[Chapter 16: 5th]Kal had never been so disoriented before in his life. Space itself seemed to be warped but it went beyond that. Doing his best to comprehend what he was experiencing, he could only conclude he was in the 5th dimension, the home realm of Mxyzptlk. Which might explain why he had his adult mind again, despite his body remaining a child's.
He wasn't sure what the 5th dimension was supposed to be, as the first three dimensions defined standard space and the fourth dimension enveloped time, but whatever this fifth dimension was, it made his senses feel utterly off kilter. There was an odd hum in the background that made him uneasy and he felt as if he was missing something. He suddenly felt as if he was a fully blind person sitting on the edge of a cliff or a completely deaf person sitting in the center of a symphony. He knew there was something there to experience, he just didn't have the required ability to properly sense and comprehend it.
His body shuddered in the foreign atmosphere and his vision finally began to come into focus.
He could suddenly make out Mxyzptlk's hand on his arm.
"Take me back!" Kal ordered, grabbing the front of Mxyzptlk's clothing with his little hands.
"No, and there's nothing you can do to make me," Mxyzptlk stated brutally, leaning toward him with a crazed expression.
Kal narrowed his eyes, immediately deciding that if Mxyzptlk wouldn't send him back, the only thing left was to escape and find someone who would.
He pushed away, but the imp held on tighter.
"Let me go!" His eyes flashed but he instantly felt their power snuff out.
"Ah-ah-aah," Mxyzptlk countered, wagging his finger with his free hand. "None of that now. You're not going anywhere. You're mine now."
Thanks to his aura, and despite the turbulent surroundings, Kal felt the imp's ruthlessness behind his words. The possessiveness. It seeped into his bones and Kal knew. . . .
He meant what he said.
He viewed Kal more like a toy than a being worthy of respect or any level of civility.
Defiance stronger than self-preservation solidified within Kal. He would rather die than let this stand. Fight instead of remain separated from his home. And perhaps some impulsiveness from his five-year-old self remained as his aura pulsed violently. For the first time since he had faced off with Parasite, he fully utilized his aura.
Mxyzptlk gasped, stunned, as he was bashed back. Kal felt the imp’s awareness actually slip. Kal did not relent and squeezed, compressing his aura tightly against the imp's form.
He was not going to give up! He was not going to be trapped here! He was going to get home!
And then he felt several presences swarm the bizarre chamber they were in.
A jarring, ferocious power wrenched his onslaught against Mxyzptlk away, but honestly not as cruelly as he had expected. His consciousness wavered.
Straining, he forced himself to make out voices among the hum of chaos.
"—Rul
es!!!"
"
You have i
nterfered w
ith a lesser
realm for t
he last ti
me."
"Bri
nging a 4
th'er h
ere!?! And
THIS 4th'er?!"
"He w
ill not
survive here for lo
ng and th
ere's no g
uarant
ee he will su
rvive if w
e succeed
in sending him b
ack."
"
You've
condemned a lesser b
eing by
bringing him
here, not
to mention d
amned his home re
alm due
to this one's
importance!"
Kal did his best to straighten himself while floating in whatever he was suspended in. He felt like he was losing himself.
The voices suddenly cut off, and he could make out cloudy forms amid muffled, swirling power. They all turned their attention on him as something echoed from a place he couldn't see.
"Clark!"
"Kal!"
"Superman!"
"Come back!"
"Fight!"
"Don't give up!"A sensation he could only liken to devotion and love wrapped around him like gentle but unbreakable tendrils.
"
What i
s this?"
"M
orta
ls from h
is world."
"Someh
ow they a
re calling to him."
"We mus
t use t
his. It is do
ubtful it wil
l persist."
He felt hands of buzzing essence grab his upper arms, and he felt exceedingly ill by the violent influx. And then the beings slammed him backward, and he felt as if he was being shredded through a wall of concrete and glass.
There was a flash of light and then he felt gravity take hold. He fell straight back and opened his eyes to find blue skies above with a closing disk of sparkling gold. A portal? His back made contact with something somewhat soft a few seconds later, and pain laced throughout his body, though it wasn’t from the fall.
Heaving in breaths of air, he couldn’t stop his body from trembling in shock as, he correctly surmised, his body re-acclimated to his home universe.
O o O o O
Jaden's bizarre-o-meter had exploded a long time ago, so when a circular golden window appeared high in the sky and little-Kal was shoved through and plummeted to the earth, he was already on his way forward to try to catch him.
Thankfully, he succeeded.
