~Four weeks earlier~
Lois was gone… and what was worse, so was the Legion ring.
Clark had been so wrapped up in trying to work out a plan with Chloe about what to do about Zod’s tower, that he had completely forgotten he had left the ring in such a vulnerable place.
And then, as he had entered the bullpen and saw Lois, all he could think about was how it had felt to hold her in his arms the other night. His mind had been so preoccupied with the Kandorians, but his heart—his heart had calmed the moment he had seen Lois working at her desk. And then he had—on impulse—asked her out on a date.
Because he couldn’t stand it anymore. The secrecy, the lies… Lois had seemed so confused and lost by what she had seen of the future and his Kryptonian journal. Yet she also seemed to take it all in stride, even the parts that scared her. And he wanted her to trust him… but he knew, keeping secret the truth about himself would always be a barrier to that trust, even if she never realized it.
So he decided he would tell her how he felt about her—and if she accepted that, then maybe, he could share the rest with her as well.
But Clark never got a chance to tell her any of it. She hadn’t shown up for the date that night. She had simply disappeared… Even calling her as the Blur, he hadn’t been able to reach her, which had sent him into a panic. However, before he had hung up, he had heard her phone ringing from the roof of the Planet. Clark had blurred to the roof, desperate to see if she was there, but all he had found was her silver and pink phone, carelessly tossed aside. It was only then that he had remembered leaving the Legion ring in the kitchen drawer… It was only after a day of mixed emotions, cat and mouse games with Tess and Zod, and worrying about the future… it was only when he realized Lois had vanished entirely that everything had stopped and he had accepted that she might have disappeared into the future once again.
Later, he had stared at that cluttered drawer in his mother’s kitchen for what seemed like hours, blaming himself for being so careless. Not just with the ring, but with Lois. By not telling her the truth, he had put her at risk once again.
~\S/~
Clark threw himself into stopping Zod, thinking that if he could stop the future that Lois had seen, it would somehow bring her back. He imagined her being at Zod’s mercy in that distant future, and it sent a shiver of fear down his spine that he didn’t want to contemplate.
The RAO tower started going up at record speed a week after Lois’ disappearance. Clark knew he had to act fast, as he could see that dangerous future now, looming just ahead. His only clue to stopping Zod was to find the Book of Rao, a Kryptonian bible that was thought to hold special powers. He left Chloe in Watchtower with instructions to start hunting for it, while Clark blurred to his favorite spot above the city to think.
The night was cool, the sounds of the city distant below him. Usually coming here would calm him. But now, Clark felt more lost than he had at any other time. Because he had meant for things to be so different. He had wanted to tell Lois what was really going on, who he really was, but he had been scared of the consequences… had been scared of putting her in danger. And yet now, she was gone—somewhere, and he had no idea how to rescue her.
He still had her phone, the only evidence as to her last whereabouts, which he had found on this very roof. He had carried it around with him for the last week, a sort of albatross of guilt that represented his many mistakes, but he had never thought to search through the call list. As the idea hit him now, he didn’t know why he hadn’t done it before. He knew she had taken the Legion ring, but what if she merely had it in her possession, and hadn’t used it? What if something else had happened to her?
Hope mingled with fear surged through him as he turned on her phone and started flipping through her call list, hoping at least for a clue. He noticed that her calls with the Blur actually showed up in the phone history, indicating she must have changed the ‘unknown’ option to ‘the Blur.’ So the listed calls could be ones he actually had made, or they could just be telemarketers. He checked the time of the last call made, noticing it was listed as ‘the Blur’ and shortly after he had asked her out on that date-- but he knew he hadn’t made that call. Trying to be rational, but getting a sinking feeling in his stomach, he blurred over to Watchtower to have Chloe check it out.
“Chloe, I found Lois’ phone. Can you trace the last call she made?”
“One thing at a time, Clark… This Book of Rao search is turning out to be impossible. Every time I get close, I keep getting blocked by someone called the Red Queen.”
“Sounds like Checkmate.”
Chloe shook her head. “She’s not even on their radar. I don’t know, Clark. But we’ll keep trying.” She turned to him with a sigh, holding out her hand. “All right, let’s check out Lois’ phone.”
Clark watched as Chloe did her magic on the computer. She may not know it, but she was her own kind of superhero. Clark knew that he and their ragtag hero team would be lost without her.
