SVsleuth
04-06-2008, 07:48 PM
Note: This is the same story I wrote after season 5, now updated & revised to reflect the events of seasons 6 & 7. The parts in red are new.
What REALLY happened… (revised & updated 4/6/08)
Lana turns back to look at Clark as they stand upon an icy platform in the Fortress of Solitude.
Clark looks at Lana and begins to speak. “Wh…When you asked me if I believed in life on other planets you had no idea how ironic that question was.”
Lana stares at him, confused.
Clark gathers up his courage and speaks the words he had for so long avoided, “I'm from a planet called Krypton.”
Lana walks towards him slowly, reaching her hand out cautiously to touch his face. “But you're just like everyone else,” she says softly.
Clark then lifts Lana into his arms, and looks up, determined to follow through with his plan. In a moment they begin to fly straight upwards. Lana turns her face toward Clark’s, a smile breaking over her features, in awe of what is happening. They fly to a platform on the top of a huge column of ice, high above the floor of the fortress. Clark sets Lana gently down on her feet and she steps away from him, gazing around in wonder.
“This isn't the first time you've done that, is it?” she asks him straightforwardly. “How many times have you been there when I didn't know it, saving me?”
“It doesn't matter, Lana,” Clark replies with much emotion. “I couldn't let anything happen to you.”
“And no one knew,” she says in amazement, unable to tear her eyes away from his face.
“There were so many days I wanted to tell you,” Clark declares with deep sincerity.”
Lana looks at him, a bit puzzled. “What makes today any different?” she asks.
Clark looks into her eyes lovingly. “I want you to know who I really am.”
Clark holds out his hand, showing Lana a lump of coal. He clenches his fist around it, and golden light shines from between his fingers as he squeezes tightly, frowning with the effort. He holds out his hand to Lana, and blows away the coal dust to reveal a diamond. Lana looks at it and then at Clark in wonder. Clark smiles as he takes a gold band from his pocket and places the diamond on top of it, then uses his heat vision to solder them together. He goes down on one knee in front of Lana, holding the ring up for her to see.
He asks simply, “Will you marry me?”
Lana’s eyes widen as she looks down at him, breathing hard.
Before she can say a word, a booming voice calls out, “Kal-El! Kal-El, come. I must speak to you. It is urgent!”
Lana’s eyes widen and she looks to Clark, “Who was that?”
“That is my Kryptonian father, Jor-El,” Clark replies, sounding annoyed with Jor-El for having interrupted his proposal. “Come, I must speak with him. Then we can continue our talk.”
Clark again lifts Lana into his arms, and floats down to the floor of the Fortress. He sits her on the platform, then moves toward the console of crystals. Lana watches in awe as one crystal rises of its own accord into the air, right in front of Clark. Clark grasps the crystal, and is immediately enveloped in a bright beam of light. Lana is frightened at what she sees happening to Clark. His eyes seem to be transfixed on one spot, his head tilted back, his body stiff. Lana watches, not daring to move from her spot on the ice table. A few tears fall from her eyes, and immediately freeze on her cheeks. Lana cannot bear to watch the scene before her. She closes her eyes tightly, hoping that when she opens her eyes, Clark will be alright. Every minute or two, she peeks out, and, still seeing Clark in the trance-like state, she cannot bear to watch, and closes her eyes again.
After about an hour, when Lana opens her eyes, the beam of light is fading, and Clark slumps to the ground, seeming to be exhausted, defeated. Lana jumps up and runs to him.
“Clark! Clark! Are you alright? Clark, please be alright!” Lana sits on the ground and pulls his head into her lap. She strokes his face with a gentle hand, toying with his unruly locks as well. She blinks back the tears that try to form in her eyes, but won’t because of the cold. She leans down and kisses Clark upon the lips, then continues to caress his face.
Clark opens his eyes and looks up in confusion. “Lana? Lana, what are you doing here? How did we get here?”
Lana stares at him with concern. “Clark, what do you mean? You brought me here, through some kind of transporter in the caves. Don’t you remember? You told me who you really are and where you are from - and then you asked me to marry you. Don’t you remember that, Clark?”
