Chapter 1 – A Falling Star
(June 18th, 1995 – Smallville, Kansas – 11:37)
"Well, that was possibly the worst movie I have ever seen." Martha shook her head as she looked out of the passenger-side window of the truck at the night sky and the endless fields of corn. "I mean, really, The Avenging Squad: Revenging? What was that for a title, and that actor looked nothing like Soldier Boy."
Martha directed her question at the man in the passenger seat driving the truck back to their farm. Jonathan Kent just let out a low chuckle as he shook his own head agreeing with his wife, the movie had been a massive bust and had basically ruined his plans for a nice night out. That thought caused him to wince. They needed a distraction, tonight especially, ever since they received the results from the hospital which had turned their whole world upside down.
"Hey, don't blame me. Ethan told me it was a great movie and better than the last Vought film the Talon showed." Jonathan defended himself giving a chuckle at the snort his wife gave at his defence.
"Sure, right, blame Ethan for YOUR bad taste in films." Martha snorted at her husband's feeble attempt to defend his terrible movie choices. "So was it Ethan that also suggested all those god-awful G-Men movies that you used to drag me to?"
"Hey!" Jonathan stated in mock indignation as he quickly glanced at his wife. "Those movies were goo-…. Well, some… I mean … the first one was good. Right?"
Martha was stone silent as she raised a single eyebrow at her husband before she could no longer hold back. She burst into hysterics keeling over forward as she started to laugh, Jonathan opened his mouth to try to defend himself, but he too suddenly started laughing. He actually had to grip the steering wheel tighter to prevent himself from causing the car to slip off the road and brought a hand up to his face to wipe away the tears.
"Oh god, they were pretty horrible right?" Jonathan asked his wife as he tried to subdue his laughter and wipe away the tears in his eyes.
"YES!" Martha exclaimed, having wiped away her own tears as she just looked at her husband with loving affection. "Why on earth did you take me to watch them if you knew they were awful?"
"Well, they were Vought films. You know, they were edgy, dramatic, everyone said they were cool, and they were all Rated-R," Jonathan started reminiscing about their high school days giving his wife a loving glance. "I wanted to impress you back then, appear kinda like a -"
"Rebel?" Martha finished her husband's statement, earning a chuckle from him and a nod of his head.
"Yeah, like a rebel. All cool and suave, a real bad boy." Jonathan replied, giving his wife a mischievous grin and glance that earned him a slap on the chest from her.
"Oh, stop it you old fool." Martha shook her head in disbelief as she let out a chuckle. "You know if you had wanted to seem like a rebel, you might have tried not dressing in your work clothes when you picked me up after begging your Pa for his truck?"
"Wait, you knew about that?" Jonathan asked in genuine shock, as he genuinely thought Martha had had no idea that he had begged, nearly on his hands and knees, to use the truck. He was now determined to figure out who had tattled on him. "Who told you?"
"Jonathan Hiram Kent, you live in a town called 'Smallville', EVERYONE knew that you begged your Pa for this old thing," Martha stated bluntly emphasising her point by hitting the roof with her knuckles a few times. "…..and for your information, it was Nell that told me."
"Nell told you?!" Jonathan exclaimed in mock disbelief feeling slightly betrayed that one of his oldest friends had sold him out in high school.
"Yeah, but she was jealous that you had asked me out. Nell had a huge crush on you all throughout high school" Martha had a triumphal smirk on her face at the recapping of her first dates with her husband. "She was trying to get me out of the way, not that it would ever have worked."
Martha then leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her husband's cheek causing him to feel instantly better about himself. However, once Martha was sat back down in her seat a mischievous grin appeared on his face and gave a quick sly glance at his wife.
"Sooo, Nell had a thing for me in High School?" Jonathan stated with mock enthusiasm as he raised his eyebrows at his wife with a grin on his face.
"Oh, you bastard!" Martha chuckled in her own mock rage as she started slapping her husband's arm in rage.
"OW, OW, OW Okay, okay I yield," Jonathan exclaimed as he tried to shimmy out of the way of his wife's attacks whilst also focused on keeping the truck on the road. "You know I only ever had eyes for you."
"Sweet talking will only get you so far," Martha stated as she ceased her attacks a grin settled on her face as she returned to looking out of the window at the endless fields.
The pair fell into a comfortable silence for a while, happy to just be content in each other's company as they returned home. However, after a few minutes, Jonathan heard a deep sigh escape from his wife's lips that she had evidently been trying to hide. As he looked over at her, despite being turned away from him he knew his wife had the same pensive sorrowful look on her face that she had had for the past several days.
'Ever since we had that dammed meeting.' The thought slipped into his mind causing him to grip the steering wheel tighter causing his knuckles to go white. He couldn't blame that look for appearing on her face, his wife had always been thoughtful and sensitive. It was why he loved her, so how else would her grief manifest but as quiet mournful thoughts in her head. They had cried initially when they learnt that neither of them could have children, but after that Martha had become withdrawn and he often caught her staring into space.
He on the other hand had reacted poorly, which is why he had wanted a nice quiet night out that the godawful Vought movie had ruined. Jonathan had cried and then thrown himself into his work like he always did when he got terrible news. He had barely stopped moving in over 3 days, refusing to go to bed until well past dark, eating cold meals Martha had left out, and rising long before she got up.
He had also all but trashed the baby room he and Martha had set up on the first night back from seeing the fertility clinic. Far from his proudest moment, he could still remember and would like to recall for the rest of his life the blank expression Martha had given him upon finding him a completely wrecked room. The only thing he hadn't broken was the crib, which was mostly because it was a family heirloom and carved from heavy oak, even Jonathan, a fully grown man, would have a hard time damaging it.
