Ma and Pa had gone to get groceries at the store and when the sirens sounded, I knew they
would be taking shelter somewhere in the city. I was getting ready to head down to the basement when the sirens increased in volume, and I got hit by what seemed like every sound in the world. I fell to my knees, but one sound brought it all back into focus, I could hear Lana screaming for help. Acting purely on instinct, I ran towards the sound of the screams and arrived at the base of a tornado.

As I looked at the tornado, my vision started to flicker and then focus in on the tornado. Then I saw into the tornado and through the truck that Lana was trapped in. I saw her hit her head as she was tossed about and passed out. I shook my head, and my vision went back to normal. I jumped into the tornado and tore the door off, I grabbed Lana and threw ourselves out of the tornado. I covered Lana with my body and braced for impact. I hit the ground and created a crater in the ground and had absolutely no scratches on me. I grabbed Lana and rolled away as I saw the truck get hurled by the tornado and land in the same spot we did. It made a dust cloud but hardly cratered the ground the same way I did.

That was the moment I could no longer ignore something was different about me, but I would deal with that after Lana was safe. I grabbed Lana’s phone to dial 911 and let it ring. I set Lana near the truck and backed away into the shadows to wait for the ambulance and police to arrive. The EMTs checked her over, looking confused on how she survived the catastrophic event that caused her truck to look the way it did. I was confident that Lana was being cared for and now I needed answers.

I was waiting on the front porch when my parents got home. Ma was first out of the car, complaining about the state of my clothes. “Clark, your clothes are a mess. What have you been up to while we were gone?”

“I survived a tornado.”

“Now Clark what have we said about making up excuses to get out of trouble.” Pa said, getting out the truck and handing bags of groceries for Ma to run inside. He sat down beside me, “I’m going to ask again. How did you damage your clothes?”

I took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes, “I heard Lana screaming for help. So, I ran to where she was, and I could see into the tornado. I saw her screaming, so, I flew to her in the tornado, ripped the door open and cushioned our fall with my body. I left a crater in the ground, Pa.” I was about to explain what happened next when Ma came out.

“The Langs just called, Lana is in the hospital. They are saying she somehow survived a tornado. Only a few scratches on her but nothing broken. It’s a miracle.” She said exasperated.

“Actually, Martha its time”, he said looking towards her then back to me.

“What is going on? What am I? Am I some kind of freak?”

Ma started to cry, and Pa went up to comfort her, then he stepped off the porch and headed to the barn. “Follow me, Clark”, he said.

We headed into the barn and walked to the very back where Pa’s junk pile was, this spot was Pa’s I’ll get to it one day but don’t come over here and break anything more spot. “Help me move these machines away from the center of the room” he said.

“Why are we back here?” I questioned Pa as I was moving old parts and he pulled on rope to hoist up an engine block that had been sitting there for years. “Pa, what are doing back here. I know I wasn’t supposed to, but I’ve been back here before.” I was just about to question him again when he swept away some dust and pieces of feed. He put a lock into the floor and lifted up a panel in the floor. It led down to a little cellar beneath the barn.

“My ancestors had this built during the Prohibition era to hide his undesirables. It was a rumor it held the best aged wine in the country. When I was a kid…”

I cut him off, “What does this have to do with me flying?”

“Clark Kent, I have raised you better than to cut someone off. Now can I finish what I was saying?” he said sternly.

“Yes, Pa. Sorry, Pa.”

“When I was a kid,” he resumed his tale, “I found the key in a dusty cabinet in the attic, and found it fit this hole here. I was disappointed that the room had no wine it, and no general use for it and locked it back up. That is until the five-month storm hit us, and we needed a place to hide this.”

We had made it down the stairs and he had opened a rickety wooden door, revealing what looked like a spaceship. It was roughly about the size of a haybale and had an S emblazoned on its front.

“I hope this has all the answers for you.” My father spoke softly like we had to be reverent around the rocket.

“What do you mean this has all the answers? What is this?”

Ma came down beside me and rested her hand on my shoulder, “Clark, we have never told you this, mostly because it has been too hard for me, but you are not our biological son. 15 or so odd years ago, Smallville had the snowstorm it has ever seen. As the first flakes started to fall, we were headed home from the general store when this rocket crashed in front of us, and you were inside.”

“I was in this?” My mouth was open, I couldn’t take in what they were telling me.

“Yes, Martha and I found you in this and we brought you home to get you out of the cold. We were sure that someone would show up and take you away, so we hid the rocket and told everyone that you were our son born during the snowstorm. We have always feared someone would come and take you away, which is why we have kept all of this a secret for so long.” Pa said to me with a tear in his eyes.

Ma walked to a chest that was on the ground near the rocket, “Now that you know, there is something you should have. The blanket you have always thought was your baby blanket is just a blanket we wrapped you in that we got from the general store. This is what we found you swaddled in.” She handed me a blue and red fabric that was surprisingly smooth and intact after sitting in a moth ridden cellar for 15 years.

I couldn’t handle all of this information, so I started to back away. Not watching my surroundings, I backed into the ship touching it with my hand. That activated a 3-D hologram of two people standing in foreign clothing, speaking a foreign language.

“What did he say?” asking my parents thinking that they would know any better.

The man spoke again but this time in English, “Hello, Kal-El. I am Jor-El. I am your father. This is Lara,” he said pointing to the woman, “your mother.”

I turned to Ma to see she had tears in her eyes, “Ma…” I went to go comfort her, but the man was not done speaking.

“You were not born on Earth, Kal. You were born on the planet of Krypton. A world of great scientific achievement and adventure, but also a world of great tragedy. Krypton was a victim of its unstable red sun, but ultimately our fate was sealed because of my failure. I couldn’t save Krypton, Kal-El but I will save you. ”

As he spoke a clear crystal came out of the side of the rocket, “This sunstone crystal from the house of El contains everything I can give you after my death. You were sent here with reason, Kal-El. You will be protected on this new world by the abilities its environment will provide you. And you will be free to move among the people of Earth. But never forget, although you look like one of them. You are not one of them.”