Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Destined: Journey (4/4)

Hours upon hours upon more hours of the same soundless black void finally ended as the spaceship completed its second hyperspace jump, and when the ship exited hyperspace, Kal sat up a little taller and just stared.

In front of him, a huge blue and green planet with large masses of swirling white clouds filled his view. In the distance, the solar system’s bright yellow star shone, and Kal felt an oddly refreshing burst of energy as its light hit him. He breathed deeply and gazed again at the rapidly approaching planet.

“Warning. Landing trajectory failure. Recalibration required.”

Kal’s eyes widened at the notification, and he shifted nervously in his seat as he tried to recall his training. He cleared his throat.

“Recalibrate landing trajectory using current coordinates. Identify suitable landing trajectory.”

The control panel lit up, and a holographic image appeared in front of him, reflecting Earth and the large landmass that seemed to be getting much too close much too quickly. Kal reached forward, enlarged the view, and touched his finger lightly to the point near where they had decided he should land.

“Error. Recalibration failure. Suitable landing trajectory not found.”

Kal swallowed and stared at the control panel. He remembered his father warning him about this possibility, that is, that the system may have difficulty with the landing protocol because of differences in the expected versus actual atmospheric conditions, temperature, and other factors. However, a single recalibration is all that should have been required. He tried the prompt again.

“Recalibrate landing trajectory using current coordinates. Identify suitable landing trajectory.”

But again, after the same process, the monotone voice declared, “Error. Recalibration failure. Suitable landing trajectory not found.” Then, to Kal’s dismay, the voice added, “Impact in seven minutes, fifty-six seconds.”

The spaceship was traveling much too fast now and began shuddering as it passed through the outer layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. His clear view of the area ahead began to fill with bright orange and yellow as flames formed at the front of the ship. Kal felt his heart start to pound in his chest.

“Manual control activation,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He had not trained for this possibility. His father had promised the ship would navigate itself.

“Manual control activation not recommended,” the system told him.

“I am aware of that. Activate manual controls and fire reverse thrusters,” Kal instructed.

His hands shook as he reached out and touched several keys on the hologram that popped up in front of him. He looked out ahead of the ship again. He could see huge stretches of green below him, dotted and crisscrossed with structures and roads. He frowned. He had no idea where he was or where to land. And he had never controlled a spacecraft before. He only remembered reading a short section on this in a book; he had not paid too much attention.

“Current speed,” he inquired as he continued scanning the land below.

The system immediately answered. “Current speed one thousand seventy-one kilometers per hour and holding.”

“Decelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour at a rate of…” Kal paused and did a quick calculation in his head. Then, he repeated the command. “Decelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour at a rate of two hundred kilometers per minute.”

“Deceleration activated.”

Immediately, Kal felt the shoulder belts pull against him as the ship began deceleration, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he sensed his approach slowing. The ground was much closer now, and he could make out green rolling hills and flat green and yellow fields. The roads were more prominent as well, running north-south or east-west at random intervals. Kal blinked and shook his head. It looked nothing like what he’d expected. And it definitely looked nothing like Krypton.

The spaceship jerked sideways roughly, and a sudden wave of nausea hit him. Blackness swirled in his vision briefly, and he felt a surge of panic. He could not black out right now, not as he needed to manually land the ship.

His thoughts stopped abruptly as an alarm sounded in the small ship and the control panel turned red.

“Error. Deceleration failure. Current speed six hundred thirty-eight kilometers per hour and holding. Altitude twenty-seven kilometers. Impact in two minutes, thirty-four seconds. Error. Landing speed dangerously fast. Recalibration recommended.”

Kal wanted to scream. However, logically, he knew that would not help him. The spaceship shuddered again.

“Decelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour within one minute,” he commanded. But the system continued beeping in error, and the ground continued to approach much too rapidly. “Recalibrate landing trajectory,” he tried again.

“Recalibration in process. Thirty-five seconds to completion,” the system whined back at him.

He held his breath as he waited. Glancing outside, he observed structures that looked like homes spread far apart in the vast landscape below. He could see a river and trees and so much lush green covering the earth. Patches of slightly different shades of green, yellow, and brown in rough squares suggested agricultural fields, maybe. “Farms,” he remembered. In English, they were called “farms.”