"It's going to get better." Jonathan let out a low sigh as he turned to look at his wife.
"The weather? Oh yes, we should be in for sun all next week," Martha responded, not really looking at her husband, her eyes still focused on the fields of corn outside.
"No that's not wh-" Jonathan let out a deep sigh as he stopped himself from talking trying to find the right words. "I know it's tough right now, but I also know it's going to get better."
"HOW Jonathan? How is it going to get better?" Martha was still turned away, but he could tell she was fighting back tears. "HOW DO YOU possibly know it's going to get better?!"
"Because I love you," Jonathan responded immediately, taking one hand off the steering wheel to place it on his wife's shoulder, but she recoiled slightly from his touch.
"How can you, when I'm the one causing all of this?" Martha's voice was barely above a whisper as she started sobbing but her husband still heard her.
"Dear god, Martha, you are not the one causing this." Jonathan's heart sank into his stomach as he felt tears of his own threaten to break free. "I love you, now and forever. Nothing, and I mean nothing is ever going to change that."
Martha didn't respond, she just continued looking at the window gazing at the meteor shower which had started to fill the sky as she fought back tears clearly not believing her husband. He had wanted kids since High School, and now he would never have them, all because of her. She felt so useless.
"Martha, please look at me," Jonathan stated softly. He squeezed her shoulder trying to comfort her when she merely squirmed, then he spoke again even softer.
"Please."
"Jonathan." Martha sighed despondently turning to face her husband again, her eyes leaving the streaking lights in the heavens as the meteor shower intensified. "Please just stop, I know you're angry with me, that you hate me because -"
"WHOA HEY, I don't hate you." Jonathan cut of his wife in shock, almost indignant that she could believe such a thing. "What on earth makes you think-… what have I EVER done that makes you think that I could ever hate you?!"
"Jonathan please." Martha closed her eyes as she let out a deep sigh, feeling the pain in her heart at having to drudge everything up again. "I saw what you did to the baby room and you've hardly spoken to me in 2 days. It's pretty clear that you hate me."
"Oh, horse shit!" Jonathan exclaimed in retort to his wife's declaration.
"Jonathan!" Martha exclaimed in shock, momentarily forgetting her grief. Her husband hardly ever cursed. She had known him since before high school, and she could count on both hands the number of times he had used foul language and still have fingers left.
"No, I'm serious. That's a load of horse puckey. I am not angry with you; I'm not upset either." Jonathan pressed on wanting to make sure his wife understood that he was serious. "I trashed the baby room because I was pissed at myself for failing you, and also for the same reason I haven't spoken to you for two days. Because I am an arrogant asshole and a damn fool. If anyone needs to ask for forgiveness it's me. Can you?"
"Oh Jonathan." Martha was genuinely touched at her husband's statement and then a little relieved that her fears of their marriage breaking down were unfounded. "Of course, I forgive you."
"Well, that's good. Otherwise, whatever kid we ended up with, was going to be a messed-up piece of work if we hated each other." Jonathan joked his voice bringing some levity back into the serious atmosphere that had engulfed the antique truck.
"But Jonathan, you know that I can't -" Martha stated her voice going low as she herself went slightly pale, worried that he had lost his mind.
"So Who cares! There are other ways of having a kid, like adoption. Your sister works for Vought International, they run all those children's hospitals and care centres, maybe she can help." Jonathan offered with an excited grin on his face as he tried to restore his wife's spirits.
"Jonathan." Martha laughed as she sighed, loving his attempts to make her feel better, but also, she knew she had to be the voice of reason to her husband's constant optimism. "Adoption is expensive and difficult. We spent so much at those clinics and the farm isn't doing so well."
"I know, but we can make it work." Jonathan stated planting a small his on his wife's forehead as he looked into eyes with adoration.
"And if we can't?" Martha asked worried about what would happen to them if adoption also proved a dead end.
"Wellllll," Jonathan stated in a very sarcastic and loud tone earning an eyeroll from his wife. "In that very unlikely case. I guess we will just have to be the cool childless Aunt and Uncle that spoil your sister's kids rotten whenever they come to visit it."
"Oh really?" Martha asked raising her eyebrows and releasing a chuckle at her husband's relentless positive attitude.
"Oh yes indeed. I'm thinking mountain bikes for the boys and maybe a pony for that girl of hers. I'll start driving a motorcycle and wearing a leather jacket. Just like Five-Oh, yessiree I am going to be one radical Uncle." Jonathan declared with a grin that earned him a guffaw and a slap from his wife as she shook her head at his silly antics.
"Oh what am I going to do with you – JONATHAN, LOOK OUT!" Martha's voice suddenly shrieked as the windshield became filled with a massive bright light.
Jonathan hit the brakes hard as he too saw the light and feared his lack of attention had caused him to drift into the other lane into oncoming traffic. He also swerved and felt the front of his truck scrape against something that was streaking in front of him. His efforts proved in vain as whatever was in front of him caused the front of the truck to jolt to the side which combined with his swerving resulted in him ending up in the ditch at the side of the road.
"Martha are you okay?" Jonathan immediately turned to face his wife his hands going to her checking her to make sure she was alright; he was beyond relieved when a groan escaped her lips.
"I'm okay." She said hesitantly lifting her head up feeling a small bruise present from where it had been hit. "What did we hit?"
Jonathan made a move to answer when he suddenly felt the whole truck jostle again and lurch to the side, as a bright light illuminated the truck from outside briefly. The light quickly disappeared and as he looked outside his window to see what was happening, he saw a streaking trail of scorched earth and burning corn heading into the fields. He also heard what sounded like a series of small explosions, that was followed by the ground shaking slightly causing his truck to jostle again.
