Chapter 14

Food Court; 10:37 a.m.

Tess watched as Alex and Maria rushed from the food court. Briefly she wondered what was going on but decided it was none of her business. Even now after many failed attempts to talk the others into accepting their protection she couldn’t stop hoping they’d see it was the best option for them. The out right rolling of the eyes should be a major clue they wouldn’t be breaking any time soon.

Thankfully Max wasn’t facing their direction and completely missed their entrance and abrupt departure. She however had a perfect view of the guy grabbing Liz’s hand to hurry off to parts unknown. Admittedly it was cute the way Liz instantly grasped his forearm not wanting to be separated from him.

“Nasedo wants us to get together tonight. He says he has more information about Khivar and his allies.” Max sipped his coke. It was odd not eating at the Crashdown but he knew Liz needed some space before she came around. Not to mention Jeff would throw him through the restaurant window without a second thought.

“I know. He mentioned it to me this morning.” She stabbed a piece of lettuce frustrated at everything and nothing. Nasedo hardly let them be teenagers. There was always an alien meeting, lecture on destiny, anything that took away the fun in their lives.

He shot a concerned expression toward her but at this point she could have cared less. She should be happy…right? Max was finally hers, he’d accepted their destiny together, so why wasn’t she thrilled? Oh, she knows why she just doesn’t want to admit it.

For years Nasedo had been telling her about Zan and how once they met everything would wonderful for her. He filled her head with false promises and fantasies. That’s why she’s not happy being with Max, the fantasy was far better than the reality. Not to say that dating Max wasn’t without its perks, the way his muscles brush against her breasts when he’s making love to her, the sensations a stroke of his finger can cause are reason enough to stick it out. But doesn’t she deserve more than a few pleasurable touches?

“Tess? What’s wrong?” Curiosity spiked when her eyes showed a small layering of tears. Not enough to fall but enough to convey hurt.

Finally she made eye contact. Max could be so thoughtful and concerned but only when Liz wasn’t around. Would she always be Max’s second choice? Instead of blurting out what she wanted, she moved onto a different train of thought. “I—Doesn’t it ever bother you that no matter what,” she struggled for the word “arrangements we have are always shoved aside for meetings or danger?”

“Of course but you’re the one that wanted to follow our destiny. It was because of your drive and passion that Michael, Isabel, and I agreed to try it.” Max leaned forward. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re regretting it now?” Did he break things off with Liz only to have Tess turn around and say she didn’t want destiny any longer?

She sighed dropping her fork onto her Styrofoam plate. “No I don’t regret the destiny portion. But what I don’t like is to break dates or functions to talk about some crap that in the long run won’t matter. Two days ago it was that Khivar has come a couple light years closer.” Tess rolled her eyes. “So what? We know when he’s supposed to arrive; we don’t need a play by play of his every move. Maybe this meeting is about Khivar sneezing and needing a tissue.”

Max chuckled softly and reached for her hand. “You’re right. Have you tried talking to Nasedo about it at all?”

“Yes. I know he cares for me but he doesn’t see me as a Queen, or even a woman who can make decisions on her own. Do you remember what it was like for the females on our planet? The pets were higher on the respect ladder than us. Very few women managed to break free of that, the ones who did were either branded whores or evil; depending on the woman they got both labels. Nasedo is still in that mindset, doesn’t matter that we’re on Earth and women have freedoms he was raised on Antar and those are the rules he follows.”

“It wasn’t that bad was it? I recall Isabel stepping toe to toe with some men.” The memory was vague but there none the less.

“That’s because she was a Princess, royal women had more leniency granted to them. It helped that your father was King. Saved Isabel from having those names associated with her.” Tess played with Max’s fingers while she shook her head. “For the rest it wasn’t as easy.”

He covered her hand with his other and gently tugged her closer. “Let’s say we blow off the meeting. Screw Nasedo and Khivar, who cares. Tonight you and I are going to rent a hotel room and spend the evening together. Would you like that.” He knew he didn’t love Tess—yet, maybe never but he did care about her and she needed this time away.

“Really? You won’t go crazy doing something a little wild?” She teased.

“I’ll live.”

Secluded Area of Mall; 10:45 a.m.

Hands and tongues pull and stroke for dominance, neither allowing the other to get the upper hand. When Livara would rake her fingernails down Kal’s back he’d wrench them off slamming her arms into the wall behind and above her head shackling her wrists in one of his large palms. Plaster coated them; paint chips sprinkled on their dark heads but neither cared. Their lips lapped at the other devouring their taste.

“Please Kal—can’t take this.” Livara panted in his ear. “Need you.” Complete sentences were impossible; she’s lucky they were actual words, not a garbled jumble of sounds.

“Whose are you?” Kal demanded. Brief flashes of Clark’s memory reminded him she dated others, he refused to share her with anyone. She’s his; they were born for each other.

Although still Livara the part of her that was Liz through and through bulked at the idea of belonging to anyone. She’s her own person dammit and no one would own her. “No one’s.” Livara choked out. God Liz refused to stay down and let Livara take the controls.

Kal didn’t like the answer one bit and in response lifted her up bringing her eye level to him; her wrists still firmly in his grasp. “Whose are you?” He growled. This time, however, he doesn’t let her answer. Instead he slipped his left hand from her wrists and grabbed her left hand. Instantly a glow encompassed their entwined limbs. He tightened his hold around her waist, tingles race through her belly deepening the throb between her legs.

Warmth, love, and undeniable desire flare. A soft hum could be heard by both, Livara closed her eyes; she allowed the feelings and energies to wash over her, to coat her entirely. Her legs encircle Kal’s waist, as he brought their joined hands between their chests. “Whose are you?” Eyes smolder, she knows he’s staring at her but she couldn’t bring herself to meet those green pools.

She knew what it meant, what their glowing hands meant. They belong together, they belong to each other, and nothing and no one could break their bond not even death. Livara raised her gaze to his, this time; Liz and Livara were in perfect harmony. “Yours. Whose are you?” Needing that same statement to make their union complete.

“Yours.”

The once yellow light turned to one of blue, with the color change a burning sensation course through them racing from their heart to their hands. It didn’t hurt but it wasn’t comfortable either. As quickly as it showed up it disappeared along with the light.

It didn’t take long for their lips to meet and tongues to tangle. Kal tore her away from the mangled wall and cradled her tightly to his body; not even air molecules could squeeze between them. He had to make love to her; he wanted to make love to her. He’d kill anyone who stopped him.

Other Part of Mall; 10:49 a.m.

“Dammit. Where would they go?” Maria threw her arms up and let them fall. “There are only so many places he could take her right?”

“Maybe they didn’t stay in the mall. They could have high-tailed it outta here.” Alex reasoned.

Although a good thought Maria didn’t think it was the right one. “Nah, Liz told me she was desperate to be with Clark. No way would she wait very long, she has to be here.” But what if Alex was right. She shook her head clearing away all doubts. No, she knows Liz, now was not the time to be second-guessing her instincts.

“Ok, if you say so.” Alex let out an irritated breath. It wasn’t often his life-long friend bugged him, this was one of those rare moments. Maria had an idea and refused to let go of it, and if she had to she’d drag him kicking and screaming all the way through the mall.

Speaking of that annoying little habit, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward a darkened area, it’s a part of the mall that was being remodeled. Maria wasn’t slowing down; she’s on a mission. “This is the only place close by we haven’t checked yet.”

“Who in their right mind would go in here?”

“That’s just it, neither Liz or Clark are in their right minds. They want to screw and they want to screw now. Two Kryptonians who are hot and horny are not going to care about dangers lurking above their heads. Now come on.” Besides even if the entire mall crashed in on them she doubted it would do much to stop them. That classification of alien seemed to be invincible to everything on Earth.

“You don’t know if he’s Kryptonian.” Alex pointed out.

“No, but I'm willing to bet Mom’s Jetta on it.” That seemed to be the winning statement. He nodded and ran to keep up with her. That Jetta was her mother’s second pride and joy, first being Maria.

TBC

A.N. Hello all. Wow, this chapter took on a life of it’s own. My fingers flew over the keyboard hardly stopping and by the time I was done this is what I had. And I even managed to get everyone I wanted in here. Yay. But please don’t be too upset because Liz and Clark aren’t in this chapter too much directly. Indirectly they are in almost every scene though. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 15

20 minutes later

It seemed to take forever to get through the entire construction area of the mall but in reality it was only twenty minutes. The fact that they had to slow down in every area to crawl over beams or under planks was what managed to eat up a lot of the time.

“Ok this is the last area we need to check.” Maria however didn’t move forward. If Liz wasn’t back there then she was out of ideas on where to look. But if she and Clark were back there her search would be over, the worst part was she was certain they’d be doing the horizontal mambo. She couldn’t help but feel she let her down.

Alex thinly smiled; it wasn’t a genuine Alex Whitman smile, not by a long shot. “So are we going to go in there or talk about?” Irritation could be heard under his words. He’s annoyed at being dragged all over the mall and now Maria had reservations about finding them.

“It’s not that easy Alex.” She stared up at the worked on ceiling. “If she’s in there I know I'm too late to stop her from doing anything. We’ve been searching for them for thirty minutes. Believe me they’d be passed talking and groping.”

