Chapter 20
Crashdown Backroom
Kyle waited for Jim to descend the stairs before he turned around. His father was not happy in the slightest, the veins on his neck threatened to burst as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. "Dad--how could--okay I know our family isn't the most open, hell we purposely avoid speaking about anything negative in our lives but you should have told me what I am...what you were." He scratched at his neck.
"I know son but now is not the--"
"No it is the perfect time to get into this. Not telling Liz is one thing but I'm your son, you should have told me." Suddenly an unpleasant thought entered into his mind. "God, are you even my father? Was I some weird Kryptonian experiment that you were in charge of?"
"Of course I'm your father. And you are my son by blood. Wouldn't matter if you were an experiment anyway you'd still be my son. Michelle, your mother, is also Kryptonian, when we came down to Earth to protect Liz and Clark she was pregnant." He'd never told anybody that it felt good to let his son in finally. "A Kryptonian pregnancy takes almost two years, now because Liz and Clark's biological parents wouldn't send their children down to any planet unprotected they sent us four years before they arrived."
"Where's Mom now?"
"Smallville, Kansas. She implanted her image and fake memories into the majority of the town, even made a family believe that she was their daughter and sister. That’s her strongest power, implanting things in people's heads." A note a pride could be heard in his voice.
Kyle thought for a moment. "So it's kind of like Tess's mind-warping power?"
"Yes and no. Tess has very little power compared to Michelle. Where Tess can only manipulate a couple of people's minds for a few minutes, Michelle can deeply imbed images, memories, and emotions, almost anything and keep it there till she removes it. And it's not a drain on her powers as time goes on. The function however is fairly similar." Jim explained.
Kyle plopped down on the couch in the breakroom. He never expected a tale like that. Did he believe his father--hell yes, what other choice was there? Sure he could deny everything his father said was true but than he'd be in denial. Too many things have happened to him and the people around him for him to bury his head in the sand. "What did you mean by this is tradition? What's tradition?"
"Because you're from a family of Protectors it's your job to become a Protector too. Liz was my charge and now she's yours. Even now I can feel my connection to her fading." Seeing his confusion Jim elaborated. "I had to know if she was all right even if I wasn't around. Ever wondered why I was so interested in Max Evans after Liz started dating him? I had to be sure he didn't hurt her--in anyway.”
“Being her Protector was both an honor and a curse. Honor because I was guarding one of the last few living Kryptonians and a curse because our family was torn apart. You grew up without your mother; I've lived over a decade without my wife. It hasn't been easy for me and it won't be easy for you..."
"Dad you're sucking all the fun out of being an alien." He teased. Reluctantly he stood, "We need to tell the other's this."
"Can you feel Liz getting antsy?"
"Big time. There's calmness attached to it too though. What's that about?"
"Probably Clark. Mates tend to send feelings back and forth. If one's feeling scared the other will send reassuring vibes to them, if they're feeling sad they send happy vibes. Kryptonian Mates are very connected and it's almost if not completely impossible to tear them apart."
Upstairs
"Liz?" Still no response. "Liz!?" Jeff rose his voice but still wasn't getting through to her. "Elizabeth Claudia Parker." That got her attention.
"Yes Daddy?" She opened her eyes and rose her head from Clark's chest. When Jim and Kyle went downstairs she closed her eyes to rest for a few minutes. She was so tired; mating with her mate tended to tucker a girl out. Not that she minded.
"Before Kyle and Jim return where were you and Clark this afternoon? Why were you so late?" He knew they'd already been asked this question before but he hoped Liz hadn't heard Clark's answer. That boy wasn't telling the whole truth and he didn't like that, not one bit.
"The mall, and when we found out we were the same species we got to talking. Kind of lost track of time. We would have called Dad really but we forgot too."
Liz was lying; she was lying to him again. Why was it that when a boy was involved she resorted to lying? First with Kyle she lied about his father being home one evening. Than with Max it was one lie after the other. He could hardly keep them straight. And now with Clark she wasn't being truthful. Liz gave herself away when she wouldn't look at him in the eye; she wasn't biting her lip so there was some ring of truth to her story but very little. For now he'd let it go, they had more important issues to deal with but he would not let the lying go on forever.
Jim and Kyle's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Finally maybe now they'd get some answers. Nancy gripped her glass filled with vodka--what did you think she was kidding about that--and waited impatiently for the father and son to take their seats and begin the information sharing.