"Jonathan, what's happening?" Martha's voice sounded out next to him, it was clear she was scared she tried to move closer to him. "Is it an earthquake?"
"I have no idea," Jonathan responded hesitantly as he looked outside and saw the sky was now truly streaking with meteors, he unclipped his seat belt and opened his door. "Stay here, I'm going to see what is happening."
"Jonathan please -" Martha reached out for her husband who turned and grabbed her hand to pat it reassuringly.
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere but I need to check that the truck is okay" Jonathan reassured his wife before he moved outside to check the front axle.
He struggled to keep his balance as he felt the ground constantly shifting beneath his feet, as bright lights were bursting forth illuminating the horizon, followed by the sound of small explosions. Jonathan's question as to what was happening was quickly answered as he saw a small meteor streak overhead and crash in the field across the road. The meteor strike was accompanied by the ground shaking again and a Jonathan stumbling to his knees, his arms flailing out and catching the side of the truck.
"Jonathan?" Martha's voice cried out accompanied by the sound of the truck door opening and slamming shut. He quickly spotted her as she came around the other side of the truck worry on her face, which turned to panic as she saw him on the ground. "Oh my god, Jonathan are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Jonathan stated a wince escaping from his lips as he stood up feeling sore from where he landed on the ground, as he stood up he reached out to hold his wife terrified she was outside. "Honey, you should wait in the truck."
"I'm not leaving you out here while the world looks to be endi-" Martha was cut off by the sound of another series of explosions in the distance and the ground quaking causing her to clutch her husband tight.
The two stayed where they were, secure in each other's arms as the world continued to shake around them. After what felt like an eternity for them both the rumbling and the bright bursting lights of the meteor strikes ceased. As Martha cautiously removed her head from her husband's shoulder, she cast a glance at the sky and saw that it was now clear. The stars were no longer falling and everything was quiet again.
She gave a sigh as she looked up at her husband's face. A smile of relief formed, and they took solace that the worst was all over. She moved to speak when suddenly a loud shrill sound rang out into the air that caused both of them to turn in its direction. The noise was unmistakably coming from the fiery trail of the large meteor that had streaked past them and created a path of desolation through the field nearby.
"Jonathan that's a -" Maratha stated her eyes wide as she heard the noise ring out again.
"A… baby?" Jonathan finished his wife's sentence his eyes to going wide, before his instincts kicked in and he started running towards the noise, quickly followed by his wife.
As he raced down the fiery scorched path that a meteor had created only to suddenly stop as he saw that it was no meteor. Standing or more accurately crashed before him was a slender silver metallic pod that was glowing red-hot! However, as he stood there the heat subsided and he heard a hissing noise before a hatch at the top of the pod opened up.
"Waah!" The shrill baby's cry sounded out clearer this time and before he could move, he felt Martha push past him and scramble over to the pod.
He stood there just staring at the pod as his wife carefully pulled something out of it, cradling it in her arms and gently swaying as she came back over to him. She was holding a red bundle of cloth that was squirming slightly but no longer making noise as Martha was gently speaking to it.
"It's alright, it's okay. Shhhh little one." She spoke with a gentle soothing tone, the bump on her forehead forgotten about as she swayed slightly.
Once she reached Jonathan she carefully turned her body and gently pulled back the bundle of cloth to reveal a small baby boy with a slight tuff of brown hair. Jonathan immediately moved closer although he had yet to speak as he was still clearly in shock. He looked at the little baby boy who at that moment opened his eyes and looked up at him with bright blue eyes and reached out a hand towards him.
Jonathan gave a little smile and reached out a finger for the small boy to take only to suddenly wince and cry out in pain. "Eeeyargh!"
The baby immediately let go and looked shocked, tears forming in his eyes, but didn't cry as Martha started to immediately bounce him trying to keep him calm.
"Jonathan, what is it?" She asked in alarm looking back from the baby to her husband.
"Ahh, hell." He said cradling his finger as he took several deep breaths before raising his hand back up and putting on a fake smile to calm his wife and the baby, speaking in a calm reassuring voice. "It's okay, It's okay. He's just got one hell of a grip, almost broke my, ow! Actually, no, he's definitely broken my finger."
Martha just stared at Jonathan wide-eyed and then looked at the boy in her arms with a hint of fear entering her mind. However, as soon as the boy turned and looked up at her the fear disappeared as her eyes met the baby's eyes. She instantly felt a connection as the baby boy with an almost complete understanding of what just happened, gently placed a hand on her cheek causing her to smile, which in turn caused him to giggle.
"Where in God's name did he come from?" Jonathan asked looking up into the sky in wonder and then back down at the craft laying half-buried in the earth.
"It doesn't matter, he's a miracle, our miracle" Martha stated softly as she brought up a hand to cup the baby's face.
"Martha, we can't keep him," Jonathan stated softly worrying that his wife was letting the trauma and excitement of recent events cloud her judgement. "I mean, what if someone comes looking for him?"
Martha just raised her eyebrows at her husband's statement as she looked at the metal pod laying on the earth next to them that causing her husband to give a look of defeat at that particular point.
"Okay, bad point, but Martha, babies just don't fall out of the sky!" Jonathan pointed out, gesturing upward to emphasise his point.
"Why not?" Martha commented back quickly looking at her husband with confusion. "We have superheroes in this country Jonathan, created by God, literally created by the Lord with divine powers."
Jonathan was quiet at his wife's point as he didn't have an argument for that, everything he knew about superpowered people was the same as his wife. Everyone knew that superpowers were a gift from the Almighty and that America was a blessed land, a land chosen to be the only one with superpowered people. So, his wife did have a point, in a world such as that a child falling from the sky shouldn't be too abnormal, it just seemed so…. Comic book.
