element? I thought there were only 3? Fire, Water and Air?” Clark says surprised by Nemu’s information.

“Yes Clark the Kryptonian brought only the 3 you found and needed to unlock the seal over this place. The Earth element is a secret to most people and only the old Kryptonians even knew of his existence. Lucky for us I was around when it was created but not when it came to be here on Earth.”

“Well maybe Lara can help for that search then. But for now we really need to head back to the farm. There is still a lot to do before we are ready for tomorrow.”

“You are right Clark. Let’s go everybody.” Nemia says moving them toward the exit. The 4 of them fly back to Kansas as fast as they can and after only 2 minutes they arrive at the farm.

--- Lana’s POV ---

February 15 2006, Metropolis, Kansas

It has been over a month since we said goodbye to Nemu back at the farm. Clark and I left Smallville that day so that we could attend school at Met-U along with Pete and Chloe. Nemu left for his journey and his quest to find the missing element. We haven’t heard anything from him since that day and even though he won’t say it I know Clark is worried by the lack of communication. Even Nemia has become silent.

To make matters worst, our enemies are still waging war around the world opposing and mocking the different armies of the world and trying to bring the whole planet to their knees. I know sometimes when the news report one of those events Clark wants only one thing and it is to go out there and confront them but something is telling us inside that we have to wait for a sign.

We are not the only ones holding their breath. Jor-El and Lara have been very quiet for the past 2 weeks and we are starting to wonder what might be happening. Clark wants us to go to the Fortress and speak with Lara. I think we should too. I am as strong headed as him and I won’t admit out loud that I’m worried. So tonight we are flying to the North. Since Clark can go faster than me I will let him fly me there. Well I have to admit I like it when I am in his arms so why would I pass up a chance of doing two things I love. Flying and be in his arms. Our telepathic link has been getting stronger with each day and both our powers are building up inside us and I can feel how more stronger we are now.

--------------------

A/N: Ok... the ring I designed myself without looking at other rings... And the original design didnt use all the same stones...

The ring is like this: smdms (s = sapphire, m = moonstone and d = diamond) and why I chose those stones is easy. I said that they celebrated Clark’s real birthday about 1 week after the meteor shower which was in June and Pearl and moonstone are June’s birthstones. Now putting a pearl on a ring is not really that interesting so I went with the moonstone. And in season 1 and 4 we have some reference to Lana’s birthday near the beginning of the school year. Now I chose September because it is usually the first real month of school and blue sapphires are the birthstone of that month.

[treker]

that's sounds like a really beautifull ring nemu. great choice.

Lois and Lex as a couple. Perfect. I have always thought that Lois would be a better fit with Lex than with anyone else.

Nice touch with Jonathan and Martha's gifts. A brother or sister for Clark and Marhta and Jonathan around for decades to come. wonderful.

I can't wait for your next chapter Nemu. Keep up the good work. I'll be here waiting.

:)

[happycamper]

Great updates Nemu!

I am waiting with great anticipation for the confrontation with the renegade Kryptonians!


:D :D

[maitriniazngurl]

All I can say is wow!!

I mean those updates were amazing!! I loved how everything is going.. but your plot does seems to have big, big things in store. Can't wait for more!!

PPMS!!

[Nemu]

Oh man guys... next update will be posted tonight and it is the last "official" part of the story... after that there is the epilogue...

But that last part is probably one of my fav of this fic... I hope you guys will be able to feel the mood...

So stay tuned for tonight's episode of TNM ;)

Well Here it is... the end of Part 8... Only the epilogue left after this...

Enjoy!!!

--------------------------------

“Hi Clark, how was your last class of the day?” I ask him as he enters the apartment.

“Boring and too long. I missed you.” Clark replies as he walks toward me pulling me in a hug and kissing my forehead.

“I missed you too. I’m finished preparing for the trip. Do you want to stop in Smallville for dinner or fly there right away?” I look at his eyes as I speak the words. I can see that as much as he wants to fly there right away, a stop at the farm will do us good. We might even see Nemia.

“I guess we will stop at the farm. Can you call my mom while I do my round before leaving and also finish my personal preparation for the trip?” Clark asks me his resolve coming back in his eyes. That is what I love about him. He finally embraced part of his destiny and the responsibilities that goes with his powers.

~~~~~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

“Finally we are finished unpacking.” Lana says falling down on the couch.

Clark and her have been living in the apartment for a little more than a week now but with both their schedules so full they barely had time to unpack their stuff. But little by little in their free moments they slowly went through all.

Right now Lana is alone in the apartment and Clark is supposed to arrive any minute now. While waiting for him she turns on the TV and watch the news. As usual there had been some mischief somewhere in the world caused by their enemies. But as she is about to turn it off the news person become excited and tells.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I just got some last minute news from the metropolis pd that we might have finally a fighting chance against the seemingly unstoppable oppressor we keep hearing about everyday. Earlier this afternoon a man wearing a black and red suit with an emblem looking like some kind of red S in a diamond stopped a gang from robbing the Metropolis Central Bank. The reports from witnesses say that this man was bullet-proof and was stronger than the 10 men together. So wherever you are Superman please accept our thanks and hear our cries to help us fight against the evil group attacking everywhere around the world.”

Lana finally turns of the TV as the door of the apartment slowly opens letting in a very tired Clark.

“Oh Clark all you alright? I just heard about your exploit in the bank today. I am very proud of you.” Lana tells him going to give him a hug.

“Thanks. But the bank was the first of many appearances this ‘Superman’ made. Can you believe it was Lois that came up with that name? And the funny thing is that she was standing right beside me and never recognized me. This means that maybe I will be able to continue doing this for a while. I have to admit it felt good to stop those men. After the bank I went to help the firefighters stop a big fire in the warehouse district. Some chemicals had gone in flames and they couldn’t get too close because of the heat. I was lucky to arrive then because there were still a couple of scientists in the building.”

They stood there holding each other, feeling the comfort they both give to the other.

