Females Bonded to Harry Potter-
Chloe Sullivan is played by Allison Mack
Lana Lang is played by Kristen Kreuk
Rachel Harden (Doctor) is played by Rekha Sharma
Desiree Atkins is played by Krista Allen (by the way, this actress is a soft core porn star from the movie series Emmanuelle in Space)
Martha Kent is played by Annette O'Toole
Kyla Willowbrook is played by Tamara Feldman
Helen Bryce (Doctor) is played by Emmanuelle Vaugier
Alicia Baker is played by Sarah Carter
Lois Lane is played by Erica Durance
Kara Zor El is played by Laura Vandervoort
Raya Cor Hal is played by Pascale Hutton
Patricia Swann is played by Gina Holden
Simone is played by Nichole Hiltz
Author's Note 1:
Here is a little summary of the Smallville episode the events of this chapter cover- Season 6 Episode 8 – Static – November 16th 2006
Season 6 Episode 9 – Subterranean – December 7th 2006
Season 7 Episode 10 – Hydro – January 11th 2007
Special Note: I have recently finished editing a book I have written (original fiction) and am in the process of looking into a publisher. If anyone who reads this has anything to do with publishing or has a contact I would appreciate a message. Thank you.
Chapter 16
November 16th 2006...
"This sounds like another Zoner," Harry told Raya as he brought up several news reports on the holographic monitor in the lab inside his Fortress.
A Taiwanese shipping freighter had turned up off the coast of Alaska with its entire crew dead of unknown causes. The freighter's last stop had been Belowna Island which had gotten hit by a meteor the same day the Zoners had escaped.
"The ship is being towed to Seattle," Raya said.
"Clark, Raya," Chloe's voice projected out of the Fortress' crystalline structure. "We hear you, Chloe," Harry said. "Go ahead."
"Lex just mysteriously disappeared. I got a call from Lana. She is beside herself," Chloe announced.
"We've got bigger fish to fry here, Chloe. We have a solid lead on a Zoner that has killed many people and is looking to endanger more," Harry replied.
"Is this not the same Lex Luthor who you have told me killed many people, Kal?" Raya asked Harry.
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
"Those aren't proven," Chloe put forth.
"But you both are fairly certain," Raya replied.
"Yes," Harry answered.
More hesitantly Chloe admitted, "Lana is my friend and I have to help her."
"I won't forbid you to use your armor in this situation Chloe but keep in mind that I gave you that armor so you could better protect yourself," Harry said.
Chloe got the message loud and clear. Only use her armor if her life was in danger in a dire way. "Understood," Chloe replied before cutting the connection.
"Human interactions can be so confusing," Raya mused.
"Ready to go to Seattle?" Harry prompted.
Raya glanced over to where she knew the first birthing matrix hid the first of her twin offspring. On Krypton it would have been several weeks before the fetus was safe to transfer. With the way the yellow star Earth orbited augmented their physiology the fetus had been transferred hours before in under a week from the time of their conception.
"Yes," Raya agreed, happier knowing that more Kryptonians were safely growing should something happen to Raya and her mate.
Raya and Harry showed up at the Seattle docks where the large shipping freighter was docked. A large number of emergency personnel swarmed over the docks. The couple headed towards
the coroner's tent. When nobody was looking they activated a holographic generator each of them carried which changed their clothing to make it look like they were wearing the appropriate outfit for ATF agents.
They entered the tent to see a woman wearing a suit to protect against hazardous environments writing on a clipboard in front of dozens of plastic totes. The totes contained human remains.
"Hello, we're agents Clark and Madsen," Harry said while flashing a badge which had been fabricated at the Fortress.
"ATF...you guys think this was terrorism?" Dr. Carmen Moore asked.
"We're not sure but we have to investigate the possibility," Raya answered.
"Of course," Moore agreed.
Moore removed a garbage bag from one of the totes and weighed it.
"Are all the victims missing their skeletons?" Raya asked.
"Yes. Clean fillets, every single one of them. I don't know how it is possible," Moore admitted. "Are all of the bodies from the ship?" Harry probed.
"No. These last two were dock workers," Moore clarified.
Raya and Harry exchanged a glance.
"Thank you Doctor Moore. You've been very helpful," Raya said.
Moore nodded at the handsome ATF agents and went back to her work as they left. Outside the tent Harry said, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"If you're thinking Aldar then yes," Raya replied. Aldar was a Zoner that literally devoured the bone marrow of his victims. He was a nasty and incredibly strong piece of work. As she and her mate walked further along the docks towards what they could see was a destroyed shipping container she felt the need to point out, "If your goal is to save lives the prudent course of action would be to split up so we can cover more ground."