Clark looks at Lana in disbelief. He blinks his eyes several times, and shakes his head as if attempting to clear it. “Lana, I do remember - but that seems like months ago. So much has happened since then…”
“Clark, what are you talking about? It’s only been an hour. Right after you proposed, Jor-El called out to you. You grasped a crystal that floated up from that display, and then you were engulfed in a beam of bright light. You were that way for an hour before it faded. And now we’re here.”
Clark still looks incredulous. He sits up and his mind begins to race. “It can’t be. You mean, none of that really happened? You didn’t die in that car accident? I didn’t rewind time to save you? My dad didn’t die? There was no masked vigilante named Andrea? Chloe wasn’t possessed by the spirit of a dead girl? You didn’t hit Victor Stone with your car - and he didn’t turn out to be a Luthorcorp experimental cyborg? Simone didn’t hypnotize me, and cause us to break up horribly?”
Lana interrupts him, “Break up? Clark, you must have been hallucinating. There is no way I would ever break up with you.”
Clark still cannot believe this is reality. “Lana, I never lied to you and said that I didn’t love you anymore?”
Lana is taken aback. “Clark, why would you ever do that? Of course you never did that!”
Clark continues his questioning. “So you never used an experimental drug to try to see your parents - and I never got accidentally injected with that drug & saw my deceased father?”
Lana shakes her head in the negative.
Clark begins to believe, and a smile begins to spread across his face. His questions become more exclamations than questions now. He grasps Lana’s upper arms, and looks into her eyes. “You never went to Lex and began to get…intimate with him! My mom never got pulled into a dangerous plot against Lionel Luthor that nearly killed her! There was no “Graham” who tried to kill Lex to give you and me another chance! Lionel Luthor doesn’t know my secret - and he isn’t making my mom fall for him! Lex was never the “Vessel of Zod” - and Zod never escaped the Phantom Zone! Brainiac never caused the breakdown of society by releasing a nasty computer virus! I was never trapped in the Phantom Zone! I’ve just been here all along! Right here with you, Lana?”
Lana nods in the affirmative. Clark pulls her into a tight embrace, taking in the scent of her, burying his face in her hair, holding her close to him as if he will never ever let go. “Oh, Lana,” he whispers into her ear. “It was such a horrible nightmare. The worst part of it was losing you.” He pulls back just enough to look lovingly, longingly into her eyes. “Lana, I love you so much. I can never go on to fulfill my destiny without you. You are my strength, my stability. You keep me steady, no matter what I’m up against. I love you with my entire being. I always have and always will. It’s always been you, Lana. Only you.” Clark draws her lips to his own, pouring into it all of the love it seems he was unable to express to her for so long - in the nightmare, or the visions, or whatever it was.
When they finally break the kiss, Jor-El’s voice is heard again.
“Kal-El.”
Clark releases Lana, and stands up. “Yes, Father?”
Another crystal floats up from the console. Clark hesitates, and glances at Lana uncertainly.
“Kal-El, you must complete the journey, in order that you avoid the pitfalls.” Jor-El’s voice sounds ominous.
Clark takes a deep breath, not wanting to return to that nightmare, yet strangely compelled to do so. He walks over to Lana, grasps her upper arms and gazes into her eyes lovingly. “I’ll be back. I promise.”
“I’ll be here,” she says without a trace of doubt. A smile tugs at the corner of Clark’s mouth. Then he leans down and captures her lips with his own. Lana melts into him, pouring her entire self into the kiss. They pull back reluctantly, gazing into one another’s eyes.
“Kal-El, it is time,” Jor-El’s voice booms.
Lana takes a few steps back, away from Clark, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on his. He holds her gaze for a long moment, then reaches out for the crystal, which has begun to glow and emit a shrill tone. Lana watches as Clark grasps the crystal, and again is enveloped in a column of bright light, his head tilted back, his body becoming stiff. She blinks back the tears, as she remembers the horrid things Clark had told her he’d experienced in that alternate reality. Her heart aches for him, knowing he most likely will experience more of that terrible nightmare, as if it were real. She hates the thought of him having to go through something like that again.
Lana retreats to the ice platform and takes a seat, presuming she has another hour to wait. She hopes she won’t freeze to death before he comes out of it. She pulls her coat tighter around her, glances up at Clark, then closes her eyes.