~~~~~~~ END FLASHBACK ~~~~~~~

I was proud of him then and still am today as he takes off the balcony to fly around. I know we are in no hurry to leave so I will call Martha and let her know we will stop some time tonight and to keep some food for us.

“Hi Martha.”

“Hi Lana, how are things in Metropolis?”

“They are good. Clark just left for his round. We will be stopping at the farm tonight on our way up north. We should be there once Clark returns from his patrol.”

”Alright dear I will keep some food warm for you guys.”

“Thanks. See you soon.”

“See you soon.” Then Martha hangs up.

‘Well now I only have to wait.’ Lana sits down on the couch with a book and start reading while she waits for Clark to return.

--- End of Lana’s POV ---

1 hour later Clark lands on the balcony of his apartment and enters through the patio door in the living room. The first thing he sees is Lana sleeping on the couch with a book resting on her chest, open to the page she was reading when she fell asleep.

Letting her sleep a few more minutes while he finishes preparing fort he trip Clark zooms around the apartment packing a small bag containing some of the items he would need at the Fortress. The dagger, the key and a small crystal he had received from the people at the Swann Institute a few days after his first appearance as Superman.

“Lana? Lana, angel please wake up. It is time to leave for the farm.” Clark whispers in her ear while lightly shaking her.

“Hmm? Wha?” Lana wakes up a little confuse. “How long was I asleep?”

“Less than an hour by the look of things. I was gone 1 hour.”

“Ah well I guess I needed the extra sleep. So anything interesting happened today?”

“Nah, just a mugging attempt. That was a quick job. Now let’s go. I’m starved and I’m sure mom will have a feast waiting for us since we will make it in time for dinner.”

“Great! Let’s go then.” They both pick up their small bag and head outside after locking the doors and making sure everything was turned off.

A minute later they are standing outside the yellow and blue farm house. As they reach for the doorknob the door fly open and Nemia stands in front of them.

“Hey guys. Come in. We were about to sit down for dinner.”

“Great thanks. Hi mom and dad.” Clark says walking in the Kitchen putting Lana to the ground.

“Hi Martha, Jonathan.” Both parents goes to them and after the family is done greeting each other they head back to the table and sits so they can eat.

After a few minutes of silent eating, Clark decides to break the silence. “Well we are going to fly to the Fortress and ask Lara about some of our worries. What can be done about Nam-Ek and Aethyr and also if she had any news from Nemu. I’m worried because even her and Jor-El are silent too now.”

“I will go with you guys. I have a bad feeling of something very wrong and very evil is coming. And I want to know if there is any news from Nemu.”

“Alright Nemia. We will leave after dinner. I hope we will be back before morning.”

“It’s alright son. Although I have something else to say. I am proud of what you are doing Clark. Superman is a figure for good and the people of the entire world are starting to turn toward you as your reputation spreads.”

“Thanks dad. I feel better since I have been doing this. At least I feel I can do something against the evil in the world even if I can’t go up against Nam-Ek and Aethyr yet. I feel the time is approaching for our next confrontation with them but there is some waiting in the air. Like there is something that will happen soon and this will show us it is time to act.”

They finish eating in silence. After dinner Clark and Lana says their goodbyes to the Kent and head outside to meet Nemia.

“Let’s go guys. I am anxious to learn what Lara can tell us.” Nemia says to them.

“Ok let’s go. Lana you want me to carry you again?”

“Of course Clark.” Lana says smiling and jumping in his waiting arms making the three of them laugh harder.

They took to the sky right after Lana settled in Clark’s and they arrive at the Fortress after a few minutes leaving a couple of sonic booms behind them in the evening skies.

“Lara!” Clark says as they enter the main chamber of the place. “Lara! Mother come out we want to talk to you.”

“Yes Kal-El. I could guess that just for the fact you are here. What can I do for you my son?”

“We want to know if you have any news about Nemu, Jor-El and this dreadful feeling we are experiencing. Also I want to know if you have any idea of what is coming. I can feel I must watch out for a sign or something that will points me in the way to proceed against our enemies.”

“Well Kal-El first of all Nemu and Jor-El are together on the quest and that is the reason you haven’t heard from them. From what I can gather they are reaching the end of their journey. But I fear your other questions won’t bring as much good news. Our enemies found a way to enhance their resistance to the Kryptonite and also the human Lionel got mixed in some experiment and was transformed by the properties of the rocks. Also I have been sensing some outside forces on the move as well trying to help those evil in their quest.”

As Lara finishes speaking 2 streaks of light goes through the whole structure and a deep shaking rumble through the air. “What was that?!” Clark asks worried.

“Oh my god no!” Lara exclaims showing pure fear in her eyes.

“Lara what is it!” Nemia talks for the first time feeling the oppressing sense of evil and the wave of darkness coming their way. Never having seen Lara in so much fear was starting to make Nemia uneasy.

