From last time...

"You will have to leave post haste and in secret. If Nor learns of this, it will go badly for all of us," Tek Ra counseled his daughter.

"We will not have much time. Shir Om will pass soon," Ching mused. "I will arrange for a transport."

"Assemble your crew only of those whom you trust," Zara warned.

Ching nodded curtly and left the chambers.

Zara turned to her father. "It will not be easy," he told her.

Zara nodded in understanding. "Kal El will have to decide his own fate, as we all do."

********


Part 5


Two Months Later...

Lois walked down the street at her typical rapid clip. She smiled secretly knowing that her super-powered fiancé had to hurry to keep up with her. "Okay, so we've got your parents, and my parents, and lord, I wish my parents were more like your parents."

With a few quick strides he managed to get ahead of her and hold open the door to the Daily Planet lobby. "And we've got my cousins from out of town, my college roommate, half of Smallville..." she continued.

"Honey, you're babbling," Clark interrupted.

"I am not," she replied defensively. "I'm making a list."

"And checking it twice, I know, but please relax." He pushed the elevator button and they waited for the car. "We're getting married next week. This is supposed to be one of those blissfully happy times, not the most stressful moment of our lives, and believe me, given us, that's saying a lot."

He gave her one of those boyish half smiles of his that she found so irresistible, and not feeling particularly inclined to resist it, she leaned toward him and kissed him. It was a long, lingering kiss interrupted rudely by the pinging of the elevator. He smiled against her lips as he broke off the kiss. The elevator was empty but the ride to the newsroom on the third floor was far too short and she found herself wondering why the Daily Planet couldn't be located at the top of some hundred-story skyscraper.

********

Same Time, Earth's Orbit...

Zara sat at the controls on the deck of the transport. "Have you found him yet?" she asked impatiently.

"He wasn't particularly difficult to find," Ching replied snidely. He brought an image up on the main monitor of a muscular, dark haired man in a rather silly looking blue and red outfit with the El family crest on his chest.

"What an odd manner of dress they have," Zara mused.

"They don't all appear to dress like him," Ching explained, though when he considered it, even the garments worn by the rest of Earth's population were outlandish when compared with the simple, utilitarian clothing Kryptonians wore. "And they all seem to know that he's not one of them. He has powers that they don't. It's quite hard to believe, really. He's far too strong and invulnerable and he flies."

"Flies?" she asked incredulously.

"Indeed. I wager it has something to do with this planet's sun, or it's atmosphere. It has an odd effect on the Kryptonian body. Completely harmless, but remarkable. Given a period of exposure, we should develop powers like his."

"What else do we know about him?" she continued.

"He attempts to live as one of them. Has a life separate from all of this," he replied. Waving vaguely at the red and blue clad figure. "He has a good life," Ching continued as he produced more information on the monitor. "A respectable profession, surrogate parents who are, as they say in these parts, 'the salt of the Earth,' and he is about to wed. It will be difficult to convince him to leave this place."

"We have to try," Zara insisted.

Ching cloaked the transport and navigated the ship as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. He landed the transport in secluded woods, not far from the city known as Metropolis.

"Ensign Parth," he called for his navigator.

"Aye, sir," the younger officer responded as he looked up from his station.

"You will take the ship back out into the planet's orbit and maintain the cloak. We will contact you regularly with our progress." Ching turned to Zara. "We will have to acquire proper garments and make our way into the city. From there we will be able to learn more about Kal El and how best to approach him."

Zara nodded in response and the two left the command deck of the transport toward the air lock. Zara deftly disabled the airlock, there would be no need for it, and opened the cargo doors. A long ramp descended in front of them to the ground. They walked down the ramp and into the brilliant sunshine.

Ching squinted as he looked up at the sky. The yellow sun of this planet was so bright and intense; looking at it hurt his eyes and he diverted his gaze. He stared up at the radiant blue sky that stretched out toward forever in front of them. Thin wisps of white clouds were scattered in the sky. He breathed deeply of the oxygen-rich air, laden with the smell of who knew how many species of flora. The region they had landed in was a lush green, from the soft grass beneath their feet to the trees that towered above them. It was alive with the sounds of animal life and he marveled at what might be waiting for them in this world. It was more beautiful than he could have imagined. All of the passages in all of the books he had read hadn't done it justice.

