Focus! (Super Lana 26)
DJ Dubois
March 2007

Rating: T (Teen)

Notes: Smallville belongs to DC and the WB. All other characters are of my own creation. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .



Chapter 1 [mid-July—about ten days following “Fireworks!”]

[Kent Farm]

The sun shone down on the western Kansas prairie on that mid-July day. While some black clouds in the western sky and a slight breeze betrayed the possibility of a thunderstorm and/or a cyclone later in the day, the morning offered a few pleasant hours at least.

Perhaps because of that fact, Clark had helped his father to finish with the fence along the west forty. Other than chores and Lana’s work shifts, he’d spent as much time with his wife as he could manage. He knew the animals would need to be fed at some point. Best do it before it rains.

Kal-El, we need to talk, Jor-El indicated.

He frowned, recalling the spirit’s constant reminders about their training. [“What is it?”]

It—as you put it, Kal-El, concerns your preparedness to deal with your responsibilities. I wish to speak with you and Lana after you both complete your Earth duties this afternoon. With that, he went silent.

Terrific. Clark shook his head while heading toward the barn and the animals.


****


[Talon]

Lana finished handing out an order of coffees to a group in a corner booth. As she watched them chatter away mindlessly, she recalled some of what it was like to be “normal”—that is before she confronted Jor-El and gained Kryptonian powers. What do normal couples do? She glanced at her wedding ring and shrugged. I wouldn’t trade Clark for anyone but they seem to have it so easy. They don’t have to train and all of that.

They don’t have the responsibilities of a Kryptonian consort, Lana, Jor-El pointed out.

[“Hi, Jor-El, did we miss another training session?”] she wondered guessing that the spirit was upset that she and Clark hadn’t been doing their usual exercises.

Yes. I would like to speak to you when your responsibilities are over. Meet Kal-El at the cave.

After the spirit had gone quiet, she sighed. That is what it’s about. She frowned. Don’t we have a right to time for ourselves?

“Hey, Lana,” Chloe greeted while walking over to her side. “You look like the bottom’s about to drop out of the profits. What’s up?”

“Hi, Chloe. It’s nothing really. How are the wedding plans coming?” Lana asked.

The reporter arched her eyebrow, not buying the obvious lie. Now what? “They’re going. Lex and I still can’t decide on a date. I wish we could elope but he’d never go along with it.”

“That goes for Clark and me as well,” the manager indicated. “I can’t imagine Lex wouldn’t arrange for the perfect wedding.”

“He’s doing that. Sorry, Lana, it’s just nerves, I guess.” Chloe grinned anxiously. “He’s pushing me to get fitted for a fairy princess dress of some kind. I can’t wait.” She looked around to make sure everyone was out of earshot. “Any further word on our mystery creep?”

“None. I wish everyone would chill out about that,” Lana retorted somewhat sharply. “They say it’ll take place in December. If it does, we’ve got plenty of time.”

“Lana, that creep meant business when he, it or whatever threatened Lex and me,” Chloe urged. “I think you and Clark should take that seriously.” She turned white.

Lana rubbed her shoulder. “We do, Chloe, believe me. It’s just trying to balance work with training and time for ourselves isn’t easy. We won’t let anything happen to you both.”

“I know you’ll do your best but well—maybe take a little extra time?” Chloe suggested as she finished her coffee and set the cup on the counter. “Responsibility’s Hell, isn’t it?”

“It’s that, all right,” the super teen concurred. “I’d like to talk some more if that’s okay? Thanks.”

Chloe smirked at her. “Count on it.” With that, she left the restaurant.

At least she’s on our side. I still wish that life would get easier! With that, Lana went back to clearing tables and refilling coffee. It was another three hours before she got off of her shift.



Chapter 2 [Several hours later]

After finishing her shift, Lana ran back to the farm. While she knew that Jor-El would want to see her and Clark in short order, she also wanted to check on things around the place as well. Where is he? She focused, feeling him at the caves.

Before she could hurry there, Martha stuck her head out the door. “Got a minute, Lana?”

“Sure, Mom,” the younger woman agreed while coming over. “What’s going on?”

“I was wondering how you were holding up. We haven’t had much time to talk since you and Clark got back from the other universe,” Martha pointed out.

Lana sighed, feeling embarrassed by her neglect. “Sorry. Talon’s been busy and Jor-El’s obsessed about something.”

The older woman nodded. “And with good reason. It’s been over twenty years, Lana, but I still remember Dr. Dubois’ fight with that mystery prowler. Clark and you should take this threat seriously.”

