4
After Lex's high school graduation, Lena, Martha, Jonathan, Clark, and Lenny and Lola Luthor went to the most expensive restaurant in Smallville - Charlie's Midwestern Steer Bar & Grill. It was probably quite a step down for the Luthors, who were accustomed to dining with a view of the Metropolis skyline every night. However, they had made the effort to attend their only son's graduation, and Lex in turn, was cordial as well. Lena was excited that her sister and brother-in-law had made it. She had covertly mailed them an invitation to Lex's graduation, writing a personal note inside that while they may not think much of Smallville, it made their son happy and he *was* the valedictorian.
They asked Lex where he was planning to attend college. Lex wanted to be a research scientist, so he had applied to the best science and medical schools in the country. He had been accepted at all of them. Problem was, the only one that had offered him a full tuition scholarship was Kansas State University. As much as he loved the Midwest, he really wanted to attend Harvard. Financially, however, he couldn't swing it by himself.
The Luthors, unable to accept that their gifted son would have to attend a state university rather than attending an Ivy League school, recanted their previous statement and offered to underwrite Lex at Harvard. Ten-year old Clark was crestfallen, as he was hoping that Lex would stay in Kansas and they could remain friends. Lex was torn. He was delighted that his parents had finally backed down and accepted his love of Kansas and the Midwest's charms; but he couldn't help but feel that his parents were only offering to pay for his college so they could brag their son was attending Harvard. However, it was his future at stake, and unfortunately, a degree from Harvard was much more prestigious than one from Kansas State. The decision was clear.
Several years later, Lex and his Aunt Lena found themselves attending his parents' funeral in Metropolis. His Aunt's fateful words ("If anything happens to them and you haven't made amends, you'll never be able to forgive yourself") had come home to roost. Apparently their plane had gone down mysteriously while on a safari to Africa, leaving Lex the sole heir to the family fortune.
Lex graduated top in his class at Harvard University and the proceeded to apply to - and be accepted at - Yale Medical School as a graduate assistant, working on his PhD in microbiology. He chose Yale, situated in New Haven, CT., partly because it was adjacent to Metropolis, where he could run the newly formed Luthor Foundation for Scientific Research as well!
It was at Yale, teaching microbiology to undergraduates, that Lex met a descendant of H.G. Wells, the science fiction writer and professor. He had the same initials but a different name – Henry (Hank) Geoffrey Wells. He was an exchange student from Great Britain, majoring in astrophysics. This H.G. Wells had a creative mind and liked to think outside the box – just like his Great-Great Grandfather, Herbert George Wells, who had passed away in 1946. He became one of Lex's favorite students and sometimes they would spend hours discussing the possibility of extraterrestrials, UFO abductions, and time travel. After all, the novel The Time Machine was like a family bible to Hank. He and Lex theorized that it would be possible to visit the future, but probably not the past. If one truly wanted to see the future, it would therefore become their present because there would be no way to return. Since building a machine that could travel faster than the speed of light was not yet possible, they theorized that using a worm hole – an inter-dimensional tunnel of sorts – they could travel from Time A (the present) to Time B (the future).
Since being stuck in the future was not an appealing thought, they continued to theorize that if one *could* travel back in time there might be a paradox involved (possibly by being there, one could be altering one's past, therefore distorting the present). Traveling into the past must somehow involve visiting an alternate universe, one where possibly meddling in key events wouldn't affect your own future. So if they were to visit the future, when they attempted to return to the present (the past of the future), it wouldn’t be their past, it would be the past of an alternate world. A world they may or may not exist in. It was mind-boggling, but also fun to discuss, and they spent many hours debating the possibilities.
~~~~~
Clark and Lex kept in touch, and as Clark began his senior year at Smallville High School and began his college search, Lex urged him to apply to Metropolis University, so they would be fairly close again. Lex spent a great deal of time taking the train to Metropolis to manage the Luthor Foundations. One of their funded projects was the possibility of time and dimensional travel, and Lex put H.G. Wells in charge of it.
