Band of Blue TOCChapter 5Clark stared at the package.
To the Star Child
Does that mean me? He reached out a slightly trembling hand. He was coming to terms with the changes in his life but would this bring more disruption? Martha came and took a seat beside him. “It’s okay honey. I think we should open it.”
Clark turned to look at her. “Where’s Dad?” he asked.
“Upstairs. I’ll call him.” Martha stood and walked to the stairs then shouted up. “Jonathan!”
“Yes?” came the immediate reply.
“Can you come down please?”
After a minute there was the sound of footsteps and Jonathan came down the stairs directly into the kitchen.
“What is it Martha?” he asked.
She glanced to the package on the table and then to Clark. “I think we need to open the package.”
Jonathan and Martha sat on either side of Clark ready to give him support should he need it. Clark reached out, again, for the package and this time picked it up. It was a brown paper package held together with a piece of string. Clark pulled at the string and then peeled back the brown paper. Inside was a leather book. He opened it and a note slipped out. He read it to himself in silence.
Kal-El
I have long desired to meet you in person but if you are reading this then, unfortunately, the time for that has passed. Many years I have been searching for you, hoping to detect a particular signal or see a certain symbol, then I could pass on the knowledge I have gained by studying the original message I intercepted over 15 years ago. I have left instructions with my assistant, Bridgette Crosby, to send this journal onto the source of such a signal, should she ever detect one. I would have preferred to give it to you myself to witness the miracle that you represent. I hope you find my studies and notes in the enclosed journal of use on your journey. I pray that you embrace your destiny with joy and I know that the world will be a brighter place with you leading us but you won't find the answers by looking at the stars. It's a journey you'll have to take by looking inside yourself. You must write your own destiny, Kal-El.
Yours
Virgil Swann Clark passed the letter to his father and reached for the journal. Opening it to the first page he read out the inscription.
A Journal by Virgil Swann
Translation of Kryptonian Looking, quickly, through the pages he saw symbols and words and pictures. They meant nothing to him but they also felt incredibly familiar. Flicking back to the start he read the first page. A long string of alien symbols was followed by words in English,
the translation? "This is Kal-El of Krypton, our infant son, our last hope. Please protect him and deliver him from evil. We will be with you, Kal-El, all the days of your life."
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Kal-El. The name went round and round his head. He had so many questions and the journal had answered some of them: Krypton was the name of a distant planet, but there was no planet at the source of the transmission that Dr Swann had traced. What had happened to Krypton? Why had he been sent away? Why was he a ‘last hope’? How were his parents to be with him ‘all the days of his life’? Why did Dr Swann think he had a destiny?
“Clark.” Lois snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. “Earth to Clark.”
Clark blinked his eyes. “Sorry Lois, I was miles away then.”
“Yeah, a million. Like you were on another planet,” she replied. Clark’s heart skipped a beat.
It’s only a casual phrase, Clark, he told himself. Lois sat herself on the edge of Clark’s desk and he looked up into her face. “So, how’s your background article going?” Clark was drawn to the origin of her words. He stared at her mouth. His gaze lingered over her pink lips and he noticed his heart beating faster.
Lois frowned at the intense look on Clark’s face. “You have started it, haven’t you?”
“Er, yes.” Clark dragged his focus away from Lois’ mouth and up to her eyes. “Here, see what you think.” He passed her a draft copy he had just completed.
“Great, thanks, Smallville.” Lois smiled, jumped up from his desk and walked round to her own chair. Sitting down she started to look over Clark’s work. It probably needed lots of tweaking. She could feel his eyes on her as she read. It made her nervous and self-conscious.
Why is he watching me? Is he waiting for me to criticize? Clark was actually finding it impossible to look away from her. He seemed to be memorising all her features; the gentle wave of her chestnut brown hair, the strong green sparkle in her brown eyes. She nibbled on her lip and glanced up at him. It broke the spell and he looked away as quickly as possible. He coughed, nervously and picked up a pen. He started to make random notes on his pad and consciously tried to ignore the beautiful face across from him.
Lois felt the heat rise in her cheeks. She had been unable to stop herself from glancing up at Clark and she was positive that she had caught him staring. She shifted in her chair, uncomfortable. “It’s good, Smallville,” she acknowledged. “It will go well as a side piece to the coverage of the conference.” She looked up and saw him smiling at her.
