Tweet
Title: Capacity For Good: The End Of Days
Author: El Duderino
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin'. Why? Does that amuse you? I'm some sorta frickin' clown here to amuse you?!
Summary: The End of Days comes, and the Savior of the World falls...
*= http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/sh...threadid=75419
*Previously in ‘Capacity For Good: The Second Emissary’…
…Clark stared into his coffee. “I had a dream last night… It was a very, very bad dream. Everything and everyone I care about was gone, and it was my fault…"
…Clark flinched awake, sweating and panting for breath. He’d only ever felt like this once before; after the vision of Cassandra Carver. He whispered quietly into the dark of the apartment.
“Something is coming…”
…Clark threw his head back, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut against the head-splitting screech that tore through him, filling him with broken glass. It was like the call of the crystals, only harsher, a thousand times worse… He tried to stand, pressing the heels of his hands into his temples against the agony, and instead slumped into the desk, dragging papers as he crashed to the ground, breathless with pain…
…“The Fortress was programmed as a locator,” Jor-El rumbled. “The pain you experienced was a response from the target…”
“…Who set the program?…”
“…The vessel of Jor-El.”
His eyes widened as he realized. “Lionel?…”
…Clark walked through the caves with a torch, staring at the paintings of fire from the skies, creatures and legends. He’d gotten no answers from the Fortress, and was hoping to find some here.
“What are you trying to tell me?” he muttered into the dim silence, frowning as his ear caught a heartbeat.
“I don’t think you’ll find your answers here, son.”
Clark turned quietly, torchlight casting an eerie shadow on the face of Lionel Luthor…“I have to talk to you.”…He placed a hand on Clark’s arm. “It’s important, son.”
…“Why are you here?” Clark asked, suddenly. “Better yet, why did you leave?”
Lionel paused a moment, then plucked a photograph from the wall. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Clark took the photo. It was an elderly woman with a sweetly-sad smile and dignified face; though her eyes were obscured by cataracts, they looked like they were once bright.
“Cassandra Carver,” he answered wistfully…“So Lex is gathering crystals? What does that mean?”
“Well, the answer to that might lie with our Cassandra,” Lionel replied. “I think she was the first emissary…”
…“She saw my future,” Clark dry swallowed. “The world was a graveyard. And it was my fault.”
“When the last of these stones, the Keystone, is uncovered, a second emissary will rise. The enemy of the world will open the gates of Hell and bring about the End of Days.”… Lionel pursed his lips in thought. “We have to find that Keystone, Clark. If we don’t, it could mean the end of everything…”
“…Luthor’s holding an invite-only shindig at the stately pile back in Smallville tomorrow night… the Natural History Museum agreed to loan him some of their pieces for display…You’re going to attend”…Perry said. “You know the town, and you know the man…”
…Consternation ran through the crowd, followed quickly by panic as a troop of armoured men dropped in through the windows, their heavy boots thudding hard enough to shake the room…
…Dragon Guy’s forearm swung backwards. It was barely a shrug, but it lifted Clark off his feet as he planned, and he used his own flight to boost the pitch slightly, smashing through a champagne tower and bounce-rolling to the far side of the dinner table.
“CLARK!”…
…Lois barely heard the ringing as she dived across the floor, grabbing for the stone alongside Dragon Guy…
…The crystal became liquid between her fingers, still blazing with light as it flowed under her palm, and with one last blinding flash, it vanished…
…From across the room, Clark looked into Lois’s face as she lay, and his heart froze with terror. “Oh, no.”
Her expression was a blank stare. Her eyes were clouded, and milky with cataracts…
…“Kal-El.”
The voice came from Lois, angelic and chiming like ringing crystal…
…“Who are you?” Superman asked cautiously.
“I am the Emissary,” she said, in that same unearthly voice…
…“All has been foreseen. What is coming can no longer be stopped,” she said softly. “The End of Days will come, and the savior of the world will fall, but the light will show the way. You must never lose hope, Kal-El. Any hope, no matter how small, is a good thing,”…
…She reached up into the sky, a bright bolt of fire pouring from her hand as the crystal separated, rocketing far into the heavens and vanishing from sight…
“…Clark?…”
“That would be me, I guess.” Clark wandered over…
…“Oh, thank God.” Lois thudded into his chest and threw her arms around him… “One minute, I’m trying to grab some rock from a guy who looks like he walked out of a Japanese cartoon, and the next, I’m out on the highway, surrounded by flaming wreckage…”
“…where’s the Keystone now?”