After a few minutes, Chloe shook her head. “You’re not going to like this, Clark.”
“What?” he asked, not able to decipher the computer codes listed on the large screen in front of them.
“The last call was made from a cell owned by RAO Corporation.” Chloe crossed her arms in dismay, “I’d be willing to bet that Lois’ last caller was Zod.”
“What would he want with Lois?” he asked, getting more concerned by the second.
“I don’t know… phone conversations are recorded all the time, though. If I can just tap into the system…” she said, her eyes squinting in concentration as she typed. “Here we go,” Chloe gestured, hitting one final key, starting a playback of Lois’ last phone conversation.
“I think---well, I have a lot to tell you about… You know those visions I’d been having?”
“Visions?”
“Yeah—um, red sun, Tess, Zod…? Well, I think it’s starting to come true. I just got a press release memo that says Tess Mercer is the money behind a new solar tower.”
“And what do you think she plans to do with it?”
“Well, from the visions I had, nothing good. It will turn the sun red, and give Zod and his buddies an energy boost that’s a bit stronger than your average RedBull drink.”
“Surely you don’t think the red sun will give the Ka-- them powers?”
“Yes! And I think—it will take yours away… In my dream—you were dead.”
“Lois, everything will be fine. Trust me.”
“I do trust you—Oh, and I have something of yours. I think it started this whole mess in the first place and I don’t think Clark should keep it. It’s a large gold ring—and I think it’s what brought on my acid trip to the future.”
“I—lent the ring to Clark. But from what you’re telling me, maybe I could use it to stop Zod—find out what his intentions really are. Meet me on the roof of the Planet in an hour?”
Chloe glanced at Clark, seeing the distress on his face.
“All because I lied to her,” he said, regret clear in his voice. “I told her I would tell the Blur everything she said… but when he called, pretending to be me—“
“Clark, you were trying to protect her. Give yourself credit for trying to be as honest as you could with Lois. It’s not your fault that Zod decided to use her trust against her.”
“I have to stop Zod, Chloe. Maybe… maybe if I can stop him here, it will somehow bring Lois back from the future.”
Clark suddenly blurred out of Watchtower, leaving Chloe to wonder what he thought he could do to stop Zod if they didn’t find the Book of Rao before he did.
~\S/~
Clark blurred back to his favorite perch overlooking the city. The RAO Tower was nearly halfway built. But if completing it could be delayed, it would buy him more time to find the Book of Rao and figure out how to defeat Zod.
He felt partly betrayed by Lois, even if it wasn’t entirely her fault. Somehow, he had expected that she would be able to recognize him, even through all of his subterfuges. Or at least know when she wasn’t speaking to the Blur. But deep down, Clark knew it was all his own fault. His dishonesty with Lois was what led her to Zod and to the ring. She had evidently put it on… What if she was in danger and was in a time or place where he didn’t exist? He breathed in deep to steady himself. He couldn’t answer those questions, but he could stop the frightful future she had told him about from taking place. He could put an end to Zod’s plans, and maybe bring Lois back by destroying the one thing that had brought on the darkness of an apocalyptic future in the first place.
He could burn the RAO Tower to the ground.
Clark rarely lost his temper, always keeping himself in check, knowing that his powers, if they got out of hand, could be more than dangerous.
But the RAO Tower symbolized something that was antithesis to everything he had been taught to believe in. Zod would rule over the earth, enslave the people of this planet, and symbolically destroy everything that was ever good about being a Kryptonian. That tower represented an oppressed future and a shattered planet… the red sun it would generate would hurt Clark as well, and though that wasn’t the main reason he wanted to see it gone, he knew it was a valid one. Perhaps a little bit of pride snuck in Clark’s heart, as he believed it was his job to be the protector of earth and to prevent Zod from taking it over.
Wasn’t that the destiny Jor-El had laid out for him? To protect the earth?
But maybe it was something entirely different that consumed him in that moment.
Maybe it was a lost pair of brown eyes that he missed smiling at him every day with a rare and special trust.
Or the emptiness in his heart, fearing that he’d never see Lois again, or worse, see her and not be able to explain to her all the things that he wanted to tell her.
Maybe it was this pain, this loss that made him set ablaze the RAO Tower… and not some hero’s quest at all.