Clark had developed the majority of his super powers by now and had been covertly using them to help the townsfolk of Smallville, preventing crime, saving lives, etc. He hadn't mastered flying yet, but realized that it was going to be possible because he found himself floating in his sleep quite a bit as time went on. As soon as he woke up, he would crash back down on his bed – at this point, it was only an ability that surfaced subconsciously.
Lana and he were dating, after years of pretending they didn't like each other. Pete was still in their circle of friends, and Clark considered him his best buddy; however his jealousy over his relationship with Lana was very clear, and it put some distance in their closeness.
May 17, 1984 – Clark's eighteenth birthday
Clark's 18th birthday was a Saturday; he planned on sleeping in for a bit, since there had been a football game that Friday night, and he had been out late. Saturday night Lana had planned a big party for him, and it was to be held at Pete's house. As usual, Clark found himself floating about five feet above his bed when the phone rang, disturbing him from his sleep. Martha smiled when she heard the familiar crash of Clark hitting his bed full force. The first time it had occurred, Martha had rushed upstairs in a heartbeat, worried that Clark had hurt himself. Imagine her surprise when she saw that Clark had crashed the mattress through the bed! Using his super-speed and heat vision, Clark repaired the broken mattress supports and tried to explain to his mother what had happened. Martha, being very open-minded, simply accepted the fact that her son could defy gravity. Why not? He could do just about everything else.
Suddenly, Jonathan came running into the kitchen, yelling "I knew it! After all these years, I knew he was up to no good!"
Martha knew immediately who he was talking about: Jason Trask. "What happened, Jon? It's Trask, isn't it?"
"He just called – that was him on the phone. He's coming back to town to investigate some meteor rocks that were found in Schuster's field by some kids playing. Dang! I thought I grabbed all of them! That tornado we had last month must have unearthed some of them. Trask will be here tomorrow, he's flying in from Washington tonight. He wants me to come with him, for some reason. Dammit!"
Clark came bounding down the stairs at that point. "Dad? What's all this about meteor rocks?"
Martha came over and gave Clark a hug and a kiss. "Happy birthday, son. You're officially an adult today. Feel any different?"
"*No* Ma! I'm only one day older, really! So, Dad! What's going on?" Clark persisted.
"Clark, time for me to show you something in the storm cellar I guess," Jonathan said. "I was waiting for the right time, and I guess this is it."
Jonathan put his arm around Clark's shoulders and the two walked out in the yard towards the burial ground of Clark's Kryptonian heritage.
As they lifted the hatchway doors, and descended down the stairs, Jonathan sighed. "I don't know if I did the right thing, hiding this from you all these years."
"Then why do it today? And what does Trask have to do with it?" Clark asked. He suddenly felt squeamish without knowing why, as he followed his Dad towards the hay that was stacked up by the side of the stairs.
"I told myself that I would share this with you when you were adult enough to handle it. I guess I procrastinated – but today you're a man by earth's standards and I can't put it off any longer," Jonathan explained. He removed several bales of hay, exposing Clark's rocket ship and the green meteor rocks as well. "This is what we found you in, Clark. And these rocks are apparently from the same place that you're from. Clark? What's wrong?"
Clark was sweating and writhing in agony on the ground. "Dad – those rocks – move them away – I think they're somehow making me sick," he managed to say.
Jonathan quickly grabbed an old metal box that he used to store old horseshoes in, and threw the green rocks in it. As soon as the lid was closed, Clark immediately felt the pain letting up. "Dad – what's that box made of? When you put the green rocks in it, I felt better right away!" he exclaimed.
"I’m not sure, son – it's real heavy though – maybe lead? I'm going to put this box somewhere safe. Strange how they don't affect me at all, son," he observed, as he looked for a loose floorboard to hide the box in.
Clark was compelled to stare at the little ship. "Dad – are you saying you found me in *this*? That doesn't look like anything that NASA has sent up in space. Is it Russian maybe?"
"No son, this rocket landed in the middle of a meteor shower. Your Ma and I think that you came to us from the same place that those rocks came from."