Maybe I can pass the time by daydreaming about our wonderful future, she thinks. That way, I’ll have something wonderful to share with Clark when he snaps out of it.
Well, now that Clark has told me his big secret, and proposed, I guess I have a lot to think about. He’s from another planet. Wow! I imagined a lot of strange things, but never once considered that possibility. I’m surprised at the way I feel about it though. I mean, he’s an alien, an alien who just asked me to marry him. And it doesn’t seem strange to me at all. He’s still Clark, and I’m still in love with him - even more so now that he’s letting me in. It really was him, rescuing me, in the tornado, and so many other times. He’s been like my own guardian angel all along. He really loves me…and I love him. His being from another planet doesn’t change that.
I can just imagine how beautiful our wedding will be. Clark will look so handsome, waiting for me at the altar in his tux. The church will be decorated simply yet elegantly, with flowers. And my heart rate will be increasing tenfold with every step I take toward him. Our eyes will be locked on each other’s, the way they just were a few moments ago. The ceremony will fly by in a blur, as all of my attention is riveted on Clark, and his on me. It will feel as though we are there all alone before God, declaring our love to one another forever.
I know there’s still so much I still don’t know about Clark. But I’m sure there’s nothing I could learn that would change how we feel about each another. We’re meant to be together - I can feel it, whenever he looks into my eyes.
As we exit the church, everyone will throw rice at us, as Clark clasps my hand tightly, and laughing, we both duck into a limousine, heading off to our honeymoon. I don’t even care where we go - it could just be back to the loft, as far as I’m concerned - just as long as we can be alone together. Clark will finally be over his hesitancy to make love to me - which I presume was because he thought I ought to know his alien status before we became intimate - and we’ll spend many wonderful days, focused on each other alone.
I know Clark has a lot of special gifts. I’ve seen just a bit of them here today, when he somehow flew me up to that precipice, and then made that amazing ring. And I have to believe that he will continue to want to use them to help people. He’s always done that, and it always made me love him more to see him care so deeply for people, and jump right in there to save them. I just never realized how much he really has been doing, but I can guess about a good many rescues he likely made. Yes, that’s just who Clark Kent is. And I would never want to change him. I love him, hero complex and all. So, I expect that he’ll continue to use his gifts to help others - and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Somehow, that will fit into our lives.
Meanwhile, we’ll start a family. I can see us ending up with as many as four or five kids. Clark was so wonderful with Ryan and Evan, I just know he’ll make a wonderful daddy. He’s so much like his dad. I always love watching him with kids. My heart glows with a tangible warmth as I watch him. Yes, I can’t wait to have a family with Clark.
I wonder if our kids would inherit his gifts, though. Actually, I wonder if we can even conceive children together, considering his ancestry. But, you know, even if we can’t have our own kids, I’m sure we could adopt. I mean, Clark and I were both adopted, so I’m sure Clark would be open to that as well.
Lana is brought out of her daydream by a sudden noise. She opens her eyes, and sees Clark, again slumped to the floor. The light has faded. She gets up quickly and runs to him.
“Clark!” she calls as she kneels beside him and reaches out to turn his face toward her.
Clark’s eyes flutter open. He blinks them a few times, seeming confused.
“Lana?” he asks, as he continues to blink his eyes, then sits up.
“Oh, Clark, I’m so glad you’re back!” Lana throws her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Clark hesitantly returns the embrace, still very confused.
“Lana, how…? You were catatonic. What happened? What are we doing here?” he asks.
“Clark, you brought me here a few hours ago. You told me about where you’re from, and showed me some of your abilities. You proposed to me.”
Clark’s eyes opened wide and he shook his head in disbelief. “No, Lana, that was over two years ago,” he said.
“No, it wasn’t, Clark. Jor-El called to you, and you grasped a crystal. Then you were in some sort of a trance for an hour. Then you came out of it, and we talked a bit. Don’t you remember that?” Lana asked.
Clark searched his memory. “Yes,” he said slowly. “It’s a faint memory, like a dream. But I seem to remember being here with you, and…and finding out that what seemed to be happening to me wasn’t real at all? Lana, I’m still confused. What else happened?” he asked.
