The Third World - TOC From Chapter Four: 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!"
and later, when Jonathan shows Clark his space ship for the first time:"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. "Clark, 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."
and then, after Clark learns he can fly... 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!"
And now, Chapter Five of:
The Third World of Concrete Jungle Love: Joe and Mary Lang's Story Trask arrived at the Kent farmhouse around 10:00 a.m. He appeared jovial and happy to see his former neighbors; Martha insisted he stay for pancakes and sausages, as she had made extra, knowing he was coming to visit. After breakfast (more like a brunch to a farmer who gets up at 5:30 a.m. every day), Trask turned to Jonathan and said, "Ready to head out to Schuster's field, Jon?"
"Sure" Jonathan said, getting up from the table and walking out to the porch. "May I ask what this is all about, Sheriff?"
Trask followed him, and the two men headed towards Trask's rental car. "Call me Jason, Jonathan. I haven't been your Sheriff for sixteen years – almost to the day," Trask commented. "I took the government job right after your grand-nephew, Clark, came to live with you."
"We consider Clark our son, now. Martha's niece unfortunately took ill and died, and we formally adopted him," Jonathan explained.
"Sorry to hear that, Jonathan – tell Martha I'm sorry to hear about her niece."
"It was like fifteen years ago, Jason – but thanks. I'll tell her. So, back to the subject of Schuster's field?"
"Yes. Jon, you probably suspected that when I took the government job, it had to do with exploring the possibility of life on other planets. You knew me well enough to know that it was something I've always been fascinated with. As I recall, you had your head in a telescope as well, searching the heavens. We have that in common."
"Haven't had too much time to stare at the stars since I became a father, Jason. But you're right – I did suspect that was the type of job you took. What's that got to do with Schuster's field?"
"Remember that night that T.J. and I went door to door, asking about shooting stars?"
<Do I ever>, Jonathan thought to himself. He nodded to Trask in reply.
"Well, I actually found some shiny green rocks in a crater in the corn field. I grabbed several of them - unbeknownst to anyone – not even Ross, my partner, knew. Brought them to a lab in Wichita to be analyzed. Turned out that they were definitely *not* of this earth – comprised of elements never before seen. Washington heard that I had found these extraordinary meteorites and offered me a job working on Project Blue Book. For the past sixteen years, I've been investigating UFO sightings. The public funding for Project Blue Book went away years ago, and I've been working for a different bureau, but essentially, doing the same job. It's top secret, and that's all I can tell you about it.
"Anyway, apparently the tornado that hit near Schuster's field recently unearthed some more meteor rocks – some are green and some are red. My memory is a little cloudy now – I needed someone local to bring me back there. That's why you're accompanying me, Jonathan. I hope I can trust you not to divulge this information to anyone, not even Martha or Clark."
<*Red* meteor rocks? Never saw *them* before.> "Sure, Jason, I won't tell a soul,"
Jonathan fibbed, as there was no way he could keep this information from his son and his wife.
As Jonathan directed Trask to Schuster's field, he became lost in thought. Weren't most meteor rocks extraterrestrial in origin? Why were *these* meteor rocks so special?
They parked on the side of the road, and Jonathan showed Trask the way to the field through the corn husks. He hadn't been out there in over a decade himself, and shuddered to think what the tornado (that had apparently taken a direct path through Schuster's field) had unearthed.
Jonathan's blood pressure rose significantly when he saw the destruction in the area where Clark's small ship had landed. It looked as if an atom bomb had exploded. The stalks of growing corn were laid completely flat, and a depression about twenty feet in circumference was clearly visibly. Red and green glowing crystals were evident everywhere. Looking over at Jason Trask, he wore the same expression on his face as a child would on Christmas morning!
"Omigod, Jonathan – look at this! To think a tornado unearthed all of this! I'm going to have to call to have a team come down and comb through this field!"
Jonathan smiled weakly at Trask's enthusiasm. It was at that time that he realized that it was time for Clark to find a better hiding spot for his spaceship. *Anywhere* in Kansas was too close for comfort!
When Trask momentarily wasn't paying attention, Jonathan grabbed a few of the red meteorites and tucked them in his jacket pocket, which thankfully had zippers. It would be a quick test with Clark to verify that they had the same effect on him that the green variety did!