He almost fell forward as he caught Kal but somehow managed to stay on his feet. He could feel Kal’s aura buzzing sporadically, and he dimly wondered if it was the reason for his successful, miraculous catch.
“Kal?!” he asked, feeling the gasping boy’s tremors.
He didn’t respond.
Two officers appeared on either side of him, and they stared down at the Boy of Steel.
“Take him somewhere safe to rest. The rebel’s influence will fade within the day and your Keeper will fully be himself once more. Farewell,” a voice said.
They looked up just as a being reminiscent of a feudal lord disappeared above them. Jaden looked back down and found Kal staring at him with half-open eyes, looking ragged.
“Help me get him to the bed in my truck's cab. One of you can ride along while we drive,” Jaden decided.
"It'd be faster in a patrol–" The officer stopped as he noticed Kal grip Jaden as he looked at them. His aura flexed, as if trying to convey something but unable to communicate it properly. "Okay, he'll ride with you, let's go," the officer said, changing course.
Kal relaxed.
Fifteen minutes later, Kal was asleep on the little bed of Jaden’s semi-truck cabin and they were on their way to the airport with a flashing escort.
By evening, he was resting peacefully at the Foundation and the world breathed a sigh of relief.
O o O o O
Kal blinked, allowing his eyes to focus on the ceiling of his room at the Foundation. He rubbed his face and suddenly froze.
He had stubble.
He bolted upright and swung his legs off the bed, and his feet immediately made contact with the floor instead of dangling over. He was bigger!
In a blur, he shot to the nearest mirror, which was in the connected bathroom, and found his adult face grinning back at him, five o’clock shadow and all.
/Lois! I’m myself again!/ he thought out to her.
/Clark!/ she returned, so overwhelmed with relief and joy she could hardly think at all.
/I’ll be home soon,/ he promised, before shooting to Dr. Klein and allowing his aura to extend through the walls and floors to give Dr. Klein a heads-up.
"Kal! You're yourself again!" Bernie said, thrilled. "How do you feel?"
"Like myself," Kal said, jittery from relief.
Klein hurried to the camera and turned it on to check his aura. He smiled.
O o O o O
The world was once again in recovery mode, though fortunately this round was a bit more lighthearted than after previous post-crises.
Images of 'little-Kal' were already becoming immortalized, and talk shows and news stations were making as much money off it all as they could. Fortunately, the Foundation was capitalizing off of it as well, deciding to work with the curiosity of the public and embrace the opportunity of showing that Kal had had the same mannerisms as any typical (though well-behaved) child, humanizing him further.
During this time, the Foundation also gave a statement concerning a slightly different matter. Missing persons.
In the statement, they brought attention to the sad reality of missing persons, particularly children, and how a startling number of them were from reservations. Mav went on to detail how limited resources and other complicated dynamics lead to injustices striking reservations more frequently before admitting there were no easy solutions, but now that they recognized the existence of a problem they could work toward tangible solutions. Superman then promised a portion of the Foundation's funds to a stipend specifically for finding missing children and stipulated that the Foundation would require proof their funds were being used to that end. As with all their finances, there would be complete transparency and accountability.
Superman ended the statement by clarifying that, while he would still leave the work of law enforcement to the proper authorities, as he always has, he views helping children under his prerogative. This is how he would help.
The public deeply approved, and soon there was a theory going around that helping to find missing children had become personal to Superman because he had briefly gone missing while he had been a child and his friend, Lois Lane, had recently written a collection of articles on missing children.
Well, whatever the reason, the American public was now aware of the state of some of their own citizens and the demand for tangible, beneficial changes began to sound from all fifty states.
Alongside that, other feelings rose.
The public was still curious about what Superman had been capable of while de-aged and everyone who had interacted with him while he had been little had been interviewed repeatedly. Lois wasn't surprised by it at all, though it was strange to be asked questions about helping Superman outside the Foundation before Myxy showed up.
The public was sticking with ‘Myxy’. Mxyzptlk was just too much of a mouthful.
Clark wasn't sure how to feel about it all, but he was relieved the world was more intrigued than scared by everything that had happened.
There was certainly a renewed interest in mythology by the general population, as it was now clear imps were real and had apparently been ‘sent back’ before by brave humans tricking them into saying their name backwards. If those stories were true, what else was true?
To that end, General David Farragut, the replacement for Burton Newcomb, informed Kal that the US government and UN had already begun work in expanding the response team that had recently been formed to respond to alien threats. The past few years had demonstrated the universe was not as simple as the world once believed, and Kal fully supported the world taking preemptive measures just in case. Afterall, such measures had saved his life and the world before.