“Well, you mentioned some really terrible events, like us breaking up, and you lying to me and telling me that you didn’t love me. And then another crystal rose up, and you felt you had to take it - Jor-El seemed to convince you that it was urgent that you do so. Then, you were again enveloped in a column of bright light, and went into a trance-like state, for another hour or so,” she told him.
“Lana, I don’t understand. How can it be two years ago? Can two years have flown by in two hours? And, how are you even here, talking to me? You were catatonic. Brainiac…he did something awful to you…he was controlling you.”
Lana’s eyes opened wide in horror. “Clark, what kind of a nightmare were you living? The last thing you mentioned earlier was something about being trapped in a Phantom Zone, and someone named Zod being released from there, and this Brainiac thing creating havoc on Earth with a computer virus. What happened after that?”
“Lana, it all still feels so real. You moved in with Lex…”
“What? Clark why would I ever do that?” Lana exclaimed, aghast.
Clark just continued, “…and you married him eventually - to protect me.”
“No way!” she interjected.
“…And there were all these Phantoms who escaped from the Phantom Zone. I had to get rid of them, so they wouldn’t cause trouble on Earth. And the last one…he took my DNA and made himself into a clone of me. I somehow got trapped here in the Fortress, and that Phantom tricked you into thinking he was me. He took over my life, lived with you on the farm…”
“I lived on the farm with you, Clark?” she asked. Clark nodded. “Yeah, after you came back from China, when you faked your death by using a clone of you made by Lex,” Clark told her. “And then there was my cousin, Kara, who crash landed and remained in suspended animation for eighteen years before awakening during the flood at the dam. She later was tricked by Brainiac into helping him with his twisted plan for Earth. She thought she was helping you - that he’d release you from the catatonic state he’d placed you in. But he was a liar. She should never have trusted him.”
“Clark, this is getting way too weird. I think I’ve heard enough of this. What was the purpose of it all anyway? I still don’t get that.”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t know, Lana. I’m still having trouble believing that it wasn’t real... that none of it happened. It seemed so real. It seems to me like this must be the dream. I’m afraid to believe it’s reality. I’m expecting to wake up any minute and find out that this is the dream, and that awful reality is the real one.”
Jor-El’s voice then breaks in.
“Kal-El, my son. What you have seen - no, what you have experienced is one possible course of events that could actually happen when you leave here. I have shown it to you as a warning, in hopes that you will not allow it to happen. That sequence of events will send Earth to its doom, to the same fate as Krypton. You must never allow events to turn to that path. Your destiny is to save this planet from such doom. Kal-El, you are the only one who can prevent it. Choose your actions wisely. Allow Lana to help and support you, and you will succeed in saving this planet and its people. Farewell, Kal-El.”
Jor-El’s voice fades away. Clark stands up, still stunned. He pulls Lana to her feet and then into his arms. He holds her close, reveling in the feeling of having her wrapped in his arms. Soon, however, he feels her shivering, even under the heavy parka. He gazes into her sparkling hazel eyes, and longs to kiss her again, at length. But he knows it is time to get her out of the cold. I really hope this is real. Giving Lana a quick kiss, he scoops her up into his arms and activates the transporter back to the caves. Safe in the warmth of the caves, he keeps her in his embrace, her arms still wrapped around his neck. Their eyes meet in a long gaze that expresses so much more than words could ever say.
Clark smiles, reality finally beginning to sink in. He whispers, “So, Lana, will you marry me?” He sees the depth of her love for him shining from her eyes. She smiles beautifully as she whispers to him, “Oh, yes, Clark. I will marry you. Nothing will ever take me away from you. I will love you always. I can’t wait to tell you about the daydream I had while I was waiting for you - about our future together.”
Lana pulls the ring from her pocket and holds it out to Clark with a smile, her eyes sparkling. Clark eagerly accepts it from her, reaches for her hand, and slides the ring onto her finger. Her face is aglow, his beaming, as he draws her close again. Lana tips her head, moving her lips toward his. Their lips meet, softly, tenderly, at first, soon deepening into a true expression of passion and commitment to each other. Clark breathes a sigh of relief as he holds Lana close to his heart. He knows now, deep in his heart, that Lana is his forever and always.