Here it was, in all of its glory. The original home of his people, a place they pledged not to return to for reasons that escaped him at the moment. He contrasted it to the world he knew; a world that was hard and harsh and cruel. It was an inhospitable space rock, desolate and merciless. It provided his people with no comfort or succor. They had clawed and fought their way to a meager existence on that little planet, fighting an unending battle merely to survive. But this world, it teemed with life, with endless possibilities.

He stepped further away from the ship, Zara right beside him. He turned to her. "Let us go," he said simply. "We have much to do."

********

"There's too much to do!" Lois exclaimed. "Why aren't we eloping?" she asked him with that plaintive tone that made him want to do whatever it was she commanded.

He smiled as he placed his arm around her and surveyed the mess that had taken over his living room since the wedding preparations had begun. This was only the secondary mess, the primary mess was somewhat contained at Lois's place. This was the spillover. "Because a wedding with all of our friends and family will be more fun," he tried to reassure her. "Besides, if we eloped, your mother would kill both of us."

"You're invulnerable," she grumbled.

"You think that would prevent your mother from killing me?" he asked with an arched brow. She elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey!" He feigned indignation. She leaned over and kissed him and he forgot what he was supposed to be indignant about.

It started as the merest whisper of a kiss, but her arms were soon around his neck, her hands in his hair. He groaned as he wrapped his arms around her, effortlessly pulling her into his lap. He could feel her smile against his lips and then she started kissing a slow trail to his chin and along his jaw, finally pulling his earlobe between her lips. He moaned, feeling as if every invulnerable nerve ending in his body was suddenly on fire. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he whispered breathlessly.

"If it's anywhere near as much as I love you, I'm the luckiest woman in the world," she whispered in his ear. He held her even more tightly and kissed her again. His hands trailed down her back and came to rest on either side of her slender waist. His fingers slipped under the hem of her blouse to brush against warm skin. She arched her back pressing her body against his. He more felt than heard her sigh. The sigh turned into a groan of frustration, though, when the phone began to ring. He glanced at the cursed phone and could see Lois giving him a look that plainly said 'don't answer it.'

He answered the phone reluctantly. "Hello? Hi, Ellen...no...it's good to hear from you, too...yes she's here..." Clark ignored the fact that Lois was vigorously shaking her head. He placed his hand over the receiver and held the phone out for Lois.

"How does she know I'm here?" Lois whispered.

"She said she tried you at home and called your cell and your pager and then she thought she'd try here," Clark replied. With a dour look, Lois took the proffered phone. Clark eased himself off the sofa and headed toward the kitchen, easily ducking the pillow Lois threw at him.

"No, Mother, the seating arrangements are done...no, we can't redo them..." He could hear the frustration in his fiancée's voice as she battled with his soon to be mother in law. He figured now would be as good a time as any to break out the triple chocolate chip fudge brownie ice cream and the Lethal Weapon movies he'd rented. He grabbed the carton of ice cream, a couple of spoons and the videos and headed back into the living room.

"Yes, the flowers have all been taken care of...everything has been taken care of, I promise... I'll talk to you tomorrow, when we have lunch with the coordinator, all right? No, I can't, Mother, I'm sorry, I have to go, Clark needs help with something..." Clark grinned at her as he placed his peace offerings on an empty corner of the coffee table. "Goodbye, Mother." Lois hung up the phone and threw another couch pillow at Clark, which he managed to catch.

"Hey!"

"Hey, yourself, buddy," she replied. "It serves you right for that."

"Well, then maybe I won't share the ice cream I brought," he replied with mock petulance.

"Yeah, well if I eat any of it, there's no way I'll be able to fit into my dress on Saturday."