Hearing the frustration and pain combined with her words simmer his own irks. “Whatever Liz and Clark do, it’s not your fault. There is no reason to blame yourself.”

“Why shouldn’t I blame myself. Liz made me promise before we went back to her house for breakfast that I would keep her away from Clark no matter what. She was afraid that her first time with someone would be a sex induced haze and that was the last thing she wanted. I promised.” Tears well up and her shoulders begin to shake.

“Maria, Liz was wrong to make you promise that. There was no way you could have stopped her, if she wanted Clark to the extent that you told me than she would have folded eventually. Don’t blame yourself for a promise you couldn’t have kept.”

“But—“

“No, not your fault. Not your responsibility. I don’t care that you promised, Liz shouldn’t have made you promise that.” Alex vehemently expressed.

Maria swallowed saliva pooling in her mouth. “Maybe you’re right, maybe I shouldn’t have promised. But the bottom line is I did. I have to at least see if she’s ok.” Hopefully Liz and Clark would be done by now, how long was a normal Kryptonian mating? How long was the normal human mating? She wasn’t the person to ask these questions too. Sex information was limited to romance novels and gossip from the girls in the halls.

“Ok, but assuming Liz isn’t in trouble or doesn’t need us, than I’ll take you back home ok. Liz will come find us.” He loved Liz don’t get him wrong, she’s one of his sisters. If she needed him he’d be right there no matter how angry he was at her, no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. But if what Maria told him was accurate than she may not need them then.

Nodding Maria allowed Alex to lead her through the last secluded area they’d be going into. The duo only walked in about twenty feet and could hear the panting and scrapping along the gravel floor. A husky feminine shout reached their ears. If they tried hard enough they’d be able to hear a breathy moan whisper ‘Kal’ but they didn’t dare. Alex and Maria gave each other a look that said it all before they were rushing from the construction area.

As they hurried to the Jetta Maria questioned leaving their friend and Clark. “How will they get home Alex if we leave with the car?”

“At least one of them is an alien with a remarkable capability to run faster than a speeding bullet—I'm fairly certain—“

“Who are you guys talking about?” Isabel had seen Alex and Maria leave the mall in such a hurry they hadn’t noticed her two cars down from Amy’s Deluca’s Jetta.

“Video game.” Alex’s voice turned cold and clipped a sharp contrast from his warm and sarcastic tone to Maria moments ago. “Was there something you wanted Isabel?”

Maria watched Alex stare down the alien princess; he’s such a calm and caring person that people rarely saw the cold front he possessed and kept hidden from the world. When they did get hit with it the urge to want to bundle up to protect themselves from the freezing cold came upon them. It was frightening how well Alex could switch from warm to frosty in the blink of an eye.

“Umm…no, I guess not.” ‘Umm’, she doesn’t say ‘umm’. She fought the desire to lower her eyes in embarrassment. Dammit, she told herself, pull it together. “Thought you might like to know that Michael and I are no longer dating. We decided that we weren’t good together that way.”

“Your choice.” He refused to give Isabel any indication that he was jumping for joy on the inside. “Was there anything else?” He needed to get away from her if he wanted to keep his feelings hidden.

Disheartened she shook her head. “No.” Without another word she turned and left. She wouldn’t beg him to rethink letting her back into his life. Really she wouldn’t. She’s an alien princess and princesses didn’t beg. No matter how much she wanted too.

As Isabel left with confident steps, Maria couldn’t help but feel awful for her one-time friend. “Is this what you really want?” Even if Isabel were her least favorite person right now, she’d be able to put aside her disdain if Alex truly wished to start anew with her.

“Do I want her—more than I realized till just now.” Alex sighed out, his cool front sinking into the background where it normally resided. “But I can’t forget these last two months. Blatantly holding Michael in front of me, ignoring me like I was nobody.” He shook his head. “No, I'm not going to subject myself to that pain again.”

“Come on, let’s go to my house. Hopefully Liz will be aware enough to know that we won’t go to her house till she and Clark are with us.” Chuckling the friends enter the car and leave the mall parking lot.

Cab; 1 hour away from Roswell; 11:05 a.m.

It hit him like a wave of power, lust, passion, need, and love. Kyle slid down in the backseat fighting for breath. So hot, his body’s on fire. He clawed at his jacket ripping it off, so damn hot. He could barely breathe passed the passion that clogged his throat.

The cab driver stared at him as if he’d gone crazy. Kyle wasn’t about to dismiss that theory, was this just a side effect of becoming Kryptonian? As quickly as it came upon him it dissipated leaving no trace but his boiling skin as a reminder. Physically he couldn’t see any changes on his body but inside, he couldn’t explain it. It made no sense.

“Can you uh—turn up the AC please?” He practically begged. Although confused at what he saw the cab driver complied with the request. Just his luck, of all the people in the world that could have been in the back of his cab he had to get a nut-job.

“Thank you.” He’d be home soon. Once there he could tell Liz everything and she could let him in on what happened moments ago.

Space; 310 light years from Earth

Vasar stormed into Khivar’s private quarters unannounced unable to wait a second more to give his commander the good news. In his bed were two beautiful Antarian women, the brunette he recognized as one of the soldiers daughters, barely legal by Antarian standards but unbelievably generous when it came bedroom activities.

The redhead who spooned her body around the brunette was one of Khivar’s normal concubines; she’s served the new King since he was sixteen. “Where is Khivar?” He didn’t have time for pleasantries. Although many women on Antar weren’t given much respect Khivar’s women were. He always told him that women while delicate were also strong, in some instances stronger than their male counterparts and deserved to be honored.

“Weight room last he told us.” The redhead yawned out. Vasar nodded to them and left the women to continue their naps.

Hurrying he found Khivar floating above a workout bench with two-hundred pounds of clear weights laying on his body from his chest to his thighs. “Sir, we have news of Livara.”

Grunting he concentrated to float the weights down back to their regular spot. Slowly he eased himself down as well till he was standing on his own two feet. Vasar handed him a towel to dry his sweat, “What news. Has something happened to her?” Concern entwined with urgency.

“Yes, but nothing bad. Got word from Val only ten minutes ago, she’s bonded with her mate. Completely.”

“Val must have felt her. Which means his replacement has also felt it.” Khivar tossed the towel into the clothes bin. “This is good, her mate will be able to protect her until we arrive, it will also unlock many more memories. She should be well informed of Kryptonian laws and practices when we get there.”

Mall; 11:45 a.m.

She didn’t feel the rubble beneath her back or the soreness between her legs. All she noticed was Clark’s naked body on top of hers, still inside her, his dark head cradled on her breasts. Fingers laced through his silky locks enjoying the feel of it slipping across her palm.

Clark couldn’t believe what happened, wait that wasn’t true, he could believe it but he didn’t know how to explain it. The fleshy pillow under his cheek moved up and down with each breath that Liz took, he didn’t want to move an inch. Lying here with her was perfect, he couldn’t think of anything to tear him away from where he was right now.

The two Kryptonians were content to simply be together in each other’s arms. They knew things still needed to be dealt with, friends to seek out, parents to explain matters too, but none of that penetrated into their private world. For now this was all that mattered.

TBC

Chapter 16

Mall; 12:06 p.m.

Clark, having caught his breath and his mind cleared enough to form sentences, moved to rest his chin on Liz’s breasts and stare at her. She’s so content, he noticed. Eyes were closed; mouth curved in a tiny smile, hand rested on his bicep gently massaging the muscle, he didn’t think she even knew she was doing it. Her thighs cradled his waist in a warm hug while their legs intertwine with each other.

A small delicate finger twirled his hair around the slim appendage making the soft curl more pronounced. So beautiful, satisfied and languid, she felt so right in his arms. Carefully as if he were frightened of breaking her he stroked a line down her cheek, “Liz.” He whispered.

“Mm,” She mewled; tiredly her lashes swept up hitting him squarely with her deep bronze orbs. “Hi.” She whispered. A normal speaking voice seemed inappropriate for the unbelievable and undeniable alien sex she just experienced. “So, do you want to tell me about your alien status first or do you want to hear about mine?”

Clark only hesitated for a second; he couldn’t see the point in denying what he was, after the light show they put on it’d be tough to explain anything other than alien origins. “I am an alien, from a planet called Krypton.”

“You too huh?” She smirked at him. Maria was right, she wasn’t surprised…not really. There was a small part of her that wondered but she never wanted to admit that Clark was another alien let alone Kryptonian. It would mean that he was the other Swann was speaking of and that scared her.

When she first read the e-mail from Swann explaining about the other one of her kind she became far more agitated and worried. What would the other be like, would this other be male and want her, hurting any and everyone she cared about to get to her, to have her. But what frightened her most was if she was the one hurting everyone she loved in order to get the other Kryptonian, in order to make him hers.

“You’re like me?” Hope surged through Clark. Having Liz there on Earth, here with him, meant he wasn’t alone anymore. He’d always had his parents but they were human, they didn’t understand what he went through day after day. They were there for him of course but they could never truly know what he faced being someone from another planet.

Liz nodded. “Yea, got the whole laser beams for eyes, I have super hearing, speed, strength—I am literally impervious to everything.”

“Not everything. There’s a rock—“ He had to let her know that she could be hurt.