~\S/~
Martha looked out across the Washington Mall from her office. It was a beautiful sunset in the nation’s capital, yet she couldn’t help longing for the quiet sunset evenings of Kansas. It was after five, and she still had a reception to attend where she hoped to sway some of her colleagues away from the talk she was beginning to hear circulate that ‘vigilantes’ weren’t good for America.
It seemed that a mother’s work to protect her children was never done.
She knew how hard Clark was working to help his people find a place in the world, but she also worried if he would make the right choices. She believed to her soul that Jonathan and herself had done all they could to instill a strong moral compass in Clark, but would that compass be compromised when faced with choosing between his own people and those of Earth?
She took a deep breath, knowing that she could never alarm Clark with her deepest fears. She loved him dearly, and she did trust him.
But with the stirring of concern over vigilantes, Martha had done some digging and came across a group more secretive than the CIA that could do damage to her son’s cause, or worse, go after him personally. Checkmate. Through some favors with colleagues, she had learned that Checkmate had been organized to stop an apparent alien invasion. And their main intent had been to find something called the Book of Rao.
Martha checked the locked drawer in her office, where she kept hidden the Book of Rao ever since she had taken it from Tess Mercer.
She had learned a thing or two in Washington, and one important lesson was that she would have to play a game of her own in order to help Clark. That’s when she had come up with the Red Queen, her way of countering the darker forces at work around them. But in her investigation, she had also learned a far more frightening truth--She had learned the Book of Rao had the power to take all Kandorians to another plane of existence, meaning if it was used, her son would disappear from Earth as well. She had kept the Book hidden for selfish reasons perhaps, but she knew if the Kandorians ever did become a threat, she would have to give it to Clark and trust that he would make the right choice.
She just hoped to delay that day as long as possible… losing Jonathan had nearly broken her. She didn’t know what she would do if she lost Clark, too.
Her phone buzzed and she picked up the line. “Yes?”
“There’s a Chloe Sullivan on line one. She’s demanding to speak to you. Something about your son, Clark.”
“Put her through,” Martha said calmly, though her heart was starting to race with fear.
“Chloe? What is it?” she asked anxiously.
“Hi, Mrs. Kent,” Chloe began nervously, having never called Martha at the office before. “I, uh, just called because I’m worried about Clark. He’s been all over the place since Lois disappeared…and um, he may have stirred up a hornet’s nest with the RAO Corporation. The tower was destroyed last night,” Chloe said, hoping Martha could read between the lines. She didn’t trust that Mrs. Kent’s lines weren’t monitored by the
government.
Martha sighed. She knew Chloe wouldn’t call her at the office unless it was an emergency. She glanced down at the drawer that held the Book of RAO, thinking.
“Tell Clark I’ll be on the first plane home,” Martha said decisively. “And Chloe? Everything will be all right,” she reassured Clark’s friend, trying to believe it for herself as well.
“Thanks Mrs. Kent. I hope you’re right.”
~\S/~
Martha always felt a tugging of bittersweet sadness when she drove to the farm. She had so many happy memories here with Jonathan, and raising Clark. How she longed for her husband’s guidance now. She hadn’t realized how much she had relied on him nor how much she had learned from him, until he was gone. He had always been a quiet tower of strength, calm and strong as a river, silently guiding and providing in the background.
She often thought of Jonathan when making decisions as a senator; how he would view this issue, how he would speak to the other side. He was her guide, and she hoped that he would be proud of things she had accomplished in Washington, even the small ones.
She glanced at the box in her passenger seat, the dilemma she had been wrestling with since last night still on her mind. Should she give the Book of Rao to Clark? Could she let her son go, if the Book took him away? But could she be selfish and withhold it from him, knowing it could be the answer to helping a race who had found themselves stranded on Earth, unable to fit in, and festering a dangerous longing to have the same powers her Kryptonian son enjoyed?
Could she risk a whole planet simply because she couldn’t bear the thought of losing her son?
“Jonathan?” she said aloud in the quiet car, the wheat fields looking golden in the early morning sunlight as she drove by. “Jonathan… what do I do?” she whispered, a catch in her throat. She would do this often when driving out to the farm, have conversations with her late husband. She would share the burdens and joys of her heart as they had done so often in their marriage. She even looked forward to these moments, believing she still had some sort of connection to him, especially out here in the fields of Kansas that he had loved so much. Even when she was in distress, like now, knowing she could unburden her heart in this way, to the only man she had ever loved, brought her a little comfort.
