Clark stood out in the farm, helping out his mother Martha Kent with the farm work. She had often found it difficult to manage the place when Clark was a teenager, but back then she had her son and her husband to help her. But now things were different for Martha Kent, she was nearing ninety years of age, and Clark was well into his forties, he wiped his hands clean from fixing the tractor.
"Well, that's the tractor done, I don't see why you get a new one, you have enough money for it, not to mention for help around the place."
"Huh?" Martha said, looking at her foster son, her hearing was disappearing, very unlike her son who's was well, let's just say very good.
"I said why don't you get some help Ma? I like helping out every now and again but I can't really do it all the time, people need me." Clark didn't like to post like that, but it was the truth, his mother looked down on the floor.
"Oh, well I don't really know. It just wouldn't feel right having this place being planted by someone else, other then your father, or you."
"Well, I'm sure I could get Chris to help out....I did tell you that me and him have, well, sorted our stuff out."
"Of course you did dear, my memory isn't that bad!" She gave out a slight laugh, her son joined with the laughter. Clark looked round the Kent family farm with his microscopic vision, eye balling each part of the green grass, using his heat vision he trimmed down each part of it with precision.
"Ma, I'm just about to get some coffee would you like some?", "No I'm alright dear!"
He walked into the kitchen and turned on the kettle, getting one coffee mug out from the drawers and placing it on the table, he soon turned around to see the doorbell ring, putting the mug down on the table he walked along to the door way, and to his surprise saw someone very familiar.
"Lana!?" He said shocked, twenty years since he last saw her, she had aged and her hair gaining more gray but she was still the same woman Clark was in love with all those years ago, Lana Lang.
"After all this time, why do you never use your x-ray vision?" They both smiled, twenty years and she still had the same good sense of humor. "Please come in? Take a seat!" He said opening the door wide open, before shutting it and following her to the kitchen.
"Lana, it's so good to see you again." He said, smiling she looked good, and not just for her age, growing naturally, she turned around the smile even bigger on her face. "Same her Clark."
They starred at each other for a while, before Clark broke the ice. "Listen, Lana I'm sorry for not calling sooner...it's just that well, I haven't been in Smallville, well ha, I haven't been on EARTH! For a while either and...." "It's okay Clark, I understand." She said.
"I almost forgot, Ma's out back, let me get her inside for a second." He said walking to the outside, and towards his mother. "Ma, Lana's inside would you like to say hello to her?"
"Lana Lang? Oh I don't know, not yet Clark. Let me just admire the sunset for a few moments, then I'll say hello."
"Umm okay Ma." Walking back to Lana the coffees were ready and he picked them up and carried them to her, "Here you go."
"Thanks." She said, taking a sip. "Wow, it's been so long, tell me what's been happening with you? How's Pete?"
She looked on the table, closing her eyes. "Pete passed away a couple years after D-Day, Clark." "Oh! I'm so sorry.."
The words hit Clark straight into his chest, he could change the course of mighty rivers, deflect bullets off his chest, but nothing pained the man of steel more then the death of a loved one.
"It's okay. I still had Joel with me to keep me company I needed."
"You had a son?" Clark said, feeling the mistake of isolation of 20 years "Yeah, he was born around the time Pete died, he's at University for the performing arts in New York, I'm proud of him and hopefully will see him being a successful actor, or writer."
"How's Chris-" She said, almost instantly regretting that question, and the fact that Clark might just not appreciate it but before she could mutter the words I'm sorry, he came to the rescue and simply said. "He's doing fine, got a job at the Star and well, has the same "advantages" that his father has." Lana smiled, extremely relived.
"That's great." She said smiling, they stared at each other, and looking down on their cups of coffee before Lana finally went. "Twenty years, my god Clark. When was the last time we spoke?"
"Well..."
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20 Years Ago, Metropolis, Clark and Lois Kent's apartment:
I wouldn't forget it, You, me, Lois and Pete were having dinner, Chris was in his bedroom sleeping in his room sound asleep, we held our annual reunions, although Lois always got a little edgy around you for some reason, I don't know why, you two still got on pretty well. Lois prepared a potato salad, everyone else knows she wasn't the best cook in the world but oh well. We chatted about casual things, Pete still hadn't figured out my double life and no one would tell him.
Pete was telling us a story, I can't remember what about but I was enjoying it and half way through, my beeper went off.
"Oh no..." I said, looking at my beeper in alarm. "I am so sorry guys I've got to take this, Perry just called and some major news story has come up.." I said it was from the planet, but it was the JLA. Something urgent came up, Br-, Batman called me so I knew something had happened.
"It's alright Clark, me and Lana will still be in the city so we can meet up tomorrow morning?"
"Sure Pete, I'd love to!" I said, unfourtuneltly it didn't happen and I walked out my front door and ran into the fire escape, changed into my costume and flew to Watchtower, inside I saw Wally, I mean the Flash running around like crazy.
"Wally!" I said screaming, "What's going on!?" The silence in his voice gave me the suggestion that something serious was about to happen. "I wish I could joke this time Big Blue, but...." He pointed outside to a site that I'd never expect to see, hundreds upon hundreds of battle ships were coming, I knew this would be the end if we didn't act now, he simply broke it down for me.
"........Darkseid is here!"