“The meteor rock right. Got that fun little tidbit from a Dr. Swann. Told me what it could do to me if I was around it.” Liz chuckled. “Alex wanted to buy a piece so he could study it, find out why Kryptonians have a special weakness from it. Let him know I was firmly against the idea. How’d you find out about it?”

“Hmm, the hard way.” Amazingly it didn’t hurt to think of Lana. He still felt friendship toward her but the romantic feelings had dissipated. “A friend of mine, had a piece of the meteor rock for a necklace, every time I’d get around her I’d feel sick and weak. When her boyfriend stuck the necklace on me I could hardly move.” He explained the story of being tied up in a cornfield for simply befriending Lana.

She didn’t say a word, the tightening of her hand on his arm would have been enough to know her disapproval of his treatment, but the feelings he received slammed that anger home. He could sense the jealousy of Lana, the pain of him being treated that way, and anger at the boy who did it.

“A friend of mine, Lex, he umm, helped me. He got me down, the necklace fell off then.” Clark chuckled lightly, “Got back at him though, piled his truck along w/ a couple others on top of each other.”

Liz let out a joyous laugh. “Now that is classic Maria. She has a very devious mind when it comes to paying people back for wrong doings. You sure Pete didn’t help you w/ that one?” She giggled.

“Nope, thought it all up on my own.” He rose his chin proudly eliciting another giggle from Liz. “Felt guilty about it afterwards but in that moment it felt good.”

“Why feel guilty, he physically attacked you and although he didn’t know it, he put something on you that could have killed you if you’d been around it too long. If it were me, I’d have done worse than hurt his truck. He’d be lucky if he still had a spleen.” She frowned. What kind of person would go up to another person and attack them for talking to their girlfriend?

“But he didn’t know that putting that necklace on me would have hurt me. If he hadn’t I would have been able to take the blows and probably wouldn’t have been put up in the cornfield.” Clark defended Whitney.

“That’s not the point. If he could do that to someone just because they made friends w/ “his girl” than there was something wrong with him.” Liz argued, she didn’t understand why Clark stood up for him. Maybe it was wrong of her but she held grudges forever, nothing could make her forget. When she was eight Mom had a small fender bender, it was Nancy’s fault and she went to exchange insurance information with the woman she hit.

The woman slapped Mom across the face and cursed her out shouting about how stupid Mom was. Not once did Mom slap her back instead she was as calm as could be gave the woman her insurance information and left. Last year that same woman came into the Crashdown and Liz had her table. It gave her great pleasure to screw up her order anyway she could, even spilled a strawberry milkshake all over her.

“It’s not that simple. He was killed about six months back.”

Liz sighed and softened her voice. “And that’s very sad, but it doesn’t change that he hurt you before, and I personally would never forget.”

“Does that mean you wouldn’t save them if they were in trouble?” Curious and worried as to how she may answer. If she said ‘yes’ to his question would that change how he felt about her? How did he feel about her, he knew he just met her but he’s connected to Liz and he didn’t see that going away any time soon.

Liz thought about it for a few minutes, “No, I’d still save them. Might not be as gentle with their bodies as you would be but I can’t say I’d let them die or even suffer.” But would she always think that way, would there come a time when her stance on that would change? She could visibly see Clark’s relief at her answer.

Wanting to find a different topic Clark rose the next question on his mental list of ‘what to ask’. “How are we going to tell our parents about us—your parents do know you’re a Kryptonian right?” Liz moved her leg raising it further up his side, their privates were drawn closer to each other; the fire bubbling below the surface began roaring again.

“Yea, they’ve known since I was adopted…” Liz gasped, her desire rose, “or they knew I was different, special.” She tried to keep her mind on the problem at hand but with Clark nuzzling her puckered nipple it was rather difficult. “So,” she let her head fall back to rest on the rubble, “when did you want to—“ she breathed deeply, “tell them?”

His eyes burn with passion, Kal back at the forefront. “Not for a very long time.” He rose above her savoring the inferno dancing in her eyes, he’s so enraptured he got taken by surprise when Liz rolled them over so she was the one staring down at him.

“But this time we do it my way.” She grinned leaning down to bring their lips together.

Parker Apartment; 7:28 p.m.

“Dammit where are they?”

“Jonathan.” Martha admonished.

“This isn’t like Clark, he was supposed to be back by three o’clock, it’s over fours hours passed, this deserves more than a dammit.” Jonathan argued back.

“It’s not like Liz either and neither Maria or Alex are picking up their cell phones.” Nancy ran a trembling hand through her hair. “What if they have my baby,” she turned tearful eyes to her husband; she didn’t give a damn who found out about Liz’s secret at this point. If FBI agents saw Liz using her gifts while with the Pod Squad than there’s no telling what they’re doing to her.

“They don’t have her.” Jeff whispered, not nearly as confident in his statement as he hoped to be. Thankfully Martha and Jonathan seem to be too involved in their own concern, neither heard Nancy’s frantic outburst.

“Jeff can you try calling Maria again—please.” Martha begged.

“Sure.” What else could he do? He could call Sheriff Valenti, he knew about Liz. He’d be his next call after Maria and Alex again, no more waiting.

Deluca Household; 7:30 p.m.

Yawning Maria felt an annoying buzz next to her hand. She growled at the object that woke her up. Squinting at the red glowing numbers on her digital clock, “Oh shit.” She shot up in bed. “Alex wake up.” A smack on his shoulder effectively brought him to the land of awake people.

“What?” Alex mumbled and turned his back to her not willing to wake up.

“Oh shit. Wake up.” She hit him hard on the butt.

“Jesus, what the hell is your problem?” He’d definitely have a bruise on his ass tomorrow.

“We fell asleep and the Parker’s have left fifteen messages on my phone.” Hurriedly she flipped open her phone, “Hello?”

“Maria thank God, where the hell are Liz and Clark?” Jeff frantically shouted into the receiver. His heart pounded furiously in his chest with relief at finally getting someone.

“They’re still not home yet?” She questioned.

“No, they’re not. Are you saying you don’t know where they are?”

“Well, not exactly. You see Alex and I sort of split up from them around noon. But you don’t have to worry because I know exactly where they are.” That is if they hadn’t left from the now mangled area of the mall.

“So last you knew they were together?”

“Absolutely.” She wasn’t lying, not one bit. Clark and Liz were together in every sense of the word, Maria however doubted that’s what Jeff meant, and she wasn’t going to be the one to break the news to him. She’d do a lot of things for Liz but telling her friend’s father that said friend was no longer a virgin, was not one of them. “Please Mr. Parker don’t worry I am sure that they will show up soon. They just—lost track of time.”

“If they show up there before coming back here you call me understand.”

“Will do.” Maria promised. Jeff didn’t even say goodbye before hanging up; she shut her phone and turned to Alex who had finally woken up. “They are in so much trouble. I have no doubt they’re still where we left them which means they have been at it for almost eight hours.” Maria fell back on the bed, she couldn’t wait to hear the details from Liz tomorrow—if her friend was ever allowed out of the house again that is.

TBC

Chapter 17

Middle of nowhere; 7:35 p.m.

“What the Hell took you so long?” Kyle shouted at his father. “Do you realize I’ve been hanging out here for eight hours with Boris the ex-Russian Mafia man? If you had been any later I may have had a pair of cement shoes.”

“First off don’t use that tone with me. Secondly it’s not my fault you chose to come back home today, and didn’t call me first to come pick you up, and it certainly wasn’t my fault that the cab broke down. Thirdly he wasn’t a Mafia man.” Jim shot back.

Kyle shook his head. “You didn’t hear him tell me the intimate details of his life. He never said he was Mafia but he damn well implied it. Not to mention that I was struck almost every hour with feelings of passion, love, and mind blowing sex. In case you were wondering—that’s not a good thing with someone who could kill you in a blink of an eye.”

Jim was having a difficult time not busting a gut at his son’s problems. Then what Kyle said penetrated his tired brain. “Wait, what you talking about? How were you feeling those things unless…” He rose an eyebrow at Kyle. “Is there something you want to tell me son?”

“No! Dad no.”

“Son you can tell me. I promise I won’t look at you any differently, you’ll always be my son, Kyle.” Comforted Jim.

“Dad, I wasn’t with Boris. Nor would I ever be. I'm not with any guy—or any woman for that matter.” He sighed. “I just—I couldn’t stop getting these powerful emotions. No idea where they were coming from or from who. Don’t really understand much of anything right now.” Kyle dropped his head into his hands trying to scrub away the feeling of helplessness.

Jim pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road and turned off the engine. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not yet.” That much he did know. “I need to sort things out first. Talk to Liz.”

“So it has something to do with her? Could it be Pod Squad related?” He questioned.

Kyle shook his head negatively. “Absolutely not related to the PS at all.” That’s another thing he knew. His job was to protect Liz, but at this point he didn’t know from what.

Reluctantly Jim started the truck back up; he’d be ready when Kyle wanted to talk. For now he needed to concentrate on getting them back home.

Outside Parker Household; 7:45 p.m.

Night was creeping up on the town of Roswell, the sun was sinking low on the horizon and Clark was carrying a very tired and exhausted Liz. She felt so small and fragile in his arms he wanted to puff out his chest and beat it like Tarzan while roaring signaling to anyone within hearing range that this was his woman and he’d protect her at all costs.