“We both loved—love our son… he isn’t perfect, but we both know he has a greater destiny… What if this is a key to moving that destiny forward and I withhold it from him?” Then, more to herself than to any lingering spirit of a man who might be listening, she whispered, “But… what if I lose him, too?”
She shook her head in frustration, hitting the steering wheel. “ It was so easy, knowing what was right when you were here Jonathan,” she said, tears starting to flow freely. “I always could look to you as a steady guide…and now that guidance, all those little lessons you taught him along the way, has to lead our son. He can be a beacon for what is good and right in this world, I know it. But what he’s up against---“ she wiped the tears away from under her eyes, trying to focus on the road. “There is so much hate in Washington. They call the Blur a vigilante, a criminal. They don’t understand what a gift he is to all of us. And I just want to fight for him, Jonathan. But I don’t know how… I don’t know how to protect him and help him at the same time. I don’t know---how…”
She had managed to pull her car into the farm driveway. She turned off the engine, and had a good cry in the front seat. Here, she could let it all go. In Washington, she was Senator Kent, a cool-headed Kansan who stood up for Middle America. But here, on this farm, she was a mother, and used to be a wife. She was a woman who had worked with her hands, helped build this farm into the home it was today… She cried for those memories as well, knowing that things could never be the same again, fearing they might change even more.
But she had to pull herself together. She had to be strong for Clark, be someone for him to lean on if he needed it.
After a while, she calmed down, and looking out at the goldenrod farmhouse set against a cerulean blue sky, she knew that somehow everything would be okay. Because here, she felt Jonathan’s strong and steady presence. He was there in the picket fences, and in the evidence of chores that he had taught Clark to do long ago. His voice still resonated across the fields, in the barn, every place that Jonathan had touched, spoke of his kindness, generosity, and salt of the earth spirit that was simple enough to be a farmer and noble enough to touch all those that knew him. He was still there in their hearts, guiding them, looking out for them, as sure as the ebb and flow of life on the farm existed.
And as her tears dried, Martha began to feel peace in her heart. She could trust Clark with the Book of Rao. If there was a way for him to use it and stay behind, he would.
Clark would do all he could to do what was right and best for everyone.
He was his father’s son, after all.
~\S/~
The skies were dark grey… a dark storm was starting to circle Metropolis, and Clark couldn’t help but feel that a reckoning was upon him. All the Kandorians now had powers, and were menacing people all across the planet. A war had begun, and he knew the only way to stop it was to use the Book of Rao.
The fear he had seen in his mother’s eyes as she had given him the Book still haunted him. She knew it would take him away from her forever… and as much as it pained him, part of him wanted to leave… Even with the tower destroyed, there was still no sign of Lois. She had been gone for four whole weeks… and he feared that she was lost to him forever.
What destiny here on earth could he have without her love to support him?
Maybe leading the Kandorians to another planet was the greater destiny, one where he would be forced to only be a Kyrptonian—one where he would forget the pain and joys of love. Perhaps this was what Jor-El had trained him to do.
Clark took the gold disk from his jacket, to lay it on the console as Tess had told him he should do to activate the Book of Rao. He had been surprised by her confession about the console, by her helping him, but glad to see that there was good in her after all.
Just as he moved to lay it into the console, Zod flew in, landing heavily next to him, echoing the ominous thunder in the skies above them.
“Zod,” Clark whispered derisively, then stepped forward. “You can’t stop me, Zod, we’re leaving this planet.
“I’m not going anywhere, and neither are they,” Zod said with a slight curling of his lips, indicating to the air just above them.
Clark watched as the Kandorians flew around them, menacing in the skies. He felt his heart sink… this was all so wrong. He knew his people were fundamentally good, yet led by Zod, they were quickly turning into tyrants. They had left the mark of Zod on worldwide monuments important to the people of Earth, declaring a war that Clark knew the humans couldn’t win.
“Having others finish a fight that you started only proves what a coward you are,” Clark said, unthreatened by the powerful throng surrounding them, knowing he could end this.