“The Emissary told me it was active,” said Clark. “I’d guess it sought out the other crystals and returned to them… I think it was about delivering the message…”
“The second Emissary will rise. Lois Lane,” Lionel mused, sipping his tea and pursing his lips in thought…
“…when I first became the vessel of Jor-El, I saw it all and more…I saw the End of Days, and I knew my sins would be part of it…”
“So…,” his mother sipped at her coffee. “…how long have you known?…That you’re in love with Lois…”
“…she’s known me for years, but she seems to have a thing for…the other guy…”
“Why don’t you tell her, Clark?…, tell her how you feel.”
“…Not unless she knows all of me, instead of just one piece at a time…”
“…any woman would be lucky to end up with a guy as honorable as Clark Kent!”
…Chloe clapped her hands and shouted in triumph… “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Lois stared down at her clasped fingers. “What if I was?…”
“…What if you can take something great and turn it into something wonderful?… “Just promise me you’ll think about it,” Chloe said softly. “Do that at least…”
…‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought, leaning into his lips.
His head flinched back, eyebrows reaching for his hairline; she thought she saw horror in his expression.
‘OhGod,’ Lois cursed herself, mortified. ‘…I got it wrong…’
“…Please, Clark, can’t we just forget about it, pretend it never…?”
“LOIS!”
She spun dizzily, his hands on her elbows turning her as she dropped her eyes; she just couldn’t look at him. Clark Kent dry-swallowed nervously, caught his breath and kissed Lois Lane…
…All told, the crystals formed a loose and shattered ring about twelve feet in diameter; all that remained was a single gap where the Keystone should be…
…the Professor said, “we’ve no idea what this thing is…”
“…If it means we can finally find some answers about this technology, I’ll take that chance…”
…before he could change his mind, he slotted the crystal into place and stepped back…
…The sound of splintering could be heard as the breaks healed, mineral melting, fusing and reforming. Gradually, the ring lifted from the floor…
…Sparks of light began to fire from the center, and a hole through existence appeared…
…In the dark shadows beyond the ring, a vicious, hulking shape, no more, but as it turned towards them through the dim, Lex had the sense of what it meant to look into the mouth of madness.
“Mother of God,” Hamilton breathed over his shoulder. “What is that?”…
And now, “Capacity For Good” continues…
Capacity For Good: The End Of Days
Prologue
The kiss started a little awkward, hesitant, but quickly grew warmer and deeper, filled with years of absence, as if they should’ve kissed from the very moment they met. Faint ripples ran through them, as if the planet shuddered at their embrace. Clark drew her in closer, closing his arms around her waist, softness becoming urgency, wanting her, needing her the more and more she gave him. Lois felt her every muscle soften, resistance fading as she closed her eyes, losing herself and not caring…
…and then just as suddenly, he was gone. She opened her eyes dazedly, feeling unpleasant coolness on her lips.
“I…” Clark stepped back, breathless, pink-faced and hoarse, “…I shouldn’t have done that.” He turned away stiffly, like he was forcing himself.
Lois was quiet for a moment. And then,…
“What the hell was that?!” she cried indignantly.
“Lois,…”
“No, no,” she raised a finger to stop him, “let me see if I can get this straight; I try to kiss you, you back away like I was an aunt with a hairy mole. Then you grab me, rock my world, and say ‘I-I-I shouldn’t have done that,’ is that about right?”
“It’s not…,” Clark paused, a goofy grin touching the corners of his lips. “Really? I rocked your world?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Missing the point, Clark. What’s with you? The way you look at me sometimes, it feels like you…,” she broke off, “…and then you pretend nothing happened, and I let you do it. It’s like you’re in two minds about something.”
Clark smiled wryly to himself. “Funny you should say that.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked, dropping her arms to her sides in exasperation. “I’m tired of this dance, Clark, so I’m gonna ask you flat-out, and be honest, because I can take it. Once and for all,…how do you feel about me?”
His heart thumped wildly against his ribs. “I…you-you’re my best friend,” he stammered. “I-I care about you a lot.”
“Mm-hm,” she planted her hands on her hips, “and is that it?”
Silence; he couldn’t even turn around for fear she might see right through him.
“Fine, if you won’t say it, I will.” Lois crossed her arms, leaned on one hip. She closed her eyes in a frown and took a deep breath, licking her dry lips; the feel of him was still there…
… Looking back, he should’ve known she’d go first. As cautious as she was with her heart, she’d always been braver than him when it came to what she wanted. Clark’s common sense knew he should stop her, but the rest of him was telling his common sense to shut the hell up and listen; he wanted to hear…
…“I love you, Clark.” The words came out softly, and she opened her eyes. “I’m in love with you.” And it was so easy, in the end, to say; it was like giving up the last of her secrets to him, this man who knew her so well. Or perhaps it was because he still had his back turned. “And you can’t tell me you don’t want me too. Not after a kiss like that.” She stared at his unresponsive back, heart beating wildly at his silence. “Look, if you’re scared of ruining us, that’s OK. I’m scared, too.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Lois. I wish it were.”