"My goal is to save lives while minimizing the risk to either of our lives, Raya. Aldar might be powerful enough to kill a Kryptonian even on Earth. I've been here for over a decade. You've been here for less than three months. My energy reserves are much greater and therefore I am more durable. I'm not going to leave you alone with Aldar around here," Harry said, his vehemence clear.
Raya had to admit to herself that her lover's words made her feel warm inside. Raya and Harry stopped in front of the shipping container which had been torn open. A reddish substance was splattered around the edges. Harry held up a scanner for Raya's benefit which had hologram layered over it to disguise it as a Geiger counter.
"Bone marrow?" Raya prompted. "Yes," Harry confirmed.
It was obvious what happened. Aldar had stowed away inside the shipping container while dragging a few humans inside as snacks. Then when the ship got out to sea he had gone on a killing spree.
Harry suddenly looked off in the distance and Raya asked, "What is it?"
"I just heard breaking bones," Harry said as he stepped out of view of the remaining humans.
His form blurred and he was wearing his Superman costume. Raya stepped out of view and changed into a costume that matched her mate's uniform. Raya had chosen the name Superwoman. In a blur of super-speed both warriors were gone.
They reappeared down the docks in time to see Aldar, a brutish looking humanoid, raising a police officer over his head preparing to bring the human down on Aldar's knee back first. Harry rushed forward and delivered a flying kick to Aldar's midsection that sent the marrow eater hurtling back into a shipping container with a resounding crash, crushing the shipping container. Meanwhile Raya had caught the police officer and set him down. So far he only had a broken hand.
"Who are you?" Officer Setter asked with amazement in his voice.
"A friend," Raya answered. "Run away," She urged while turning to face Aldar in case her mate needed backup.
Setter didn't need telling twice and he ran behind a nearby shipping container and kept on going. Already he could see other officers responding to the noise.
"Get back," Setter shouted. "There's some kind of monster back there and two...super people. They are fighting it!"
This earned Setter mixed expressions from his fellow officers. Some paused but some ignored him. Then the sounds of violence and destruction coming from behind the nearby clump of shipping containers returned with greater volume.
Meanwhile back at the fight Aldar had extricated himself from the wreckage of the container he had been thrown into.
"Aldar want to be left alone," Aldar declared while glancing between the two Kryptonians. "Aldar have no fight with two Krypton people."
"You picked a fight with us when you started eating the locals, asshole," Harry replied. "Surrender peacefully or we'll tear your fucking head off."
Aldar's response was to roar with rage and rush forward. Aldar was faster than humans but not by much. Harry could have easily avoided the blow but he wanted to prove a point. He brought his palm up and caught Aldar's fist. Aldar was super strong. The force of the blow caused a concussive wave of air to emanate out from the point of impact that sent a sound like thunder rippling outward. Harry grabbed Aldar's wrist with one hand and threw the hostile alien through a row of shipping containers where no humans were behind. Aldar went sailing through the containers tearing them to pieces. Raya was waiting in an open area where Aldar was heading. She delivered an accurate spin kick to Aldar's head that saw him stopping immediately and sent him hurtling into the ground.
Aldar was durable and fast. Raya's reflexes and speed weren't quite honed from training enough that she was able to avoid the leg sweep. Harry had flown up into the air and was hovering over the event to see how Raya handled things. When Aldar drew back his fist to hit Raya, Harry was moving. Aldar only got one hit against Raya's jaw before Harry was upon Aldar. That single blow from Aldar had proven to the watching crowd that Aldar was no ordinary being. Harry flew down and wrapped his arm around Aldar's throat from behind. Harry squeezed.
Aldar clawed at Harry's arm. Aldar actually had claws on the tips of his fingers and they managed to pierce the skin of Harry's arm but Harry didn't let that stop him. He brought a telekinetic field to bear which pushed Aldar's claws free. The Asuran's natural healing then took effect and closed the wounds. Harry squeezed harder and felt Aldar's neck snap. For good measure Harry telekinetically crushed Aldar's hearts. Harry let the body drop and rushed over to see if his mate was alright.
He knew she was because Alice was constantly scanning the region of space surrounding her creator and informed him of Raya's condition. But Raya didn't know that.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked. "Yes," Raya assured.
Several police officers were getting near. Their guns were drawn but not pointed at the three aliens.
"Hello there," Officer Stebbins, one of the more senior officers on scene, shouted from a good fifteen feet away. "What is going on here?"
Raya regained her footing and the couple turned to face the crowd of people.
"I am Kal El of the planet Krypton. This is Raya Cor Hal of the planet Krypton. That was Aldar of the planet Sidi Prime. He is a mass murderer and the cause of all the deaths on your ship. He recently escaped from a prison where he has been held for the past several decades. There were other escapees who we believe are on Earth. Raya and I have been hunting them down for some time," Harry answered.
There was some stunned silence at this proclamation before Dr. Moore stepped forward slightly and asked, "If you are of two different alien species than our own why do you look so much like us?"