Zod seemed not intimidated by Clark’s bravado. He circled Clark, much like a predator, about to go in for the kill. “My soldiers know I’ve never wavered in the face of death. All you’ve ever done is hide in the shadow,” he said, disdain in his voice.
“You’ve hidden, too—the truth from them.” Clark looked around at the Kandorians around him and lifted up the Book of Rao. “The Book of Rao will not destroy us,” he said in a clear, strong voice. “It will lead us to a better place, another planet where we can live in peace, where we can build a new home. Krypton will live again.”
Zod shook his head, determined not to let Clark win this argument. “This is just another one of his deceits. We all know where his allegiance lies.”
“I care for all life, Zod, unlike you.”
“You only care about the humans… I know you’ve been looking for Lois,” Zod said with a knowing sneer.
Clark turned angry blue eyes on Zod, “What do you know about Lois?”
Zod smiled, a sinister twitching of his lips as he shook his head, “Just that she’s gone—forever.”
“You lie!” Clark cried as anger fired through him. He lunged towards Zod, pushing him against a wall, his arm braced across his enemy’s chest.
Calmly, Zod answered him, “The only liar among us is you, Kal-El. You never wanted to help us. All you have done is deceive those who should be your people!”
Clark tried to rein in his anger. Whatever Zod knew about Lois, it wouldn’t help her for him to lose his cool now. After all, he still believed that she could return—even if he was no longer here to meet her. She could simply be lost in another time, and maybe, when this madness was over, she would come back.
“Or worse, you deceived the woman you professed to love, didn’t you Clark?” Zod said, still held under Clark’s arm, his voice laced with sarcasm. “All you did was lie to her.”
Clark shoved harder into Zod, and then let go, as if he wasn’t worth the effort. “What about your deceptions? If they knew the truth they’d never follow you,” Clark said forcefully.
Zod straightened up, smoothing his jacket, pride in his every movement. “My men willingly follow me.”
Clark turned to him, and then glanced at the Kandorians who had landed on the roof. He knew he had to show the truth about Zod to these people, but he couldn’t prove anything to them by pushing Zod to tell him about Lois. But Zod had committed other sins, more important to the Kandorians, that Clark could bring into the open.
Clark stepped towards Zod again, his steely eyes meeting Zod head on. “What about Faora? All she wanted was to leave you.”
“That is a lie!” Zod cried out, seeing the Kandorians inch closer with interest at this new development.
“But she, she paid for it with her life,” Clark said doggedly, determined that the Kandorians should know the whole truth.
“Faora never should have trusted you--” Zod began.
Clark interrupted, seeing Zod beginning to weaken in the eyes of the Kandorians. “But she wasn’t the only one who paid the price, was she?”
Clark suddenly felt Zod take him and slam him against the wall, much as he had done to Zod a moment ago. Zod leaned in, his voice shaking with rage. “Faora was a traitor. Do you think I wanted to kill my own child?” he said in a low, shaking voice.
Zod suddenly looked over his shoulder, seeing the Kandorians had heard what he said. He let go of Clark and stepped up to Vala, Faora’s sister, to try to defend himself. “Your sister was a traitor. She would have betrayed us all.”
But this did not win the Kandorians over to Zod’s side. One by one, as they realized the betrayals of their leader, they began to rip off their armbands that symbolized their allegiance to the general.
A tall Kandorian began to step towards Zod, anger in his eyes, but Vala laid a hand on his shoulder. “Wait, we’ll deal with him once we’re on our own soil.” She stepped forward, and spoke to Clark. “Kal-El, take us home.”
Clark glanced at Zod once more, but he seemed momentarily subdued. Clark wasn’t sure what Zod had in mind now, but he wasn’t about to pass up the chance to use the Book of Rao. It was time to leave, to lead the Kandorians to a new planet, where he could start over—and perhaps learn not to make so many mistakes.
Clark placed the Book of Rao on the console, a golden light radiating into the sky from its crystals. Just as a rain began to fall, the Kandorians began to ascend, one by one, like dark angels heading up to heaven.
Clark looked around him at the dark skies of Metropolis, the rain beginning to beat down heavier, reminding him of how painful it was to be here on earth, to be human, with all of his mistakes to shame him.
He thought of his father… how it had been Clark’s fault that he had died.