“Why can’t it be?” she entreated, hating the way she sounded. “It’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Why isn’t it simple just to say what you want or don’t want?”
“It’s not about what I want,” he sounded pained, almost strangled. “What I want isn’t important; I can’t let it be.”
Lois swallowed nervously, remembering how she and Oliver broke up; this conversation was getting uncomfortably familiar. “Then tell me,” she demanded. “If it doesn’t matter, look me in the eyes. Tell me you don’t feel the way I do, and I’ll never ask you again.”
Clark raised his eyes to the ceiling, chuckling humorlessly. “God, Lois, you’re killin’ me here.”
“I’m killing you?” she shot back. “For God’s sake, Clark, I’m pourin’ my heart out, and all you can do is stand there! You won’t talk to me, you can’t even look at me!”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Stop saying that! Don’t say you’re sorry!” Lois looked down at the floor, fighting the tears that hung at her eyelids; her next words were quieter.
“Just say that you love me.”
Clark couldn’t stand it. He turned, drawing a breath; God, she was beautiful. The moonlight from the window fell across the side of her face, her arms were crossed, and though a stranger might think she was furious, to the man who knew her...who loved her... she looked fragile in a way she’d never been before. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t do this to her, that it wasn’t fair, that she couldn’t really love him unless she knew all of him. He went to her, lifted her chin, looked into her eyes…
…and his cellphone trilled. ‘Damn it.’ He fumbled the treacherous device from his pocket and glanced at the text message from Oliver, a single word:
“BOYSCOUT.”
:A private joke, and an urgent summons. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse.
“I…I have to go,” he told her, the words like ashes in his mouth as he touched his tie. “I can’t ignore this.”
“Fine,” Lois folded her arms again, slipping back into the shell by degrees. “Go.”
Clark bit his lip, made his choice. “We’ll talk. Come to my place tomorrow morning? I’ll tell you everything. I promise. I’ll tell you everything and…we’ll see.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and smiled hopefully. “Eight o’clock?”
She nodded, puzzled as he rushed out of the room and touching her lips. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it.
Clark raced up the stairs, thumbing open his cellphone and hitting a speed-dial number on the way:
“It’s me. We might have trouble…Yes, what we were afraid of. How soon can you get here?…Alright, call me when you arrive. Bye.”
:He kicked up his speed several notches. Bursting out onto the roof, he never broke step as he shed his street clothes and soared through the night skyline as Superman, trying to keep his mind on the situation, but unable to escape a single litany of thought that caused him shivers of the good kind:
“…ShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesme
ShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesme…”
:In seconds, barely aware of the journey, his feet came down on the balcony of the clock tower.
A familiar voice greeted him. “You’re gettin’ faster, amigo. I only just beat you here.”
He grinned a Clark-grin as he shook Bart Allen’s hand. Although Bart was still the fastest man alive, their races had gotten closer in the past few years, and Superman always had his younger friend beat on endurance.
“And you’ve gotten a little taller, I see. I thought I’d heard some rumors,” Superman said, recalling urban myths about a blood red street demon who’d traded his soul for the power to outrun the Devil himself, and could never stop moving; legend had it he was so swift, the ground burned with Hellfire under his feet. “The Scarlet Speedster, AKA The Keystone Flash?”
“That’s me, following in the footsteps of…” Bart tailed off, looking his friend up and down. “Say, Jim, that’s a baaad outfit.”
“I could say the same,” he grinned back. Bart’s new uniform was striking, to say the least, scarlet with gold boots and a lightning bolt emblem on the chest.
“I discovered it’s sort of a family thing,” the Flash answered cryptically. “What’s with that goofy grin?”
Superman shrugged. “Nothin’. I’m just high on life.”
“Superman, come on in,” Ollie called out; he was suited up, but with his hood and scarf down. He tended to insist on the codenames whenever they were in uniform to avoid slip-ups. “It’s alright, the building is secure.”
“Hey, guys,” Superman swapped ‘Hello’ nods with Aquaman and Cyborg. “So what’s the emergency we needed to suit up for?”