As he climbed the stairs outside to get to the front door of the apartment he gave no thought to the worried parents inside or how late it got. All that entered his mind was the tiny elf in his embrace. If he had his way they’d probably still be in the mall but when Liz heard someone close by she panicked.

In a hurry they dressed and sped out of there, when they were a safe distance away from the massive building they slowly walked toward her neighborhood. On the way they held hands and spoke to each other about what their Kryptonian names were what powers they had, who knew their secret, until Liz’s head began to droop coming to a rest against his bicep.

Without asking Clark scooped her up and proceeded to carry her through the quieting neighborhood. He knew some people saw them, there was a middle aged gentleman, with a almost bald head, and a oddly shaped head that made Clark think of an alien, staring at them for a few minutes till they stopped in front of the Crashdown. When he had turned to see if the man was still there he couldn’t find him.

Quietly Clark turned the doorknob opening the apartment door, standing with their arms crossed were two sets of parents, one his, the other Liz’s. His love remained oblivious to the combined wall of parents, staying asleep against his chest.

Nancy was the first to break the formation followed quickly by Martha; both rush to their babies making sure they were all right. Liz much to Nancy’s concern wasn’t waking up, she held her head between her hands. “Oh God she’s burning up. What happened?” She demanded.

Clark didn’t let her go, instead he stormed passed them and carried her upstairs to his temporary room, somehow knowing that in this state she needed to be close to things that carried his scent. Him, the bed he slept on, or the clothes he wore.

The others were hot on his heels, Jonathan yelled at him to get back there. Martha spared her husband a glance that said ‘Yeah, like that has ever worked in the past’, before going to Clark’s bedroom. She saw him gently lay Liz down on the bed, cover her with a thick quilt, and kiss her forehead. The young girl cuddled into Clark’s pillow sighing in relief and breathed in the smell clinging too the object.

“What is going on?” Martha stared at her son, his eyes held an edginess that she’d only seen once, when he was on Red K. But that was impossible, there was none around here—right?

“Clark you better tell us what happened to our baby girl or I swear to God I won’t care that you are my best friends son I will dismember you.” The boy was close to two inches taller than he was but none of that mattered when Liz’s life could be at risk.

Jonathan got in the middle of Jeff and Clark ready to fight for his son. “Back off.” He glared at his long time friend. “For all we know he could have saved Liz from someone. Don’t be threatening him until you know the whole story.”

“All we want to know is what happened.” Nancy placated, but her worry and frustration at not knowing what happened to Liz got the best of her. “He comes back with her four hours later with her unconscious and burning up. Than instead of telling us what’s going on he takes her up to his room. From where I'm standing he’s not looking too favorable.”

Oh no. Nancy placed a hand over her eyes; this wasn’t the first time this had happened. The unconscious part yes, but not the burning up part. She snuck back in when she was dating Max and she was burning up. Nancy knew Liz’s normal temperature was a few degrees warmer than humans were but she was far hotter than her normal body heat.

“What did you two do before coming back home?” She’s only slightly worried about what she’ll find out but she had to know if she was going to fix Liz. Fix her as best she could.

Clark lost the edge in his eyes blushed deeply. “Liz and I got to know each other.” That was an understatement.

“How much did you get to know each other?” Jonathan got in on the Q & A portion of the evening. “Somehow I doubt you’d be carrying her if all you talked about were your favorite colors and least favorite foods.”

“Well, we did talk about that—briefly.” Clark fought Kal as hard as he could. Kal wanted to tell them exactly how well he knew Liz, how intimate they had been. It disturbed him how much power his other half had. None of this made sense, why did he have two personalities, shouldn’t they be molded together as one as opposed to one fighting the other for dominance.

“Please Clark, be straight with us.” Martha pleaded. “This is not a time to beat around the bush.”

Both parents already knew their children were aliens, but neither knew about the other’s kid. Now would be the perfect time to tell them. Wouldn’t it? That way the explanations that’d come later would make more sense. At least he hoped they would. “Being Kryptonian certainly has some weird ass side effects.” He finally said.

TBC

Chapter 18

“Clark!” Martha and Jonathan shout. She stared back and forth from her crazy son to her soon to be ex-friends. What sane people would believe Clark was an alien; they might call the loony bin to cart him off. And if they happened to believe him they could very well become her enemy, people she’d have to protect her son from.

Instead of laughing off the comment Jeff turned a powerful glare toward the young Kent boy. “What are you saying Clark?” No reason to show panic yet, Liz could have deemed him trustworthy, obviously that blind faith was misplaced but nothing he couldn’t take care of. Jeff only hoped Martha and Jonathan wouldn’t mind visiting their son’s grave. He couldn’t let Clark live; he had to protect his daughter.

“He didn’t mean anything by it, did you Clark?” Jonathan answered for him staring his son down hoping he’d pick up the mental cry of ‘shut up’. Too bad he didn’t receive the message, Clark didn’t even flinch, what the hell was going on with him? He showed up late without a phone call stared at Liz all day with drool running down his mouth, and now he’s blabbing a closely guarded secret.

“Being Kryptonian has weird side effects.” Clark knew he should explain but Kal was doing his best to get control over his actions. Thankfully he had enough of his wits about him to recognize he needed to clarify his previous statement. “I know who Liz is and she knows who I am.”

“She told you…”

“You told her…”

Jonathan and Jeff shot confused stares to each other, within a matter of a few seconds suspicion, worry, understanding and finally relief passed between them. Martha couldn’t take her eyes off the teenager oblivious to the world and the events happening around her, snuggled sweetly in Clark’s bed.

It worried her how close Clark had become to Liz. She’s happy for him, happy that he’s getting close to someone but a part of her was scared too. The only other person they had encountered that was from Krypton was Jor-El and he wasn’t exactly the warmest person she’d ever met. What if Liz was like that too?

Even if she wasn’t like Jor-El, Martha still wasn’t a hundred percent all right with her. She couldn’t help but worry that Liz would take away her little boy and she wasn’t ready to let go yet.

“Don’t worry, we’re fine. Umm, I'm sorry that one of us didn’t call-we were talking back and forth and when we realized how much time had past we got back here as soon as possible.” He hated lying to his parents and by default Liz’s, but in this case it’s the safest option.

Nancy stepped forward. “If all you two did was talk why is Liz still asleep? We haven’t exactly been quiet these last five minutes and she would have woken up by now. And the fever, what about her fever, the only time she’s been that hot before was when she dating Max.” Fear strained her voice, was there something wrong with Liz? Did Clark hurt her? Did he drug her? Until she knew what occurred she didn’t care how irrational her thoughts were.

Kal reared his possessive head again the moment Max’s name entered his brain. “Max? That stalker prick that stopped by last night to talk to Liz?” His eyes flare red, no one touched his mate. Kal imagined tossing him up in the air like a ball and not catching him when he came back down to Earth.

“Clark Jerome Kent, you watch your mouth.” Jonathan spoke with authority.

“Shove it Dad.” Kal spat back. “She is mine.” He pointed to the still girl on the bed. “Max,” he sneered the boy’s name, the boy he’d never met but hated already, “Dared to date her, touch her, he shouldn’t have even looked at her.”

“What the fuck are you talking about that Liz is yours. Listen kid my daughter is not your possession. Hear me? I don’t give a shit if you are stronger than me I’ll kick your ass.” Jeff stood up the raging teenage alien.

From her tranquil garden of comfort and safety Liz felt the anger of Clark. What had him so upset? It was a slow process, to her it passed like hours instead of seconds, but eventually she was able to hear the voices around the room as they rose in hostility. Stretching out her tired muscles she rolled over and opened her eyes.

Clark’s back was tense. Really tense, tendons in his neck were bulging, rippling power tight in his back. She eased from the bed and rested a hand softly on his back. He’s so warm, strong, and safe, all Liz wanted to do was cuddle into that embrace and hear him talk to her. She loved his voice, husky, deep, passionate, and loving.

The second he felt her touch whisper across his back he whipped around gathering her close. “You can’t leave me. Don’t leave me.” He murmured into her hair. “You’re mine, tell them you’re mine.” Desperation laced with rage.

“Shhh,” She soothed. “There’s nothing to worry about.” Liz kept her tone soft and calming, not taking into account the shocked, furious, and protective parents nearby. “Not leaving you. I’d never leave you.” The reason for his sudden flare became obvious when a brief flash sent a picture of Max to her brain. “He never had me.”

“I’d rip him apart.” Clark growled. Millions of years of ancestry, his genes from the Kryptonian males before him, all overshadowed the twelve years living under his parent’s roof, the rules and manners they had raised him with. All that mattered was that he was a Kryptonian male who had found his mate, bonded with her, and sealed the bond by consummating repeatedly. Everything else cease to exist.

“I know.” She buried her head against his chest.

Jeff Parker could not believe what he was witnessing. Not only was his daughter cuddling up with Clark she was ignoring them completely. Liz had never done that, to some degree he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Liz was slightly afraid of both him and Nancy. She knew they would never hurt her deliberately, physically or mentally, but she had a respect for them, a line she didn’t cross. It was a common joke in their family that if she was ever picked up by the cops for doing wrong she’d beg the cops to keep her, she knew she’d get in trouble if she went home.