"So, is that much of a stretch that God decided to send us this little miracle, right when we were talking about taking in a child?" Martha asked her husband who was just quietly looking at his wife having no answer to her question which let her press on. "And what are the odds that we would be here to find this, MIRACLE, here? Don't you see Jonathan, how we were meant to find him?"
Jonathan opened his mouth to respond he was a god-fearing man just like his wife and believed like everyone else that supes were gifts from God, but he just had a feeling this wasn't the case. He was about to try and argue but was cut off by the look in his wife's eyes and that of the small boy in her arms. The little boy in Martha's arms stretched out his tiny arm again reaching for him a look of wonder on his face, Jonathan again lifted up his hand and offered it to the boy who this time took hold of a single finger with surprising gentleness.
Any further argument Jonathan was about to make was defeated by the sound of the small boy giggling and looking at him as if he was the most important things in the world.
"Alright, okay." Jonathan sighed realising the debate was pointless and that he wasn't going to win. "We will take him home, BUT the moment someone comes looking for him we are going to have to give him up okay?"
Martha just broke out into a wide smile and started bouncing the baby in her arms up and down, causing the little boy to burst into a fit of giggles as she started speaking to him softly.
"Did you hear that? You're coming home with us, yes you are!" Martha spoke to the baby with loving admiration, as she tapped him on the nose causing him to giggle again. She then started to move back towards the truck ignoring her husband's thought that they were going to have to return him.
'What the hell did I just agree to?' Jonathan sighed as he then looked at the strange metal pod that was before him, a sigh escaping his lips. 'Well, can't leave this here, can I?'
He rolled up his sleeves and headed back to his truck hoping that he would have some rope or chain in the back to help him. Meanwhile, Martha was gently sliding into the passenger seat of the truck and was smiling down at the baby who had suddenly fallen asleep in her arms.
"I think I'll call you…Clark." Martha whispered with a smile on her face. "Yes, my little miracle. Clark Kent."
Chapter 2 – Corporate Adoption
(Kent Farm – Smallville - Kansas - June 25th, 1995)
It had been over a week since the lives of the Kents and everyone else living in Smallville had been turned upside down. For the town, the time had been spent recovering from a freak meteor shower that peppered their small corner of America with craters and caused irreparable damage to their harvest. The vast fields of corn that Smallville was renowned for were now a wasteland of flattened scorched crops. The only three things that had survived were most buildings, the people and the county's cattle.
Fortunately, the only structures that were seriously damaged had been the old county grain silo, which nobody had used since the great depression anyway, and Old Man Johnson's Barn. More fortunately the meteor strikes had thankfully resulted in no human casualties. Not a single expert had voiced how bizarre the situation had been, but it was almost as if the meteors had been purposefully directed to strike the unoccupied areas around the town. However, there had been one more casualty of another variety: the cattle fences.
A few of the flaming space rocks had taken out large sections of the grazing fences, resulting in Smallville's bovine population running amok all over the county. This is where we find a very tired and very sore Jonathan Kent, shuffling back into his house after several days of cattle wrangling. As he arrived, he was greeted by the major change in the Kents' life, which was also a result of the recent meteor shower.
"Aaaaand up we go!" Martha's voice sounded out as he walked into the main house's living room to see his wife lifting little baby Clark in her arms. "Yes, you do! Yes, you do!"
"Having fun?" Jonathan asked as he leaned on the archway that led into the living room from the hallway. A smile danced across his face as he looked at the baby giggling in his wife's arms, hands stretched out enjoying the feeling of soaring through the air.
"Oh, look who's back!" Martha brought the baby back down and turned him to face Jonathan, whose heart missed a beat as the innocent boy's eyes lit up upon seeing him. "Yes, it's daddy!"
Jonathan couldn't bring himself to say that Martha shouldn't be calling him daddy in front of the boy, as the youthful laughter and gaze of admiration stilled his tongue. There was also the fact that a week had gone by and no one had shown up looking for him; no distraught parents, no scientists, no superheroes and no government agents. This despite the fact that the town was crawling with FEMA personnel and even a superhero Vought had sent from Kansas City to help out.
"Have you been good?" Jonathan stated with a smile as he moved in closer, pushing off of the archway and moving over to the boy, who replied in baby gibberish and giggles. "You have?! Well, that makes you the best little tyke in the world."
Jonathan took the small babe out of Martha's hands, brought him up to his face, and planted a soft kiss on his rosy cheek, resulting in even more giggles and even hand clapping. Jonathan then moved over to the couch and sat down feeling the energy starting to leave his body he placed the boy back into Martha's arms as she sat next to him.
"Busy day?" She asked her husband as she sat Clark on her knee and started bouncing him slightly, watching him as he cooed and waved at the motion.
" 'Busy' is an understatement." Jonathan sighed letting out an exhausted groan. "We finally got all the cattle rounded up and sorted, helped that Superhero from Kansas City clear the last load of rubble from Old Johnson's place, and we lent a hand so the FEMA guys could sort out the power lines."
"Our hero," Martha stated proudly turning Clark around, who gurgled something that Jonathan took as agreement. "So did we lose any of the herd?"
"We didn't, but the Langs lost a few of their heifers and the Millers lost more than half of theirs. Fortunately, that's the worst of it." Jonathan sighed before he added. "Well, apart from the harvest. Looks like nobody's fields survived."
"Oh god, what are we going to do?" Worry entered Martha's voice. The farm was already suffering, and the harvest accounted for most of their income.