THE END
What REALLY happened… (revised & updated 4/6/08)
Lana turns back to look at Clark as they stand upon an icy platform in the Fortress of Solitude.
Clark looks at Lana and begins to speak. “Wh…When you asked me if I believed in life on other planets you had no idea how ironic that question was.”
Lana stares at him, confused.
Clark gathers up his courage and speaks the words he had for so long avoided, “I'm from a planet called Krypton.”
Lana walks towards him slowly, reaching her hand out cautiously to touch his face. “But you're just like everyone else,” she says softly.
Clark then lifts Lana into his arms, and looks up, determined to follow through with his plan. In a moment they begin to fly straight upwards. Lana turns her face toward Clark’s, a smile breaking over her features, in awe of what is happening. They fly to a platform on the top of a huge column of ice, high above the floor of the fortress. Clark sets Lana gently down on her feet and she steps away from him, gazing around in wonder.
“This isn't the first time you've done that, is it?” she asks him straightforwardly. “How many times have you been there when I didn't know it, saving me?”
“It doesn't matter, Lana,” Clark replies with much emotion. “I couldn't let anything happen to you.”
“And no one knew,” she says in amazement, unable to tear her eyes away from his face.
“There were so many days I wanted to tell you,” Clark declares with deep sincerity.”
Lana looks at him, a bit puzzled. “What makes today any different?” she asks.
Clark looks into her eyes lovingly. “I want you to know who I really am.”
Clark holds out his hand, showing Lana a lump of coal. He clenches his fist around it, and golden light shines from between his fingers as he squeezes tightly, frowning with the effort. He holds out his hand to Lana, and blows away the coal dust to reveal a diamond. Lana looks at it and then at Clark in wonder. Clark smiles as he takes a gold band from his pocket and places the diamond on top of it, then uses his heat vision to solder them together. He goes down on one knee in front of Lana, holding the ring up for her to see.
He asks simply, “Will you marry me?”
Lana’s eyes widen as she looks down at him, breathing hard.
Before she can say a word, a booming voice calls out, “Kal-El! Kal-El, come. I must speak to you. It is urgent!”
Lana’s eyes widen and she looks to Clark, “Who was that?”
“That is my Kryptonian father, Jor-El,” Clark replies, sounding annoyed with Jor-El for having interrupted his proposal. “Come, I must speak with him. Then we can continue our talk.”
Clark again lifts Lana into his arms, and floats down to the floor of the Fortress. He sits her on the platform, then moves toward the console of crystals. Lana watches in awe as one crystal rises of its own accord into the air, right in front of Clark. Clark grasps the crystal, and is immediately enveloped in a bright beam of light. Lana is frightened at what she sees happening to Clark. His eyes seem to be transfixed on one spot, his head tilted back, his body stiff. Lana watches, not daring to move from her spot on the ice table. A few tears fall from her eyes, and immediately freeze on her cheeks. Lana cannot bear to watch the scene before her. She closes her eyes tightly, hoping that when she opens her eyes, Clark will be alright. Every minute or two, she peeks out, and, still seeing Clark in the trance-like state, she cannot bear to watch, and closes her eyes again.
After about an hour, when Lana opens her eyes, the beam of light is fading, and Clark slumps to the ground, seeming to be exhausted, defeated. Lana jumps up and runs to him.
“Clark! Clark! Are you alright? Clark, please be alright!” Lana sits on the ground and pulls his head into her lap. She strokes his face with a gentle hand, toying with his unruly locks as well. She blinks back the tears that try to form in her eyes, but won’t because of the cold. She leans down and kisses Clark upon the lips, then continues to caress his face.
Clark opens his eyes and looks up in confusion. “Lana? Lana, what are you doing here? How did we get here?”
Lana stares at him with concern. “Clark, what do you mean? You brought me here, through some kind of transporter in the caves. Don’t you remember? You told me who you really are and where you are from - and then you asked me to marry you. Don’t you remember that, Clark?”