"We evolved on similar planets," Raya replied. "But I can assure you we are quite different on the inside. Aldar there is different even on the outside. He has different eyes and claws on the tips of his hand. His sexual organs are also different. He feeds on bone marrow of other creatures."
A sudden sick look came over Moore's face as her features lost all color. Moore whispered, "He was eating them."
Raya merely nodded. Several realized the true enormity of the situation. They were meeting alien life for the first time for their species.
"Our leaders will likely want to contact you and meet with you. How can they do so?" Stebbins asked.
Moore thought the two aliens looked familiar for a moment but then she dismissed that thought. The holographic generators that allowed Harry and Raya to change clothing so quickly were also subtly changing their features at the same time their outfits were being changed. While Raya answered that question Harry turned and concentrated his heat vision on Aldar's form. The Asuran's power lanced out and began disintegrating Aldar's form a small bit at a time. The body couldn't be left for the humans to potentially clone.
"If we decide we have time to devote from our pursuits of these dangerous criminals we will make a method of contacting us available to your leaders," Raya answered.
Raya saw that her mate was finished. She wrapped her arm around his waist when he stepped up next to her and then the couple flew off. They disappeared so fast upwards nobody could discern their forms.
"So the big reveal was a surprise," Chloe said as she materialized in the Fortress. "How is the media reacting?" Harry asked.
"You're too busy to turn on the news?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.
"He's too anxious to see the media reaction," Raya said with humor. "I have been calming him down."
Chloe got the implication right away and said, "Raya, men will tell us anything they want to get sex. I doubt Clark is that anxious. As for the media...their reaction is across the board. My editor is offering anything and everything to get us reporters to find out more information."
"Has there been any word from the US government?" Harry queried.
"Only that they are investigating the matter," Chloe answered. "So are you guys going to go talk to them?"
"Not at the moment. Kal and I believe it is best to give them some time to get used to us acting as heroes," Raya answered. "We are interested in this Project 33.1 Lex Luthor seems to be conducting on those affected by the kryptonite radiation."
"Kryptonite?" Chloe prompted.
"That is what we are calling the radioactive isotope generated by the explosion of Krypton," Raya clarified. "It is likely Lex Luthor seeks to use these powers for nefarious purposes and possibly to regain the use of his legs."
"What do you guys plan on doing about it?" Chloe questioned.
"Right now we are evaluating each of the imprisoned Kryptonite afflicted beings. Once our extensive evaluation is complete we will begin using synthetic duplicates to replace them and relocate the imprisoned afflicted to somewhere isolated where we can either cure them or pursue an alternative course of action. If they seem mentally and physically stable we might let them keep their powers and train them in the use of any abilities they retain," Harry explained.
"In the interim we have already taken steps to mitigate their suffering at the hands of Luthor. We have cloaked synthetics mitigating the harmful aspects of their imprisonment," Raya added. Synthetic was the Kryptonian term for incredibly advanced robots such as BRAINIAC. "Kal hopes that by recording the entirety of Luthor's inhumane experiment that Luthor might be imprisoned for the rest of his human life."
"That sounds like an excellent plan. Now why don't you two stop hiding out here at the Fortress and come rejoin the rest of the world. You can see how it has changed with the revelation that alien life exists. A lot of camera phones caught your fight and it is all over the internet," Chloe suggested.
"We weren't hiding out," Harry assured. "We had valuable work to do." "Right...work," Chloe said with an amused grin.
The trio transported back to the Kent farm.
December 7th 2006...
Harry walked into the barn after feeding the cows and found a dirty teenaged male trying to clean up in the barn sink.
"Can I help you?" Harry asked. The youth tried running but Harry stopped him. "I don't mean you any harm." There were several cuts along the frightened teen's arms. "Come inside. I'll get those cleaned up."
As the teen followed him inside Harry picked up that the teen's name was Javier. A person's name was easily discernable from surface thoughts because that was just part of their identity.
"Raya, we have a visitor," Harry said as he and Javier entered the house.
Raya was dressed and fixing breakfast.
"Hello," Raya greeted. "Who is your guest?"
"I found him in the barn trying to clean up. Would you get him some food while I go get the first aid kit?" Harry requested.
"Sure," Raya agreed.
Javier was a Mexican in the U.S. illegally.
"Thank you," Javier hesitantly said.
"You have very good English," Raya told Javier.
"Growing up I was able to watch a lot of American TV," Javier explained.
As Harry came back in with the first aid kit he suggested, "Would you mind telling us how you were injured and why you were hiding in the barn? Is it because you are here in the U.S. illegally?"
"Please don't call the police," Javier pleaded, confirming that suspicion.
"We have no intention of calling the police," Raya assured after a quick glance at her mate.