"It's not too bad." Jonathan leant in and gripped his wife's hand reassuringly, a small smile on his face that eased her worries. "The mayor accepted the FEMA relief money, and Mark's worked out the costs for everyone. He says it'll be tight, but we should make it through this year. Won't be easy, but we'll do it."
Martha nodded her head. Mark Braverman was the local bank manager whilst also being on the town council and basically ran the finances for both Smallville and the surrounding townships. His brother-in-law was also a farmer and both Martha and Jonathan had gone to school with him, so she trusted him if he said the relief money would be enough. However, as she was thinking about the farm and what they were going to do she noticed her husband had gone silent and had a pensive look on his face whilst looking at Clark.
"What's wrong?" Martha asked in a worried voice but kept a smile on her face for Clark's sake who was looking between the two of them as if trying to figure out what was being said.
"Ethan, Rogers, Nell and even Susan were asking about you." Jonathan let out a deep sigh, as he ran a hand through his hair. "I told them you were resting up and looking after the farm, but that's not going to last, we've got to come up with some sort of story and figure out how to get everything legal if we're going to keep Clark."
"What are you thinking?" Martha asked quietly as if someone was listening in, as she knew her husband already had an idea within his head.
"I was thinking…What about your sister Mary? She works for Vought, right? And she just got that big promotion?" Jonathan explained slowly as he was clearly piecing his plan together as he went.
"Yeah?" Martha stated, recalling that her sister had just been made regional director or managing director or regional manager or something like that for some division of Vought in the Midwest. From what she recalled of her sister's comments, Mary was supposed to be quite important, or so she said.
"Exactly." Martha's confirmation caused Jonathan to lean forward and start talking earnestly as his plan started coming together. "Well, Vought runs all those charities, children's hospitals and clinics, like those Samaritan's Embrace ones. So if anyone could get us the right documents and make Clark legally ours it would be her, right?"
"I suppose…" Martha stated quietly. It wasn't that she doubted if her little sister could be able to help, she just wasn't certain if she would. She and Martha had never been close, and what they were asking wasn't exactly something small.
Mary had followed in their father's footsteps and become a lawyer but unlike their father, who was happy to have a small practice in rural Kansas, she had immediately left Smallville and Kansas the first chance she got. She had landed a Vought internship during her college years and never looked back. She was now married with three kids and was a powerful businesswoman from what Martha understood. None of this was the issue. The gulf between them was that Martha had stayed in Smallville, and she sensed that Mary thought her crazy and backward for wanting to stay in their small rural hometown and marry her high school sweetheart.
While she never confirmed those feelings, the years had done nothing but strengthen them. Mary never visited them in Kansas, they always went to her. She never asked about anyone from High School when they talked, and as soon as she was in college she had done everything she could to hide her rural upbringing, including changing her accent. Mary had called after the disaster to make sure Martha was alright and had offered her help, but even now she hadn't actually come to see her sister. Oh no, Mary Clark would never be caught in Smallville again, not unless she was being paid to show up and even then, it would have to be a fortune.
"Hey, I know, but if we want to keep Clark and I mean really keep him, we have to get everything legal, and your sister is the only one we know that could possibly help," Jonathan stated in an understanding tone having guessed at what Martha had been thinking before he gestured to Clark who still sat in her hands. "Especially if he is going to keep doing things like that."
Martha looked down at the babe in her arms and saw that in his child-like curiosity had reached for the living room table which was made from an old, carved oak tree that Jonathan's grandfather had worked by hand. Whilst it was normal for children to try and grab things that looked interesting it was not normal for a baby that couldn't be more than a couple of months old to lift an oak table. Martha just stared in amazement as the set of tiny fingers had dug into the wood and were lifting the whole table a few inches off the ground.
"Clark, sweety," Martha said softly, placing one of her hands on his little arm. "Could you put the table down, please?"
She gently guided Clark's arm downwards and was thrilled as well as proud that he did so gently and appeared to be listening to her as he set the piece of furniture back on the floor. She gave him a little hug and kiss as a reward causing him to giggle and clap in appreciation.
"Okay." Martha sighed as she looked back up from the baby on her knee. "Should we call her, or…?"
"Call and say we are coming for a visit, I'll tell everyone we need to get away for a little while, not much of a sell given everything else that's happened," Jonathan spoke slowly as he planned out their next move. "Don't mention anything over the phone, I think it's best we explain things in person."
Martha just nodded as she passed Clark over to Jonathan then moved over to the phone, taking a deep breath as she prepared to take the first step down a dangerous road. She just prayed they were doing the right thing in trusting her sister, and that it would all end with Clark in her arms as hers and no one else's.
(Chicago – The Gold Coast Historic District – Luxury Penthouse - June 27th, 1995)
Mary Joan Clark was sitting in her apartment looking at the latest Vought revenue report from the Midwest branch she was now in charge of, whilst eyeing the small clock that sat at her desk. She had worked hard, incredibly hard, she corrected herself, to get where she was and although she had wanted to stay in New York she knew she was never going to be able to compete with Mr Edgar's golden girl Madelyn Stillwell. Just thinking about the stuck-up blonde bitch made her blood boil, as whilst she had worked for everything Madelyn had just been handed the New York Offices and full management of the East Coast Branch.
Mary was pretty sure that Madelyn had only got the position because of her relationship with Stan Edgar and was pretty sure she had also slept with Ross Elis, the current Senior Vice President of Vought International's Hero Management, to get the position. Or maybe it was because apparently, Madelyn had an in with Vought's up-and-coming newest Superhero, some guy the PR department was calling the Homelander. He wasn't going to hit primetime for another few years, but when you worked in the Hero industry, exposure and connection to the product mattered. Madelyn had it and Mary didn't.