Lana frowned. “We are, Mom. It just seems that the whole thing never stops. Every day’s another bad guy wanting to fight. I would just like to enjoy life with Clark, you and Dad. We keep this place going and everything just falls into place.”

Martha smiled warmly at her daughter-in-law, cherishing the thought. “You have no idea how much we all want that. But the world doesn’t work that way.”

Lana conceded, “I know. These responsibilities can stink sometimes. Speaking of which, I need to get over to the caves. Clark and I should be back soon.” With that, she ran off at super speed.

Keep a balance between all things, Lana. With that, Martha returned to her work in the kitchen.


****


[Central Chamber, Cowache Caves]

Clark glanced about his father’s chamber, studying the pictographs on the walls. Ever since he had discovered them during sophomore year, he’d continuously wondered how much more about Krypton there was to know.

Ask whatever question you wish, my Son, Jor-El advised.

Clark shrugged, not wanting to ask the question until Lana arrived. Seeing her speed to a stop in front of him, he turned to his father’s spirit. [“Why is it that you think we’re not trying hard enough with our gifts?”]

There is so much more that you both can do, Kal-El. One should maximize his or her potential in all regards, Jor-El replied while raising an arm-like appendage to the back of the chamber. Look there, my Children. There are the answers you seek.

The super teens walked over to the designated spot to find a new crevice had opened. There they found a new row of pictures including a shadowy figure, the familiar figure eight symbol and another dark creature with red eyes.

[“That’s like the mark on my hand!”] she realized.

It is the same. The wizard will return and he will not be alone. The Protector knows this.

The two teens stared incredulously at him.

The marking on Lana’s hand denotes her family’s curse. You both will meet her ancestor—which one, I cannot say.

[“Dealing with Isobel’s garbage once was enough for me,”] Clark declared.

But that was the other universe. Here, our troubles await us and our friends. Jor-El floated silently about the room as if contemplating some deeper truth. You will need to be stronger—both of you. His eyes glowed. Relax. I wish to show you something.

Around them, the entire chamber blurred out of focus.



****


[Jor-El’s Mindscape]

Clark and Lana blinked to find that they were no longer in the cave…or anywhere on Earth for that matter.

Around them, men and women wearing sci-fi-ish clothes hustled toward their hover cars.

The cobblestones under their feet and the uniquely designed skyscrapers resembled the ones they had seen on Kandor.

[“Are we back in the other universe?”] she wondered.

No, Lana. Jor-El appeared in front of them as an older version of Clark. This is Krypton—at least it is the way I recall it. What you two saw on the planet known as Kandor is quite similar. He looked around, soaking in the memories as they echoed across his consciousness. This is your heritage, my Children.

[“This looks so much like Ror-El’s world,”] Clark assumed.

[“He is our….I mean, the other Clark and Lana’s descendant, Clark,”] she pointed out. [“Why isn’t anyone talking?”]

As we are doing, Lana, Kryptonians commune telepathically. Some even have the ability to share memories or mental images and landscapes as we are doing right now. In this way, we can be each other’s eyes, allowing those around us to witness things from far away.

[“But it seems so real!”] Clark doubted.

It *was*, Kal-El. But enough for now….. He focused once again, causing the backdrop to go dark.


****


[Caves]

When their eyes could focus again, they found themselves back in the Caves again.

This is what we Kryptonians can do when we put our minds to it.

[“We can?”] the two teens queried, feeling flabbergasted by the revelation.

If you work at it, yes. Speak to David Dubois about this. In the meantime, continue to practice. With that, the spirit vanished.

“Terrific,” Clark sighed while scratching his head. “Another new ability.”

“You heard him. I guess Miri’s uncle is someone to work with,” she presumed. “Let’s see what he can tell us.”



Chapter 3 [Talon]

Lex sipped on a cup of coffee and studied the restaurant’s ledgers for the previous month. With Jasmine’s help, the Board voted the recommended expansion through. Besides the fact that the expanding profits warranted it, everyone knew how much reopening the old theater would mean to Lana.

“Hey, Luthor,” Chloe greeted while sliding into the booth opposite to him.

He smirked. “Leave it to you to horn in, huh?”

“Fiancée’s privilege, Lex,” she cracked while kissing his cheek. “You wouldn’t be thinking of closing down my main source of sustenance, would you?”

“And deal with you afterwards? Perish the thought, Dear,” he retorted.

“Smart boy,” she concurred. “Place seems busy enough.”