"So you think I'm an *alien*? Happy 18th birthday – by the way Clark, you're a little green man!" Clark's expression was one of disbelief and almost disgust.
"Son, you're anything but a little green man. You're one of the best – looking guys in your graduating class – you're as human-looking as I am. But your Ma and I found you in this little ship – look at the symbols emblazoned on the outside – it's definitely not from anywhere on this planet, son."
Clark opened the hatchway door. Inside the little bed lay a red blanket and an "S" insignia. There was also a little globe which started to glow and levitate. It rose to Clark's eye level and started to project a hologram of a man speaking to him in a language that was not English; however, he was able to understand it telepathically somehow. Clark was mesmerized by the information given to him. He was Kal-El, of the planet Krypton, which had exploded right after his parents had sent him via rocket ship to earth. Their names were Jor-El and Lara, and they knew that on Sol, because of the planet's lighter gravity and yellow sun, that their son would have special abilities. He would be strong – fast – a leader among men. He could make a difference there, yet he would look just like an ordinary man and blend in. After imparting this information to Clark, the globe dimmed and floated back to the ship.
Jonathan somehow had absorbed the same information from the globe that Clark had. "Clark, help me cover the ship with the bales of hay. Jason Trask is coming over tomorrow, we don't need him snooping around and finding *this*. He'll have you arrested and try to dissect you like a frog!"
Within seconds, Clark had piled so much hay around the ship that it would take five men to clear the area.
Closing up the storm shed, and walking back to the house, Clark turned to Jonathan and said, "Dad, my parents must have sent me here – to earth - for a reason. What do you think it was?"
"Clark," Jonathan said, patting his shoulder, "you're here to be a force for good. With your abilities, you can save lives, help prevent natural disasters, fight the criminal element and the underworld, and stand for truth, justice, and the American way of life."
"But if people see me using my powers in the open, they'll freak out. You know that, Dad. I'm going to have to do what I can to help without causing a stir. There are lots of people in the world like Jason Trask. They're alien-phobic and I'll never be able to live a normal life."
Jonathan nodded his head in agreement. "I'm sure that you'll figure out a way to help, Clark. You're smart, and if you put your mind to it, you'll come up with the solution."
"I hope so, Dad." Clark looked down. He was floating about the ground about six inches. "Dad, look!" he exclaimed.
"Can you teach me how to do that, son?" Jonathan joked. "That looks like a lot of fun!"
Somehow, Clark felt that since communing with the globe, he could consciously float now. Willing himself to go higher, he found himself levitating above the roof of the barn. With his enhanced vision, he checked to make sure there were no neighbors around. He suddenly was able to combine his speed and the ability to float into the ability to fly! Moving faster than Jonathan's eyes could follow, Clark was quickly above the clouds, joyously free of gravity, the air rushing by his face. This had to be the best day in his life, the best power that had surfaced. He could fly! He practiced turning directions, and started flying in a figure-eight formation. He flew under the clouds, and was amazed by how beautiful the wheat fields of Kansas were from the air. Heading east, he was soon over the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards Europe.
Clark located Paris, France, and landed on the upper deck of the Eiffel Tower. <I wish I could bring Lana here. She would love it. What a beautiful city this is.>
Realizing that his father was probably worried, he reluctantly lifted off and headed west.
Jonathan's eyes were focused on the sky that beautifully clear May day, wondering where his son was and when he would return. His question was answered when all of sudden he heard a "whooshing" sound accompanied by a sudden breeze and within seconds, his son was standing by his side again.
"Dad, that was so cool. Let me take you for a ride!" Clark picked up his Dad and within minutes, they were headed west towards California.
"Son, you're going to give an old man a heart attack," he laughed, as Clark swooped over and under the clouds playfully. "Wow, what a view though."
Clark headed towards San Francisco, and landed on the overlook by the Golden Gate Bridge. "This is the best birthday gift I could ever get, Dad. I can *fly*!"
"I can see that," Jonathan said, with a grin. "I think you better *fly* us home, before your mother has a coronary. And you have a big birthday bash to attend!"
~~~~~
TBC