That was thrown out the window today though. There wasn’t a glimmer of ‘Oh no, I'm getting a lecture and Mom and Dad are taking my driving privileges away forever’. She didn’t even acknowledge Nancy or him; he was going to put a stop to that right then.

“Elizabeth Claudia Parker you better get your hands off that boy and tell us why the hell you are late and give us a good reason why we shouldn’t lock you in your room till you’re eighty.” Jeff crossed his arms and put on the disappointed, frustrated, and confused expression he had come equipped with the second they adopted Lizzie.

“I might be able to answer that.” A voice coming from the bottom of the stairs interrupted the family brew-ha-ha. With a sheepish ‘Why me?’ sort of grin he climbed the stairs his father not far behind him.

“Kyle, Sheriff? What in God’s name are you two doing here?” Nancy questioned. This outta be good.

TBC

A.N. I know Clark is OOC, but there is a reason for it, which may or may not be revealed in the next chapter, it depends on if Khivar continues to yell for a chapter that’s all him.

Chapter 19

Liz rose her head from Clark’s chest; she sensed power in the Valenti’s. Recognition flared, “Val?” She stared at Jim. He’s Kryptonian; she could feel his essence, his gifts, his duty. “How do I know this?”

Kyle didn’t understand why she called Dad, Val. It rose even more questions when Jim lowered his head signaling that he’s subservient. “Dad? What’s going on?” Nothing made sense and he was intent on getting answers.

“My name is Val ‘enti Gim-us, it means…”

“Watchful Furya.” Clark spoke up; language he’d only heard for a brief moment of his life came back to him like he’d spoken it all his life. “Explanations, now.” None of this made sense, he could sense Val wasn’t a danger to him or Liz but he got nothing in terms of his reasons, why he was there in Roswell, the elder man had a wall protecting himself from invasion.

“That’s a very good request,” Jonathan stepped forward. “One I agree with. Neither one of you are coming near Clark until we get answers.” Frustration and irritation toward Clark was pushed to the far reaches of his mind, those emotions put away to be dealt with later.

Kyle turned toward his Dad. “Are you--?” The question hung in the air waiting for an answer.

“Yea son. There’s a lot you need to know too. All you were told was the bare minimum, enough to get you here, enough to protect yourself as well. I wish this could have waited till you were older Kyle but its tradition and you are greatly needed.” Jim cryptically said.

This was all happening too fast; nothing made sense to him anymore. His Dad wasn’t really human, he wasn’t human anymore, he knew he had to protect Liz, and to top it all off he’s highly prized, ‘greatly needed’ didn’t exactly invoke an image of a nobody. “Dad what do you mean?”

Jeff had enough of this, “All of you downstairs now. Jim since it’s safe to say you and Kyle are “Clark and Liz like” if you get my drift lets all go downstairs and deal with this. Maybe have some coffee…”

“Or vodka.” Nancy mumbled from beside him. Coffee would not be strong enough, vodka probably wouldn’t be either but it’d take the edge off.

Martha shared a look with the other mother confirming her own desire for the strong beverage. One by one the group mixed with regular humans and Kryptonians descend the stairway with Clark and Liz bringing up the rear. Liz went first not letting go of Clark’s hand. His boots stomped hard on the light beige carpet covering the stairs.

Entwined fingers kept the new couple in constant contact, when Clark sat down on the couch and settled Liz onto his lap Jeff opened his mouth to make his displeasure known but Nancy touched his shoulder and shook her head. “Leave it be for now.” They had more important things to discuss, and then later they could talk to the kids privately.

Jim waited for Nancy to finish getting drinks for everyone, Martha helped, neither woman bothered to ask their husbands for assistance. The two were quite content to keep a watchful eye on the room’s occupants.

Space; 300 light years from Earth

“Sir,” Vasar burst into Khivar’s private chambers unannounced interrupting his dinner.

He jumped in surprise, able to keep a blush from emerging at being alarmed. “Dammit Vasar.” Keeping one hand under the table he calmed his breathing.

“Sorry sir but this couldn’t wait.”

“You say that about everything.” Sighing he leaned back slightly. “What is it?” His heart beat slowed to a steady rhythm.

“We got word from Val that he had to reveal himself to Livara…and Kal-El.” Vasar waited as Khivar absorbed the information, waited for his orders.

Khivar rested his chin on his palm tapping his temple in concentration. Swallowing he leaned forward again, “Kal-El is her mate-?” that knowledge wasn’t in any record, Jor-El and Myr-ra, Livara’s father, destroyed any document containing that, not even he, the man who gave a blood oath to Livara’s father hadn’t even been told. “I was hoping he’d have waited till we arrived on Earth but if Kal-El and Livara have mated they have access to customs, language, traditions, even the ability to know who Kryptonians are by feeling their essence.”

Sensing others like them was the most widely shared ability among Krypt’s any of them from the rich to the poor, from the young to the old could have the power. It was only a matter of tapping into the gift.

“What transmission should I send back to Val sir?”

“Tell him we received his message and we’ll be speeding up-we need to get to Earth soon.” It upset him that he left a week behind schedule. The battle to overthrow Zanrive and Niska took longer than expected.

“Permission to speak freely?” Vasar questioned.

“Granted.” He was a friend breaking protocol wasn’t a problem, and he was never one for following the rules at all times.

“Why not destroy the Royal Four? If they are going to be such a large issue shouldn’t we dispose of them and as soon as possible?”

“I don’t completely disagree with you but unfortunately the Royal Four are important as well.” A look passed between the two friends. “Not just Vilandra but the entire group has a purpose. Now go send the message to Val, we’ll be there in a week and a half.”

With a quick bow Vasar scurried from the room. Once the door behind him shut a dark brown head of hair peeked up from below the table staring coyly up at the new King. “Do you think he knew I was down here?” She zipped him up.

“Of course he knew.” He kissed her lips. “I'm normally not that jumpy when he barges in.” Khivar sneaked another kiss. “Go eat dinner, then afterwards, dessert.” Flicking his tongue over her bottom lip he rose from the table, his drink in hand and went to the computer.

Parker Household; 8:05 p.m.

Once the wives sat down Jim sat forward, his hands clasped wondering where to start. There was so much story to tell but what were the most important parts that Clark, Liz, and Kyle needed to know now? Their species origins? How Kryptonians came to be? No, neither of those.

First and foremost they needed to know who he and Kyle were, about their biological families, what happened to their planet, why they were so drawn to each other, and certain traditions and events that would take place now they were a couple.

“As Clark has told you my Kryptonian name means ‘Watchful Furya’, a Furya is our planets version of a mythical creature between a tiger, winged animal, and dragon. Yes, we had real dragon like creatures on Krypton, the size of elephants.” He started. This he knew was going to be a very long story and while thrilled he could finally tell Livara of his existence he didn’t look forward to being the one to answer every question and tell every tale.

“We know that, but who are you?” Skepticism gripped her heart. What were the odds that Sheriff Valenti was like them? If so why didn’t he tell her sooner? She’d trusted him with her secret for all these years and to find out that he had been concealing something this huge from her hurt. “Here you are, I'm feeling you’re Kryptonian, yet nothing was said to me about this. I told you who I was and not once did you let us in on the fact that you’re the same.”

“Isn’t that the same thing you’re doing to the others? Keeping them in the dark about your secret? They told you theirs and yet you have yet to disclose you’re different too.” Jim shot back; he didn’t like the tone Liz was using with him.

Clark’s gaze hardened. “The first part of your name means ‘watchful’ so I suggest you ‘watch’ how you speak to Liz.”

“That is completely different. Yes, they're aliens but they’re aren’t Kryptonian. Once Max healed Maria I had to know who he was, I didn’t even know he was otherworldly, for all I knew he had a fetish for ketchup and wanted to see Maria dolled up in the finest of condiment ware.” Jonathan, Martha, and Clark stare at her oddly.

And she just opened her big mouth; here she was blurting out others people’s secrets without a single thought. That was how Alex got caught up in the whole Max, Isabel and Michael were aliens too. Like he didn’t have enough problems dealing with her status now he had the others.

“Huh?” Clark watched as she breathed in and out carefully. He didn’t like that Max seemed to be an alien too. Would he be a future problem? Cause issues between him and Liz? He should dispose of the alien boy now. Clark popped his neck in frustration while tightening his hold on the girl in his arms. Dispose of him quic-what was he talking about. No, he needed to be cool, calm, and rational.

“Can we get into that later? One alien issue at a time.” She pleaded quietly.

The grip around her waist eased till his hand was draped casually back on her hip. “All right.” He agreed.

“Thank you.” She whispered nuzzling her nose with his. Soothing vibes were sent through their connection easing the tension from both.

“And what the hell is that about?” Jonathan asked. “Ever since they came home Clark has been smothering her and Liz hasn’t been a step or two away from him. They haven’t stopped touching since she woke up.”

“One of the many things that we need to discuss.”

Kyle stood. “I'm all for discussing, but first you and I need to talk outside Dad. Now.” He left the Parker’s living room, he knew Dad would follow him, whether it be to yell at him for demanding to speak to him or to comfort him. Either way he would be coming downstairs to talk to him.

TBC

Chapter 20

Crashdown Backroom

Kyle waited for Jim to descend the stairs before he turned around. His father was not happy in the slightest, the veins on his neck threatened to burst as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. "Dad--how could--okay I know our family isn't the most open, hell we purposely avoid speaking about anything negative in our lives but you should have told me what I am...what you were." He scratched at his neck.