"I escaped from that farm down the road," Javier explained while pointing in a particular direction. The farm in question belonged to a longtime acquaintance of the Kents named Jed McNally. "They barely fed us enough to eat and nobody was allowed to leave. Last night my
friend Fransisco and I tried escaping. There was some really loud rumbling coming from the ground behind us. We started running from it. It was like it was following us. And then Fransisco was gone."
"How did you get to Smallville from Mexico?" Harry questioned.
"Last week fifteen of us were smuggled across the border in the back of a truck by a Coyote," Javier answered. "I was supposed to go to my mom but instead the Coyote took us to that farm."
"How could an animal operate a truck?" Raya asked confusedly.
Raya had studied a lot about Earth but didn't know all of the slang terms used.
"Coyote is slang for a person that smuggles people across the Mexican-U.S. boarder," Harry explained.
"Oh...ok," Raya said. "That makes a lot more sense. Javier, where is your mother?"
"My mother works at a laundry company in Granville," Javier answered. "My dad died and she moved up north. She has saved up enough money for two years to get me here. Then that Coyote just took her money and sold me into slavery."
"That's actually pretty common among human smugglers," Harry said. "It doesn't just happen with Mexicans."
"My mom gave me this to keep me safe," Javier said as he showed the couple a silver pendant with a Saint on it. "Fransisco was like a brother to me. There isn't anything we didn't do together. If I had given this to him it might have kept him safe."
"What happened to Fransisco wasn't your fault," Harry assured Javier. "Let's get you a shower and then you can get some rest. Raya and I will investigate to see if we can't find out what happened to Fransisco."
After Javier was settled Raya and Harry went out into the field behind the barn.
"Can you please explain the stigma of Javier being here?" Raya asked.
"The borders of most countries on Earth are open to visitors but most of the time not to people looking to take up permanent residence. Immigrants come in and are willing to work for much lower wages than the natives and take jobs away from the natives. A significant population of immigrants come over the border each year from Mexico," Harry explained.
"I see. This is because Earth is approaching the Elimium Barrier," Raya suggested.
Harry, having access to all of Krypton's knowledge, nodded agreement. The Elimium Barrier was a theoretical point in a civilization's advancement where great strife occurred. Usually the
Barrier was characterized by a severe economic depression. A planet's resources could only sustain so many lifeforms. Once a population reached a point where the planet simply couldn't cope a population either died or moved past that point and thrived. Earth was rapidly approaching that point.
"Yes, at 7 billion Earth isn't far from that point," Harry agreed.
Earth could only sustainably support 1 to 2 billion people with its current level of technology. Right now things were not being done sustainably. The Elimium Barrier was the point where things came to a head for a species.
"We need to talk about how to best instigate change. Perhaps we could bribe the natives into accepting population restriction measures by providing them with what they need most. What is it the people of Earth crave most?" Raya asked.
"What they crave and what they need might be two different things," Harry said as he and Raya walked towards the McNally farm. "What they need most is cheap and secure homes, cheap food, and medical care. I have already started terraforming suitable planets and moons in this star system to provide the cheap food."
"We can use habitat growth crystals to make their homes after we have programmed the crystals to limit the technology the homes will have," Raya suggested.
"And medical care can be provided by a serum someone who works for me is working on called RL65," Harry added.
"Tell me more of this RL65," Raya requested.
Harry did so as he walked with his mate. It didn't take the couple long to track down Francisco. They found the teen buried in the ground along with many other illegal immigrants.
"It looks like we are too late. He hasn't been dead long," Harry informed Raya as he peered into the ground.
Raya's ability to peer through solid matter was slowly developing. She could see the bodies with a blurry image.
"What do you think did this? There is no sign of excavation," Raya observed.
"Given that this is Smallville I would say there is a high probability a Kryptonite infected was the cause. You can't see it yet because your vision isn't as developed as mine but there are tunnels of Earth where the minerals and soil are less dense than the surroundings. The lining of these tunnels is more dense. It would appear we have a burrower. The tunnels run all over the McNally property but are most common around the farm house. I would say Jed McNally is the culprit," Harry suggested.
Harry turned to Raya and examined her with an intense gaze. He didn't really want to reveal his Asuran nature to her so soon but revealing even part of the technology he had available to him would allow him to bring Francisco back from the dead in a manner of speaking.
"Why are you looking at me like that Kal?" Raya asked.
"I am trying to gauge whether or not I should reveal something to you. Eventually I would like to share everything I am with you but I quite enjoy being mysterious," Harry answered.
Both of Raya's eyebrows rose at this revelation. She had not been sure her instincts about him holding something back had been right. But that statement had just confirmed her mate was keeping secrets.
"Reveal as much as you wish at this time," Raya said. "I will not press further until you are ready."
"Thank you," Harry said with a nod before Fransisco appeared beside him.