“I am not the one to bring the news. Jor-El must come and speak to you.” With that said Lara disappear an instant and a minute later both of Clark’s biological parents appear in front of them. The appearance of Jor-El scares them all. Even as a spirit he is covered in many wounds.

“Father what happened!” Clark can’t help but asks.

“It is alright my son. These are minor injuries. Don’t worry about Nemu either. He is well and will remain so for a long while. But I have dire news to bring. Our enemies have breach the walls of the Phantom zone and released 2 of the worst nightmare of the whole universe once again before I could repair the damages.”

“What do you mean Jor-El? Certainly you aren’t saying they released Zod and the Puppeteer from their prison?”

“Exactly Nemia. Those were the streaks of light you saw going through earlier. Nam-Ek and Aethyr aren’t strong enough to do that on their own. They must have gotten some help from out there.” Jor-El says in a grave voice.

“Now I understand what that feeling of dread was, darkness and pure evil that were building in me for the past few weeks. Now I know what I must do. Once again I must break my vows.”

“What do you mean Nemia?” Lana asks turning toward the other woman.

“What I mean is I must go at once to Falazya. There is only a handful of power in the universe that could have done this. And I fear for my home. Please tell Nemu where I went and that I will do everything in my powers to protect our home and our people.”

“We will Nemia don’t worry.” Clark says wit a new found determination.

“Thanks Clark. Lana, may I have a final parting word with you in private?”

“Sure.” Lana follows Nemia as the two women walks toward the travel chamber.

“Father, mother. This was the sign I feared. Tonight a new crusade is starting to save Earth and purge it from evil. Tonight the world will learn the meaning and power behind Superman.” Clark vows to his parents as both of them can see the fire of determination burning brightly inside his eyes.

“Go Kal-El and make us proud.” Both of them say at the same time. Clark turns around and head for the chamber where Lana and Nemia went.

--- Meanwhile in the travel room ---

“Lana I can feel how strong your powers got. I have two recommendations to make to you. Take care to keep control of your powers at all time. And the second one is to embrace them as part of you but do not let them define you. Trust in Clark and your other friends. You have nothing to prove to anyone even to yourself. You are the magical one. Now go forward my sister and embrace your true identity.” With that Nemia hugs Lana and sees and mostly feels Clark coming in the room.

“Clark?” Nemia is unsure of what she is feeling fort he first time in front of the farm boy.

“Yes Nemia. Like you said to Lana, it is time for us to step forward and embrace our true identities. As I said to my parents, tonight Earth will learn the true powers of Superman. Let our enemies tremble with fear as we march for battle.” Both women could feel and see the determination that was coming from him.

“Good bye my friends and may our paths cross again soon.” Nemia says as she steps on the platform and disappear in a ball of light.

“The time as come Lana. Tonight we are going to Smallville to say our good-byes to our family and friends and then we move out into the world and start taking back for our people what Nam-Ek and Aethyr stole. Their pride and freedom. The road will be a long and difficult one, but I am ready to take it. What about you?”

Feeling all his power appeases her and as she looks inside herself to understand all her feeling at the moment she can see once again the burning sensation from the Fire spirit. And with just that fleeting thought her whole body lights up in blue flames. Flames that are also showing in her eyes.

“I am ready Clark. Take us home and let’s start this new chapter in our life. No longer are we bound to this world. We must become one with it and the whole universe to succeed.”

The flame of their determination burning brightly, both of them takes to the sky and fly in a fiery blue blur toward Smallville.

~~~~~~~ 3 weeks later, Marsh 9 2006, Smallville, Kansas ~~~~~~~

Both Clark and Lana went through a lot during the last 3 weeks. They flew all over the world helping the different countries to free themselves from the hold the Kryptonian invaders had on them. This dance brought them back to their home in Smallville to see their hometown in ruins. They cried when they arrived to see that half the residential areas of the small town have been burned to the ground. Many lost their lives in these last 3 weeks but not as much as could have happened without the quick thinking of the Kent and Lex Luthor. They learned when they arrived at the farm that most of the houses were empty when the attack happened. Lex had used his resources to evacuate the people from the town.

After being the Cream Corn and Meteor capital of the world, Smallville was now in all appearance a ghost town. It will not always be so but for now that was the situation.

On this bright spring morning both Clark and Lana are standing on the roof of the house looking at the sun slowly rising to the East. Their determination never wavered in since that night in the Fortress. Once again they could feel a bubbling feeling in their being. The last battle was going to be held soon and by the way things were it would be happening in Smallville.

Their only wish at the moment was for their friend to be safe and for Nemu to come home soon. They will need his help in the fight ahead.

As the day goes by their feeling of impending doom increase as they mentally prepare for battle and also train together to be in perfect harmony in their movement and their powers.

~~~~~~~ 3 days later, Marsh 12 2006 ~~~~~~

As Clark and Lana come down for breakfast they come face to face with their friends and family sitting at the table eating.

“Hey guys what are you doing here?” Clark asks to Chloe, Pete and Lex while making his way to his chair after pulling Lana’s chair for her.

“Always the gentleman, hey Clark?” Lex says winking to him.

“Always Lex. But you haven’t answered my question.”

“Well to tell you the truth we knew that you guys would need us here. Something is coming I can feel it inside me.” The bald billionaire explains.

“Well as glad as I am for you to be all here I have to say that you only put yourselves in danger by bring in Smallville.”