“Tremors,” the Arrow replied, flicking a remote and calling up a digital map. His friends rolled their eyes; he always did lean towards the dramatic. “The entire state of Kansas has been experiencing mild tremors for the past hour. You probably felt them.”
“I thought it was,…” Superman paused; he wasn’t sure whether to tell Green Arrow about the kiss yet. “Never mind.”
“Well, according to the seismology reports, they’re originating in this area, just outside Granville.”
“So what?”
“They’re false tremors,” said Ollie. “Impact shocks travelling along the ground. And we’ve discovered that the exact epicenter is a small airfield owned by…don’t make me say it…”
“LexCorp,” Superman nodded, then frowned. “You think this might have something to do with the crystals?”
“What crystals?” Cyborg asked.
“I recently discovered that Luthor’s been looking into meteor strikes in South Africa for the past few years,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “He might be in possession of alien technology from my home planet.”
“You wanna run that by us again, Stretch?” Cyborg looked at him in disbelief.
“Alright,” he blew a breath. “The upshot is, the technology of my home planet was mineral based, stemming from the manipulated growth of crystals capable of storing vast amounts of energy and information.”
“How much information?” Flash interrupted.
“Well, let me put it this way,” he continued, holding his hand up. “A single crystal, roughly the size of my open hand, could store the Internet with room to spare.”
The Flash blinked. “So,…a lot?”
“Yeah,” he smiled, “a lot. The crystals can contain separate encoded subroutines, so that when they’re combined, the compressed data decodes and the ‘Mother’ program runs itself; the whole greater than the sum of its parts. I have a place in the Arctic that was built the same way, three crystals fused into one to become a much more complex database. It’s where I was trained in the use of the technology.”
“And Lex has his hands on one of these things?” Cyborg was stunned.
“Probably more,” said Superman. “If he has, he’s probably got no idea what they are.”
“Why not?”
“The basic part of the interface is physical, configuring the crystals to form different programs, but the higher functions…,” he paused, searching, “…well, it’s difficult to explain, but it’s like a symbiosis, a partnership.”
“A partnership,” Aquaman echoed. “With rocks?”
Superman narrowed his eyes and smiled dryly. “Really? You wanna go there? The guy who talks to dolphins?”
Aquaman, teasingly known to his friends as ‘the Fish Whisperer,’ conceded. “Point taken. Continue.”
“Anyway, it’s a relatively simple concept,” Superman continued. “The crystals compress information in a pseudo-sentient engrammic lattice similar to the way the brain responds, so you can ‘talk’ to it; access and program the systems by thought.”
“Could anybody do this?” Cyborg chipped in.
“Theoretically,” said Superman, “but I doubt it. The operating system is in Kryptonian, you’d have to be fluent, and you’d have to establish a rapport with the database. That doesn’t mean the crystals can’t be dangerous, though. They can still be physically activated.”
“So it’s possible Lex might have the most advanced weapon on the face of the planet, but no idea how to control it,” the Arrow interjected. “Like a child with a handgun; he might not know exactly what it does, but he can still pull the trigger.”
“Why haven’t you told us all this before?” Flash asked.
“I only had it confirmed this weekend,” said Superman. “One of the crystals spoke to me through a medium, told me the device was near completion.”
“So what’s the plan?” Cyborg asked.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” Superman said. “I know someone who…”
He cut off as a violent tremor rocked the building. In the distance, car alarms could be heard as the shock wave shook the entire city, even the state.
“What the hell?!” The Arrow glanced at the digital real-time map, watching the target area turn bright red. “That came from the epicentre in Granville!”
“Alright,” Superman said, trying to quell his own panic; he still hadn’t told them all about the prophecy. “Ollie, I need my key.”
The Arrow nodded, running into the equipment bay; after he discovered Lionel, with honest intention, had first swiped the Fortress key from its hiding place at the farm, Superman had decided that it was safer to keep it at the Watchtower. They punched their own halves of the same code into a wallsafe and the door slid open; the Arrow handed the key to his friend. “What are you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna go to Granville and see what I can find out, then hit the Fortress. Now the crystals are active, maybe it can tell me what’s happening. You guys stay here and monitor the tremors. I’ll be back as fast as I can.”
Superman launched himself from the balcony, gaining height rapidly and whipping the air into a boom in his wake as he fired himself towards Granville. He had a bad feeling, like he was running out of time, and he couldn't stop what was going to happen. He remembered the nightmare that had woken him.
"Something's coming."
End of Prologue
Author: El Duderino
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't own nuthin'. Why? Does that amuse you? I'm some sorta frickin' clown here to amuse you?!