Fransisco looked around him in bewilderment. The last thing he knew he and Javier had been running from something and it had been night.
"What is going on? Where is Javier?" Fransisco demanded.
"You fell and hit your head," Harry said. "You are suffering from a concussion. Javier is back at our farm. He thought what was chasing you got you."
Raya was shocked inside but she did a good job of not showing it externally. One moment the teen had been dead in the ground and now here he was alive and well talking to them. At that moment Harry was using his abilities to make Fransisco suffer the feelings of a concussion without actually giving the Mexican a concussion.
"We will take you back to our home," Raya announced just before her mate caused the boy to pass out. As Kal picked the teen up Raya asked, "Will you reveal how you did that?"
"Time travel," Harry answered.
Those two words answered so much. Raya reviewed everything she knew about time travel. As the assistant of Jor El she had known much about the subject and the various techniques of time travel used by many of the advanced races throughout the galactic cluster. The technique used by her mate was more advanced than any of them. The couple arrived back at the farm to find Martha home.
"Javier is hiding in the barn," Raya mused. "I will take Fransisco so you can speak with your mother."
Harry passed Fransisco off to his mate and went inside the house.
"A deputy was here not long ago looking for a possible illegal immigrant," Martha informed her son after they had exchanged greetings.
"Yes, he escaped from Jed McNally's farm. Jed McNally appears to be holding illegal immigrants prisoner using his meteor mutant abilities," Harry explained. Martha sat down. "Jed has already killed a dozen of them."
"He was such a good friend of your father's," Martha said.
"I know," Harry agreed. "Kryptonite radiation can have detrimental effects on human minds. This situation has made the plight of humanity all the clearer to Raya and I. We will soon be taking steps to rectify much of the problem."
"Do you care to clarify that statement?" Martha asked her son.
"Ask Raya to explain please. I need to go deal with Jed McNally. Raya is out in the barn with the two immigrants we rescued. Their names are Javier and Fransisco. Chloe is currently tracking down Javier's mother. She works at a cleaning service in Granville. I will make sure the legal status of all three of them is above board," Harry explained.
"How are you going to do that?" Martha asked in confusion.
"Those records are all digital now. They are easily hacked by my systems," Harry pointed out. "Clark, that's illegal," Martha objected. "As a senator's son you can't be doing that."
"Please mother...once you hit Washington you will see that most of those politicians are scumbags in the pockets of big business. While I agree that keeping the borders closed has a reason soon Raya and I will be nullifying those reasons. Talk to her. I have to go," Harry replied.
"Be careful," Martha said, never wanting to leave her son in anger.
Harry watched invisible hovering over the scene as personnel from the coroner's office and forensic specialists excavated the bodies. Jed McNally was being moved between two deputies in handcuffs.
"Are you sure there are no more fields you hid bodies in, McNally?" Deputy Coleman asked.
"It doesn't matter anymore. You're all going to die now," Jed assured before shouldering both deputies off of him.
Jed started to rapidly vibrate until he shot into the ground, burrowing aside the Earth using his vibrational velocity. Harry peered into the ground and saw Jed coming up preparing to grab Deputy Morales and drag the man beneath the Earth. Harry allowed himself to become visible and shot downwards at super-speed. Harry shot into the ground and grabbed McNally despite the vibrational velocity the meteor-mutant had achieved. Harry wrenched McNally out of the ground and delivered a blow to the back of McNally's head that saw the meteor-mutant falling unconscious. He set McNally down before securing a pair of glowing handcuffs onto McNally.
"Thank you Superman," Deputy Morales said as he slowly approached the superhero.
Morales like most of humanity had been following the exploits of the two aliens. A lot was known about the two aliens thanks to the website they maintained. The governments of Earth had attempted to locate the servers of the site operators that supported the website but despite the efforts of the best hackers humanity possessed they found the task beyond them.
"Glad I could help Deputy Morales. Keep those restraints on him and he won't be able to use his powers. You will find blueprints for a cell that can hold him in your email when you return to the office," Harry replied. "If you'll excuse me I have more work to do."
And with that Harry was gone in a flash of super-speed flight.
Harry watched invisible as money changed hands between a high level politician and a representative of Lex Luthor. The money was to secure Jed McNally for Luthor's 33.1 experiment. Needless to say McNally would not receive the same mitigation of suffering that the other prisoners of Luthor's experiment did. The bribery just reaffirmed Harry's belief in not trusting most politicians in general.
Harry watched as Javier was reunited with his mother Esperanza Ramirez. Fransisco stood nearby. Esperanza gave Francisco a hug after greeting her son. Esperanza was attractive.
"I can't thank you enough," Esperanza said while giving Harry a hug.
"I pulled some strings and you are now legal citizens of the United States," Harry informed the three Mexicans.
