Kal-El waited as the group spoke with Zara. He envied the way the two Clarks could interact so easily with her – feeling guilt at what their doppelganger’s clone had done was far less burdensome then his own guilt. The only crime they had committed was looking like the enemy. He had allowed this to happen. In being so easily fooled, he had caused so much suffering. Even Zara had suffered so much.
He feared the days ahead – not because he feared death at the hands of those who could stop him, but because he feared life. This life was very different from the one he had imagined living. Zara was no longer an appropriate life partner. His own clone had done her great harm. And she clearly wished to be with Ching, even if she wouldn’t say the words. He had read it in her thoughts when she had shared with him what she had been through, at his request. Zara felt the weight of her own responsibility in failing to question why the young good-natured Kal-El had grown into a cruel adult. He shuddered at the thought of how she must have felt when she first realized he had grown to be a monster – it would have been after their bonding ceremenony when the two were left to come together for the first time. Had Zara ever known kindness? He doubted it, feeling certain she would never have betrayed their bond.
He would honor her sacrifice. He had already verbally set her free, and he would welcome a union between herself and Ching. Furthermore, he would relinquish his right as leader to Zara, as soon as he was able. He could not stay here on Earth, but he would no longer be able to live as the leader of Krypton – not after everything his clone has done. Too many of his own people had been harmed.
And then there was the matter of the planet Earth. He would leave Earth – they all would, his final and first real act of leadership, and he would assure them that they would never fear Krypton again. He would leave them with radiation emitters so they could defend their world, even if he fell in the future.
He watched wistfully as his two doppelgangers smiled and laughed at Zara, coaxing her out of her constant sober mein. She gave them a smile, hesitant, but clearly one that spoke of her deep affecton for them – grown from the time they had worked together. His heart squeezed as he saw Lois’s doppelganger – the one who had been brutalized – reach out and hug Zara. Although Zara still seemed calm and in control, Kal-El could feel her grief and guilt at the woman’s offering of friendship.
Zara fought tears at the farewell she was being given by this remarkable group of people. She would miss them for her entire life, yet she was never so glad to see people take leave of her. Best to go home, she thought. Be safe. Be happy.
“Lois,” she said to the one she had harmed, “I can never truly forgive myself for allowing you to be hurt. I want you to know I pledge myself to your life - should you ever need me for anything you can have me summoned, if Herb will allow it.”
“I need you to be happy, Zara,” Lois answered after stepping back from the hug. “You were as much a victim as anyone. Be happy now and forgive yourself. If you had stopped him from hurting me, he would have killed you – and you were needed by this resistance.”
Zara nodded and squeezed the other woman’s hands gently. “Be happy Lois.”
It was his turn now, he thought nervously at the group’s approach.
“I thank you for my life,” he said as soon as they came near him. He could feel Lois’s fear and it broke his heart. No matter what, she would feel this way, because he wasn’t Clark Kent – he was Kal-El. The differences were very marked – his doppelgangers were men of earth.
“Make it count,” Clark said, his gaze showing steel for the first time since he had met the man. “We expect you to honor your words. Free this world and then leave - no extended withdrawal, no lengthy time between reclaiming your place and freeing those who have been enslaved. Let the last abuse happen at the moment you defeat them.”
He nodded. “I vow it. I will personally see every single prisoner freed, the day I usurp him. And that day will come soon. As early as this week. “
“We will hold you to that,” Kent added. “We like you, and we trust you – but I have had bad experiences with the Kryptonian council of elders. They invaded my world and didn’t even admit it was an invasion. They referred to it as a temporary occupation – but people were being horribly injured nonetheless. I tried to play along, but in the end, I was accused of treason for refusing to allow my adopted home-world to suffer.”
Kal-El paled at his words,easily understanding how that could be. The council of elders wasn’t benevolent, even if all the members weren’t necessarily ill-intentioned. They put Krypton’s needs against all else. He would not do so – which was why he had been neutralized.
“I will not disappoint you. I promise you, I wish to leave this world alone and unharmed.”
“I wish I could see you win,” Clark said. “It would give me great joy to see him defeated."
“Yet you must leave, for your own protection as well as ours.”
“Yes. And I’d be lying if I said I couldn’t wait.”
“Nor can I,” Lois said, finally finding her voice. Lane had been quiet, but that was due to her not wanting to intrude where she felt the most like an outsider. Lane was afraid of diminishing Lois, and Lois appreciated her forbearance.
“Kal-El, I wish you happiness as well,” Lois added. “You have suffered as well. You were a prisoner. Don’t forget that. You didn’t hurt anyone. He did. And while those of us who he hurt will have difficulty not transferring our fears to you, you did nothing to deserve it. Hold that tightly, because it might be what saves you from despair. And don’t tell me you don’t feel despair – I know you do.”
He gave her a courtly nod.
“I appreciate your words – more than I could ever truly express. I wish you a good life. I hope that you never know suffering again.”
Lois wanted to ask him more about his intentions, but she didn’t want to hurt him. She knew he would forever feel an outcast, and a happy future wasn’t in his cards. As long as he could win the day and free the Earth, that was all anyone could hope for.
Last edited by L; 02/06/16 08:35 AM.