He would be meeting with the new team of that division the following week to debrief them on what he had experienced in the 5th Dimension, as well as his experiences with time travel and universe jumping.
Wow, his life was so weird.
Lois sighed against Clark as they cuddled together to watch Lethal Weapon 4.
Suddenly, the phone rang.
“It's alright. It's not like we haven't seen this before,” Lois said, moving over so he could answer the phone.
“Hello?” he asked.
‘Mr. Clark Kent?’ a voice asked.
“Er, yes?”
‘This is Agent Radley of the FBI. I've been heading the missing person case of Poloma Russell.’
Clark’s heart was suddenly in his throat.
The girl he had been looking for, the missing child from the Choctaw Tribe.
There were only so many reasons the head investigator would personally call his cell.
‘She's alive. We found her and successfully rescued 152 others late last night and another 183 early this morning across multiple states. We felt you would want to know, as it was predominately through your efforts that this was initiated and carried out.’
Tears of joy filled his eyes as Lois gripped his arm, hearing just enough to understand what it was about. His aura swirled around her.
Clark swallowed, rallying his voice to not crack as he replied. “Thank you.”
‘Thirty-two other cases you had inquired about were found to be involved in this operation, so we will need to get with you later to ask you some questions as we move things to court.’
“I understand,” Clark said.
‘194 arrests have been made so far. I'm certain more will follow as the week progresses. You brought about the largest sting operation in history, Mr. Kent. Expect calls from at least twenty reservations in the near future.’
Clark was glad he had remained seated.
“There were that many from the Tribes?” he asked.
‘We've confirmed fifty-two Native American children but have over fifty other children we still need to positively identify that we suspect are from a tribe. Also, over thirty of the arrested 194 adults are Native American.’
“When will this go public?” Clark asked.
‘The press release is being written now, actually, so your wife needn't worry about remaining silent after this hour,’ Agent Radley said knowingly.
“Okay, thanks,” Clark said, amused that his wife was so well-known.
‘No, Mr. Kent, thank you. Oh! You'll also likely be getting a call from the Superman Foundation some time soon. A portion of their funds went to organizing the sting but the FBI also used some of the funds allocated to pay a few private investigators who helped make it possible, which includes you.”
Clark blinked, his mouth admittedly falling open a bit. “Oh. Uh . . . okay.”
And at that, Radley bid him farewell and hung up.
O o O o O
[Later that Month]
Clark smiled as Lois leaned against the counter. She was so beautiful and he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to her with his aura as she continued skimming the research Jimmy had sent over for her most recent article.
Lois did an amazing job appearing to ignore him, not reacting when he caressed her back and sides with his aura. She did, however, smirk, when he thickened his essence and allowed it to seep into her skin and slowly permeate through her entire frame.
“You know, you could just come over and touch me,” she said seductively, glancing over at him, amused.
Clark grinned as he gently enveloped her fully but made no move to step closer, teasing her.
He closed his eyes, letting his awareness fall completely into her.
Her life force thrummed with his and her heartbeat thumped confidently in his ears as her own aura stroked his own. He shivered at the intensity.
And suddenly he became aware of something else. Something he had never felt before. He froze, unable to process what he was feeling, let alone what it actually meant.
He opened his eyes, instinctively activating his left eye to see their auras and to hopefully see and understand what he was feeling.
Their auras were a perfect cacophony of whirling colors and pulsating light, faintly discoloring the surrounding field of view. And there, nestled within Lois, far below her navel, was a faint hue ebbing forth, distinct from anything he'd ever seen. It was a perfect blend of them both, meshed together within its own separate existence.
A life.
Their child.
“Clark?! What is it?” Lois asked, all prior flirting gone.
“Lois–” His voice cracked and he was suddenly right up against her, reverently gliding his hands over her form with one settling over the immeasurably special glow.
Her eyes widened, instantly understanding.
“I'm pregnant?” she asked, mystified.
Clark nodded, just as astonished.
“What are you seeing?” she asked, spotting the red and white of his left eye.
“The glow of their life force. It's small, but . . . it's beautiful, Lois. Aspects of both of us. I . . . You must be very early. I don't hear a heartbeat yet, so you must be no more than three weeks along,” he managed.
Lois gripped him tightly and he immediately led them to the couch.
Joy unending poured from them both, and they basked in each other's love as they tried to process what this meant for their future.
“We're a family of three now,” she whispered.
“We are,” Clark agreed, meeting her gaze as wonder flared between them.
O o O The End O o O
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