Shock was the least of the emotions all three displayed. Esperanza's tears of relief turned to tears of gratitude. Harry ordered some pizza and a small party was held. He would later offer employment to Esperanza that was better than working in the cleaning service in Granville.
Harry sat down on the edge of Chloe's desk at the Daily Planet and waited for her to return. A few minutes later she and Jimmy came down the stairs and didn't even notice him. When they were about to kiss he felt he needed to interrupt.
"Normally I wouldn't interrupt at this point but this could be awkward when you two finally realize I am here," Harry said.
The couple broke apart and turned to face him.
"CK...just the man I wanted to see. Look...I realize you have your issues with me being with Chloe," Jimmy said. "I get it. What I am about is working through this. So do you want to play hoops?"
"Sure Jimmy," Harry agreed.
"Cool cool. We can play a little one on one and leave it out on the court. I want to be your bro, not your foe," Jimmy said.
"Don't worry about it Jimmy. I have no problem with you. Just realize that you are a very lucky man and that if you ever hurt Chloe there isn't a place on this planet that you can hide from me.
I will dismember you," Harry promised with a completely straight face.
Harry could sense Jimmy's sudden nervousness and Chloe looked like she wasn't sure whether to be touched or annoyed.
"Understood. Later peeps," Jimmy said before walking off. "You shouldn't tease him like that," Chloe chastised gently.
"I wasn't teasing," Harry assured. "I just came by to spend a bit of time with my friend and congratulate you on your byline."
"Thanks," Chloe said with a grin. They were referring to the story on Jed McNally. "You can buy me dinner and catch me up on what you and Raya have been doing. It seems like whenever I stop by the Fortress lately you aren't there."
"Gladly," Harry agreed before taking Chloe's arm and heading towards the elevator.
"What's up Clark?" Oliver asked as Harry's image materialized in the holographic interface built into Oliver's new cell phone. Oliver was sitting in his office. "And where the hell are you at?"
Oliver had noticed the strange vast facility behind his Kryptonian friend. It looked like some serious mass production was going on.
"This is one of the production facilities Raya and I have been building," Harry answered. "I called to tell you that if you want to keep your fortune that you should pull all your investments out of anything to do with oil use, home construction, medical care, and home mortgages."
"Hold on Clark...you have to give me more than that," Oliver pleaded. "What's going on?"
"Raya and I are going to attempt to solve some of the biggest issues plaguing humanity," Harry answered.
Harry basically summarized the ideas he and Raya were implementing. "That's going to destroy the economy on a global scale," Oliver pointed out.
"The economy is already broken. This will redistribute the wealth out of the hands of the wealthy who are unprepared. That is why I told you," Harry answered. "The basic needs of everyone will be met."
"I can see I won't be talking you out of this," Oliver said. "How long do I have?" "A week, maybe a little longer," Harry answered.
"Thanks for the heads up. I've got a lot to do then," Oliver said. "Later." "Later," Harry replied.
January 11th 2007...
Chloe materialized in the Fortress and spotted the person she was looking for.
"Clark, you haven't by chance read the Daily Planet this morning have you?" Chloe asked.
"No," Harry answered as Raya walked out of the bathroom toweling off and showing a lot more than Chloe was used to seeing.
"Hello Chloe," Raya greeted.
"Hello Raya. Haven't quite adapted to human modesty I see," Chloe replied. "I wanted to tell you this before you saw it in today's paper. Lex proposed to Lana."
"And this made the Daily Planet?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why do I get the feeling that you saying it was a proposal means she hasn't said yes yet. An unanswered proposal shouldn't have been announced."
As he talked Harry had pulled the relevant portion of that day's Daily Planet up on a hologram.
Raya read over her mate's shoulder the article describing the fact that Lana Lang was likely still in love with Kal and would have said yes to a proposal from Clark Kent without hesitation.
Raya hesitantly said, "If you want to be with her Kal I won't stand in your way. Our arrangement was for the continuation of our species."
Chloe could see the uncertainty in the normally confident Raya's demeanor and wanted to kick her friend to reassure Raya. Given Clark's usual denseness she was worried he was going to screw this up. It turned out her doubts were for not.
Harry turned and settled his hands on Raya's hips before saying, "Raya, I know we have only known each other for a short period of time but I know I am falling in love with you. A part of me will always love Lana and I would like to be there for her if she needs me. But you are my first priority now."
Raya's smile was radiant. She wrapped her arms around her mate and kissed him. Chloe watched on and couldn't help but feel her best friend had really matured since his high school days.
When the kiss ended Raya whispered into her mate's ear, "Someday maybe in a few years you really should consider impregnating several human females. Your offspring may not be pure Kryptonians but the diversity offered by a hybrid might make them more resistant to things that could harm pure Kryptonians. I'm sure Chloe and Lana would volunteer after they have had a child with their own mates."