The blinking red lights faded to a calm blue illumination, and the system’s monotone voice announced, “Recalibration complete. Landing trajectory identified. Prepare for landing. Landing in fifty-three seconds.”

The spaceship steadied itself and slowed noticeably, and Kal let out a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes as he leaned his head back against the seat. Then, another wave of nausea hit him, and everything went black.



“Hello? Are you okay in there? It won’t open.”

A muffled male voice pulled Kal out of unconsciousness, and he blinked his eyes open slowly, his vision still blurry. Bright light filtered in, and he groaned as a pain ripped through his head, forcing him to screw his eyes shut again.

The voice called again, “Hello? Should I go get help?”

Kal felt the spaceship rock slightly, and he steadied himself and blinked his eyes open again, prepared for the sudden onslaught of pain this time. Squinting, he raised his hands up and blocked the intense light shining down through the transparent panels of the spaceship’s roof. A young man about his age with black hair, some sort of odd black-framed goggles covering his brown eyes, and a dark blue shirt stretched tight over his broad shoulders leaned over the spaceship, peering warily inside at Kal.

Kal took a shaky breath and attempted to reach out to the control panel. However, his hand shook violently, and he gave up almost immediately, letting his arm drop back down as he closed his eyes. He had not counted on being so unsteady and nauseous. And because the system’s safety protocols prevented voice commands for opening the canopy, he would need to try something different.

With a weak cough, he cleared his throat.

“Enable outer controls.”

“Whoa, what is…”

Kal blinked his eyes back open and watched as the man outside jumped backwards a step in surprise at the holographic control panel that materialized in front of him. The man looked at the panel and then back into the spaceship at Kal.

Kal did not want this. But he was here and had no choice.

His eyes closed softly as he pictured his parents, standing together across the growing crevasse, looking on as he had climbed into the spaceship and taken off. He remembered his mother’s words. He would not forget hope; he would not forget himself. And he remembered his father’s words. He would be honest and honorable; he would always remain true to himself.

“Mother, Father, I have made it to Earth. I am Krypton’s legacy. And I will make you proud,” he said quietly.

“I don’t know what to do here. Is this supposed to help you get out? What should I push?”

Kal opened his eyes and stared up at the stranger outside of his ship. The man looked worried, and his eyes flickered back and forth from Kal to the control panel. Somehow, Kal could immediately tell the young man was kind and decent and trustworthy. He blinked again and straightened up. In the best English he could manage, he said, “Please press the button with the diamond symbol. It will open the…” He trailed off as he realized he did not know the right word.

“The canopy?” the man suggested.

Kal pointed to the transparent roof of the spaceship, his hand still shaking badly, and when the man nodded, Kal repeated his sentence, inserting the word the man had provided.

“Please press the button with the diamond symbol. It will open the canopy.”

The corners of the man’s mouth twitched up slightly in an expression Kal was not familiar with. However, the expression made him feel more at ease, and he nodded as the man reached out tentatively and touched the holographic diamond symbol. Instantaneously, the top of the spacecraft began to retract, and a burst of fresh, cool air flooded the small cabin.

Kal inhaled sharply, his eyes widening as the chilly air burned his lungs. He took several deep breaths, gripping his knees tightly as his body trembled.

“Hey, man, are you okay? Let me help you out of there. Which of these buttons undoes your seatbelts?”

Kal tried to make sense of the man’s rapid talking, but he at once felt dizzy, and he worried he might lose consciousness again. His heart raced, and dark spots flickered in and out of his vision.

“You know, maybe I should go get my dad. He’s better with this stuff than me. I bet he can help you out.”

Kal’s eyes flew open as another wave of nausea hit him. He did not know what “maybe” or “dad” or “stuff” meant, but he did not want the man to leave him here. He had no idea where he was or where he should go, and he was hungry and tired and so dizzy.