“Don’t worry for us Clark. We might not be Super as you two but we did hear all you did around the world. We want to help you as much as we can. If it’s only by sitting here at the farm offering moral support to our best friends then we gladly accept the danger that goes with it.” Chloe says before both men could come up with a decent answer. Pete and Lex nods in agreement at what Chloe said feeling the exact same way and silently thanking her to have voiced with perfect words their feelings.

“Well we are glad about that Chloe.” Lana replies with a smile.

As the small talk around breakfast comes to an end they start to set back in the farm routine of chores when Jor-El appears in the middle of the room looking somehow out of breath.

“Jor-El?” Jonathan asks being the first one to see the spirit. “What is wrong?”

“I have important news. You have 3 days left before Nam-Ek and Aethyr are back here. Zod and the Puppeteer have somehow left the planet for now. No doubt gone to get reinforcement to bring down this planet and then move for their next target. Be careful, I have a feeling you will be tested in the next three days by this Lionel person. He has strange powers now that can even reach to me so be very careful.”

“We will Jor-El. Thank you for warning us. May I have a private word with you please?” Clark tells the spirit pointing outside.

“Yes my son.” Jor-El floats behind Clark to the outside of the house.

“Father would the Phantom module in the cave still work if I use the key and the small blue crystal that the Swann Institute sent me?”

“Why yes it might still work. But why would you want to open that door?”

“To put Nam-Ek and Aethyr there. And Lionel too if we succeed and taking there as well.”

“Well my son you might not need to bring them there. Do you still have the ceremonial dagger that the twins gave you?”

“Yes it is inside with the other items.”

“Go get them and meet me in the place you call your loft. Bring Lana with you.”

Clark goes and gets the items and Lana and they walk to the barn while Clark explains his plan to Lana.

“We are here.” Clark tells the pacing Jor-El.

“Alright Kal-El. Look closely at the dagger and you should find a small chamber in the hilt.”

“Yes I can see it.”

“Ok now you must insert the small crystal in there. After that give the key and dagger to Lana and step aside. The binding will require magic and it might hurt you if you are too close.”

“As much as I don’t like this I will do as you say.” Clark inserts the small blue crystal in the hilt of the dagger and then gives it to Lana with the key. ‘Be careful.’

Lana nods in answer to the telepathic message and then come to stand before Jor-El. The spirit closes his hands over Lana’s and then concentrate on the task. “Lana concentrate on bringing out the blue flame only on your hands so it engulfs the dagger and our linked hands.”

After doing so Lana looks to Jor-El to see him deep in trance reciting some words that she finds herself repeating. Their hands flash yellow then red before going back to their blue color. Once it is done the dagger is shining with some inner lights of yellow, red and blue. The magical process burned out the key and merges both items together.

“Kal-El, manipulate this with great care. When you have brought your enemies to their knees you will be able to use it to absorb their life energy in the blade and the key will send them to the Phantom Zone. Be cautious because what can happen to them may also happen to you.”

“I will take great care Father, don’t worry.”

Just like Jor-El said their days were filled with some probing from squads sent by their enemies to test their readiness. But never had a task force come close to the farm as Superman constantly stopped them before they could even see the limits of the Kent land.

Both Clark and Lana woke up with a start on the morning of the 15th feeling that today was the day. They prepared themselves and put on their fighting suits and readied their weapons. After one last round of training as the sun rose in the east, the both of them came inside for breakfast and to warn the others.

“We will be in town today. I want to risk as little as possible so we will stand in the ruins of Smallville’s Eastern residential area for the fight.” Clark declares.

“Ok we will stay here and protect ourselves. We have some kryptonite and guns.” Jonathan says.

“I also have some of my men coming to stay here with us to help.” Lex adds closing his cell phone.

“Alright. Lana if you are ready we will head to the town.”

“Let’s go.” Lana says standing beside her love.

“You guys be careful out there.” Martha says hugging both of the young ones before letting them leave.

“Don’t worry Mrs. Kent I have faith in both of them and I know they will make it out of there in one piece.” Chloe comes to stand beside the mother and puts a hand on her shoulder.

”I know Chloe. But it never hurt to be cautious.” Martha says with a small smile thinking at how wonderful friends Clark had made. That was one of her biggest fear as her son grew up. With his special abilities she feared he would end up alone. Now she practically found two daughters in the 2 young women.

On their way to town Clark and Lana decides to stop at the cemetery to talk with Lana’s parents.

“Hi mom, hi dad. Sorry I haven’t visited much lately but we have been very busy trying to protect our friends and family and also the world from the invaders that want to conquer us.” Lana says before falling silent in her thoughts of her parents.

“Mrs Lang, Mr Lang. Like I promised to you I am taking care of your daughter and I asked her and she said yes. We will get married after college if we ever finish it. Today we come to see you to ask for your blessing and protection for our souls on this day that will see a lot of atrocities before it end.” As Clark finishes talking both of them could feel a wave of warmth going through them and knew it was the Lang’s way to reassure their children that they were with them always.

“Let’s go Lana. We still have to prepare the terrain for the fight. I have the feeling that Nam-Ek, Aethyr and Lionel won’t be our only adversaries today. There will be lots of blood spilled again as much as we want to get through with a minimal amount of casualties as possible.”

“I know you are right Clark. But we have to think of the greater good and of the world.”

“You are right Lana. I love you my angel.” Clark says before leaning down to kiss her passionately on the lips.

“I love you too Clark.” Lana answers back when they pull away from the kiss.

Noon had come and past and the both of them were still zooming around the ruins setting up the battlefield to their advantages. As the sun was starting to set, they both met in what could be considered as the center of the field and they sit down to eat a little.