Summary: The End of Days comes, and the Savior of the World falls...
*= http://www.kryptonsite.com/forums/sh...threadid=75419
*Previously in ‘Capacity For Good: The Second Emissary’…
…Clark stared into his coffee. “I had a dream last night… It was a very, very bad dream. Everything and everyone I care about was gone, and it was my fault…"
…Clark flinched awake, sweating and panting for breath. He’d only ever felt like this once before; after the vision of Cassandra Carver. He whispered quietly into the dark of the apartment.
“Something is coming…”
…Clark threw his head back, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut against the head-splitting screech that tore through him, filling him with broken glass. It was like the call of the crystals, only harsher, a thousand times worse… He tried to stand, pressing the heels of his hands into his temples against the agony, and instead slumped into the desk, dragging papers as he crashed to the ground, breathless with pain…
…“The Fortress was programmed as a locator,” Jor-El rumbled. “The pain you experienced was a response from the target…”
“…Who set the program?…”
“…The vessel of Jor-El.”
His eyes widened as he realized. “Lionel?…”
…Clark walked through the caves with a torch, staring at the paintings of fire from the skies, creatures and legends. He’d gotten no answers from the Fortress, and was hoping to find some here.
“What are you trying to tell me?” he muttered into the dim silence, frowning as his ear caught a heartbeat.
“I don’t think you’ll find your answers here, son.”
Clark turned quietly, torchlight casting an eerie shadow on the face of Lionel Luthor…“I have to talk to you.”…He placed a hand on Clark’s arm. “It’s important, son.”
…“Why are you here?” Clark asked, suddenly. “Better yet, why did you leave?”
Lionel paused a moment, then plucked a photograph from the wall. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Clark took the photo. It was an elderly woman with a sweetly-sad smile and dignified face; though her eyes were obscured by cataracts, they looked like they were once bright.
“Cassandra Carver,” he answered wistfully…“So Lex is gathering crystals? What does that mean?”
“Well, the answer to that might lie with our Cassandra,” Lionel replied. “I think she was the first emissary…”
…“She saw my future,” Clark dry swallowed. “The world was a graveyard. And it was my fault.”
“When the last of these stones, the Keystone, is uncovered, a second emissary will rise. The enemy of the world will open the gates of Hell and bring about the End of Days.”… Lionel pursed his lips in thought. “We have to find that Keystone, Clark. If we don’t, it could mean the end of everything…”
“…Luthor’s holding an invite-only shindig at the stately pile back in Smallville tomorrow night… the Natural History Museum agreed to loan him some of their pieces for display…You’re going to attend”…Perry said. “You know the town, and you know the man…”
…Consternation ran through the crowd, followed quickly by panic as a troop of armoured men dropped in through the windows, their heavy boots thudding hard enough to shake the room…
…Dragon Guy’s forearm swung backwards. It was barely a shrug, but it lifted Clark off his feet as he planned, and he used his own flight to boost the pitch slightly, smashing through a champagne tower and bounce-rolling to the far side of the dinner table.
“CLARK!”…
…Lois barely heard the ringing as she dived across the floor, grabbing for the stone alongside Dragon Guy…
…The crystal became liquid between her fingers, still blazing with light as it flowed under her palm, and with one last blinding flash, it vanished…
…From across the room, Clark looked into Lois’s face as she lay, and his heart froze with terror. “Oh, no.”
Her expression was a blank stare. Her eyes were clouded, and milky with cataracts…
…“Kal-El.”
The voice came from Lois, angelic and chiming like ringing crystal…
…“Who are you?” Superman asked cautiously.
“I am the Emissary,” she said, in that same unearthly voice…
…“All has been foreseen. What is coming can no longer be stopped,” she said softly. “The End of Days will come, and the savior of the world will fall, but the light will show the way. You must never lose hope, Kal-El. Any hope, no matter how small, is a good thing,”…
…She reached up into the sky, a bright bolt of fire pouring from her hand as the crystal separated, rocketing far into the heavens and vanishing from sight…
“…Clark?…”
“That would be me, I guess.” Clark wandered over…
…“Oh, thank God.” Lois thudded into his chest and threw her arms around him… “One minute, I’m trying to grab some rock from a guy who looks like he walked out of a Japanese cartoon, and the next, I’m out on the highway, surrounded by flaming wreckage…”
“…where’s the Keystone now?”