Clark looks at Lana in disbelief. He blinks his eyes several times, and shakes his head as if attempting to clear it. “Lana, I do remember - but that seems like months ago. So much has happened since then…”
“Clark, what are you talking about? It’s only been an hour. Right after you proposed, Jor-El called out to you. You grasped a crystal that floated up from that display, and then you were engulfed in a beam of bright light. You were that way for an hour before it faded. And now we’re here.”
Clark still looks incredulous. He sits up and his mind begins to race. “It can’t be. You mean, none of that really happened? You didn’t die in that car accident? I didn’t rewind time to save you? My dad didn’t die? There was no masked vigilante named Andrea? Chloe wasn’t possessed by the spirit of a dead girl? You didn’t hit Victor Stone with your car - and he didn’t turn out to be a Luthorcorp experimental cyborg? Simone didn’t hypnotize me, and cause us to break up horribly?”
Lana interrupts him, “Break up? Clark, you must have been hallucinating. There is no way I would ever break up with you.”
Clark still cannot believe this is reality. “Lana, I never lied to you and said that I didn’t love you anymore?”
Lana is taken aback. “Clark, why would you ever do that? Of course you never did that!”
Clark continues his questioning. “So you never used an experimental drug to try to see your parents - and I never got accidentally injected with that drug & saw my deceased father?”
Lana shakes her head in the negative.
Clark begins to believe, and a smile begins to spread across his face. His questions become more exclamations than questions now. He grasps Lana’s upper arms, and looks into her eyes. “You never went to Lex and began to get…intimate with him! My mom never got pulled into a dangerous plot against Lionel Luthor that nearly killed her! There was no “Graham” who tried to kill Lex to give you and me another chance! Lionel Luthor doesn’t know my secret - and he isn’t making my mom fall for him! Lex was never the “Vessel of Zod” - and Zod never escaped the Phantom Zone! Brainiac never caused the breakdown of society by releasing a nasty computer virus! I was never trapped in the Phantom Zone! I’ve just been here all along! Right here with you, Lana?”
Lana nods in the affirmative. Clark pulls her into a tight embrace, taking in the scent of her, burying his face in her hair, holding her close to him as if he will never ever let go. “Oh, Lana,” he whispers into her ear. “It was such a horrible nightmare. The worst part of it was losing you.” He pulls back just enough to look lovingly, longingly into her eyes. “Lana, I love you so much. I can never go on to fulfill my destiny without you. You are my strength, my stability. You keep me steady, no matter what I’m up against. I love you with my entire being. I always have and always will. It’s always been you, Lana. Only you.” Clark draws her lips to his own, pouring into it all of the love it seems he was unable to express to her for so long - in the nightmare, or the visions, or whatever it was.
When they finally break the kiss, Jor-El’s voice is heard again.
“Kal-El.”
Clark releases Lana, and stands up. “Yes, Father?”
Another crystal floats up from the console. Clark hesitates, and glances at Lana uncertainly.
“Kal-El, you must complete the journey, in order that you avoid the pitfalls.” Jor-El’s voice sounds ominous.
Clark takes a deep breath, not wanting to return to that nightmare, yet strangely compelled to do so. He walks over to Lana, grasps her upper arms and gazes into her eyes lovingly. “I’ll be back. I promise.”
“I’ll be here,” she says without a trace of doubt. A smile tugs at the corner of Clark’s mouth. Then he leans down and captures her lips with his own. Lana melts into him, pouring her entire self into the kiss. They pull back reluctantly, gazing into one another’s eyes.
“Kal-El, it is time,” Jor-El’s voice booms.
Lana takes a few steps back, away from Clark, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on his. He holds her gaze for a long moment, then reaches out for the crystal, which has begun to glow and emit a shrill tone. Lana watches as Clark grasps the crystal, and again is enveloped in a column of bright light, his head tilted back, his body becoming stiff. She blinks back the tears, as she remembers the horrid things Clark had told her he’d experienced in that alternate reality. Her heart aches for him, knowing he most likely will experience more of that terrible nightmare, as if it were real. She hates the thought of him having to go through something like that again.
Lana retreats to the ice platform and takes a seat, presuming she has another hour to wait. She hopes she won’t freeze to death before he comes out of it. She pulls her coat tighter around her, glances up at Clark, then closes her eyes.