“Well I guess we are as ready as we can, considering what we are up against.” Clark says finishing his sandwich and picking up his bottle of water.

“I guess you are right. Maybe it is a good thing to be fighting at night. Less people to witness the fight. And it will be easier to blind the people against us.” Lana says with a small smile creeping up her face and winking.

“Yeah I guess so. Lana I love you. And after the crazy weeks we spent I feel closer to you as never before. Once everything here is over lets help in rebuilding the town then let’s prepare fort he rest of our lives together. What you think?”

“I think you have a great idea again Mr. Kent and I would gladly take you up on that. I promise once this is over we will concentrate on us.” Lana says standing up and putting out her hand in a ‘seal the deal’ kind of way. Clark stands up too and shakes Lana’s hand before pulling her in for a kiss.

“Now that is my way to seal a deal between us.” Clark says smiling to Lana.

“I prefer your way to mine then. I love you too Clark.”

“Aww look at that. Aren’t they lovely? This is making me sick. MEN FORWARD!!!”

Both Lana and Clark turn their heads when they hear the man talking. As soon as he gives the order a small army in black rushes to them with different weapons in their hands.

Lana and Clark gets back to back and starts to fight with their long range powers until their enemies are too close for those to be effective.

“Well I guess now is as good a time as ever to let lose our first barrage. Don’t you think Clark?” Lana says parrying a sword swipe with her own and releasing a shocking grasp at her opponents belly. The man fall down screaming off the pain deep in his guts.

“You are right as usual Lana.” Clark says sending 2 men flying to the other end of the space they are fighting in. After that Lana let out a wave of Fire from her hands that swipe the first few ranks of the mercenaries burning through clothes and heating weapons. Clark on his side takes a deep breath before releasing a powerful wind colder than the Artic during winter storms. This attack stopped the advance and let them breath a little before the second wave of attack come.

Darkness was falling on them as wave after wave of men were but out of commission. Both Clark and Lana are trying to keep the death to a minimum but sometimes you have to do what it takes to defend your life. After another man fall off her blade and another one gets burned to a crisp by Clark’s heat vision there is a lull in their enemies’ ranks.

“Well looks like they decided it wasn’t worth the death.” Clark says taking a deep breath releasing it in measured rhythm blowing away the bodies of both dead and unconscious persons cleaning the grounds.

“Yeah looks like it.”

“I wouldn’t think that if I were you. Kal-El you should have followed in Jor-El’s footsteps. Then you could have done great things and we wouldn’t have to kill you here tonight.” Nam-Ek says entering the square along with Aethyr and a very changed Lionel.

“Ah Mr. Kent how pleased I am to see you again. Now that there is no secret between us I guess it will be my pleasure to take your surrender and bring you to a lab so that we can do some experimentation.” Lionel’s cold eyes and voice was saying the opposite to the words he was saying.

“I wouldn’t be too quick in asking for surrender if I were you. If as you say there is no secret between us then please tell me why I would be surrendering to you?” Clark spats at him his anger rising at the sight of the 3 mastermind behind tonight’s slaughter.

Unbeknown to the people on the ground a lone figure was floating cloaked in shadow in the sky. The five super being on the ground could suddenly hear a voice on the wind.

“O Spirits of the Earth protect the innocents from the slaughter that is coming.”
“O Spirits of Water defend your world against the invader.”
“O Spirits of the Air bring blissful silence to these mortals’ ears and shield them from the sounds of battle.”
“O Spirits of Fire hear my plea and let your passion burn wild and free through me as I battle our enemies.”

As the last word is heard a ball of silver fire lights up in the sky taking all eyes to it and announcing as clearly as a trumpet call the entering of another player into battle. The silver lightning had come at last and fell upon his enemies with ruthless efficacy.

Both Clark and Lana saw Nemu fall to the ground behind them in the middle of the remnants of the army that was coming at their backs while the three was distracting them.

They both turn around facing the 3 masterminds and start walking toward their nemesis. Lana head straight to Aethyr with a smile on her lips remembering their last encounter.

“So Aethyr tell me, the burning went away slowly?” Lana says laughing and releasing her own blue flames.

“You wish. As soon as I took to the sky there were no more wound.”

“Ah well I guess I will have to try harder this time.” Both women start attacking each other and the resounding explosion rang clearly in the night air.

Clark went to Nam-Ek keeping an eye out for Lionel.

“Well Nam-Ek I see your wounds healed fine.”

“Thanks to my Kryptonian blood it did. You know even if you defeat us here today you are going to face someone you could never even dream of winning against. Zod will come back and stronger than ever before.”

At the mention of Zod’s name a dome of silver lightning exploded from the middle of the mass of henchmen. They could clearly hear Nemu’s voice coming to them from the center of a burning mass of bodies.

“What in hell did you do Nam-Ek!!! The release of this mad man was foolish even for you!”

“Zod is not the only one Nemu. They set free another one that they call The Puppeteer along with Zod. Jor-El said they left Earth for now.” Clark says keeping his eyes to Nam-Ek and Lionel.

“Argh you will pay for this Nam-Ek.” Nemu heads toward them but Lionel stand in his way releasing a beam of green light right at Nemu’s chest.

Stepping back a few steps Nemu puts a hand to his chest and then looks to the puny human standing in his way feeling the change that went through the senior Luthor’s body.