She let out a deep sigh as she tried to calm herself down, not wanting to let Stillwell's mere memory upset her. No, she needed to focus, she was in a good position. Sure it wasn't New York, but Regional Manager for Vought Hero Management for the entire Midwest was nothing to sneeze at, and it did come with real power. Mary smirked, relishing that she was one of the few people in the world that knew the whole story with Vought. She knew about Compound V, Samaritan's Embrace and even the inner natures of most of her 'clientele'. All she needed to do was play her cards right, and in a few years she could-
"Mrs Clark?" The intercom buzzed on her desk, causing her to swear under her breath and cutting off her fantasy of the future before it could fully form.
"Yes, Jace, what is it?" Mary pressed a button on her desk before snapping into her intercom; she had told her assistant not to bother her unless it was important. Her husband Jerry had taken the kids for the week to their house in the suburbs so that she could focus on work, so there was no reason for anyone to disturb her.
"Er, sorry about this, but there is a woman and a man here to see you." The unsteady voice of her young assistant sounded back over the intercom. "She, the woman that is, says she's your sister Martha. She says you were expecting her but I have nothing on the calendar."
Mary suppressed a massive sigh as her irritation flared up, she had been expecting her sister to turn up, just not here. When Mary had heard about the freak meteor shower in her hometown, she had called like any sibling would to make sure everyone was okay and offered her help in any way she could. Hell, Mary had done one better than most sisters and even sent a real-life superhero to help out, which was an easy sell as it was fantastic PR to boot.
However, when her sister had called her back suddenly out of the blue a week after the accident asking if she and her husband could come and stay for a while, that had been a surprise to say the least. She and Martha had never really been close. Mary was a modern woman of action, she had her own job and had kept her maiden name even after marriage while Martha was ...…. well, Martha, a good old traditional country lady, which is what she hated. Her sister could have been so much more, she had been not just the smartest girl in school but also the prettiest, and instead of blazing a trail like Mary had, her big sister had settled for being a poor clodhopper's wife.
So naturally, Mary had decided to be charitable, letting her big sister and her 'farm labourer' husband stay at her house whilst they got over the shock of the past week. She gave her sister her second address in the suburbs, which is why she had sent Jerry and the kids there to keep them company when they showed up. It was still a working week and only Tuesday, her trophy husband could take the time off and entertain the rural side of the family but she sure as hell couldn't, that wasn't part of the plan she had made to work till Friday and see her sister on the weekend.
So she was more than a little annoyed that her sister had ignored her instructions. Mary took a moment to compose herself, 'Martha's just likely stopping by' she thought to herself. 'Yes, she's likely called ahead, spoke to Jerry, and decided to drop in and see her little sister before heading to the house.'
"It's fine Jace," Mary stated calmly into the intercom not wanting to sound too irate in case her sister was nearby in the reception area. "I apologise, I forgot to mention she might be stopping by, please send them up."
As her hand left the intercom, she didn't bother listening to whatever response her assistant stumbled over. Instead, she immediately stood up and headed to the bathroom to touch up her makeup. As she did so she also adjusted her dress to make sure her curves were on full display, wanting to really flaunt to Martha and demonstrate everything had gone her way in life. Also, if she was honest with herself, she was also doing it to show up an old rival in front of Jonathan, for like every girl in Smallville she had had a crush on the ex-quarterback and Kansas dream boy until Martha, perfect Martha, had swooped in before she ever got her chance.
It was a few minutes before the Kents actually arrived. Mary's penthouse apartment complex that Vought had given her was on the top floor and it wasn't exactly a small building. Mary stood at the front doors ready to trot herself out and had even planned what to say, but she was cut off before the doors opened by a sound that every mother knew.
It was the sound of a child's troubled cry.
"WHAAAA! WHAAAA!" The noise pierced through the air even before Jonathan pushed her doors open bearing a look of frustration on his face.
"I told you he doesn't like enclosed spaces," Martha complained to her husband as she was bouncing a little red bundle in her arms. "I just knew the elevator was going to upset him."
"Well, it was either the elevator or we take three days just to get up to see your sister," Jonathan argued back playfully as he gestured behind them. "I mean seriously, this building has over a hundred floors."
Martha let out a small, exacerbated sight at her husband as she tried to calm down the small bundle of joy in her arms. Clark was mostly an unbelievably well-behaved child, and Martha suspected he understood a lot more than someone his age should. However, the one thing he hated was enclosed spaces, he had almost torn himself out of the car seat they had placed him in when they had closed the door, the only thing that had prevented it was Martha taking the seat next to him and talking to him for the 10-plus hour car drive.
"Oh Mary, it's so good to see you." Martha finally greeted her still shocked sister, managing to balance Clark on one arm to give her sister a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "You look great, doesn't she, Jonathan?"
"Yes, city living agrees with you Mary," Jonathan quickly agreed with his wife giving Mary a nod of his head, moving in to give her a quick hug too whilst adding. "It's great to be here again, it's been too long."
"Um yes, uh, great to see you as well." Mary managed to stammer as her brain decided to freeze whilst looking at the swaddled passenger in her sister's arms. "Would you like to sit down…?"
She led them to the living room in a daze as she tried to figure out the best way to broach the subject of just whose baby this was. Whilst not close Mary had known about her sister's difficulties in conceiving, and even suggested some of the clinics that her sister and her husband had attended. They were Vought-run clinics so she was very well aware of the fact that Martha couldn't have children, so the issue remained: who was in her sister's arms?
"Um, Martha," Mary stated as her brain finally started working again while her sister settled down on the sofa and placed the squirming baby in her arms on the floor, with a few toys to play with.
"Yes?" Martha looked up to her sister with a smile on her face whilst her husband decided to sit on the floor with the baby and play with him.
