Clark stared out at the icy sky, feeling the ship's movement through the cold air. Footsteps approached him from behind; it was same man he saw on this ship. Dressed in the same foreign, almost traditional-like clothing. "To see you standing there, grown into a man. If only Lara could witness this." The man spoke. Confused, Clark stood in awe at the man. How should he respond to this comment? What does he mean? "Who are you?" Clark asked, slowly.
The man smiled before he responded. "I am your father, Kal." Letting the words sink into Clark's head for a brief moment, the man returned to his statement. "Or at least, his shadow or consciousness. My name is Jor-El." The man, Jor-El, continued to pace around the spacecraft. Following his every move, Clark watched the man. His unusual name explained the clothing the man wore. Could this man be his father? The one his Earth father had talked about?
"Somewhere out there Clark, you have another father." "Kal? That's my name?" Clark asked, trying his best to process the information. "Kal-El. It is." Jor-El responded back confidently.Looking into his father's comforting eyes, "I have so many questions. Where did I come from? Why did you send me here?" Clark questioned. The burning questions that had haunted him over the years. The reason or purpose he was told to fulfill.
Clark or Kal-El waited patiently for his father to reply, to finally answer the questions that ruled his entire lifetime. Though this was not his actual father, Clark trusted this man - the conscious of his real father. "You came from Krypton." Behind Jor-El was a bunch of black look-alike pixels that formed a circle with several details.
"A world with a much harsher environment than Earth's."Jor-El continued to explain Krypton's history, the time when the people searched out to claim new worlds as their own. The success of Krypton caused their lives to flourish with riches, goods, and peace through their planet. Of course, Clark knew there was a downside to their increasing success. "What happened?"
"Due to their overpopulating success and the limit it had on their natural resources, the planet's core became unstable. Krypton was soon to be doomed, it became a dying planet instead of a flourished planet it once had been." Jor-El went on to mention about their military leader, General Zod and how he tried to take matters into his own hands. A large model of General Zod's head formed, as Jor-El continued to explain the plans of Zod.
Across from him was a model of a baby being sealed into a pod sent to a model of Earth. "Your mother and I, we saw the incoming calamity. So we took matters into our own hands and sent you to Earth -faraway from Krypton, in order to ensure your safety." Krypton. The planet that was destroyed by it's own unstable core due to their overpopulating success. Clark followed Jor-El into a blue-studded room filled with tiny pods inside a liquid-filled tube.
It was where Krypton stored its newly born children, each given a specific destiny to fulfill. One could be preordained as a worker, another as a General. Jor-El believed Krypton lost an important element in its civilization, the freedom of choice. "What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended? What if a child aspired to something greater?" Jor-El declared. Jor-El's words struck Clark as he stared at the liquid-filled tube.
Perhaps, he was destined for something greater than what society had intended. The news was overwhelming for Clark. His normal, daily lifestyle was a nomadic one and it was filled with good deeds he given to the human race. Clark adapted to the human race, not finding himself as a Kryptonian. One day, he will have to choose a side. "You were Krypton's first natural born, Kal. That's why we risked so much to save you." Jor-El stated slowly.
They exited out of the dim, blue room and continued to walk down the long hall of the ship. If Clark was sent here, to ensure his own safety - why didn't Jor-El, his father, escape with him? What about his mother? Why didn't she join Clark? "Why didn't you come with me?" Clark questioned. "We couldn't. No matter how much we loved you, how much we wanted to ensure your safety. Your mother and I, we were products of the failures of our world just as Zod was." Jor-El firmly responded.
"So I'm alone?" "No. You are a child of Earth now as well as Krypton. You adapted into the human race. You are living the life your mother and I dedicated our lives to." On the left, a pod slowly opened as it revealed a suit that was decorated in a dark shade of blue and a long, crimson like color of red cape that draped behind of it. The material on the suit was similar to the one his father's. On the center of the chest was a bonded S, it was also embroidered into the center.