“Ah so you are not so human anymore I see. Let’s play you and I then.” Nemu unsheathe both his swords and start walking toward Lionel.

All the 3 fight was going back and forth through the ruins, standing walls were brought down by Kryptonian bodies flying through or by beams of green light and silver lightning. Lana had dropped her blue flames and went back to her lightning as those were a lot stronger.

After 30 minutes of each side battling for the upper hand Nemu and Lana were back in the middle of the square when a high wind pick up and blow through the entire length of the square.

Nemu’s determination never faltering one of his sword backing its sheath and only Noxy and Hageina’s lights shining through the night he says through clenched teeth. “Well it has been fun my friend but it must stop here.”

As he finish to say that a flying Nam-Ek falls to the ground on the side of the 4 in the square before a blur of blue, red and yellow ram through his chest. After a bright flash of light only Superman was standing there with a dagger in his hand. The cold stare in his eyes was paralyzing Aethyr.

“I swore 3 weeks ago that the world and my enemies would learn of my true powers. Now tonight I am done playing with children.” Moving faster than light Clark super-speeds to Aethyr and stab the dagger right through her heart and like Nam-Ek before her she gets pulled into the Phantom Zone.

“Now Lionel I guess it is only you left here.” Clark says turning toward his friend’s father. Walking slowly to let the full extend of his released power crush the resolve of his enemy.

“This is not over mark my words. I will be back and once Zod gets back here you will regret this day.” Lionel says before disappearing in a flash of green light.

Calming down quickly as the other man disappear, Clark turns to Nemu and Lana a smile appearing on his face.

“Nemu I’m glad to see you. Let’s go back to the farm. I have a feeling that they might have seen action there too.”

They hurry back to the farm to see Pete and Jonathan putting out a fire that burned one of the barns.

“Pete, Dad! How did things go here tonight?”

Hearing the voice both of them turn around and great them. Both of them were covered in blood coming from many small wounds and some of it not theirs.

“Well a small army came here. We fought them as best we could. Half the men that Lex called in were killed and Lex has been injured. The girls are taking care of the wounded inside the house. The rest of Lex’s men are in pursuit of the mercenaries.” Jonathan tells them.

“Oh my god will he be alright?” Lana asks hearing about her friend’s getting hurt.

“Well now that Nemu and you are here with your healing powers it should help.” Pete says.

“You guys go inside and help the wounded as best you can I will take care of this fire in a few seconds. I have some leftover power pulsing through me that needs release.” Clark gesture to all the others to go inside.

After a few icy breaths were released on the fire and that he made sure it wasn’t going to come back, Clark walks in the house and see most of the people in there are helping with the healing.

Looking at the action in the house and that things were under control Clark exits and fly to the Fortress.

“Lara I need your help to seal this dagger so that it can’t be used ever again to access the Phantom Zone.”

“Come here my son. Cast the dagger into this hole in the console. This will seal it inside a force field.” Lara says pointing to a console to the left of the main one.

“Thanks. Now I must go back and help bringing the town back on its feet and relieve the worries from my friends and family.”

“Go my son. Continue to make me proud with everyday.”

Clark flies back home to start the healing and rebuilding of his new home.

[treker]

Great update nemu....hey, is that green light that lionel is emitting kryptonite?

You said there's the eplique to come....didn't you also say there would be a sequel? <I hope so>

Nice job.... PPMS

[Lost_In_Clana]

Great update!! When will the epiloge ge posted and the sequel??
Please post ehm soon!!!

[maitriniazngurl]

I can't wait for more!! awesome job Nemu!! I love how you included all these characters that aren't included a lot in stories.

PPMS!!

[Nemu]

The Epilogue will be up later tonight... as for the sequel... It wont be before next week...

So stay tuned... and where are all the ppl that posted? I guess I'll wait for more feedback before posting the next one...



Well... no update tonight... I may update tomorrow... but Thursday at the latest since I leave on Friday morning for the weekend...


So... last chance to leave feedback before I post the epilogue ;)

[happycamper]

Great job Nemu. Everything comes to a close...or does it? ;)

Have to admit, I've discovered "Heroes Rising", and am now at somewhat of a dilemma. I think I'm just going to wait until you post it here to read, but have to admit the waiting will be hard!:\

In any case, I'm looking forward to the epilogue!


:D :D

[maitriniazngurl]

Oh.. I can't wait!!

[Nemu]

hc... you should wait that I post it here... that way you will be able to post comment on each part... and well... you may get a new part faster that way ;)

To the others... Heroes Rising will begin next week... I think I'm at chapter 3 in that one... the big plan is there for it and the other stories but none are all written... so once you catch up... you will have to wait ;)

And to let you all know... I started writing Kryptonian Invasion back on July 17 last year... and posted the epilogue on November 12... So now you know how long it took for this first story to be written... and no I wasn't updating everyday and i did take a break at one time...

treker... yeah it is some kind of Kryptonity beam...

so... Here it is!!! The Epilogue... Enjoy!!!

-----------------------------------

Epilogue: The healing, the rebuilding and the prophecy.

The months of Spring and Summer of the Earth year 2006 was filled with every nation recovering from the failed Kryptonian invasion. News reports coming from all around the world were acclaiming Superman and other so called superheroes that came to light during the time of crisis.

But what is happening with our young heroes? Clark and Lana went back to complete their whole studies in a matter of month and then they traveled the world helping where it was required or just taking the ‘pulse’ of the planet. They knew Earth had been saved for now and that everything would be back to normal soon.