“Deactivate shoulder and hip belts,” Kal stated in clear Kandorian, and the restraints keeping him in his seat dematerialized. Kal listed sideways, but before he could fall out of his seat completely, two strong hands grasped underneath his shoulders and tugged carefully. The next thing Kal knew, he was lying on his back on the soft, cool earth, several feet away from his spaceship, gazing up at a clear blue sky dotted with small patches of fluffy white clouds and continuing to breathe in the fresh, heavy, cold air. The man knelt next to him, his face contorted with worry and one hand still resting on Kal’s shoulder.

“I still think I should go get my father. He can drive his truck up here, and then we’ll get you some help. But I—”

Kal lifted a shaky hand to grip the man’s arm.

“I am Kal-El. I am from the planet Krypton.”

He closed his eyes very briefly, but then opened them again. The young man still knelt next to Kal, his eyes narrowed and his head slightly tilted as he listened. Kal started over, allowing himself to remember the countless hours of practicing, both in his head and out loud.

“I am Kal-El of Krypton. I have traveled from far away. I come here in peace and wish to learn about your world. I would like to ask for your help.”

The words “And may I pet your cat” popped into his mind, but he suppressed the urge to speak them out loud. As it was, he doubted his English was recognizable enough, since the man simply stared at him blankly. Kal tried one more time, mimicking some of the sounds the man had used earlier for familiar words.

“My name is Kal-El, and I am from a faraway planet called Krypton. I have traveled a long way to get here. I come in peace and mean no harm. My planet was… My planet was destroyed, and now I have no home. I would like to ask for your help.”

“Kal-El?” the man asked, pointing to Kal.

Kal nodded, but then realized he was not entirely sure whether a nod meant the same thing on Earth as it did on Krypton. And so, he clarified, “Yes. My name is Kal of the House of El. Formerly…formerly of Krypton. Now, I am Kal of…no place.”

The sad words reminded him of his deep losses, and he had a sudden urge to curl up and just sleep forever. After all, he should be dead, like everyone who had ever meant anything to him. Dejectedly, he reached up and rubbed his eyes with trembling fingers.

“Well, Kal, I have never heard of Krypton, but I’m sure it was an incredible place, and I wish I could have seen it,” the man said, speaking a bit slower than he had before and with a softness to his voice, as though he sensed Kal’s grief. “We are in Smallville, Kansas, on the planet Earth,” he added. “And my parents and I live just down the hill. Your ship landed in our field. We grow corn here. My name is Clark. Clark Kent.”

And the man stood and reached out his hand, his lips again twitching up into a curve and parting slightly to show his bright white teeth.

“Come on. My mom is just about finished cooking dinner, I bet. She and my dad will know how to help you.”

Kal looked apprehensively at the man’s hand outstretched toward him as he tried to interpret the man’s speech again.

“Clark Kent?” Kal repeated.

And the man nodded.

“That’s me.”

Kal grasped Clark’s hand, and the man helped hoist Kal to his feet. He was strong, Kal noted.

“Can you grab your bag, or do you need help?” Clark asked, motioning to Kal’s pack in the spaceship.

“The spaceship should follow me, I think. That is what Father said,” Kal responded, turning toward the vessel for a moment. He shook his head as he realized he had slipped back into Kandorian. He corrected himself in English. “My ship will follow me.” After Clark nodded, Kal stepped closer to the ship and said, “Activate ground cargo transportation mode.”

The holographic control panel flickered off, the canopy closed, and the ship whirred back on, rising up off the ground by about half a meter and turning to point its nose toward Kal.

Kal stood taller as he faced Clark again, forcing himself to maintain a neutral expression despite the stiffness in his back and the weakness in his legs. Clark’s deep brown, intelligent eyes were wide as he regarded the spacecraft and then shifted his gaze back to Kal. He lifted a hand slightly and pointed at the spacecraft, then shook his head and adjusted his eye coverings.

“Our farmhouse is just down the hill here,” Clark said, again speaking slowly and clearly. He motioned for Kal to follow him.