"While that is a pleasant thought I don't know if most human males would like that idea," Harry whispered back before pulling apart and turning to face Chloe.
"Well...thank you for bringing me the news in person Chloe," Harry said. "Why don't you stay a while and visit."
Chloe nodded in agreement.
It was a couple of nights later that Harry received some interesting text messages from Chloe.
"Can't armor up and call you. Being watched by Lana. Trying to find out about Linda Lake. Linda knows about you," Chloe's texts said.
Chloe's phone had been given to her by Harry. No foreign entity could hijack the conversation, at least none on Earth.
Harry tracked Chloe's location and materialized invisibly next to her. He watched as Chloe typed on Linda Lake's laptop. Linda Lake was the reporter that had a habit of getting
information she had no business having and the one who had written the story about Lex's proposal to Lana.
"Chloe, what is it? What did you find?" Lana asked via the video call they were engaged in.
Lana had picked up on Chloe's distress at the revelation of the alien news story on Linda's laptop.
Harry used his neural link to text Chloe back, saying, "Act normal. I am watching and will intervene when appropriate. I am in the room standing behind you while invisible."
Chloe read the message from her best friend and felt much better knowing Clark was there.
"Do you like tomorrow's headline? At first I thought your hatred of me was just professional jealousy," Linda Lake said from the doorway. "Nobody would suspect that lowly reporter Chloe Sullivan would be covering such a scandalous secret. And such an explosive secret it is about a farm boy nobody would suspect he is so much more than he is."
At that point Alice shut down the connection to Lana's laptop.
"I'm amazed you would stake your reputation on something like this without any proof," Chloe replied.
"The article points out that you are my source. You'll have to choose between your best friend and your dream job. I did some checking on you Chloe. This is your dream job though I suspected you wanted an office above ground level. If you play ball with me and back up the story I will make sure you go higher in the paper. If you don't I will make sure you never work in the news industry again. I'm sure once the spotlight is on Mr. Kent evidence will be easy to find," Linda said.
Chloe didn't respond verbally. She picked up Linda's laptop and threw it out the window. Though it didn't matter since Alice had already wiped the drive and any other sources of digital information Linda Lake had.
"I'm going to make sure you are locked up for Mike Dawson's murder," Chloe assured. "You won't have the ability to help or hurt me."
Mike Dawson had been a professional athlete. Linda had written an article about Dawson's abuse of steroids. Dawson had mysteriously drowned the night the article had come out.
"That was an accidental drowning," Linda replied.
"Oh Linda...I know better. You were a rookie reporter for KSCW working the second meteor shower in Smallville," Chloe replied. "Wrecking into Crater Lake tends to create meteor mutants. My research suggests Mike Dawson wasn't your first victim. Meteor mutants tend to be unhinged."
Chloe and Harry could see Linda eying the nail gun laying nearby. Construction was being done in Linda's office. Linda didn't respond verbally. She went for the nail gun. Harry could sense the meteor mutation in her. Harry sent Linda hurtling out the window with a telekinetic blast.
"Stay back from the window," Harry warned as he walked over to the window still invisible. "I am taking care of the video camera feeds but we wouldn't want someone spotting you in Linda's office. Armor up and go into stealth mode."
Harry looked down into the rainy night and didn't see Linda's body on the ground. Her mutation allowed Linda to turn into water. That was how she was able to get such juicy stories. Linda reminded Harry a lot of Rita Skeeter. With all the rain out there it would not be easy to track Linda. Harry turned back to face Chloe.
"Did you get her?" Chloe asked.
"She slipped away. Her meteor ability lets her turn into water," Harry replied.
"Why did you let Lana hear so much? Now she will be onto you," Chloe replied.
"I want to break Lex's grip on Lana. She is going to come talk to me now and I will see what I can do," Harry answered.
"You're using your secret as bate?" Chloe asked in surprise.
"Yep," Harry said.
"That's new," Chloe said. "Let's get out of here."
Harry magically cleaned the office of any evidence of his and Chloe's presence before they left.
Harry glanced down at his phone as he received a text. Of course the phone was merely a hard- light illusion generated by Alice to fool those not in the know about his nature. It would look weird for someone like him not to have a cell phone.
"Heads up...I think Lana is heading your way," Chloe's text said.
Harry answered back, "Noted. Thanks for the heads up."
Soon Alice alerted her creator, "Lana Lang just pulled into the drive of the farm." "Thanks," Harry replied before transporting into the loft of the barn.
Lana appeared at the top of the steps a few minutes later.
"I'm sorry you had to find out about Lex's proposal from a newspaper," Lana said.
"I lost the right to know details of your life when I hurt you in the past," Harry replied.
"This may seem messed up but when it happened you were the first person I wanted to tell," Lana admitted.
"To rub it in my face?" Harry queried.