But in both their minds some unsolved puzzle was clouding their joy. Where was Lionel? When would Zod and the Puppeteer come back?

So with all their questions they come to the place where there is more likely to be answers. They meet up with Nemu and arrive at the Fortress of knowledge.

“Well Kal-El my son...” Lara says as both her and Jor-El face the 3 heroes.

“Your destiny lies beyond this world. The universe is big and some other world might need your help. Don’t worry you don’t have to go for now but never forget that it will be required of you in the future. Both you and Lana have a promising future ahead of you.” Jor-El says taking where Lara had left off.

“Nemu, Nemia said to tell you that she would be on Falazya and that she would try everything in her powers to protect the world and your loved ones.”

“Yes I heard her words since she said them both in her mind and with her voice at the time. I have one last thing to do here on Earth before I can finally head back home for the first time in so long.”

“And that is?”

“The Earth element. I need to give it to the chosen ones. Only they can unlock its full potential.” Nemu turns around and puts a stone in Clark and Lana’s joined hands. Upon contact with their hands the stone shines a light brown color and a pair of symbols appear on its smooth surface.

“There, you are now the protectors of this world. You can now follow your heart and please continue to walk along the path to the light.” Nemu says hugging Lana and murmuring in her ear. “I will miss you a lot my sister.” Then leaving a teary eyed Lana he goes to Clark and bring him in a bear hug. “I will miss you a lot my friend. You became like a little brother to me. I can feel how strong you two have become and I can see how strong the bond between you is. Continue making us proud and may our paths cross again in the future.” With that Nemu goes to the travel platform and as the others before him leave Earth in a flash of light.

The end... or is it?

[happycamper]

A really great job, Nemu, and I really enjoyed this story!

I'll take your advice and only read "Heroes Rising" here. But I hope you start posting soon - I find I really like having daily updates!! ;)

Looking forward to your next effort!


:D :D

[Nemu]

Well.... If I get enough proding today Ijust might start posting 1 or 2 post of Heroes Rising... to hold you all over the weekend...

I'll see tonight when I come back from work...

Wow... I can't believe this whole 166 pages in Word file enters in 2 pages in here... Kinda sad in a way...

[treker]

Originally posted by Nemu
Well.... If I get enough proding today Ijust might start posting 1 or 2 post of Heroes Rising... to hold you all over the weekend...

I'll see tonight when I come back from work...

Wow... I can't believe this whole 166 pages in Word file enters in 2 pages in here... Kinda sad in a way...



Oh yeah...that would be so great if you could start it early Nemu.

I vote yes...yes....yes.....yes!!!

I know what you mean about the difference in pages. I think I've written a very long chapter in word perfect...but, when I copy and paste to here....it just doesn't come out as long as I hoped it would. :(

[Nemu]

Originally posted by treker
Oh yeah...that would be so great if you could start it early Nemu.

I vote yes...yes....yes.....yes!!!

I know what you mean about the difference in pages. I think I've written a very long chapter in word perfect...but, when I copy and paste to here....it just doesn't come out as long as I hoped it would. :(

I'll let you in on a little secret... I always check the character (with spaces) count to see how big it really is ;)

[Lost_In_Clana]

Great update!! Can't wait for "Heroes Rising"

[maitriniazngurl]

I can't wait for Hero Raising!! This was a really, really awesome story.. and your writting was incredible!!

Post Soon!! :D

[HP_DRAGON]

Great updates Nemu the ending was really cool. can't wait for Heroes Rising ^_^

[deanyouk]

Brilliant story Nemu

[Iowanmom]

Okay, Nemu,
I had started reading this before when you first posted it here on K-site. I'm sorry I was remiss with this story. You have so much going on and from the sound or things, we've just gotten started.

If you can believe this, I've taken notes. I must be insane, but with the multitude of reading this will require, I really don't want to forget anything. However I still might. ;)

First of all, Part One: The Arrival was wonderfully written, as I said before. However I did noticed you have shown two ways of letting us know when Lana is thinking. For example:


Only one thought was on her mind. What the hell was this thing and what was going to happen once the 'door' was completely open.[QUOTE]
The other example I have is this:
[QUOTE]
"At least I got the chance to tell him I love him." Was her last thought as she felt herself falling unconscious.
I mention this because I find it easier to switch modes between dialogue and 'thinking' better if the words are in italics. No big deal... Sorry.

As I continued reading something stuck out to me that pleased me a great deal. You mention the fact that Namek and Aethyr don't know the affects of the yellow sun on them. Now I've read fics where they just automatically assume they know about the super powers, but here they don't and I love it. Yet too, can most beings pick up propeller blades with their bare hands? So I am confused as to whether they really know or not. Regardless, they will soon. Plus the mention of joining with Kal-El gives us the impression that they will know they are more powerful. I don't know, I could be just reading too far into the fic. Either way the nod at them 'not' knowing originally was fantastic.

And an added plus was the fact that you had them speaking their native tongue. I am so glad. Makes this all the more plausible in my eyes and I love it.

I find it very interesting that the Kryptonians can not touch Lana. Very curious because this only happens as a result of her seeming to make a decision, internally. Great job here.


His blood was beginning to boil and his hands were itching for the feel of his blades and the anticipation of the fight. His soul was hearing the call of battle.
Oh my goodness, I don't need to gush about how tantalizing this bit of writing is to my palate. Very nice descriptions here, Nemu.