“The Emissary told me it was active,” said Clark. “I’d guess it sought out the other crystals and returned to them… I think it was about delivering the message…”
“The second Emissary will rise. Lois Lane,” Lionel mused, sipping his tea and pursing his lips in thought…
“…when I first became the vessel of Jor-El, I saw it all and more…I saw the End of Days, and I knew my sins would be part of it…”
“So…,” his mother sipped at her coffee. “…how long have you known?…That you’re in love with Lois…”
“…she’s known me for years, but she seems to have a thing for…the other guy…”
“Why don’t you tell her, Clark?…, tell her how you feel.”
“…Not unless she knows all of me, instead of just one piece at a time…”
“…any woman would be lucky to end up with a guy as honorable as Clark Kent!”
…Chloe clapped her hands and shouted in triumph… “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Lois stared down at her clasped fingers. “What if I was?…”
“…What if you can take something great and turn it into something wonderful?… “Just promise me you’ll think about it,” Chloe said softly. “Do that at least…”
…‘Here goes nothing,’ she thought, leaning into his lips.
His head flinched back, eyebrows reaching for his hairline; she thought she saw horror in his expression.
‘OhGod,’ Lois cursed herself, mortified. ‘…I got it wrong…’
“…Please, Clark, can’t we just forget about it, pretend it never…?”
“LOIS!”
She spun dizzily, his hands on her elbows turning her as she dropped her eyes; she just couldn’t look at him. Clark Kent dry-swallowed nervously, caught his breath and kissed Lois Lane…
…All told, the crystals formed a loose and shattered ring about twelve feet in diameter; all that remained was a single gap where the Keystone should be…
…the Professor said, “we’ve no idea what this thing is…”
“…If it means we can finally find some answers about this technology, I’ll take that chance…”
…before he could change his mind, he slotted the crystal into place and stepped back…
…The sound of splintering could be heard as the breaks healed, mineral melting, fusing and reforming. Gradually, the ring lifted from the floor…
…Sparks of light began to fire from the center, and a hole through existence appeared…
…In the dark shadows beyond the ring, a vicious, hulking shape, no more, but as it turned towards them through the dim, Lex had the sense of what it meant to look into the mouth of madness.
“Mother of God,” Hamilton breathed over his shoulder. “What is that?”…
And now, “Capacity For Good” continues…
Capacity For Good: The End Of Days
Prologue
The kiss started a little awkward, hesitant, but quickly grew warmer and deeper, filled with years of absence, as if they should’ve kissed from the very moment they met. Faint ripples ran through them, as if the planet shuddered at their embrace. Clark drew her in closer, closing his arms around her waist, softness becoming urgency, wanting her, needing her the more and more she gave him. Lois felt her every muscle soften, resistance fading as she closed her eyes, losing herself and not caring…
…and then just as suddenly, he was gone. She opened her eyes dazedly, feeling unpleasant coolness on her lips.
“I…” Clark stepped back, breathless, pink-faced and hoarse, “…I shouldn’t have done that.” He turned away stiffly, like he was forcing himself.
Lois was quiet for a moment. And then,…
“What the hell was that?!” she cried indignantly.
“Lois,…”
“No, no,” she raised a finger to stop him, “let me see if I can get this straight; I try to kiss you, you back away like I was an aunt with a hairy mole. Then you grab me, rock my world, and say ‘I-I-I shouldn’t have done that,’ is that about right?”
“It’s not…,” Clark paused, a goofy grin touching the corners of his lips. “Really? I rocked your world?”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Missing the point, Clark. What’s with you? The way you look at me sometimes, it feels like you…,” she broke off, “…and then you pretend nothing happened, and I let you do it. It’s like you’re in two minds about something.”
Clark smiled wryly to himself. “Funny you should say that.”
“What does that even mean?” she asked, dropping her arms to her sides in exasperation. “I’m tired of this dance, Clark, so I’m gonna ask you flat-out, and be honest, because I can take it. Once and for all,…how do you feel about me?”
His heart thumped wildly against his ribs. “I…you-you’re my best friend,” he stammered. “I-I care about you a lot.”
“Mm-hm,” she planted her hands on her hips, “and is that it?”
Silence; he couldn’t even turn around for fear she might see right through him.
“Fine, if you won’t say it, I will.” Lois crossed her arms, leaned on one hip. She closed her eyes in a frown and took a deep breath, licking her dry lips; the feel of him was still there…
… Looking back, he should’ve known she’d go first. As cautious as she was with her heart, she’d always been braver than him when it came to what she wanted. Clark’s common sense knew he should stop her, but the rest of him was telling his common sense to shut the hell up and listen; he wanted to hear…
…“I love you, Clark.” The words came out softly, and she opened her eyes. “I’m in love with you.” And it was so easy, in the end, to say; it was like giving up the last of her secrets to him, this man who knew her so well. Or perhaps it was because he still had his back turned. “And you can’t tell me you don’t want me too. Not after a kiss like that.” She stared at his unresponsive back, heart beating wildly at his silence. “Look, if you’re scared of ruining us, that’s OK. I’m scared, too.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Lois. I wish it were.”