Kal silently complied, trailing a meter or so behind as Clark led the way down the hill toward a small yellow and white structure, which Kal reasoned must be the “farmhouse.” A “house” that is on a “farm,” he concluded, since this was obviously a “farm.” Halfway toward the farmhouse, Kal wrapped his arms around himself and shivered; despite the bright sunlight of the late afternoon and the long sleeves of his leisurewear, he was cold. His eyes darted briefly to the man walking ahead of him, noting the shorter sleeves and thin material of Clark’s shirt, although Clark did wear long pants and thick-soled shoes. A thin sheen of sweat was also visible on Clark’s neck and bare arms. Kal felt confused.

“Are you not cold?” Kal asked, breaking the silence. He hoped he had chosen the correct word. He thought he remembered that “cold” meant low temperature, whereas “hot” meant high temperature. Clark halted abruptly and turned around to face Kal, his mouth upturned again in that odd expression where his teeth showed.

“Cold? No, definitely not cold,” Clark said. He blinked several times as his expression changed in the other direction, the corners of his lips turning slightly downward in a small frown. “In fact, the heat this summer has been torture. We already lost a young calf and half of our lower cornfield to the heat. You’re cold? Uh, Krypton must have been a really hot planet then, I suppose.”

Kal stared at Clark, again struggling to interpret the rapid speech. Talking in English to himself had been one thing; hearing it spoken, so quickly and easily, was completely different.

“This is hot for you?” he managed after a moment. He clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. When Clark nodded, Kal continued, “What is a calf? I do not know that word, but I am saddened to hear that you lost it, along with your corn.”

He thought he had done a good job of putting those sentences together, but Clark bit his lip, and his eyebrows furrowed, which Kal interpreted as a look of confusion. At least, that was his best guess. This man seemed to have a lot of expressions, most of which Kal had never seen before.

“You really aren’t from around here, are you?” Clark said. He continued without giving Kal a chance to reply. “I’m sorry, this is very difficult to believe if you really are from…another planet. Um, a calf is a young cow, an animal we use for milk and meat. One of our cows, Gloria, she had a late calf. She gave birth just last week. But the heat was too much, and the calf didn’t survive.”

“Ah. I am saddened to hear this,” Kal repeated. He understood that a baby animal had died, although much of the detail was lost as he could not follow every word.

Clark started walking again, and Kal followed solemnly, keeping his arms wrapped around himself for warmth. Clark then slowed slightly and motioned for Kal to walk next to him rather than behind him, and the two neared the farmhouse together. Kal distracted himself by studying the home. It was small, certainly, but was obviously a single-family dwelling, not like the massive palace where Kal had grown up. The outside was painted a bright yellow, the edges offset in white, and boxes of flowers sat on the steps near the doorway. Blue, red, purple, and white flowers.

Kal stiffened and stopped. His flower from his mother. It had not been in the ship when he had closed the canopy. He turned around abruptly and addressed the ship, vaguely cognizant that Clark had also stopped next to him.

“Deactivate ground cargo transportation mode. Open canopy.”

The spaceship lowered and settled on the ground, and the canopy opened, retracting with a quiet hum. His breathing came in shorter gasps as he closed the distance between him and the ship and leaned into the cabin, scanning the control panel, floor, and seat. His pack sat, unopened and secured still, but otherwise, the cabin was empty.

The flower was gone.

“Where is it?” Kal said loudly, unaware that he had once again switched to Kandorian. His heart pounded unsteadily in his chest, and he frantically glanced around again, reaching into the ship and pushing his pack over slightly. No flower. “Where is it? Mother, where are you?”

He turned and began racing back up the hill as fast as his legs would carry him. Behind him, Clark called out, “Kal! Wait!” But Kal did not stop running until he reached the spot where his ship had landed. A deep rut nearly fifty meters long ran alongside a row of tall, bright green stalks. At the end of the rut, where his ship had come to a stop, Kal saw it—the beautiful white bloom, still perfect, still full and undamaged. He sprinted over and fell to his knees in front of the flower. Then, he cupped the flower carefully with both hands, as he had at the beginning of his journey, and brought it to his forehead again.

“Mother… Mother, I…”

He closed his eyes and held the flower as the sunlight began to grow dim. He felt Clark’s presence behind him, but the other young man said nothing as Kal continued to kneel on the cold ground, clutching the flower as though his life depended on it.