And this sentence has me raising an eyebrow or two. :lol:


If you continue this fight right now all you will achieve is get killed and go join Tyr-El and Zod in hell."
What's up with this? Is Tyr-El and Zod in 'hell' or in the Phantom Zone? Is this 'place' what Nemu meant to call it? I was just curious. :\

And this caught my eye too:


"It's not finished Falazyan!
So Nemu is a Falazyan? This is interesting. It will be interesting to see how he became involved with Jor-El, being that he is not of Krypton. This is cool.

I thought this little quote was a hoot.


"I've been around for long enough to know the principal 'actors' of the little drama going on around Smallville.
Plus, you have your own name in this Nemu. :lol: I'm giddy!!

Anyway, the first part of this fic was great. I'm sorry I quoted so much, but I wanted to be specific since I'd let this go for so long. I don't think I can read this all at once, but I wanted you to know I have started it again. Wonderful start and I am anxious to read more. :)

Part Two: The Return is great as well. I mean we get to meet Lara!!! She's such a wonderful person. I do wish we could have gotten a glimpse of the white cold tundra surrounding Clark as he watched the Fortress being built. I know your descriptive ability is awesome, Nemu. I want to see more of it. More surrounding environment, a feel of the senses. You can paint wonderful scenes!!

Trust in those you love and in the man known as Nemu. He arrived in Smallville today.
I thought Nemu had been around for a while. That's what he said to Lana. He knew all about the "drama's of Smallville” Or does Lara mean literally. As in, David finally revealed himself today, as Nemu?? See..... I read to far into it. I'm sorry. Just checking.


“Thanks mother. I hope I can get to Lana in time.” With that said Clark got up and went to the crystal that will send him home.
Just a quick question... how did Clark know it was Lana that was in trouble? Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Was it the burning sensation? Did it tell him it was Lana that was in trouble?

So many questions and of course, if I'd kept up with everyone else, they'd have been answered all ready and it wouldn't look like I'm picking on ya. *sigh* My fault. I'm sorry Nemu. It's just that I can see how detailed and particular you are with this fic. I can see and feel how much you have of yourself in this as well. I want to experience it all and absorbe it. I could have done that better if I'd kept up and didn't have to 'catch' up. My fault, I'm sorry.

Just a side note, this is the first fic where I find Lara, a superior being, being perceived as more 'simple'. I mean.... her speech. She seems less superior. For example, when she's thinking of Kal-El, she pleads that he 'doesn't mess up this time' instead of saying something like, 'do not fail.' Maybe she's just more 'motherly' and I'm use to hearing Jor-El. I just notice she was different from Jor-El. It's cool. It's nice to see one of his biological parents being kind to him. :)

And Nemia is Nemu's sister. Interesting. There are whole families involved here. Cool.

As Clark races back home I could feel his pain as he sees his childhood home in ruin. I like that he could feel Martha and Jon inside the house.

Nemia was cool. I could feel her gently easing Clark as she speaks of her knowing 'about' him. And just like Clark, and perfectly kept in character, he denies her and tries to not be shocked. Fantastic work.

I assume that because of the trauma surrounding her, Martha was less guarded with her words to Clark, but I'm glad you answered one of my questions. The burning sensation felt by both Clark and Lana did in fact seem to tell Clark it was Lana that was in trouble. Thank you for tying up that loose end.

See, as I read and comment, I'm going to ask questions that you know will be answered and I gotta say... bear with me. :lol: I have a lot of reading to do.

This fic is great Nemu. You have an awesomely detailed and thought out story here. I am truly enjoying it. I can't promise huge posts like this in the future, but know I am reading and replying and truly enjoying myself. Wonderful work so far!!! :D

[Nemu]

Well Io... I had to answer back to you... dont worry about the length of your feedback...

To answer some of your questions that I know are not openly answered in the story... Yes Nemu consider the Phantom Zone as Hell...

And also to clear up the moment Nemu arrived in Smallville... you will see more in part 3 to 6...

And since the burning sensation both Clark and Lana felt and how it allowed Clark to know will be explained in part 3-4-5 too...

I have to admit though that part 5 will be where I will wait for most of your feedback for now...

and as for the thinking thing in the first Part... I said what was the only thought in her mind so it wasnt really what she was thinking... hence the absence of italics... But true I could have used them for the part where she thinks that at least she told clark that she loved him...

I didnt mean to make Nam-Ek and Aethyr unaware of the powers... but their fear of using them against Lana made them use 'earthly' stuff (propellers)...

About Lara... I don't consider the Kryptonian as superior... so I don't see why she should sound that way... it felt natural to write her the way she is... Yes Jor-El would have been written in a 'superior' way because of all that happened on the show... but Lara is like you said... more motherly...

Nemia and Nemu are twins actually... Their real story will be written someday... it doesnt have anything to do with SV...

Well continue to read, ask questions... post feedback or send PMs and talk through Messenger ;)

Glad you like the story so far...

[*#~ ClAnAfAn99210~#*]

i like the pretty colors

[Nemu]

Originally posted by *#~ ClAnAfAn99210~#*
i like the pretty colors

that's all???? what about the story???

[*#~ ClAnAfAn99210~#*]

ewll the stroy was friking sweet and i like all the colors u used for the text


sheesh it was awesome loved how lana can live as long as she wants and the magic and all

[CLANAobsessed]

wow you were right, Nemu. it is a long read. unfortunately too long for me to read at the moment, so I will have to take a rain-check on this one. but I read a few paragraphs and it sounds like a really good story.
:)