Maybe I can pass the time by daydreaming about our wonderful future, she thinks. That way, I’ll have something wonderful to share with Clark when he snaps out of it.
Well, now that Clark has told me his big secret, and proposed, I guess I have a lot to think about. He’s from another planet. Wow! I imagined a lot of strange things, but never once considered that possibility. I’m surprised at the way I feel about it though. I mean, he’s an alien, an alien who just asked me to marry him. And it doesn’t seem strange to me at all. He’s still Clark, and I’m still in love with him - even more so now that he’s letting me in. It really was him, rescuing me, in the tornado, and so many other times. He’s been like my own guardian angel all along. He really loves me…and I love him. His being from another planet doesn’t change that.
I can just imagine how beautiful our wedding will be. Clark will look so handsome, waiting for me at the altar in his tux. The church will be decorated simply yet elegantly, with flowers. And my heart rate will be increasing tenfold with every step I take toward him. Our eyes will be locked on each other’s, the way they just were a few moments ago. The ceremony will fly by in a blur, as all of my attention is riveted on Clark, and his on me. It will feel as though we are there all alone before God, declaring our love to one another forever.
I know there’s still so much I still don’t know about Clark. But I’m sure there’s nothing I could learn that would change how we feel about each another. We’re meant to be together - I can feel it, whenever he looks into my eyes.
As we exit the church, everyone will throw rice at us, as Clark clasps my hand tightly, and laughing, we both duck into a limousine, heading off to our honeymoon. I don’t even care where we go - it could just be back to the loft, as far as I’m concerned - just as long as we can be alone together. Clark will finally be over his hesitancy to make love to me - which I presume was because he thought I ought to know his alien status before we became intimate - and we’ll spend many wonderful days, focused on each other alone.
I know Clark has a lot of special gifts. I’ve seen just a bit of them here today, when he somehow flew me up to that precipice, and then made that amazing ring. And I have to believe that he will continue to want to use them to help people. He’s always done that, and it always made me love him more to see him care so deeply for people, and jump right in there to save them. I just never realized how much he really has been doing, but I can guess about a good many rescues he likely made. Yes, that’s just who Clark Kent is. And I would never want to change him. I love him, hero complex and all. So, I expect that he’ll continue to use his gifts to help others - and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Somehow, that will fit into our lives.
Meanwhile, we’ll start a family. I can see us ending up with as many as four or five kids. Clark was so wonderful with Ryan and Evan, I just know he’ll make a wonderful daddy. He’s so much like his dad. I always love watching him with kids. My heart glows with a tangible warmth as I watch him. Yes, I can’t wait to have a family with Clark.
I wonder if our kids would inherit his gifts, though. Actually, I wonder if we can even conceive children together, considering his ancestry. But, you know, even if we can’t have our own kids, I’m sure we could adopt. I mean, Clark and I were both adopted, so I’m sure Clark would be open to that as well.
Lana is brought out of her daydream by a sudden noise. She opens her eyes, and sees Clark, again slumped to the floor. The light has faded. She gets up quickly and runs to him.
“Clark!” she calls as she kneels beside him and reaches out to turn his face toward her.
Clark’s eyes flutter open. He blinks them a few times, seeming confused.
“Lana?” he asks, as he continues to blink his eyes, then sits up.
“Oh, Clark, I’m so glad you’re back!” Lana throws her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Clark hesitantly returns the embrace, still very confused.
“Lana, how…? You were catatonic. What happened? What are we doing here?” he asks.
“Clark, you brought me here a few hours ago. You told me about where you’re from, and showed me some of your abilities. You proposed to me.”
Clark’s eyes opened wide and he shook his head in disbelief. “No, Lana, that was over two years ago,” he said.
“No, it wasn’t, Clark. Jor-El called to you, and you grasped a crystal. Then you were in some sort of a trance for an hour. Then you came out of it, and we talked a bit. Don’t you remember that?” Lana asked.
Clark searched his memory. “Yes,” he said slowly. “It’s a faint memory, like a dream. But I seem to remember being here with you, and…and finding out that what seemed to be happening to me wasn’t real at all? Lana, I’m still confused. What else happened?” he asked.