“It’s been doing really well. Relax, Sullivan, you’ve got nothing to fear. In fact, you could have a scoop to take to the Ledger really soon.” He grinned at her.

“Oh? You wouldn’t be keeping me in suspense? That, Lex, isn’t smart,” she informed him.

“Patience is a virtue,” he quipped while kissing her cheek. Glancing toward the back door, he noticed that the back door was open. “What the?”

“Where does that go?” she wondered.

“The old theater,” he replied. “Be right back. Watch the books.” He took his coffee and crossed the room toward the old seating area. As he entered the old musty area, his mind swam with the memories of youth. He remembered the glorious night where Dave reaminated the entire building with his original poetic verse. Mom knew what she was doing.

Hearing a creak behind himself, he wheeled around to find the Hazel Fury standing there. “Chloe! Damn it!”

“Chill out, Lex. It’s okay,” she assured him. “What’s got you so wired up?”

“Just the fact that this place should be locked up.” He crept further into the arena, feeling the echoing space around them.

“Lex, we’ve been in here before. So what,” she rebutted.

“It’s not just a place for movies, Chloe. It’s about dreams,” he declared while spreading his arms wide. “As a friend of ours once said, the boards and seats can tell us about everyone who’s passed through here.”

“Who’s up in front?” she asked while snapping the light switch to their left.

Dave looked up from a stack of papers he was reading. “If you want to know, Chloe, come down.”

“I thought as much but I wanted to be sure,” Lex informed them.

“Given the history of this place, you have every right to be cautious,” the medievalist agreed while holding up his hand.

Both his and Lex’s scars glowed softly in the dim lighting.

She shivered, recalling the scanty details which the others had told her about this place.

“Nothing here that’s going to hurt you at the moment…besides bad poems that is,” Dave assured her.

“Trust me, Dave, your poetry’s not bad,” the billionaire disagreed. “In fact, I was thinking of having you do another reading at the rededication.”

“Why not?” Dave shrugged. “I have some new stuff that I’ve been working on lately. With everything else we’re dealing with, I could use an outlet.” He quirked his eyebrow. “Speaking of which, can you excuse me? Something’s come up.” He collected his papers and thrust them into his satchel before rushing out the door.

“Now what?” she inquired.

“Let’s hope it’s just April or the kids,” he answered. Now what?

****


[the Café]

Clark and Lana rushed into the café, looking for the professor. While they knew he was around, they could tell exactly where he was.

“Great,” he sighed with exasperation.

“Clark, he’s got to be here,” she assured him. [“Dr. Dubois?”]

[“I’m here. Take a seat. I was in the old theater. Look behind you,”] Dave noted while walking back onto the floor. [“What’s going on?”]

[“Is there a more private place we can talk?”] Lana requested while looking around and waving Miranda over.

[“We could go upstairs. What’s this about?”] Dave wondered.

[“Jor-El just lectured us about our abilities. This mental stuff,”] she reported.

[“And you’re ready to work on them? Let me get Karen, Marti and Miri together and we’ll talk,”] he told them.

“What’s up, Uncle Dave?” Miranda asked.

“Can you get your Aunt Karen and Marti? I just need to let Aunt April know where we’re going,” he explained.

“And where are we going?” Lana asked.

“Lex’s place if he’s okay with it,” Dave noted while heading upstairs.

“Lex’s place? What’s there?” Clark wondered.

“Knowing Uncle Dave, a private place to talk,” Miri guessed while heading for Angie’s Emporium.

“Hey, guys, what’s going on? Have you seen Professor Dubois?” Lex inquired.

“He’s upstairs. He says he wants to head for your place,” Clark informed him.

“If it’s for what I think it is, sure thing. I think we’re long overdue for this talk.” Seeing Karen, Miranda and Marti walking over toward them, he nodded. “We just have to wait for the last member of our traveling party.”

On cue, Dave hustled down the stairs followed by Angie and Cassie. “April’s okay with the twins for now. If she needs us, she’ll call. Come on, everyone.”

With that, they all headed for the mansion.




Chapter 4 [Luthor Mansion—twenty minutes later]
[A/N: The battle mentioned below occurred in “Mirror Mirror” from earlier in this series. That story was a part of the “Seasons of the Witch” crossover with the Dubois Chronicles.]

After the drive over, Lex showed everyone into the downstairs parlor and instructed his staff to give them absolute privacy. With that, he shut the doors and took a seat. “Okay, Dave, what’s on your mind?”

