6 Years Later

My time in France flew by, I studied hard and learned the skills of an actual journalist with stories that actually mattered. As my time came to a close, I was offered the chance to stay on for the abroad program and to work on a bachelor’s degree in journalism. I would get the opportunity to freelance report across the world while earning credits for my degree.

I came to love meeting new people and learning their languages and cultures. I learned that I could quickly learn any language, and this gave me the opportunity to work in news outlets on almost every continent. I made sure to email Ma frequently to keep her in the loop and reassure her I was keeping myself fed and being safe although I knew I couldn’t be hurt.

In the warring state of Bialya, I saved a family from a bombing. In Asia, I pushed a man out of the way of a falling building and in London I saved a jaywalker from being hit by a car. I was always careful to stay in the shadows or be quick enough that no one saw me but rumors of a flying man traveling the world saving people started to circulate.

Then, six year after I left Smallville I landed my biggest assignment yet. The Zimbabwe paper had hired me to write an exposé on a dangerous radical that was causing trouble with the government. I started my research by interviewing the government about their views on this so-called radical. They told me that they saw this as only a brief problem and that it would fizzle out if no attention was given to it. On this regard, they were not happy the paper had sent a white boy to report on it. I thanked them for their time and went to go find this radical.

This radical that had been deemed a warmonger by some, was actually just a man willing to stand up for change that needed to happen in his country. As I spoke with him, he told me that he is attempting to give his tribe more of a voice in the government and in their Parliament. He showed me how the government had been erasing their culture and heritage by re-writing textbooks and teaching their children this new revised history.

As a gift to me for coming to speak with and reporting on his side of the truth, his people put on a cultural festival and dance for me. He told me that nothing was more important than his heritage and the purpose that he had been given to represent his people. We talked late into the night about one’s responsibility for others. He believed that if one had the ability to help others, they were duty bound to provide that help. I agreed with all the things that we spoke about and promised a good view of his side in my exposé.

The next morning, I accompanied him to a peace talk at the capital before I had to return to the paper. As soon as he started his speech, I heard screams coming from his people. They were being attacked in an attempt to silence him. I knew how important this message was to get out, so I quietly stepped away and took off for the village.

I could see and smell the smoke before I got there. The people were being viscously attacked and families were being gunned down. Taking to the skies I used my heat vision to melt their guns and used my freeze breath to extinguish the fires. Next, I rounded up the thugs at super speed and placed them in a deep hole so they couldn’t harm anyone. As I was finishing up, I heard a knife slide into my friend’s abdomen, and he fell to the floor.

I rushed to his side, holding pressure on the wound. He couldn’t die this man had too much to do still. He pulled me in close and whispered to me, “My purpose will live on with my people, they will grow only more resilient after I am gone. This is and always has been my purpose to be a beacon for my people. What is your purpose? Will you wander the world till you are old and grey? No, you must find where you are needed and firmly plant yourself there as a beacon of that which matters most, truth and justice. ” His last words got quieter until I could no longer hear his heartbeat.

I stood up and with my x-ray vision scanned the crowd to see who was holding the knife. I threw him against the wall and demanded he tell me who put the kill order out on my friend. He pointed to the man I had spoken to previously in my trip here, the Prime Minister. My exposé turned out to be showcasing the truth of my friend’s cause and the lies of their Prime Minister. Having finished my article, I turned in my press pass. I knew that I needed to go home and start down the road I had been avoiding since I first saw that message in my pod.

I flew back to Smallville and on my way I thought about how my father always wanted me to keep my abilities a secret. He felt using my abilities for good was needed in today’s world but having them known would ruin my life. So, I realized that I needed to learn more about Kal-El from Krypton, he could protect the world that Clark Kent could not.

I landed in the backyard as my mother was sipping her iced tea and working on a new crocheting project. She looked up her project and gasped, “Clark, your home.” Immediately, she got out of her chair and ran to give me the biggest hug I had ever gotten.

“Hi, Ma.” as touched down, grinning at her.

“Come inside and sit down”, she said letting me go from her hug, “You have to tell me all
about your travels.”