“Why can’t it be?” she entreated, hating the way she sounded. “It’s a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question. Why isn’t it simple just to say what you want or don’t want?”
“It’s not about what I want,” he sounded pained, almost strangled. “What I want isn’t important; I can’t let it be.”
Lois swallowed nervously, remembering how she and Oliver broke up; this conversation was getting uncomfortably familiar. “Then tell me,” she demanded. “If it doesn’t matter, look me in the eyes. Tell me you don’t feel the way I do, and I’ll never ask you again.”
Clark raised his eyes to the ceiling, chuckling humorlessly. “God, Lois, you’re killin’ me here.”
“I’m killing you?” she shot back. “For God’s sake, Clark, I’m pourin’ my heart out, and all you can do is stand there! You won’t talk to me, you can’t even look at me!”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Stop saying that! Don’t say you’re sorry!” Lois looked down at the floor, fighting the tears that hung at her eyelids; her next words were quieter.
“Just say that you love me.”
Clark couldn’t stand it. He turned, drawing a breath; God, she was beautiful. The moonlight from the window fell across the side of her face, her arms were crossed, and though a stranger might think she was furious, to the man who knew her...who loved her... she looked fragile in a way she’d never been before. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t do this to her, that it wasn’t fair, that she couldn’t really love him unless she knew all of him. He went to her, lifted her chin, looked into her eyes…
…and his cellphone trilled. ‘Damn it.’ He fumbled the treacherous device from his pocket and glanced at the text message from Oliver, a single word:
“BOYSCOUT.”
:A private joke, and an urgent summons. The timing couldn’t possibly have been worse.
“I…I have to go,” he told her, the words like ashes in his mouth as he touched his tie. “I can’t ignore this.”
“Fine,” Lois folded her arms again, slipping back into the shell by degrees. “Go.”
Clark bit his lip, made his choice. “We’ll talk. Come to my place tomorrow morning? I’ll tell you everything. I promise. I’ll tell you everything and…we’ll see.” He dropped a quick kiss on her lips and smiled hopefully. “Eight o’clock?”
She nodded, puzzled as he rushed out of the room and touching her lips. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it.
Clark raced up the stairs, thumbing open his cellphone and hitting a speed-dial number on the way:
“It’s me. We might have trouble…Yes, what we were afraid of. How soon can you get here?…Alright, call me when you arrive. Bye.”
:He kicked up his speed several notches. Bursting out onto the roof, he never broke step as he shed his street clothes and soared through the night skyline as Superman, trying to keep his mind on the situation, but unable to escape a single litany of thought that caused him shivers of the good kind:
“…ShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesme
ShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesmeShelovesme…”
:In seconds, barely aware of the journey, his feet came down on the balcony of the clock tower.
A familiar voice greeted him. “You’re gettin’ faster, amigo. I only just beat you here.”
He grinned a Clark-grin as he shook Bart Allen’s hand. Although Bart was still the fastest man alive, their races had gotten closer in the past few years, and Superman always had his younger friend beat on endurance.
“And you’ve gotten a little taller, I see. I thought I’d heard some rumors,” Superman said, recalling urban myths about a blood red street demon who’d traded his soul for the power to outrun the Devil himself, and could never stop moving; legend had it he was so swift, the ground burned with Hellfire under his feet. “The Scarlet Speedster, AKA The Keystone Flash?”
“That’s me, following in the footsteps of…” Bart tailed off, looking his friend up and down. “Say, Jim, that’s a baaad outfit.”
“I could say the same,” he grinned back. Bart’s new uniform was striking, to say the least, scarlet with gold boots and a lightning bolt emblem on the chest.
“I discovered it’s sort of a family thing,” the Flash answered cryptically. “What’s with that goofy grin?”
Superman shrugged. “Nothin’. I’m just high on life.”
“Superman, come on in,” Ollie called out; he was suited up, but with his hood and scarf down. He tended to insist on the codenames whenever they were in uniform to avoid slip-ups. “It’s alright, the building is secure.”
“Hey, guys,” Superman swapped ‘Hello’ nods with Aquaman and Cyborg. “So what’s the emergency we needed to suit up for?”