He thought of how difficult life had been without him, and yet he said a silent ‘thank you’ for all the lessons his father had taught him. He knew Jor-El’s training had taught him to be a hero, but he thought his father’s lessons had taught him to be a leader.
His heart wrenched, looking up at the golden glow that would take him away, as his thoughts drifted at last to Lois. He had messed everything up with her, and now she was gone, possibly forever. He loved her, but he didn’t know if he could ever be what she needed…if she even ever returned.
Clark looked up into the sky, ready for the light to take him away, when he realized nothing was happening. He glanced around him, seeing that Zod was still here as well. Then Clark noticed a strange dagger that Zod had pulled from his jacket and unsheathed, and Clark felt a thrill of anger in his chest at the sight.
“Blue Kryptonite,” Clark said through clenched teeth.
Zod nodded, lifting the dagger menacingly, “I told you. I’m not going anywhere.”
Clark couldn’t believe Zod’s arrogance and temerity. He looked accusingly at him, the rain pouring down in buckets around them. “You knew blue Kryptonite would prevent you from ascending like the others.”
Zod stepped forward, his eyes ablaze with hate and delusion. “’Better to rule in hell, then to serve in Heaven.’”
Zod swiped the dagger at Clark’s chest, slashing the fabric of his shirt and slicing a wound that felt like cold fire.
“Since you seem to love the humans so much, let’s see you fight like one!” Zod cried loudly as the storm picked up, bracing his legs in a fighter’s stance.
As Clark fought Zod in the rain, he began to realize what he was really fighting for. With every blow across Zod’s face, and every nick from the blue Kryptonite dagger, Clark realized that he was fighting for this planet—not the right to rule on some other distant one. He knew he had to save the earth from Zod’s tyranny; with every punch, flashes of the farm, of his parents, of Lois, his friends came before him—and he knew that even if he died, it would be worth it to save those he loved from Zod.
Zod at last trapped him, caught in the corner of the rooftop. Zod leaned over Clark, his face a wicked shadow of the man he once was, of the man that was once Jor-El’s friend.
Clark felt the hate radiate from Zod, the cool rain of the earth unable to wipe it away, like a permanent stench of evil. Zod pushed Clark to the edge of the precipice, loathing coating his words, “Unlike you I will lead from the throne, not from the shadows. Every human including the woman you love, will kneel before Zod!”
Those last words stirred enough anger in Clark to give him the energy he needed to lunge forward one last time, to try and stop the tyrant who believed he was winning.“You already destroyed my first home, I won’t let you take this one!”
Suddenly, Clark felt a pain as sharp as ice and as burning as fire rip through him. His shocked eyes met Zod’s victorious ones for a moment that seemed suspended in eternity. Clark looked down, the blazing blue Kryptonite dagger sheathed into his chest.
Zod glanced up, the golden light of the Book of Rao beginning to pull him away from the earth, the blue Kryptonite no longer able to protect him from ascending. As Zod was dragged into the light, Clark stumbled backwards, falling over the edge of the building.
Clark saw, even as he free fell to the earth, Zod disappear with the rest of the Kandorians.
The golden light of the Book of Rao disappeared into the rainy night sky, leaving only darkness behind.
The rain and wind buffered and beat him down at once. The earth’s elements were at once his friends and his enemies.
Clark, his arms spread open as he fell, almost felt suspended in the air… as if he flew to the ground rather than fell…
But the rain poured harder, pushing him faster in his plummet to the earth.
Pain cut through him.
He feared that pain and death were all that was left.
But then, a moment of grace.
As he descended to his death, he closed his eyes and thought of life.
His father’s wisdom, offering him guidance, even when Clark didn’t want to listen.
His mother’s arms around him, telling him everything would be all right.
And Lois.
Even through the pain, her smile reached him and comforted him.
This was the price then, his sacrifice to save the ones he loved.
At last, cold, hard, and final, he landed on the street below.
His consciousness faded away, into the pain, into oblivion…
All he could feel was the dagger… and death, just inches away.
Rain.
Cold.
Death…
His mind reached one last time out for comfort, even as he felt life ebb away.
What could hold him to this earth? What tether was there that could bring him back if he had the strength to wrench that dagger from his chest?
But she was gone…
If only I could see her face, once more…