He is competition, she thought.
Well, I’m not without some fight. “It still needs work though, but don’t be embarrassed at that. It’s only your third day on the job.” She smiled at him.
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Clark walked along the street at lunch time. This fascination with Lois was growing too fast. Thankfully his heat vision had stopped reacting to his thoughts. Clark admitted to himself that he had a crush. Not surprising as she was very pretty and also very ... real. Clark still couldn’t think of another word to describe Lois.
Okay, I’ve got a crush. That’s fine. It’ll pass soon. Crushes never last long once you truly get to know someone. Lost in his thoughts of Lois his subconscious noticed something in his peripheral vision. He stopped and turned to look. A young boy had run into the street and his mother was screaming after him. A bus was heading straight for the boy. Clark was horrified at the scene unfolding before him. “No!” he screamed, then everything seemed to stand still. He could still see the boy, and the bus and the mother but they were stationary.
I’ve kicked into super-speed, he thought. Then realisation hit him and he ran towards the bus. He picked up the boy and carried him back to his mother at the side of the road.
Time went back to normal and he turned back to see the bus driver trying desperately to stop the bus, not realising that the boy had gone. The bus came to a standstill and then there was a terrible crashing sound. Clark ran to the back of the bus. A car following behind had not known there was a problem and had not slowed down. The low-build car had driven at speed straight into the back of the bus and the engine was now fully underneath the rear end of the bus.
Clark ran to the driver’s door and looked in through the window. He could see the driver’s legs trapped under the steering column which was being crushed by the flattened engine. Clark quickly glanced around and saw a crowd coming closer. He knew he had to help, even with people looking. He put a hand under the back of the bus and braced himself. Lifting it, ever so slightly, he put his other hand on the bonnet of the crushed car and pushed it backwards. It rolled away and Clark lowered the bus. He looked around again and saw a look of shock on many faces.
Oh, no. What do I do now? One lady stepped forwards and opened her mouth to speak.
I can’t do this, he thought and then sped away as quickly as he could.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It was BFF; Best Friend Friday and Chloe was waiting for Clark to turn up. They always spent Friday evenings together. It was a regular appointment. There was a knock at the door and Chloe turned round to watch Clark walk in. He didn’t. The knock came again.
“Er, who is it?” called out Chloe.
“Hey, Chloe. You’ll never guess,” came the slightly muffled reply through the door.
Chloe ran to the door and pulled it open. “Lana!” she screamed in joy. Lana smiled at her and held out her arms. Chloe stepped forwards and the two friends hugged tightly.
After a few moments they broke apart. “Lana. What are you doing here?”
“What? I’m not allowed home to visit?” Lana gave a mock stern look to Chloe.
“No, of course not,” Chloe laughed. “Come in.” They sat themselves down on the couch. “So, is this a flying visit?
“Yes,” replied Lana but then her face changed from happy to sad. “Actually, no. I don’t want to stay in Paris anymore. I just went through a really bad breakup with my boyfriend, Jason. I needed to come home and I think I’d like to stay.” She turned to look up at Chloe. “I’m thinking of taking back over the Talon, maybe adding some artwork, a small gallery.”
“That’s sounds wonderful, Lana.” Chloe was considering calling Clark and telling him not to come, Lana probably needed some ‘girl’ time tonight, but just at that moment she heard a knock again. Turning to look at the door she saw it open and Clark strolled in, just as she had been expecting minutes ago. “Hey, Clark. Look who’s just arrived.”
Clark looked over to the couch and his eyes widened. “Lana.” A smile crept up his face. “It’s been years since you last visited. How’s Paris?”
“Paris is lovely,” she replied shyly and stood up. She stepped forwards with arms open and ran to give him a hug. As her arms closed around his neck Clark collapsed.
“Aargh.”
Pain. Everywhere. It felt like his blood was on fire. The muscles in his legs gave out and his knees buckled. Lana tried to hold him up.
“Clark, what is it? What’s wrong.” The panic in her voice showed Clark that she still cared, maybe too much. She lowered him to the floor as he continued to cry out in pain. Lana knelt down next to him and lent over. Clark felt the pain building his head. Everything was going black. As he faded out of consciousness he caught a glimpse of Lana’s necklace as it slipped out from under her top. The green stone seemed to be shining brighter than it had ever done before.
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