“Tremors,” the Arrow replied, flicking a remote and calling up a digital map. His friends rolled their eyes; he always did lean towards the dramatic. “The entire state of Kansas has been experiencing mild tremors for the past hour. You probably felt them.”
“I thought it was,…” Superman paused; he wasn’t sure whether to tell Green Arrow about the kiss yet. “Never mind.”
“Well, according to the seismology reports, they’re originating in this area, just outside Granville.”
“So what?”
“They’re false tremors,” said Ollie. “Impact shocks travelling along the ground. And we’ve discovered that the exact epicenter is a small airfield owned by…don’t make me say it…”
“LexCorp,” Superman nodded, then frowned. “You think this might have something to do with the crystals?”
“What crystals?” Cyborg asked.
“I recently discovered that Luthor’s been looking into meteor strikes in South Africa for the past few years,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “He might be in possession of alien technology from my home planet.”
“You wanna run that by us again, Stretch?” Cyborg looked at him in disbelief.
“Alright,” he blew a breath. “The upshot is, the technology of my home planet was mineral based, stemming from the manipulated growth of crystals capable of storing vast amounts of energy and information.”
“How much information?” Flash interrupted.
“Well, let me put it this way,” he continued, holding his hand up. “A single crystal, roughly the size of my open hand, could store the Internet with room to spare.”
The Flash blinked. “So,…a lot?”
“Yeah,” he smiled, “a lot. The crystals can contain separate encoded subroutines, so that when they’re combined, the compressed data decodes and the ‘Mother’ program runs itself; the whole greater than the sum of its parts. I have a place in the Arctic that was built the same way, three crystals fused into one to become a much more complex database. It’s where I was trained in the use of the technology.”
“And Lex has his hands on one of these things?” Cyborg was stunned.
“Probably more,” said Superman. “If he has, he’s probably got no idea what they are.”
“Why not?”
“The basic part of the interface is physical, configuring the crystals to form different programs, but the higher functions…,” he paused, searching, “…well, it’s difficult to explain, but it’s like a symbiosis, a partnership.”
“A partnership,” Aquaman echoed. “With rocks?”
Superman narrowed his eyes and smiled dryly. “Really? You wanna go there? The guy who talks to dolphins?”
Aquaman, teasingly known to his friends as ‘the Fish Whisperer,’ conceded. “Point taken. Continue.”
“Anyway, it’s a relatively simple concept,” Superman continued. “The crystals compress information in a pseudo-sentient engrammic lattice similar to the way the brain responds, so you can ‘talk’ to it; access and program the systems by thought.”
“Could anybody do this?” Cyborg chipped in.
“Theoretically,” said Superman, “but I doubt it. The operating system is in Kryptonian, you’d have to be fluent, and you’d have to establish a rapport with the database. That doesn’t mean the crystals can’t be dangerous, though. They can still be physically activated.”
“So it’s possible Lex might have the most advanced weapon on the face of the planet, but no idea how to control it,” the Arrow interjected. “Like a child with a handgun; he might not know exactly what it does, but he can still pull the trigger.”
“Why haven’t you told us all this before?” Flash asked.
“I only had it confirmed this weekend,” said Superman. “One of the crystals spoke to me through a medium, told me the device was near completion.”
“So what’s the plan?” Cyborg asked.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” Superman said. “I know someone who…”
He cut off as a violent tremor rocked the building. In the distance, car alarms could be heard as the shock wave shook the entire city, even the state.
“What the hell?!” The Arrow glanced at the digital real-time map, watching the target area turn bright red. “That came from the epicentre in Granville!”
“Alright,” Superman said, trying to quell his own panic; he still hadn’t told them all about the prophecy. “Ollie, I need my key.”
The Arrow nodded, running into the equipment bay; after he discovered Lionel, with honest intention, had first swiped the Fortress key from its hiding place at the farm, Superman had decided that it was safer to keep it at the Watchtower. They punched their own halves of the same code into a wallsafe and the door slid open; the Arrow handed the key to his friend. “What are you gonna do?”
“I’m gonna go to Granville and see what I can find out, then hit the Fortress. Now the crystals are active, maybe it can tell me what’s happening. You guys stay here and monitor the tremors. I’ll be back as fast as I can.”
Superman launched himself from the balcony, gaining height rapidly and whipping the air into a boom in his wake as he fired himself towards Granville. He had a bad feeling, like he was running out of time, and he couldn't stop what was going to happen. He remembered the nightmare that had woken him.
"Something's coming."
End of Prologue
Still, just throwing in "Just say that you love me." was awesome and I did not see it coming at all, which added to its awesomeness.
I love fish jokes.
Comment