Chicago, IL
gardy720
Episode 1 - Push
Clark stood on the wrap around front porch gazing out over the farm. "This is great." He mused aloud. My father’s alive, Lana loves me, Kara seems like an average pouting teenager, and Lois…well, she’s going to need my help, powers or no powers.
The fluttering of wings behind him interrupted his thoughts. "Kal El!" An angry woman’s voice sounded like a shout, coming from nearby. Clark whirled to face…Shayera Hol, The Thanagarian Hawkgirl. She removed a golden brown beaked mask from her petite face.
Clark respected her privacy, usually, but wondered why the beautiful alien would insist on covering up her face. It had been quite a while, literally a lifetime, since he’d seen her. Clark recalled that above all, Shayera was a warrior. She was never one to play a glamour queen.
Superman remembered that he was in an alternate time line, so who knew what Shayera was up to. He’d have to test her. "Where did you hear that name?" He grilled the alien beauty as she folded her silky golden white wings behind her. Shayera picked at a colorful necklace that she wore.
The Hawkgirl’s wings became translucent, and then disappeared. This was her mostly human disguise. Uneducated cultures would call her a goddess, or an angel or demon, but Clark knew that she was just different, like him. There was no mistaking her mace, a powerful weapon unique to her culture, which was made from a mysterious substance called Nth Metal.
"Kal El! You confessed to me your real name when we discussed your true nature." Shayera said with a slight alien accent. "How do you know me?" Clark continued to test her, trying her patience. "What? We were always good friends. I’d actually considered taking you as my lover, yet you never really thought about that, did you?" Shayera countered.
Clark reddened. "That was a different lifetime ago." Shayera swung her mace elegantly over one shoulder, and than the other, exercising her muscles. "No, Clark. That is this current lifetime, relative to where we are in the time space continuum. Did you think that I wouldn’t notice you going back and forth through time? Thanagarians perfected time shift slipping."
"On Thanagar, we used time shifting as a weapon to surprise our most lethal enemies." Shayera continued, stretching leisurely in the late afternoon sun. "There was only one enemy that we couldn’t best with our time lording." Her bright green eyes lit up as she concentrated on Clark’s face.
"Darkseid!" Superman snapped. "Yes. Darkseid was too wise for even our advanced technology." Shayera confirmed. "My question is why are you here? This time shard offers you nothing. You’ll not find the answers you seek here." Shayera made eye contact with him.
"How do you know what I’m seeking?" Clark countered. "It is obvious that you’ve chosen to go back in time to change some catastrophic event." Shayera guessed correctly. "It must be horrible, given your penchant for sticking to the rules, Boy Scout." She joked. "By going back in time you’ve chosen to disregard any rules, written or unwritten."
"You’re right." Superman admitted. "Of course I am." Shayera said haughtily. "The one thing that makes me change the rules in my favor is…the destruction of Earth." Clark informed her. "That, and the loss of your one true love, Lois Lane." Shayera added.
Clark glanced away. "There was another…" he began before Shayera cut him off. "Yes, now I remember. Lana Lang, your first love." As if on cue, Lana gazed out the window at them, and dashed out onto the porch. "Get away from him, you demon!" Lana shouted as she lifted her hands before her. "Demon?" Shayera took offense at the term.
"You don’t know what a demon is, child." Shayera faced Lana. "Now, just a minute…" Clark protested, fearing a confrontation between the two distinctly different women. Before he could explain, Lana placed her palms forward, and physically shoved the air in front of her.
An invisible blast of energy emanated from Lana’s hands, as the air between them seemed to take a solid form. The energy surge hit Shayera directly in the midsection, and the alien warrior tumbled backwards, tearing through a fence, and the barn wall, before righting herself.
"Wow!" Clark managed to get out, before he realized the danger that Lana was in. Shayera, extremely pissed, sprouted her wings and charged at Lana, darting towards her like a raptor chasing its prey. Lana was ready, however, and changed her hands’ positions slightly.