Finally, he stood, holding the flower carefully in his cupped hands. And as he turned back around toward Clark, he faltered. His heart had stopped racing, but he still felt weak and dizzy with grief. Briefly, a deep sadness seemed to overwhelm him as he once more remembered watching his planet explode behind him, knowing that he would never see his mother, father, and friends again. However, as his eyes met Clark’s, a tiny bit of that grief faded. This man, Clark Kent, he seemed kind and helpful, and being near him made Kal feel just a little more at ease. He lowered his eyes back to the flower.

“I’m sorry,” Clark said quietly as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. “The flower must have fallen out when I pulled you out of the ship. I’m glad you found it though. It’s special to you?”

Kal tilted his head as he tried to recall what “special” meant. Unique or important, he thought, and so he nodded.

“Yes, it is special to me. It is very special to me. My mother gave it to me when I left Krypton.”

“It’s beautiful, Kal,” Clark said gently, and he again motioned for Kal to follow him back down the hill.

A few minutes later, Clark held open the door to the farmhouse and ushered Kal inside. Brightness, warmth, and tantalizing smells assaulted his senses, and Kal almost stumbled as he gazed in awe around the small, colorful space.

“Mom, Dad?”

Kal felt a soft pressure brush up against his legs, accompanied by a quiet, unfamiliar sound. He gasped as he looked down and saw a small creature rubbing against him. The animal, covered in orange fur except for its paws and the tip of its tail, which were white, made a deep rumbling sound and stared up at him with large, amber-colored eyes. Kal backed away several steps and watched the creature anxiously.

“What is that?”

“What? Oh, little Finn? He’s our cat.” Clark bent down and picked up the animal, who began to make even louder rumbling noises. Then, Clark’s expression brightened, and he stepped up closer to Kal, holding the animal out a bit. “Would you like to pet him?”

“Would I like to…?” Kal’s voice trailed off as he blinked and stared at the small animal. The creature’s huge, intelligent eyes stared back. Was this really…what a cat looked like? With some hesitation, his eyes not leaving the strange animal, he spoke the words he had been practicing for weeks. “Yes, I…I would like to pet your cat.”

Kal shifted his flower to a single hand and then reached out and touched the soft fur on the animal’s back. The animal leaned into him as he stroked it. Kal felt an overwhelming emotion that he could not identify, accompanied by a strange sense of gratitude and belonging.

“It is…soft.”

“Yeah. He’s a sweet cat. He seems to like you,” Clark commented, and he set the cat down and glanced up a stairway ahead of them. “Mom and Dad are probably getting washed up for dinner. Have a seat at the table, and I’ll go get them. Mom made pot roast and an apple pie. You’re gonna love it.”

Clark then disappeared up the steps, calling out to his parents again as he took the stairs two at a time.

Kal lowered himself into one of the chairs at the table and set his flower down in front of him. He leaned forward until his forehead touched the flower. And then, in quiet Kandorian, he whispered, “Mother, I made it here to Earth, and I have found a kind, generous friend who will help me. I will not forget you, Mother. I will carry you with me, always. Thank you, Mother.”

And as the daytime darkened into night and the small family congregated around him, sharing food, drink, and lively conversation, Kal again thought of his mother and her final words to him.



He was here, ready to start this journey. He still felt a deep grief, an emptiness that he had never felt before and that he knew could never be filled. However, his mother and father had sacrificed everything for him to be here, and he knew he had to approach his new life as they had wanted, with courage and confidence.

And with at least one new friend, he thought as his eyes settled on Clark Kent.

He felt the corners of his mouth turn upward. A “smile” they had called it—the expression that happens when someone is happy and content. Clark and his parents smiled a lot, and it made Kal feel warm inside and welcome.

He smiled again, took another bite of the delicious dessert Clark had called “apple pie,” and touched his hand to the flower still sitting next to him on the table. He would never forget them—his parents. But he would allow himself this, here—the smiles, the warmth, the kindness—as they would have wanted.

And he would be brave and strong and unafraid as he embraced his new destiny.



End Part One.


Art by KSaraSara