"I know son but now is not the--"

"No it is the perfect time to get into this. Not telling Liz is one thing but I'm your son, you should have told me." Suddenly an unpleasant thought entered into his mind. "God, are you even my father? Was I some weird Kryptonian experiment that you were in charge of?"

"Of course I'm your father. And you are my son by blood. Wouldn't matter if you were an experiment anyway you'd still be my son. Michelle, your mother, is also Kryptonian, when we came down to Earth to protect Liz and Clark she was pregnant." He'd never told anybody that it felt good to let his son in finally. "A Kryptonian pregnancy takes almost two years, now because Liz and Clark's biological parents wouldn't send their children down to any planet unprotected they sent us four years before they arrived."

"Where's Mom now?"

"Smallville, Kansas. She implanted her image and fake memories into the majority of the town, even made a family believe that she was their daughter and sister. That’s her strongest power, implanting things in people's heads." A note a pride could be heard in his voice.

Kyle thought for a moment. "So it's kind of like Tess's mind-warping power?"

"Yes and no. Tess has very little power compared to Michelle. Where Tess can only manipulate a couple of people's minds for a few minutes, Michelle can deeply imbed images, memories, and emotions, almost anything and keep it there till she removes it. And it's not a drain on her powers as time goes on. The function however is fairly similar." Jim explained.

Kyle plopped down on the couch in the breakroom. He never expected a tale like that. Did he believe his father--hell yes, what other choice was there? Sure he could deny everything his father said was true but than he'd be in denial. Too many things have happened to him and the people around him for him to bury his head in the sand. "What did you mean by this is tradition? What's tradition?"

"Because you're from a family of Protectors it's your job to become a Protector too. Liz was my charge and now she's yours. Even now I can feel my connection to her fading." Seeing his confusion Jim elaborated. "I had to know if she was all right even if I wasn't around. Ever wondered why I was so interested in Max Evans after Liz started dating him? I had to be sure he didn't hurt her--in anyway.”

“Being her Protector was both an honor and a curse. Honor because I was guarding one of the last few living Kryptonians and a curse because our family was torn apart. You grew up without your mother; I've lived over a decade without my wife. It hasn't been easy for me and it won't be easy for you..."

"Dad you're sucking all the fun out of being an alien." He teased. Reluctantly he stood, "We need to tell the other's this."

"Can you feel Liz getting antsy?"

"Big time. There's calmness attached to it too though. What's that about?"

"Probably Clark. Mates tend to send feelings back and forth. If one's feeling scared the other will send reassuring vibes to them, if they're feeling sad they send happy vibes. Kryptonian Mates are very connected and it's almost if not completely impossible to tear them apart."

Upstairs

"Liz?" Still no response. "Liz!?" Jeff rose his voice but still wasn't getting through to her. "Elizabeth Claudia Parker." That got her attention.

"Yes Daddy?" She opened her eyes and rose her head from Clark's chest. When Jim and Kyle went downstairs she closed her eyes to rest for a few minutes. She was so tired; mating with her mate tended to tucker a girl out. Not that she minded.

"Before Kyle and Jim return where were you and Clark this afternoon? Why were you so late?" He knew they'd already been asked this question before but he hoped Liz hadn't heard Clark's answer. That boy wasn't telling the whole truth and he didn't like that, not one bit.

"The mall, and when we found out we were the same species we got to talking. Kind of lost track of time. We would have called Dad really but we forgot too."

Liz was lying; she was lying to him again. Why was it that when a boy was involved she resorted to lying? First with Kyle she lied about his father being home one evening. Than with Max it was one lie after the other. He could hardly keep them straight. And now with Clark she wasn't being truthful. Liz gave herself away when she wouldn't look at him in the eye; she wasn't biting her lip so there was some ring of truth to her story but very little. For now he'd let it go, they had more important issues to deal with but he would not let the lying go on forever.

Jim and Kyle's footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Finally maybe now they'd get some answers. Nancy gripped her glass filled with vodka--what did you think she was kidding about that--and waited impatiently for the father and son to take their seats and begin the information sharing.

"Clark, Liz do you know who your biological parents are?" One nodded yes, the other shook their head no. "Okay, Clark, as you know your natural parents were the rulers of our planet, Jor-El and Lara. Lara was kind and generous while Jor-El resorted to other means. He wasn't a bad ruler, in fact he was quite good, his method's however were not the friendliest. Your mother and father created the perfect balance, she was there to stop him from going to far and he was there to be the back bone that she at times lacked."

"Now Liz, your mother was named Darapha--Kyle I'm sure you saw her--" He nodded and let Dad continue. "She was a scientist, it was her job to figure out who was mated to each other. It was also common for her to be apart of the experiments held on our planet. While your father Myr-ra was a liaison for our planet. He went to various planets--Antar being one--and spoke on behalf of Jor-El and Lara. For a good ten years our planet's scientist knew Krypton was going to explode in the near future. No one believed them--except Kal-El’s parents and small pockets of people. Darapha spoke to Jor-El and pleaded with him to send scouts to other planets similar to our own so our people could survive. Jor-El listened...to some extent."

"Jor-El kept the information from his people, he did send a few people out to various planets many light years away that resembled our atmosphere. Earth was one of them, Antar another. Since Earthlings weren't aware that other intelligent life forms existed outside of themselves it was important our ships remain cloaked. There had already been one incident years earlier with the Antarian Royal Four's ship we certainly didn't need an incident with Krypton's." Jim explained.

"How old are we? Are we really sixteen?" Clark asked.

"In Earth years yes. However in Kryptonian no. Roughly your and Liz's correct age is somewhere between nineteen and twenty-two. Our planet rotates a couple months faster than Earth but since our people age much slower it doesn't effect us much. On this planet unless something unforeseeable happens, you'll both live to be well into your four-hundreds."

"Okay, how is that possible?" Jonathan spoke up. "How could you not have over-populated your planet with that long to live?"

"Who said we didn't?" Jim cryptically answered. "We weren't without our predators. We had creatures that could kill us, diseases that could eat us from the inside out; many of the same concerns Earthlings have here. The only difference is we live longer naturally and unnaturally." Seeing their confused expressions he explained further. "Naturally we live a total of two-hundred years, however with our years of technology and testing we can now live up to four-hundred."

"But we're not on Krypton, wouldn't that mean we won't have access to this technology that makes us live longer?" While Liz wasn't sure how comfortable she'd be living so long that all her loved ones die she couldn't help but be intrigued by the possibility.

"Don't worry about that. All babies while in the womb are given the concoction to further their life-span." Noticing they didn't have anymore questions right now he continued with his story. "When our soldiers sent word back to Jor-El that certain planets would be ideal to send their people to he spoke with Lara. By that time she was pregnant with Kal-El, you Clark. So they waited, not long, but long enough for your mate, Livara, to be born."

Liz played with Clark's fingers, unlacing and lacing them together. "How did they know that I'd be born? How did they know that I was his mate?"

"The Hylena--or Oracle whichever you prefer. It's usually a she, sometimes there's an oops if you will and a male becomes an Hylena."

"An 'oops'?" Jeff rose an eyebrow.

"When a male receives the Hylena gifts it's not exactly a great thing, for one most men can't handle the gift, something with their brains not being able to take the constant visions. And other males would look down on him, mind powers are supposed to be a females gift, when a male receives them it's a disgrace. Anyway, the Hylena gave word to the King and Queen that Kal-El's mate would be conceived within three months and she was.”

“It was then my wife and myself were sent to Earth to make sure we would be here when you arrived. Jsynria, when we first arrived on Earth she called herself Michelle, was sent to watch and protect you Clark, while I was sent to watch and protect Liz. At that time she was already pregnant with Kyle. Now since we were sent here I don't know much of what went on in that last year and half that our planet lived but I know that we got word both of you would be sent to Earth within the day. Only a few hours later as you and Liz were hurdling toward Earth, Krypton exploded, with most of our people still there, completely clueless."

"If my protector was supposed to be watching me then who is she? Since Liz knows you I would assume it'd be someone I know but I can't think of anyone who might fit the bill." Clark asked. So much information he had to learn, he had so many questions. He only hoped Jim would be able to answer them.

"She lives in Smallville and now goes by the name Nell Potter. And she takes care of her niece Lana Lang."

TBC

A.N. I couldn’t remember Nell’s last name for the life of me so I made up my own. If it’s right great, if not that’s all right too.

Chapter 21

Clark stared at Jim in shock. "Did I hear you right?" He dropped his hand from Liz's waist to her thigh. "Lana Lang's Aunt is really your wife and Kryptonian? No way. She's completely normal--and how wouldn't I know that? I've been around Lana a lot and by default Nell too. No way is she like us."

Jealousy reared its ugly head when Clark mentioned he spent a lot of time with Lana. She had an overwhelming desire to leave his arms and run off to some far away deserted planet so she could destroy it by punching and kicking it till all its little bits and pieces were floating around space looking for another planet to cause a huge crater on.

Kyle felt the need to hurt something--more like someone--coming from Liz with such force he was pushed back into the seat. "Jeez Liz, tone it down a little will ya. I'm sure they're only friends." He rubbed his chest. Jealousy and anger weren't the only two emotions Liz was feeling. Hurt, confusion, and doubt hit his heart and body like a Mac Truck.