As Shayera swooped down low, Lana created an energy bubble. The alien warrior bounced off of the surprise shield, like a giant bird hitting a window. The Thanagarian somersaulted sideways, landing hard on the gravel road, skidding to a stop. Clark gaped, powerless to stop the melee.
"Lana! Calm down! Shayera’s a friend!" Clark shouted. "A friend? That creature is a friend?" Lana scoffed. Shayera cursed vehemently in her native language, rubbing her arm, and then her backside. "What foolishness is this?" Shayera complained as she stood back up.
"First, Lana, relax." Superman calmed his unusually powered girlfriend. Lana retracted her miniature force field, and Shayera stalked towards them waving her mace menacingly.
"Shayera! Let it go! I’m looking for an explanation, not a brawl." Clark yelled angrily. By now, Mr. and Mrs. Kent had come outside to witness the bizarre melee. They silently watched, apparently not surprised by Lana’s talent.
"Lana, where did you get those powers?" Clark began the questioning as Shayera retracted her wings, and slowed her pace, swinging the mace over her back. "I’ve always been…uh…different, Clark, you know that." Lana began weakly. Clearly the display of power had fatigued her. "Do I?" He retorted.
"Please tell me that you are not one of Lex Luthor’s evil creations?" Jonathan asked Shayera. "No, Mr. Kent, I am from another world, and Clark is my friend." She said unconvincingly. "An alien?" Martha wasn’t really shocked. "I prefer traveler." Shayera said as she stopped beside Clark.
"Lana! Clark! We’ll discuss this later." Jonathan ordered, in an attempt to gain control of the situation. "Why are you here?" Lana challenged. Shayera sighed. "I was expecting to speak with Kal El!" She snapped. Clark rolled his eyes. "There’s no Kal El here, young lady." Jonathan said angrily.
"Mom, Dad, Lana…let me handle this!" Clark decided for them. "You’d better not ‘handle’ her." Lana warned jealously. She turned on her heel and followed Jonathan and Martha into the house. Clark sighed. "
" What was that all about?" He asked Shayera rhetorically.
"Did you think that your time exploits wouldn’t affect the outcome of the past, present, and future? Clark, by streaming through time, you’ve unknowingly created several different Earths, with several different fates. Humans don’t really have the intellectual capacity to comprehend this."
"I’m not human." Clark defended. "Really? In this time you are!" Shayera said shortly. "That is why I’ve come back through time, breaking about a dozen Justice League rules. We all created a non-interference pact with Earth’s past, present, and future." Shayera shocked him with the revelation.
"You helped craft those rules, Kal El." She pointed an accusatory finger at him. "That may very well be, Shayera, but guess what? That didn’t work. I failed to protect Earth by not defeating Darkseid. His black fleet decimated Earth about two hundred years from now."
The beautiful alien patted Clark on the back. "We have all failed Earth, my friend. Even the Justice League had underestimated that true demon." Shayera said, consoling him. "By going back in time you’ve fractured Earth’s fate into several possible futures. In one of them, Earth will win."
Only now did Clark realize the multilayered concept. "So, I’ve been wasting my time, literally." He commented, gazing down at his feet. "Not completely, Kal El. This time shard is merely a dalliance, with you reclaiming an ex-lover. As I understand your mission, we must gather the Justice League together in a more realistic time shard, much earlier than we had done before."
"Where did Lana get those powers? In my past, I don’t recall such an ability by anyone." Clark was still mystified. "It’s possible that you’ve created a new reality, that never existed before." Shayera guessed. "You can always ask her. Yes?"
"True. If she has some kind of device…" Superman began. "Then we may be able to abscond with it, and improve our overall chances against Darkseid and his many minions." Shayera agreed. "Let’s go." Clark held the door open for Shayera. "Regardless of anything...it is good to see you Kal El."
She stood in the middle of the kitchen, amid gapes by the Kents and Lana. "Shayera is from another world, but here, she’s my friend." Clark announced into the awkward silence. "That’s good enough for us, son." Jonathan said nobly. "We trust you dear." Martha added. Lana remained silent.