"I don't mean to be insensitive." Mary started off softly remembering how touchy her big sis could be at times. She was also slipping back into her native Midwestern accent like she always did when she was upset, which didn't help her limited patience. "... but how did you come by that baby?"
"Well, actually that's the thing," Martha said slowly, eyeing her husband who just gave her a nod of encouragement. "This little bundle of joy is ours, mine and Jonathan's, his name is Clark, Clark Kent and….we need your help to keep him."
Mary was silent for a few moments as she looked at the baby on the floor then at Jonathan and then at her sister Martha. A blank and unreadable expression on her face as she worked out what was going on before she decided to react. Mary suddenly let out a deep breath, gave a nod of her head and then immediately headed for the phone, picked it up and started to dial a pre-set number.
"Who are you calling?" Jonathan asked in confusion as Mary placed the phone next to her ear waiting for the ringtone to finish.
"Vought Legal. Whatever this is I am sure I can get you out of it. There's recent trauma from a natural disaster, learning that you can't have kids, I've got lawyers on retainer that can make this disappear." Mary casually said. Her Kansas accent was gone, replaced by the stone-cold East Coast businesswoman. "You obviously won't be able to keep the kid, but I'll make sure he's put somewhere safe."
"WHAT? NO!" Martha cried standing up and glaring at her sister, a reaction that caught Mary by surprise. "You can't take him from us, he's OURS."
Mary took a frightful step back from her sister and eyed Jonathan, she had dealt with Vought's shit long enough to know what craziness people were capable of when backed into a corner. However, before she could do anything it was Jonathan that calmed the situation down, standing up with his arms outstretched and speaking slowly.
"We didn't steal or kidnap him," Jonathan said slowly. He had correctly guessed what he believed Mary was thinking. "I swear to you. We found him and we have looked everywhere, everywhere. No one is missing him and no one is even looking for him."
The room fell silent as Mary just looked at her distraught sister and the much calmer husband, she even glanced at the baby, Clark, who upon spotting her gave her a little wave of his small hand. The silence of the room was broken when a voice sounded from Mary's telephone that was by her ear.
"Vought Legal Department, Midwestern Branch. How can I help you?" The pleasant secretary's voice sounded out from the other end of the phone and paused for a response.
"Please, just listen, we can explain," Jonathan promised, giving Mary his best honest look that he hoped still worked on her after all these years apart.
"Hello?" The secretary's voice sounded out from the phone again, confused when no one was responding.
"5 minutes. You have 5 minutes." Mary gave her ultimatum as she pressed the cancel button on her phone and placed it back on its stand.
Jonathan took a deep relieved breath and decided to explain everything he could, in order to get Mary's help. Well, not everything, he left out certain details like finding Clark in a real-life alien ship, the fact they were pretty sure he was also an alien, and how they'd hidden the aforementioned spaceship in the storm cellar. Jonathan instead went for the version of the story he and Martha had agreed to tell Mary hoping she wouldn't pick it apart too much.
"You found him?" Mary stated in slight disbelief, as she slowly reiterated the point that Jonathan would admit was the weakest part of his story. "In a cornfield, the night before the meteor strike hit?"
"Yes," Jonathan tried not to wince at Mary's repeating of his story, realising now how bad it sounded. "We need your help."
"My help with WHAT?" Mary asked incredulously, a rictus of disbelief crossing her face. "Helping you kidnap a child? What, do you think I'm stupid enough to buy that fairy tale?"
"We didn't kidnap him," Martha spoke this time with enough force and conviction that Mary almost believed her. "We did find him in a cornfield, that is true. Everything else is just complicated."
"Complicated?" Mary raised an eyebrow at her sister before she shook her head letting out a deep sigh, this was so fucked up she couldn't believe it was happening.
"Yes," Jonathan stated firmly, catching Mary's eye with a level of confidence that couldn't help but admire. "We want to keep him and you're the only one we know that can make it legal."
"Okay, even if I believed you and I'm not saying I do, what you are asking is a huge risk on my part and yours. Why do you even want -" Mary was cut off by the sound of metal tearing and stone cracking as everyone turned to look at the source of the noise.
Mary's eyes widened as she watched the little baby boy her sister had brought in lift up her custom-made sofa with one hand as he picked up a toy that had evidently slid beneath it. What made it even more impressive beyond the obvious was the fact that the sofa had also been bolted to the floor, with steel. Mary's eyes lingered on the boy for a few moments and watched as he tried to carefully put the sofa down, only for it to slip from his grasp to land on top of his head.
Mary had instinctively moved forward like anyone would when seeing a massive heavy couch threaten to crush a small boy but stopped herself as she saw neither her sister nor her sister's husband had moved. Both just gave each other a knowing look and turned back to where Clark was sitting completely uninjured, with the ruins of the broken sofa scattered around him. Mary just stared at the child with even wider eyes than before, all while Clark looked up from the debris that had bounced off of him and looked at his aunt.
He beamed innocently, then garbled something incoherent and offered her the toy he had retrieved from under the sofa.
As Mary slowly bent down to take it from her nephew, a smile formed on her face. . She no longer cared what the story was anymore. Madelyn Stillwell had gotten within spitting distance of the CEO's office just from knowing a hero, how far could someone go if they were related to one?
"I'll get Jace to make up the spare bedroom, and pick up things for the little one," Mary stated with the same frozen smile as she stood back up looking at Martha and Jonathan, the powerhouse businesswoman emerging before them. "We have a lot to do to make this all legit and have the world think he's your biological son."
"Biological?" Martha gave Jonathan an unsure look, before turning back to her sister. "We were thinking maybe just adopting him. Aren't there fewer questions that way?"