“I’d like to know too,” Karen chimed in.

Dave rubbed his chin and glanced at Clark and Lana carefully, trying to weigh his words so as to convey his seriousness without sounding too much like a lecture. “Practice you might say and getting the most of our gifts that we can.”

“Excuse me?” Chloe asked in confusion. “Lex and I aren’t like the rest of you.”

“You’re our support though,” Lana assured her. “Jor-El mentioned to Clark and me earlier today that we needed to work on our more advanced gifts.”

“You always need to be doing that,” Lex agreed.

“As if we don’t do enough practicing now,” Clark griped.

“You could be doing more actually,” Dave retorted firmly. “When our mystery guy returns, he won’t be alone.” He looked around the room; his eyes locking with each person’s in turn. “We here have underestimated him in the past. I won’t do that again.” He peered out the window toward the west. “He has a liking for your parents’ farm, Clark. That’s not much different than what we heard on the other side.”

“Heard on what side?” Miranda wondered.

“During our last trip to the other universe,” Lana explained. “While we were there, our counterparts told their story with this guy and Isobel.”

“But how can we be watching everywhere for trouble?” Clark inquired.

“Three ways to start. First, those of us who are telepaths can relay messages between ourselves. Next, I’m going to talk to Sasha about recruiting the bees for the same purpose. And then, there’s modern technology for the rest of us.” Dave waved a cell phone in the air.

“I can also keep surveillance on the town as well,” Lex offered.

“Steve and Garth have already stepped up the guard but they’ll appreciate the help,” Karen interjected.

“Meantime, we can all use the practice if what Jor-El says is true,” Lana declared.

“Amen to that, Lana,” Dave agreed. “We have enough to worry about. And I don’t trust that SOB to hold to his word either. Something’s going to happen before December. In the event that I’m in Dodge when it happens, I want a heads up so we can contain the incident.” He sighed.

“And if we can’t?” Chloe asked.

“The Protector will really get ugly—as if demonic ugly,” Karen chimed in.

Clark and Lana stared at Dave with concern. From their battle in the other universe’s Smallville, they still remembered the possessed Destroyer’s fight with the Protector.

Needless to say, they had no wish to repeat the experience.

“Dave, we can handle it,” Lex assured him.

“We’d better hope so, Lex,” Dave hoped while pacing about the room.

Clark and Lana took a collective gulp. Despite their abilities, there were still things out there beyond their ability to deal with….and in this case, several of them stared them in the eye.




Conclusion [That night—Kent Farm]

After helping with the dishes and chores around the farm, Clark and Lana sat in the Loft, considering the colors splashed across the dusk prairie sky. While the magentas, oranges and reds seemed beautiful, they concealed other dangers.

In addition, a few nightingales sang to each other in the deepening darkness below.

“I thought we were doing really well, Clark,” she lamented. “We work on our speed, strength and x-ray vision. I wish we could get a handle on everything else.”

“It takes time, I guess,” he replied soothingly while rubbing her shoulder. “I just wish we weren’t on a deadline.”

“We’re always on a deadline,” she groused.

“Not always. We do have moments like this one too,” he pointed out while kissing her forehead. “We’ll get through this together. All of us.”

She smiled at him. “I know that. It’s just that I thought we’d have more time together.”

“We’ll have that time and more. Part of the Kryptonian thing is the service mission. Hey, we need to be ready for anything, I guess,” he indicated.

Indeed, my Children. Jor-El appeared in front of them. As you said, Kal-El, give yourself time and trust in our allies.

[“I hope we don’t let everyone else down,”] Clark declared.

Trust in yourselves, Kal-El. That will be a good start. Once you remember that you’re both Earthers and Kryptonians, we can build on that. Dubois has given you some more support and advice. Heed it well, my Children. With that, he disappeared from view.

“Terrific. More expectations.” She frowned.

“Let’s just work on things and see what develops,” he assured her albeit with more certainty than he was feeling at the moment. He kissed her softly, letting his lips brush lightly over hers. “Meantime, about that time you asked about earlier….”

She arched her eyebrow. “And what did you have in mind?” She linked minds with him and discovered what he had in mind. She chuckled. “I should’ve known.” She smirked at him.

“Follow me,” he told her before speeding down the stairs and toward the house.

She quickly traced his steps toward the house and their upstairs room.

Maybe there were responsibilities to come and practice to be done but as a couple, they still had all of the time in their world and Krypton’s.

And so it would go for the rest of that summer……


THE END (for now)


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