"What?" Her voice shaky and racked with emotion. Clark and this Lana character had a history, he said himself that he had a crush on her but she saw inside his head...he thought it was love at one point and that hurt her more than anything she had experienced before. Insecurity ate away at her, a part of her psyche questioned her ability to keep a man interested, after all Max certainly hadn't stuck around for her. The minute an alien female from his planet that he was attracted to came to town he was gone testing the waters out.

Another part however won out--Livara. Her constant companion, the one side of her that knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to go out and get it. Clark--Kal--was hers and always would be. Who could deny their fire, their passion, and their bond? No one that's who. He's mine. Lana be damned; she wasn't going to give up Clark without a fight to the death...Lana's death.

"That's apparently something else we need to talk about. Whoa, tone down the violence too Liz. Don't need to see what you plan to do to the girl if you ever meet her."

Clark tilted his head to look into Liz's eyes. She'd muted the emotions he received from her. "Don't do that." He spoke with such authority that Liz started to release the floodgates keeping him from getting any thought or feeling that she didn't want him to get, but once she realized that's what she was doing she stopped. "Why are you hiding?" She caressed the side of his cheek and only shook her head negatively.

"It's nothing." Liz whispered, unsure of how much she'd reveal with her and Clark's parents right there.

Screw this, Kal growled in his head. Clark stood and carried Liz into her room locking the door and melting it with heat vision. Gasps and growled 'Come back here's' went unanswered. He held her close. "What. Tell me what's wrong. How can help if you won't tell me?" Forcing her to tell him wouldn't do any good, even Kal was against that idea--to an extent.

"When you mentioned Lana--" eyes flared red, "--God I wanted to kill her. Didn't matter that you're with me, didn't matter that we bonded, didn't matter that I know you wouldn't get back with her...I still hated her. I still wanted to rip her to shreds so she'd never have you." She pulled away and shoved her fingers into her hair. "What kind of a person does that make me? How could I think about doing that to someone, someone I'd never even met all because you said you spent a lot of time with her?"

Back Alley of Crashdown

Max stared up the familiar ladder. He'd climbed it so many times, it made him think of being Romeo on his way to see his Juliet. Now it only brought thoughts of what had been and what could have been. When he first suggested they have no contact with their human friends he didn't think it'd be forever. If anything he thought it'd last a week tops and then their friends would be back almost begging to lift their separation. It shocked him when a week passed and none of them spoke to him, it down right worried him when a month passed and still no sign that they were going to crack.

During the meeting Nasedo called at his home he spoke of the newcomers staying in the Parker's home. Apparently Tess brought it up earlier but she swore it wasn't to cause suspicion. According to her Nasedo asked about them and she only told him what little she knew and didn't think they were a threat. Their protector implored them to keep a close eye on them. He mentioned he saw the young man carrying Liz down the street and up to the Parker's home.

Max instantly argued that Liz wouldn't let anybody carry her. They had dated for a few months and she never let him carry her. Always balked saying she could walk and didn't need anyone carrying her like she a weak little thing. But Nasedo yelled back at him saying that he knew what he saw.

Neither King nor Protector was willing to budge on the subject so he changed it. Max asked about Khivar and if Nasedo had any new information that would help them against him. He mentioned that it was too soon to tell. In a couple days he might have more information on that front since messages tended to take at least a few hours to reach him here on Earth.

He straightened his gray t-shirt, he meant to change before he came here to see Liz but he needed to talk to her. Tell her that he was an idiot in demanding they stay apart from each other. He still thought he should be with Tess, continue his destiny with her, but that didn't mean he and Liz couldn't be friendly. Max grabbed the second to bottom rung and began his ascent up the well-oiled ladder.

Liz's Bedroom

Clark followed close behind her. "Breathe." Hormones raced and he leaned down kissing her exposed heated neck.

"Clark this isn't. This isn't normal. Nothing about this is normal. Every time you're near I want to mark you, scratch at your back to let anybody man or woman know that you are mine." She whirled around to face him. "There's this burning need inside of me that craves...no demands that I claim you. Should we be like this? Is this normal "us" stuff?"

"Even if it's not I certainly don't want it to stop." He hauled her up, her legs wrap around him. "Knowing that you need me, desire me, feel claim toward me." Clark nipped at her chin. "It drives me wild." Red eyes flared raking his gaze over her body seeing everything fully, thank God for x-ray vision. "Everything you feel--that desire to claim that just won't quit, I wouldn't give that up for anything. It's there for me too." He growled against her throat, Liz threw back her head in pleasure.

"Want to do--" She pulled him closer to her exposed neck, enjoying to the fullest extent his lips, tongue, and teeth leaving their impressions against her flesh. "Want to do some claiming right now." A husky groan escaped, letting him know just how much she loved his touch.

They fell on the bed in front of them, neither noticing the figure that watched them with disgust, hurt, and anger.

TBC

Chapter 22

Jeff Parker reached the door a couple seconds after it closed. Thankfully Clark hadn’t used his super speed to make it to Liz’s room. He raised his hand to bang on the door but Jim stopped him. "Why the hell did you stop me? You better have a damn good reason for stopping me from breaking down that door and dragging my daughter out of there."

"You really don't want to interrupt them." He kept his hand against the angry father's chest. "Believe me Jeff I know how you're feeling but they are in a crucial stage right now."

"Crucial stage? Crucial stage? I'd damn well say so, that walking package of hormones is getting ready to take advantage of my innocent daughter." He couldn't fathom his little girl being the aggressor.

Martha frowned and left Jonathan’s side. Nobody talked about her son that way. “Don’t blame Clark for all this. Your daughter isn’t innocent in all this. She wasn’t pushing Clark away. Liz was receptive—“

"All of you be quiet.” Jim scowled at the parents. “I'm sorry Jeff but she's not your little girl anymore. She is just as--active in this process. There's no way Clark could force her into anything or take advantage of--" A loud thud could be heard from inside Liz's room. "Why don't we take this conversation into the living room."

Reluctantly the parents made their way to the living room; the sight that greeted them shocked them. Kyle floated above the couch, a yellow light surrounded him and his eyes were squeezed shut. Jim hurried over to him and went to grab him but the force field that hovered around Kyle zapped him and threw him back into the bookcase. "Dammit."

"What is going on. It's time you let the parents in on what their children are apart of." Jonathan demanded. He hated being in the dark. There wasn't much that bothered him more than not knowing if something was “wrong” with his son. Sure there are some things that Jonathan didn't pry but Clark’s safety was not one of them.

Jim straightened and shook off the fuzzy sensations he felt, the feelings came from Kyle’s force field, and Liz and Clark caused that force field. Instead of answering he ignored Jeff, Jonathan, Nancy, and Martha for a few moments, sighing he closed his eyes and raised his hands, palms out, facing Kyle and began to chant words that were foreign to the parents. Kyle slowly descended from the ceiling. The yellow glow dissipated but didn't disappear completely, and Jim set him gently on the couch.

A little sweat trickled down his forehead. Jim wiped it off with the side of his sleeve; his powers weren’t nearly as strong as they had been in previous years. He breathed deeply and turned back to the frustrated parents. "Because Liz and Clark, Livara and Kal, are mated pairs and as corny as it sounds, destined to be together--made to be one with one another however you want to say it, because of that they're...going through a...stage."

"Stage?" Nancy breathed out carefully. "Ok, you already said crucial stage. Elaborate."

Telling angry, worried, and homicidal parents wouldn't be easy. "Alright. To make a very long and detailed history rather short, Kryptonians are primitive when it comes to finding their mate. The women tend to be more aggressive when it comes to that. Once they chose their mate almost nothing will stop them from pursuing them. While not as primal as the women can be, the males are not to be messed with either. They hate when another male encroaches on what he considers his territory."

Angered at the explanation Jeff stood a little closer to Jim staring him straight in the eye. "Whoa Jim. Liz is nobodies territory."

"Clark may argue with you there. It's certainly not one-sided though. You didn't feel what Liz felt when Clark mentioned another woman's name. Images came into my head and they weren't pretty and all were from Liz. She wanted to kill the girl, a girl she'd never met. During this time you can't look at Liz and Clark as your children, because right now they aren't."

"You're not making any sense. Not our children? Of course they are." Martha argued. Not liking anything that Jim was spouting.

"Unfortunately you can't think that way, not right now. If you go in there you may not come out alive and I'm not exaggerating. On Krypton, approximately two hundred years before the planet imploded, there was an incident with a visiting Royal Family from Antar. Two young Krypton adults who hadn't claimed each other yet were engaged in an intimate moment. Three members of the seven Royal’s that were visiting stumbled upon them, they apologized and turned to leave but the Kryptonians wouldn't let them. They killed those three members of the Royal Family and to this day most Antarians dislike Kryptonians."

"How do you know this?"

"My brother and his destined mate were the two young Kryptonians that killed them." When Brumian and Kayla returned they had such a wild look to their eyes, their bodies covered in blood from head to toe. “After they had killed the three they continued in their mating neither caring about the blood that was smeared on their bodies. My brother admitted to me that the blood all over them was a turn on. It was a freshly spilt trophy.”