After about an hour, Jonathan brought Trask back to the farm so he could pick up the rental car he had obtained at the airport. He was staying at the Lang family's bed and breakfast several miles up the road. He declined staying for lunch, and took off excitedly, no doubt to contact his mysterious "bureau" superiors.
Clark, who had been up late the night before celebrating his 18th birthday, came downstairs just in time to see Trask take off in a hurry. He immediately noticed his father's concerned, nervous expression. The two stood on the front porch, following Trask's car until it was out of sight.
"Dad? What's the matter? You look really upset," Clark remarked.
"Son, there are more meteor rocks than what we thought. Some are even red. That tornado cleared the entire field where your rocket ship landed. I grabbed some of the red ones to see if they would affect you the same as the green ones. Looks like they don't, because they're here in my jacket pocket, not shielded by lead," Jonathan remarked, pulling one of them out for display, resting it in the palm of his hand.
"Dad… I *do* feel something… instead of pain, I feel…*really good*!" Clark exclaimed. "This must be what the other kids feel like when they get drunk!"
His father returned a stern glance his way at that last comment.
"C'mon, Dad – I'm 18. Did you really think that no one drinks in high school? You're telling me that you didn't? And you were a football jock too? I seriously doubt it."
"Clark – you're talking *really* loud – I have enough on my mind what with Trask working for some secret government agency, studying UFO's and such – let's head out to the storm shed, I want to put these red rocks in the lead box, and we need to hide your ship. I don't trust Trask at all! He will stop at nothing to find proof of life in outer space."
"I don't know, Dad – I really *like* the way I feel right now. I don't have a care in the world – I feel *so* laid back. This is great!" Clark was floating horizontally, as if he was lying in bed, his hands tucked behind his head as if there was a soft feathered pillow there.
Martha came out to the porch and seeing her son floating, reprimanded him. "Clark Jonathan Kent! You get down right now! What if one of our neighbors popped by? How can I explain my son – levitating like that?"
Clark smiled cynically at his mother, which gave Martha chills. "Mom - *mother* - calm down! I think you both are just jealous of my abilities. Hey, I never did take you for a ride, did I? Let's go!"
Jonathan stood helpless to prevent his son from swooshing his wife up into the air. Within mere seconds, they were out of his sight. Knowing that his wife suffered from a fear of heights, he was sickened by the thought of his son, out of control, feeling high apparently from exposure to the red rocks of his home planet.
"So, mother, where would you like to go?" Clark said with a huge grin on his face. "How about Paris? I just flew to the Eiffel Tower yesterday!"
Martha gulped, trying not to look down. Normally she would trust her son, but he was clearly not himself. "Honey, why don't you take me to Met U? I never did go with you and your father to that open house for new freshman students a few months ago."
"Nah. Too boring. Don't want to go to Paris? How about Niagara Falls?"
<Still in the United States at least>, Martha thought as she nodded yes to her wild-eyed son.
As they neared the Canadian border, Clark began to descend. "Honey, I know you're feeling great right now, but we really don't want anyone to see you flying. People will ask too many questions and then men like Jason Trask will try to dissect you like a frog!"
Clark stopped in mid-air and turned and stared his mother down. "Martha Kent, you and Jonathan Kent have been telling me that all my life. It's time to knock that off. No one can *dissect* me! I can break Jason Trask and his cronies in half like a twig if I had to! Why should I hide who I am, anyway? Why shouldn't I be *proud* that I have these abilities and I can fly! For centuries, the human race has dreamed of flying – and I, Clark Kent, can actually do it! I think everyone's just jealous of me. Let's give 'em a show!"
There was a crowd of tourists milling around the Canadian side of Niagara Falls when Clark landed, Martha in tow, in full view. Little kids started yelling, all excited by what they saw, pointing at them; skeptical adults figured it was an advertising gimmick.
"Mommy! Daddy! Did you see that man land? He was *flying*!"
"Sweetie, he was just one of those skydivers that jump out of a plane, trying to get publicity. Don't believe everything you see!"