"The people of Earth, they are different from us. In a way this could prove a positive result for they won't make the same mistake we did. If you guide them, Kal, give them hope. Every person can be a force for good, free to forge his own destiny." Revealing a similar S underneath his armor, Jor-El stated the true meaning of the S. "A symbol of hope. The house of El's symbol is hope."
**
Dressed in the suit Jor-El revealed to him, Clark stepped into the Arctic environment. He felt different, not entirely powerful in a suit - but it gave him an amount of confidence he needed for himself. Clark felt strong; ready to take on his new juggling, yet confusing point in his life. Whether to be Kal-El or Clark, the decision was unclear to him. "Why am I so different from them?"
"When you were sent here, we infused the genetic codex of our planet. It made you stronger. The atmosphere is this planet is nourishing for you. You grew so strong, Kal-El. Stronger than I could ever imagine. In order to see your strengths, you have to test your limits - go beyond what you think you can do." Ready to test his new found strengths and powers, Clark decided to fly - or learn how to fly, at least.
He leaped into the sky with full energy but only to stumble onto the snow the next minute. Finally, he leaped again into the sky; the energy and exhilaration filled Clark as he grinned. He felt free and full of energy before suddenly falling into the mountaintop. Slowly, he brushed off the last flight experience and decided to try one last time. He loved the feeling of flying, to feel free and away from his troubles and the world.
"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders." With his father's words echoing in his head, Clark took his mind off the world, off the troubles and struggles he endured. Letting the cold energy circle him as his closed hand touched the ground.
Clark closed his eyes, gathering the energy, the force he would create, and leaped into the gray sky. The feeling was exhilarating as the wind blew against his strong, incredible force. It gave him a sense of hope.
**
Eleanor decided to visit her mother, Victoria. As she arrived in the plains of Kansas and the small cottage-like house, Eleanor took a deep breath. She knocked on the old wooden peach colored door - the one Eleanor walked in and out of for many years. Her mother walked out a huge smile spread across her face as she saw her daughter. "Oh my sweetheart, Eleanor." Victoria said hugging her daughter as Eleanor jumped into her arms.
"Hi mommy I came to surprise you." Eleanor giggled while kissing her mother's cheek. "Well consider me surprised darling." Victoria said stroking her daughter's cheek. Eleanor looker back at her mother noticing a couple of wrinkles on her face, her long blonde hair covering up a couple of white hairs. "Let's go inside shall we." Victoria said and Eleanor nodded. The two sat down on the long couch talking about Eleanor's childhood and their family for quite a while.
Eleanor looked around and stood up walking to a shelf she recognized many pictures. Clark and Eleanor at their middle school graduation and their high school graduation as well as many other pictures of them. One particular picture caught her attention. It was a collage of pictures, of her and her father Liam together when Eleanor was a baby. Eleanor extended her arm and caressed the corner of the picture frame as a smile spread across her face and she fought back tears.
"You know that's his favorite picture, our wedding one comes in second on his list." Victoria said putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders and smiling along with her. "It's my favorite too. Especially the one where I'm kissing him." Eleanor replied.
"He loved you ever since the moment I told him I was pregnant, he would talk to you and put his hand on my stomach when you kicked. When you were born he became a different man, in a good way. You were and still are his happiness as well as mine." Victoria said cupping her daughter's face with her hands. "I wish he didn't have to go every time. I'm afraid that if he leaves one time he's not going to come back." Eleanor said quietly.
It had always been her fear, loosing her father ever since she was little. Liam being a Sergeant in the United States Army wasn't easy for his family. "I know pumpkin I'm afraid of loosing him too. It gets lonely here sometimes." Victoria replied. "Then come back and move in with me like old times." Eleanor said.
"That was when you were a teenager. You are a beautiful, young, grown woman. You don't need your mother anyone. Liam and I raised you well baby girl. You're the child we always dreamed of." Victoria said. A couple of tears slipped out of Eleanor's eyes as she hugged her mother.
A/N:
Hey guys I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next one will mostly include Clark and Julia but no they will not end up together, you'll see what will happen. Make sure to vote and add this story to your reading list for notifications of when I update. Until next time :)