“Well, you mentioned some really terrible events, like us breaking up, and you lying to me and telling me that you didn’t love me. And then another crystal rose up, and you felt you had to take it - Jor-El seemed to convince you that it was urgent that you do so. Then, you were again enveloped in a column of bright light, and went into a trance-like state, for another hour or so,” she told him.
“Lana, I don’t understand. How can it be two years ago? Can two years have flown by in two hours? And, how are you even here, talking to me? You were catatonic. Brainiac…he did something awful to you…he was controlling you.”
Lana’s eyes opened wide in horror. “Clark, what kind of a nightmare were you living? The last thing you mentioned earlier was something about being trapped in a Phantom Zone, and someone named Zod being released from there, and this Brainiac thing creating havoc on Earth with a computer virus. What happened after that?”
“Lana, it all still feels so real. You moved in with Lex…”
“What? Clark why would I ever do that?” Lana exclaimed, aghast.
Clark just continued, “…and you married him eventually - to protect me.”
“No way!” she interjected.
“…And there were all these Phantoms who escaped from the Phantom Zone. I had to get rid of them, so they wouldn’t cause trouble on Earth. And the last one…he took my DNA and made himself into a clone of me. I somehow got trapped here in the Fortress, and that Phantom tricked you into thinking he was me. He took over my life, lived with you on the farm…”
“I lived on the farm with you, Clark?” she asked. Clark nodded. “Yeah, after you came back from China, when you faked your death by using a clone of you made by Lex,” Clark told her. “And then there was my cousin, Kara, who crash landed and remained in suspended animation for eighteen years before awakening during the flood at the dam. She later was tricked by Brainiac into helping him with his twisted plan for Earth. She thought she was helping you - that he’d release you from the catatonic state he’d placed you in. But he was a liar. She should never have trusted him.”
“Clark, this is getting way too weird. I think I’ve heard enough of this. What was the purpose of it all anyway? I still don’t get that.”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t know, Lana. I’m still having trouble believing that it wasn’t real... that none of it happened. It seemed so real. It seems to me like this must be the dream. I’m afraid to believe it’s reality. I’m expecting to wake up any minute and find out that this is the dream, and that awful reality is the real one.”
Jor-El’s voice then breaks in.
“Kal-El, my son. What you have seen - no, what you have experienced is one possible course of events that could actually happen when you leave here. I have shown it to you as a warning, in hopes that you will not allow it to happen. That sequence of events will send Earth to its doom, to the same fate as Krypton. You must never allow events to turn to that path. Your destiny is to save this planet from such doom. Kal-El, you are the only one who can prevent it. Choose your actions wisely. Allow Lana to help and support you, and you will succeed in saving this planet and its people. Farewell, Kal-El.”
Jor-El’s voice fades away. Clark stands up, still stunned. He pulls Lana to her feet and then into his arms. He holds her close, reveling in the feeling of having her wrapped in his arms. Soon, however, he feels her shivering, even under the heavy parka. He gazes into her sparkling hazel eyes, and longs to kiss her again, at length. But he knows it is time to get her out of the cold. I really hope this is real. Giving Lana a quick kiss, he scoops her up into his arms and activates the transporter back to the caves. Safe in the warmth of the caves, he keeps her in his embrace, her arms still wrapped around his neck. Their eyes meet in a long gaze that expresses so much more than words could ever say.
Clark smiles, reality finally beginning to sink in. He whispers, “So, Lana, will you marry me?” He sees the depth of her love for him shining from her eyes. She smiles beautifully as she whispers to him, “Oh, yes, Clark. I will marry you. Nothing will ever take me away from you. I will love you always. I can’t wait to tell you about the daydream I had while I was waiting for you - about our future together.”
Lana pulls the ring from her pocket and holds it out to Clark with a smile, her eyes sparkling. Clark eagerly accepts it from her, reaches for her hand, and slides the ring onto her finger. Her face is aglow, his beaming, as he draws her close again. Lana tips her head, moving her lips toward his. Their lips meet, softly, tenderly, at first, soon deepening into a true expression of passion and commitment to each other. Clark breathes a sigh of relief as he holds Lana close to his heart. He knows now, deep in his heart, that Lana is his forever and always.
THE END