Clark noted that Lana wore a medium sized ring, with an orange gem placed in its facet, on one finger, and what looked to him like an engagement ring on another. Superman was about to pull a chair out for Shayera, when Lana glanced at it. The chair slid out from beneath the table on its own.
Clark stared at her in amazement, telekinesis? He guessed. "Thank you." Shayera said cordially as she watched Lana, her emerald green eyes piercing the girl’s pouting face. Clearly Lana was obsessed with Clark, which wasn’t that far from any other reality.
"Shayera, what brings you to Reeves Grove?" Martha asked pleasantly. "As I mentioned earlier, I had been looking for Kal...uh...Clark. We are sort of teammates." Hawkgirl replied evasively. "Funny, he never mentioned you before." Lana challenged. Clark interrupted her before things got ugly.
"Lana, tell me about your strange abilities." He asked calmly, as Lana’s steel gaze melted away. "I’ve told you a dozen times, Clark." She stated defensively. "Humor me. Refresh my memory." Clark countered smoothly. Lana huffed. "Two years ago I found this pretty orange ring near an unusual spacecraft. I picked it up and have had it ever since. Yes, it gives me some powers."
Lana glared at Shayera. "I suppose its from your ship?" The Hawkgirl shook her head, removing the golden mask, as her long reddish locks fell loosely about her shoulders.
"No. It is not mine nor my people’s." Shayera continued. "I have never seen it before." Jonathan had picked on her phrasing. "Your people’s? How many of you are there?" He inquired. Clark fought back a smile. His dad always did have a way of getting to the point.
"There are nine hundred million Thanagarians left. I assure you, none of them are here, on Earth. I am a lone scout, and happened to be a friend of Clark’s. We are kindred spirits." Shayera added. Martha took on the questioning next.
"Are your people peaceful?" Shayera sighed. "No, Mrs. Kent. Thanagarians are warriors. We’ve advanced our culture by war and conquest. Don’t worry, Earth is not on our list."
"Thank you for being honest with us." Martha concluded solemnly. "I guess I don’t understand, Shayera." Jonathan chimed in. "What does this have to do with our son?" Clark was about to change the subject, when Shayera continued. "Kal El’s destiny lies far beyond your farm."
"Who is this Kal El you keep talking about?" Lana butted in. "It doesn’t matter." Clark dismissed her with a wave, annoying Lana further. Shayera was growing bored and frustrated. There’s that awkward silence again that aggravated Lois all those years, Clark thought.
"Shayera, would you care to stay for dinner?" Martha offered. "Um...no thank you, Mrs. Kent. I have much to do. Your hospitality is legendary." Shayera smirked as she spoke. Lana relaxed, knowing that the alien female was ready to leave. "Clark, a word please?" Shayera stood up, cuing her exit.
He walked her outside, where she promptly stretched her wings. "Kal, I’ve told you that this time shard is irrelevant. Yet, you should take Lana’s ring. It doesn’t belong on Earth." Clark shrugged. "Then you have seen it before?" Shayera shook her head. "No, but doesn’t it resemble the Green Lantern’s ring?"
"You mean it could be related to John’s power ring, or Hal’s before him?" Clark inquired. "It stands to reason, doesn’t it? And also, did you notice that when Lana mentioned the spaceship, no one questioned her about it? There is much more here than meets the eye."
"I can take it from her...but also...at the moment, I have no abilities. Frankly, I don’t know how to get them back." Superman informed her. "Do you still have the Eye of Rao?" Shayera grumbled. "Yes." He replied warily. "That is all you will need. Once you’re within the time vortex, things will be fine."
Shayera seemed confident in her statement. Clark, however, didn’t share her enthusiasm. In this strange time shard, he could be happy. Shayera extended her wings. "Do not hesitate, Kal El. This time line is an illusion as far as our true reality is concerned." Hawkgirl flew off towards Reeves Dam.
next up : Delusional
Chicago, IL
gardy720