"No, won't work." Mary shook her head, a plan already forming in her head. "Adoption of a superpowered child puts too many wheels in motion, wheels even I can't control. What I can do is alter records, plant files at a local Samaritan's Embrace, and in a few months you take little Clark home and claim you came here to give birth."
"Will people buy that?" Jonathan asked, could that plan really work?
"Yes, I know the system well enough and have enough favours I can cash in that legally no one will ever know." Mary dismissed that side of doubt casually, fully knowing what cards to play when it came to Ezekiel and the rest of the morons in the system. "As for Martha, no one knows about her infertility in Smallville right?"
"No…...," The other woman confirmed, fidgeting slightly and not liking how flippantly her sister brought up the topic. "But we've been to those clinics you suggested, and they have records that will show -"
"I can deal with those, you guys just wait here a few months whilst I get this all sorted and when you head back just tell everyone Martha was already pregnant by a few months," Mary stated confidently with a dismissive shrug, as she was already working out in her head who she needed to call and either trick or blackmail to get this sorted.
"Are you sure that will work, what if people ask questions? Clark is already a few months old" Martha stated hesitantly as she looked at her sister unsure that this plan would work and was starting to feel uneasy about the whole situation.
"It is a risk," Mary admitted but whilst also giving a shrug as she moved over to the intercom to call her assistant. "but people are more gullible than you think, and everyone knows you in Smallville, trust me, that will help. Just be assertive, stick to the same story, and even if people doubt it no one will say anything. Yes, Jace, I need you to run some errands."
Mary started talking into the intercom to her assistant, ordering them to immediately go out and start buying a host of things. Whilst this type of request wasn't unusual, they were confused at the list of baby care items, especially since the boss's own kids were fully-grown children.
"Jonathan I'm not sure about this," Martha whispered to her husband, doubt for the first time in a while entering her heart. She still wanted Clark but felt that maybe her sister had not been the best way to go.
"Hey, it's going to be alright." Jonathan moved over to hug his wife, dispelling her doubts with the gentle act while managing not to show he too was having his own qualms. "Mary knows what she is doing and if we want to keep Clark then this is the only way."
"I know." Martha sighed out nodding her head in acceptance. "I know you're right; it's just, I have this feeling that…..."
"It's going to be fine," Jonathan stated comforting his wife as she trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence. "Hey, I think someone wants you."
Martha looked confused at her husband's statement but then saw where she was looking and found all her fears and worries gone. Little Clark was looking up at them with his arms outstretched whilst opening and closing his fingers, evidently wanting to be picked up.
"Come here, up we go." Martha gave her son a loving smile that grew wider as that exact thought lingered in her head. 'My son' she whispered under her breath as she lifted Clark off the ground.
"Okay, my assistant Jace is going to get you some things. Now we need to talk about your compensation, and the NDA you are going to have to sign." Mary's voice cut Martha out of her happy thoughts as her sister walked back over to them.
"What compensation?" Jonathan asked, confused, before he also added. "And why do we need to sign an NDA?... What's an NDA?"
"It's a Non-disclosure Agreement," Martha explained to her husband, remembering her father talking about them as a child, as she eyed her sister. "Why do we need to sign one?"
"Well…" Mary was trying to make sure she worded this right, remembering how touchy the subject of Compound V was especially when you were first told about it, but she needed to do this. "… there are some things that I'm going to have to tell you about supes and how they are made if you want to keep Clark. Things a Vought agent might ask when Clark gets older and enters the heroism business."
"Heroism business?" Martha whispered under her breath as her brain suddenly connected all the dots and realised why Mary was suddenly so keen to help. She wanted the prestige of being a superhero's aunt.
"Like what?" Jonathan directed his question straight to Mary not having heard Martha's whisper.
However, his question was also accompanied by a slight yawn and rubbing of his eyes still exhausted from the drive up to her. He was feeling more exhausted since the start of this conversation and with every new sentence, Mary said he was feeling more and more drained.
"We can discuss all that later. For now, why don't you two get some sleep and I can spend some time with my new nephew." Mary offered her voice becoming soft and friendly again, her natural accent returning too, diffusing her sister and Jonathan's suspicions for the moment with the wide smile she gave Clark.
Martha looked at her husband, but she couldn't deny how exhausted she felt and gave him a small nod as her own yawn escaped her lips. With a long and loving look, she moved over to her sister and gently handed Clark over before she and her husband moved off to go to bed. Mary was left alone with her little nephew, and her eyes glittered as she looked down at her foot in the door to Vought's inner circle.
"Well hi there, I'm your Aunt Mary." She spoke softly in a baby voice to her nephew tapping him on the nose and causing him to giggle. "I'm going to take great care of you, yes I am."
Clark giggled at her actions, clapping his hands in joy, not understanding the look that entered Mary's eyes. She was already planning out everything. First, a wholesome farm boy upbringing, people loved that shit, then get him on the Capes for Christ circuit too, which will get him in with Vought nice and early, along with some participating in those Youth Superhero Sports events the company held to show off what he can do. Follow all that up with a junior superhero identity, some early saves, and then when the time came she would be the one with Vought's new up-and-coming Super-celebrity, not Madlyn Stillwell.
Oh yes, that was the ticket. With her in his corner, the public would adore him. No matter what his actual power level was, he'd be the Golden Son of the Sunflower State.
"What to call you? Steel Boy, Indestructible Lad, oh! How about Ultraman?" Mary asked the little powerhouse in her hands playfully but the look on Clark's face told her he didn't like that one, which caused her to chuckle. "No, okay, how about something simple like…... Superboy, yeah Superboy to start with, and then as long as marketing likes it, we can debut you as Superman, no, THE SUPERMAN."