Clark and Martha did attract quite a bit of legitimate attention, and as a crowd of people came running towards them, Clark picked up his mother again, and rising above the protective railing, flew straight down into the falls. Martha felt nauseous but couldn't help but open one eye to view the spectacular sight below her. It was so beautiful that it distracted her momentarily from her fear of heights. The sounds and sights of the continually rushing water, thundering into the channel below, foam and mist constantly rising up, was awe-inspiring.
The tourists that had witnessed Clark's leap into the falls at first screamed, then, seeing him floating above the water, became speechless. Those that had cameras scrambled to take pictures of the seemingly flying man - before the duo, with Clark's great speed, disappeared before their eyes.
Looking back at the crowd, a brunette girl about his age, with a fire in her eyes that he'd never seen before, caught Clark's attention. He memorized her face as he sped off.
~~~~~
Lois Lane, on a class trip with her graduating class from Metropolis High School, was one of the lucky ones who managed to get a clear picture of Clark and Martha Kent that day. Photography being her hobby, she developed the film herself, not wanting to send it to a commercial studio, lest they see the picture and make a copy of the negative. She told her classmates that alas, the picture didn't come out – it was overexposed. She kept the 8x10 blow-up in her personal picture album, and made a wallet-sized print that she placed in a secret spot in her wallet.
The flying nameless stranger's face captivated her in a way no other boy ever had. She knew somehow that she would see him again. In the meantime, she would concentrate on her nursing studies at Metropolis University in the fall. If it was meant to be, they'd be together someday, she told herself.
~~~~~
Somewhere between Niagara Falls and Kansas, the Red Kryptonite began to wear off.
"Mom? What are we doing up here? You're afraid of heights!" Clark exclaimed.
"Honey, those red rocks your father and Jason Trask found…they made you lose your inhibitions. You don't remember landing in front of the crowd at Niagara Falls? Actually, I have to say, you've cured my fear of heights!" Martha said.
Clark gave his mother a stunned look. All of those years, hiding his powers, and now, he'd blown it, big time. He was silent the rest of the trip. He vaguely remembered how free he had felt, flying in front of a crowd. Wasn't there any way he could do that without having to worry about being "dissected like a frog"?
Clark landed just outside of Smallville in a deserted field. "Son? Why are we here?" Martha asked, trying to get a grip on her bearings again.
"Mom, I need a way to come and go from the farmhouse without people spotting me – especially now that I've blown it. I have an idea. I'll dig an underground tunnel from here to the storm shed. That way, you don't have to worry about Trask or any of his goons spotting me. Wait here, Mom. Stand back a bit so you don't get hit by any flying debris. It'll just take me a few minutes to do this, using my X-ray vision. Don't want to hit any underground pipes or anything, so it'll have to be fairly deep."
Martha watched speechless as Clark, using a clockwise spinning motion, began tunneling into the ground, soon to disappear completely. She found a tree stump and sat down to wait for his return, amazed at her son's abilities, and also aware that as much as she and Jonathan were paranoid for the world to find out about him, Clark's incredible powers could make this world a better place. Maybe it was really time to let Clark find his destiny. He was, after all, now eighteen years old.
About ten minutes later, Clark emerged from his new creation. "Mom, now we're going to find out if you have a fear of deep dark places!" he joked, as he picked her up and flew into the tunnel. "Don't worry, Mom, we'll be at the house in a flash!"
Before Martha had a chance to respond, they emerged from the tunnel into the storm shed. Clark placed his mother on her feet, steadying her. Martha in turn gave her son a warm embrace.
"What was *that* for, Mom?" Clark asked sheepishly.
"I love you, Clark. Always remember that. And, as long as you stay away from those darn red rocks, I trust you to make the right decision for yourself in regards to your powers."
Clark studied his mother's face for a moment before responding. "Well, I *do* remembering feeling really good that I didn't have to hide who I was. But I don't want any nosy reporters bothering you or Dad. Somehow, I'll have to figure out a way to be *me* without it negatively affecting you guys."
"Give it some thought, sweetheart. You'll come up with a solution. In the meantime, let's find your father so he knows I survived my first flight with my super-son!" she joked, as they climbed the stairs to ground level, emerging into the May sunlight.
TBC