"Clark, Liz do you know who your biological parents are?" One nodded yes, the other shook their head no. "Okay, Clark, as you know your natural parents were the rulers of our planet, Jor-El and Lara. Lara was kind and generous while Jor-El resorted to other means. He wasn't a bad ruler, in fact he was quite good, his method's however were not the friendliest. Your mother and father created the perfect balance, she was there to stop him from going to far and he was there to be the back bone that she at times lacked."
"Now Liz, your mother was named Darapha--Kyle I'm sure you saw her--" He nodded and let Dad continue. "She was a scientist, it was her job to figure out who was mated to each other. It was also common for her to be apart of the experiments held on our planet. While your father Myr-ra was a liaison for our planet. He went to various planets--Antar being one--and spoke on behalf of Jor-El and Lara. For a good ten years our planet's scientist knew Krypton was going to explode in the near future. No one believed them--except Kal-El’s parents and small pockets of people. Darapha spoke to Jor-El and pleaded with him to send scouts to other planets similar to our own so our people could survive. Jor-El listened...to some extent."
"Jor-El kept the information from his people, he did send a few people out to various planets many light years away that resembled our atmosphere. Earth was one of them, Antar another. Since Earthlings weren't aware that other intelligent life forms existed outside of themselves it was important our ships remain cloaked. There had already been one incident years earlier with the Antarian Royal Four's ship we certainly didn't need an incident with Krypton's." Jim explained.
"How old are we? Are we really sixteen?" Clark asked.
"In Earth years yes. However in Kryptonian no. Roughly your and Liz's correct age is somewhere between nineteen and twenty-two. Our planet rotates a couple months faster than Earth but since our people age much slower it doesn't effect us much. On this planet unless something unforeseeable happens, you'll both live to be well into your four-hundreds."
"Okay, how is that possible?" Jonathan spoke up. "How could you not have over-populated your planet with that long to live?"
"Who said we didn't?" Jim cryptically answered. "We weren't without our predators. We had creatures that could kill us, diseases that could eat us from the inside out; many of the same concerns Earthlings have here. The only difference is we live longer naturally and unnaturally." Seeing their confused expressions he explained further. "Naturally we live a total of two-hundred years, however with our years of technology and testing we can now live up to four-hundred."
"But we're not on Krypton, wouldn't that mean we won't have access to this technology that makes us live longer?" While Liz wasn't sure how comfortable she'd be living so long that all her loved ones die she couldn't help but be intrigued by the possibility.
"Don't worry about that. All babies while in the womb are given the concoction to further their life-span." Noticing they didn't have anymore questions right now he continued with his story. "When our soldiers sent word back to Jor-El that certain planets would be ideal to send their people to he spoke with Lara. By that time she was pregnant with Kal-El, you Clark. So they waited, not long, but long enough for your mate, Livara, to be born."
Liz played with Clark's fingers, unlacing and lacing them together. "How did they know that I'd be born? How did they know that I was his mate?"
"The Hylena--or Oracle whichever you prefer. It's usually a she, sometimes there's an oops if you will and a male becomes an Hylena."
"An 'oops'?" Jeff rose an eyebrow.
"When a male receives the Hylena gifts it's not exactly a great thing, for one most men can't handle the gift, something with their brains not being able to take the constant visions. And other males would look down on him, mind powers are supposed to be a females gift, when a male receives them it's a disgrace. Anyway, the Hylena gave word to the King and Queen that Kal-El's mate would be conceived within three months and she was.”
“It was then my wife and myself were sent to Earth to make sure we would be here when you arrived. Jsynria, when we first arrived on Earth she called herself Michelle, was sent to watch and protect you Clark, while I was sent to watch and protect Liz. At that time she was already pregnant with Kyle. Now since we were sent here I don't know much of what went on in that last year and half that our planet lived but I know that we got word both of you would be sent to Earth within the day. Only a few hours later as you and Liz were hurdling toward Earth, Krypton exploded, with most of our people still there, completely clueless."
"If my protector was supposed to be watching me then who is she? Since Liz knows you I would assume it'd be someone I know but I can't think of anyone who might fit the bill." Clark asked. So much information he had to learn, he had so many questions. He only hoped Jim would be able to answer them.
"She lives in Smallville and now goes by the name Nell Potter. And she takes care of her niece Lana Lang."
TBC
A.N. I couldn’t remember Nell’s last name for the life of me so I made up my own. If it’s right great, if not that’s all right too.