Clark took the lid off the carton and dug one of the spoons into the ice cream. He flopped down on the couch beside Lois and stuck the spoon in his mouth. Chocolate was nice, but it was just another junk food as far as he was concerned. Lois, on the other hand, seemed to live and die by the stuff. There was no reason he couldn't have a little fun with that, was there? He dug the spoon into the carton again and could see Lois watching him out of the corner of his eye. He relented and held the spoon full of ice cream out for her. She accepted the peace offering and closed her eyes and sighed dreamily; his fiancée could make chocolate ice cream an event. Her eyes still closed, he took the opportunity to steal a kiss.

"Ready for another round?" he asked as he stuck the spoon back in the carton.

She hesitated. "Maybe just one more."

"Close your eyes," he instructed. She did as he asked and he leaned over... and hit her with the pillow she'd thrown at him earlier.

"Clark!" she exclaimed as she lunged at him. She knocked him back against the couch cushions and pinned him there. "I'm going to get you for that, Clark Kent," she said as she jabbed a finger in his chest.

He stilled her hands with his and kissed her again. "I'm looking forward to it," he replied. "We should start the movie before we get distracted again and all that ice cream melts."

Lois arched a brow as she looked down at him. "What's wrong with being distracted?"

"Everything...nothing..." He kissed her again. "How much longer 'til the wedding?"

"A week," she replied. "Seven unbearably long days."

"You're right, we should elope," he said before kissing her again.

********

Zara and Ching walked through the crowded streets of Metropolis, trying to take in the myriad sights and sounds without looking too out of place. Though they did not know it, they were fortunate that Metropolis drew so many tourists and so they looked like any other wide-eyed visitors to the city.

"You shouldn't walk behind me, Ching," Zara chastised him; using the English they'd practiced on the long journey to Earth. Ching obligingly walked beside her, shaking off his usual habit.

"It's amazing," he said quietly. "All of these people going about their lives, taking for granted how incredible their world is."

"Then we should start behaving as though we take it for granted, too," Zara replied. She paused.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Communicator," she replied. She removed the small device from her pocket and held it up to her ear. At a glance, she could have passed for any other person talking into a cell phone. She whispered harshly into the communicator and frowned. After a long moment, she terminated the transmission.

"What's wrong?" Ching asked.

"Nor has found out about our mission, his supporters are claiming that we're committing treason. New Krypton is on the brink of civil war."

"Then we've little time to test Kal El and determine whether he is worthy," Ching mused.

Zara frowned. "You said yourself that he uses his powers here to help others and asks for nothing in return. Let us hope that is an accurate testament to his character. What else have you learned about him?"

"He's regarded as a god in this world," Ching replied. "Defender of the innocent and all that. He could rule them, but he chooses not to."

"Do you fault him for that?" Zara asked.

"It means he is untested as a leader," Ching answered.

"Does it? He could enforce his will on these people, but does not. There is strength of character in that, Ching."

"In this world, yes. In ours, he will have to lead. He will have to make difficult decisions; decisions that will cost people their lives. He is untested," Ching maintained. "We must determine what personal sacrifices he is willing to make, if he will give up this comfortable life of his for the greater good."

********

Clark found himself in a particularly good mood as he stepped out of the elevator and into the newsroom the following morning. He looked around the bullpen but didn't see Lois anywhere. It was a Sunday, but they were both planning on spending the morning at work. A quick glance at her desk told him that she'd already been there this morning. She was probably out chasing a lead, he mused. He hoped that she'd be back by lunch; there was no way he would be able to stay awake through a meeting with the wedding coordinator and his future mother in law without her. With Lois present, there was no question of whether he'd be able to stay awake, only whether he'd be able to keep the peace.

Trying not to dwell on a lunch spent discussing seating arrangements for the rehearsal dinner, he made his way to his desk and turned on his computer.

"Clark Kent," an unfamiliar voice called. He looked around, but already knew that the voice was not coming from the newsroom. "Clark Kent, I am speaking to you on a frequency only you can hear. You'd do your best to come find me if you do not want the world to know that you are, in fact, Superman."