"No, not that," Lana assured as she came further up into the loft. "Yes, you told me you didn't love me anymore. And I tried to stop loving you. I even wanted to hate you but I just didn't have it in me. I could never feel that way about you. I know Chloe is protecting some big secret about you. Will you tell me what it is? Was it the reason you broke things off with me?"
"Lana, I want to tell you the truth but telling you all of it would overshadow what else I need to tell you," Harry began. "You know how meteor rock radiation has caused many abnormal abilities to develop in the people of Smallville over the years?" At Lana's nod of agreement Harry said, "I too have abilities. One of my abilities allows me to see through solid matter when I want to. I know you think you are pregnant but I can see inside of you and you aren't."
Lana's brows furrowed in confusion before she asked, "But how can that be? The doctor told me I was pregnant."
"Who paid for that doctor?" Harry asked.
"Lex...he wouldn't...unless," Lana appeared to be in turmoil. "It would keep me tied to him."
"I don't want you to take my word for it. Here is $5,000 cash. Find any other doctor of your choosing. Chloe is ready to drive you where you need to go. With that much in cash any doctor will see you right away if it is under the table money. No taxes on it," Harry suggested.
Lana accepted the money numbly. Harry led Lana down the stairs and out into the drive where Chloe was waiting in a car.
It was only a few hours later that Harry received a text from Chloe.
"Incoming with an irate and crying Lana," Chloe's message read.
"Bring her in," Harry replied.
When Chloe's car pulled back into the drive Lana climbed out and ran over to Harry in tears. He hugged her as she wept.
"He's a monster," Lana raged after she managed to stop crying too hard to talk.
"You needed to come to that conclusion yourself. There is a reason we are no longer friends," Harry said.
"Where will I go?" Lana asked. "What will I do? If he wants me bad enough to do this nowhere will be safe from him."
"Relax Lana," Harry said soothingly. "I have it on good authority Luthor Corp is about to lose a lot of its worth. Evidence is also being collected on Project 33.1. Soon enough Lex and Lionel will be in prison. Until then Oliver will hide you. He has the same resources as Lex and is about to have more."
"What do you mean Luthor Corp is about to lose a lot of its worth," Lana asked.
"Watch the news. You'll see," Harry assured. "Chloe, will you drive her to Oliver's? I will call him and get things arranged."
"Sure," Chloe agreed.
"Thank you," Lana told both Harry and Chloe. "That's what friends are for," Harry assured. Harry watched the two women drive off.
All over the world every television network on every channel and the entire internet was suddenly filled with a video feed. In the video two people sat. The recognizable forms of Superman and Superwoman sat side by side in a crystalline chamber.
"Greetings, people of Earth," Harry said. "We are speaking to you today in an effort to effect great change on your society. Your population is growing out of control and within a few decades it will cause your society to collapse. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor has never been larger."
"We have observed this social collapse countless times in many civilizations throughout the universe," Raya added. "Some societies rebuild and become better after learning how to control their population and their greed. Others have died out."
"We seek to avoid that social collapse with your society by offering you incentives," Harry explained. "For those who choose to embrace the new model of procreation we propose your basic needs will be met."
"What we propose is that every man will father only two children in his life no matter how many female partners he has and that every woman shall bear no more than two children in her life no matter how many male partners she has," Raya explained. "Using this method gradually your
population will decline. A planet your size and with its resources can comfortably sustain one billion lifeforms."
"Now on to the incentives," Harry added. "For everyone who participates in this population control program you will receive one of these," he explained while holding up a shining blue crystal. "This is a habitat growth crystal which will grow your family a home that can supply its own power and control your habitat to make it comfortable."
Harry and Raya then walked those watching through a tour of one of the customizable habitats.
"Next you will get free health care. We find most human illnesses easy to cure," Raya explained.
"Food is currently being mass produced easily on the several moons and planets in your system we have terraformed. Even now we are shutting down the holographic generators which have been cloaking our farming efforts on the celestial bodies we terraformed in your star system," Harry stated.
"Transportation will be achieved by crystal grown hover vehicles that are solar powered. We are able to harness much more of the energy contained within starlight than your scientists have discovered so power is not a problem," Raya explained.
"Information will be arriving in your email inboxes or at your location in the case of those of you who don't have email shortly," Harry explained. "We do not go through any of your governments for this program because quite frankly we do not trust your politicians. This effort will severely hamper much of the world's economy. Most politicians answer to lobbyists for big business. This is your personal choice as human beings. All your needs can be met. You will still have to work as a species but not as hard and not to survive. Those things which are not necessities but which you enjoy will still need to be produced by yourselves. But once the population declines there will be plenty of jobs open. Take some time to think about it and consider it. We will also be providing you information on the collapse phenomenon we discussed and other races that have both died out because of it and rose up after the phenomenon. Have a good day," Harry said before the broadcast cut off.
Earth would never be the same.