"Not again," Clark muttered through gritted teeth as he raced toward the elevator.

********

Superman flew high above Metropolis, attempting to find the source of the transmission. He scanned the city below him, keeping an ear out for further messages. After several long minutes, he found the source of his problem: a patch into a local broadcast antenna on top of a skyscraper was transmitting the message. He scanned the building and found his culprit in the basement of the building. A rather irritated Superman made his way into the building and into the basement. He pried open the locked door to the broadcast room in which the overzealous radio pirate was hiding.

"Took you long enough," the man taunted, his back to the superhero as he focused on the controls in front of him.

"What do you want?" Superman demanded impatiently.

"To broadcast this into every home in America." The man jabbed a button on the console and the bank of monitors in front of him all began to show a montage of shots from video that had clearly been taken of Clark's apartment that morning. There were clips of him showering and dressing at superspeed and shaving with his heat vision. A muscle in Clark's jaw twitched as he watched the tape. How had he managed to bug his apartment?

The man turned around slowly in his swivel chair. He sneered at the superhero. "You're free to stop me of course, but I don't think you will, because of this." At that moment, all the monitors switched from showing Clark going about his rather unusual routine to displaying footage of a little girl, shaking with tears streaming down her face. She was strapped to explosives in a large, dark, nondescript location. A large timer on the bomb counted down the seconds on the clock. Only a few minutes remained.

"The clock in the background there is accurate," the man explained calmly. Clark noticed the wall clock behind the little girl. "This is live and in real time, Clark. Save her, or stop me..." Before he could finish, Clark had already left in a colorful blur.

Ching calmly removed his communicator from his pocket. "Kal El is on his way," he said quietly before terminating the transmission. He removed the videocassette of Clark in his apartment and crushed it to dust in his fist before leaving the room.

********

A sense of panic welled up inside him as he flew over the city once again. He focused on the videotape. A faint amount of sunlight had been streaming in through the windows high up on the wall behind the little girl. The size of the room suggested that it was a warehouse and with an unobstructed eastern exposure. There were two major parts of the city with warehouses, the docks on Hobbs Bay and the garment district of West River. The West River warehouses were in the shadows of much taller buildings to the east and wouldn't get much sunlight. He tried to remember if he could hear anything in the background of the videotape, any sound that could give him a clue of where to go. He couldn't remember anything other than the ticking of the timer. That incessant ticking that was now echoing in his ears. He had to hurry. It's odd, syncopated rhythm reverberated in his skull. Syncopated? The timer's sound should have been steady, not syncopated. That was it! Muffled by the timer was the sound of the Hobb's Bay bridge gate guard siren. He raced toward the bay at full speed.

Once the warehouses were in sight, it took only a few seconds to find the right one. He burst into the warehouse with a spare ten seconds remaining on the timer. He raced toward the little girl, paralyzed with shock only to have her and the bomb disappear as soon as he reached them.

"You!" he seethed as he looked up at the same man who had been in the radio station.

The man paced in front of him , a condescending sneer on his face. "Not bad, Superman," he egged Clark on. "So there was no bomb," he said with a shrug. "It was just a hologram, the best money can buy, though. I think you'll find that what's behind door number two isn't a hologram." The man stopped in front of the thick cinderblock inner wall of the warehouse and it too melted away like the little girl and the bomb.

Clark started for him but stopped as soon as he saw what was hidden behind the fake wall. "Lois," he gasped. She was tied to a chair, her arms bound behind her, but she seemed unharmed. Why hadn't he been able to see through the holograms?

"I think that you'll find that she's quite real," the man said coldly as he held a gun to Lois's neck.

"Superman, get out of here!" Lois yelled.

"Tsk, tsk," the man chided. "Bait doesn't get to talk." Keeping the gun trained on Lois, he took a step back.

Immediately, Clark raced toward her, if he beat the bullet out of the barrel, they would be fine. Instead he found himself repelled by a wave of searing pain. He was knocked, back, caught off guard. The man cocked the hammer on the gun. "Kryptonite, I believe you call it," he explained. "Well, a synthetic, in any event. That's a Kryptonite field surrounding her. You can't pass through it. The bullet, I assure you, can. "

"Superman, no!" Lois yelled again.

Clark lunged toward her just as the man squeezed the trigger. He threw himself in the path of the bullet, passing into the Kryptonite field. The agonizing pain washed over him as he waited for the bullet's impact, hoping that he'd be able to protect Lois, but there was nothing.

No bullet.

Clark collapsed to the ground inside the Kryptonite field, his body tensing up in pain. A wave of nausea crashed down on him. He heard Lois call his name as she struggled to free herself, but it sounded like she was a million miles away. He tried to call to her, but could only cough.

"That's enough," an unfamiliar voice in the distance yelled. Then the pain was gone.

"You!" Clark choked out as he lunged at the man with the gun. The gunman easily stepped to the side, causing Clark to fall unceremoniously to the ground.

"I am sorry, Kal El," the gunman said. "I truly am."

Clark stared up at him in confusion.

"Untie her at once, Ching," a woman's voice from who knew where commanded. The man in front of Clark promptly began untying Lois.

"Kal El, we mean you no harm," the woman's voice repeated, but he realized it was coming from behind him. He struggled to his knees and slowly turned to look at her.

"Don't call me that," he said harshly. "And who the hell do you think you are?"

"Superman!" Lois yelled to him as she raced to his side. He turned to look at her and was rewarded with another bout of nausea. Lois helped him stand as he continued to stare down the woman in front of him.

"I apologize for our behavior, Clark," the woman continued. "But we had to know if you were ready." The woman took a step toward them.

Lois put herself between the other woman and Clark. Her fiancé was still leaning against her for support. "Stay away from him," she growled, barely restraining her own anger. Clark placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him, concern evident in her eyes, with a gentle look, he wordlessly communicated that he was all right and she seemed mollified.

"Lois, this does not concern you," Ching said simply.

"Ching," Zara said reproachfully. She turned back to Lois and Clark. "We are sorry for the pain we caused you, but you were never in any danger. The gun was unloaded and Ching destroyed the videotape. This was a test."

"A test?" Lois spat.

"We had to know if Kal El was ready," Ching explained unhelpfully as he moved to stand beside Zara.

"We heard that part already," Lois shot back.

"My name is Zara, of the House of Ra, of New Krypton," Zara continued.

"What?" Clark gasped.

"We come seeking your help, Kal El," Ching added with a deep bow. "You have shown a willingness to jeopardize your own life for others, you are worthy."

"With all due respect, and it's not a whole lot, of all the people in this room whose worth might be in question, Kal El isn't one of them," Lois retorted. "Can you walk?" she asked Clark quietly. He nodded. Needing only the slightest amount of support, he walked with Lois toward the door.

"Be that as it may we had to know," Ching replied, blocking their exit. "Our world needs you Kal El. It needs you to be our leader."

"So you try to kill me?" Clark asked him incredulously, still trying to shake off the dizziness from the Kryptonite.

"You passed our tests. You proved your worth. We had to know if you were equal to the challenge, there was no other way," Ching replied unrepentantly.

"Whoever you are, you are not Kryptonians, they're all dead," Clark said.

"Wrong," Zara replied. "Not everyone perished when Krypton exploded. We can prove it to you." She produced a globe, much like the one Clark had found with his ship. It glowed as it hovered a few inches above her hand. She reached her hand toward him and the globe floated just above it. "Take it," she said.

Hesitantly, Clark took the globe in his own hand. It flashed a brilliant white and suddenly a rapid series of images filled his mind - images of a dying world, of families being separated, of transports leaving a doomed planet, of the survivors arriving on their new home: a dark, desolate rock spinning off in space. He could feel the fear, the panic, and the sadness. With another brilliant flash it ended.

"What is it, are you all right?" Lois asked, the concern plain in her voice.

"I don't think they're lying," Clark replied quietly. He turned toward the two strangers. "What if I say I believe you?"

"Then we have much to show you, Kal El," Zara replied.