The stares of shock and horror were not lost on him but they needed to understand what they were dealing with. “Do not make the mistake of interrupting them. They are Kryptonian, no matter what they have learned in their decade of being on this planet they can’t fight thousands and thousands of years of instinct.”

“Wait—didn’t you say that Kryptonians went to Antar—weren’t you going to send some of your people there?” Nancy didn’t understand why if the other aliens hated them they’d be sending their people, possibly even Clark and Liz there.

“Politics. Kryptonians have powerful allies and the Antarian royalties knew that having Kryptonians there would give them access to those allies. For that they were willing to tolerate our peoples presence. They would have of course been placed with Antarians who were more open to us.”

Jeff clasped his fingers together and spoke through his hands. “Like who?”

“There were rebel factions in areas on Antar, mostly in the city of Jasa. Antar is smaller than Earth; two Antar’s could fit in this planet. Unlike here, Antar has one ruling faction, there are other royal families but they have very little power in comparison to the Planet rulers.”

A shout from Liz’s room broke into their conversation; Kyle still unconscious lying on the couch echoed the howl of pleasure coming from Liz. Cringing Jeff did his best to drown out the sounds coming from the room. “What the hell is going on with him?”

“He’s Liz’s protector now, I used to be but now it’s been passed on to Kyle. Because he is new and untrained he can’t close off his bond to Liz enough where he can still function. With practice he won’t be experiencing everything Liz is and he won’t be put in a coma like state.” Jim felt relieved that by the time Liz arrived to Earth he had been trained and didn’t have to feel the emotions and experiences to such an extreme.

It also helped that Liz hadn’t been a sexually active teenager. Kyle had many obstacles he had to overcome; he had no doubt however that he would be able to handle it. “Unfortunately because Kyle is so close to Liz physically he’s having more of a reaction to her and Clark’s coupling.”

“That’s one of the top ten things parents never want to know about their children.” Jeff fumed. It drove him crazy that there was nothing he could do to stop his daughter and Clark.

“Their desire for one another will never fade but their need to have sex will decrease a bit, to normal Kryptonian levels after she gets pregnant.” Jim revealed.

“What!?” The parents shouted together. Yet another thing that a parent didn’t want to hear in relation to their child.

TBC

Coming Up: Clark and Liz have some more alone time, Max vents to Isabel, and the possibility of a Khivar scene.

Chapter 23

Liz’s Bedroom

Liz breathed in and out slowly, her heartbeat finally reached its normal level again. She lay on Clark’s chest playing with the grooves of his abdomen as he stroked her tangled hair. Content to stay right there she wrapped her arms under his shoulders and laid her hands to rest on his upper back.

“I’ve never felt this way before Clark.” Her warm breath danced across his chest.

“What way?” There was a part of him that knew what she was talking about but he feigned ignorance.

“Like I know where I belong.” Sighing she lifted her head to look into his eyes. “Ever since I knew I was different I never felt completely whole. Sure my parents loved me no matter what and my friends were always there to support me and just be my friend. But now, being with you, touching you—I don’t feel …”

“Alone.” Clark finished for her.

“You too?”

“Yes. You feel like home. This is where I’m supposed to be, with you.” He clasped his hands together on her lower back holding her to him.

The lovers lay in silence for a few minutes until Liz broke the comfortable quiet with a question. “What do you remember of Krypton?”

He shrugged. “Mostly impressions of things. Although lately I seem to remember the language and some ceremonies keep coming to mind. You?” He moved a little bit of her hair with his chin, then lifted his hand and pulled the wild strands of hair to lay softly on her back.

“I was loved.” She smiled. “The language I’ve known since I could remember. The symbols on what few pieces from our planet I have I knew what they said immediately. Didn’t know what some of the items were though.”

“What kind of things do you have?”

“A set of rings that say ‘Love and Loyalty’. A necklace that was my mother’s, I have a small memory of playing with it when I was a baby. She’d bend down and that necklace would dangle above me and I’d grab for it.” She chuckled. “The other items looked like small plaques or keys. The words it said on it were ‘Duty’, ‘Conquer’, ‘Strength’, ‘Honor’, and ‘Allegiance’. Each of the symbols coincided with a corner.”

“What about your ship? Do you have that?” He asked.

“No. I assume it’s somewhere in Smallville. Do you have yours?”

“Yes, when I touched it the ship kind of talked.” Clark revealed. Although not overly concerned right now he wondered about her ship. Where had it gone and who had it now? “How did you get the items from our planet?”

“Well, with the rings and necklace I had those with me when I was found. And then with the other items Alex found them on E-bay and my parents paid for them. There was one man who wanted ten thousand dollars for a crystal with a Kryptonian symbol. My parents didn’t even blink when they bought it.” Finding Kryptonian artifacts had become a costly venture that put her parents into debt. They still aren’t completely in the clear and they might never be.

Clark stared at Liz in his arms, her body nude and glistening with sweat. Her deep rich mahogany colored hair tickled his tanned chest, tangled and wild from his hands thrusting deep and massaging her scalp as he made love to her. She couldn’t have looked more beautiful to him.

“Clark?” Liz murmured into his chest.

“Yea?” He was beginning to doze off; content to stay right where they were for a few more hours.

Liz began to pull away from him but Clark wouldn’t have it keeping a firm arm around her waist. “Umm, we never used a condom.”

~*~*~

Slam!

Isabel jumped out of her skin, frightened by the noise but calmed slightly when she saw Max stalking through the kitchen. “What the hell got your boxers in a twist?” He was pissed; there was no denying that.

“Liz.”

“And this is new because…” Isabel didn’t mean to toss aside her brother’s anger but usually it was caused by either Liz or an alien matter. Both subjects tended to push his buttons to the point that he had difficult controlling himself.

“Liz and I dated for how long?” He leaned against the island in the kitchen.

“Am I supposed to know this?” She went back to making her sandwich but still listened to Max get whatever he was feeling off his chest.

He sighed. “On and off for at least six months before Tess came here.”

“Yea, so.” And she was supposed to care because why?

“The furthest we ever went was—“

Isabel interrupted before he finished his sentence. “This is information I really don’t need to hear.” But he kept talking.

“—making out and heavy petting.”

“And he tells me anyway.” She rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling. Hopefully that little tidbit wouldn’t be hanging around in her mind for long.

“So tonight I go over there to talk to her. I wanted to clear the air between us and maybe go back to be friends.”

“Sounds good.” Although why he’s breaking their decision again to stay away from the humans she’d never understand. If she went to talk to Alex he’d be furious that she went against the group, but when he does it, when the King of Antar broke the rules it’s not a big deal.

“I climb her balcony ladder—“

“Like a stalker.” Max had never used the front door when he was dating Liz; it was always that balcony. He even admitted to her that he would watch her through the window for a few minutes before making his presence known. Creepy.

“Not like a stalker, like a friend. She never minded that I climbed up there.” He argued with her.

Isabel fired back. “Did you ask her about that?”

“Not really.”

“Then you don’t really know. Anyway you were saying?” She urged him to continue. Anything to get this story out faster.

“I climb her balcony and look in through her window. There’s this guy, the guy we saw with Liz and her family at the restaurant, and they’re ripping their clothes off starting to have sex.” Max shouted knocking a salt shaker off the island he was leaning on.

“Did you actually see them having sex?” She inquired.

“No, I didn’t stick around long enough. But there was no doubt that that’s what they were going to do. Six-months and we never had sex, this guy is only around for a day or two and she’s spreading her legs for him.”

Isabel whipped around and stared at him hard. “Okay little brother, I am only going to say this once so I hope you listen. Who cares?”

“What?” Max shocked that after everything he said that was all she had to say.

“Apparently I’m going to have to say it again. Who cares? Once you two broke up she could have screwed the entire football team and it wouldn’t be any of your business.” She moved over to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of milk.

“But...”

Isabel held up her hand to stop his mouth from moving. “No, my turn to talk now Max.” She poured the milk into a glass before continuing. “Weren’t you the one that broke up with her first? Why should this bother you so much? Does Tess mean so little to you?”

“Of course not. I care about Tess very deeply, how could I not, but it’s not what Liz and I shared.” He sighed. “This guy has only been around for a couple days…”

“Not your business.” She put the milk carton back in the fridge and reached for the Tabasco sauce. “She’s moving on, maybe you didn’t expect her to this soon but she has. Be happy for her.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Then you have a choice to make. Be happy for her and maybe you can get at the very least your friendship back when she’s ready.”

“And if I don’t like that option?”

“Don’t be happy for her, do what you normally do and stalk her, confront her, verbally attack her, and whatever else I’m leaving out of your “normal” action when dealing with Liz. But be prepared to have Liz hate you and her bed-buddy to keep you far away from her.”

Isabel grabbed her sandwich and drink and left Max in the kitchen thinking about what she said. Hopefully Max would be smart and think logically about the situation. He was with Tess and had no say in Liz’s life. He could be concerned about her choices but in the long run he had no say in what she did or didn’t do. Unfortunately he hadn’t learned that lesson in the years since he hatched.

Max probably still thought of Liz as his and he would tell her when she could move on and not a moment sooner. That view of the world would bite him in the butt one day and she had a feeling it would be much sooner than she expected.

TBC

Previously from chapter 22: “Their desire for one another will never fade but their need to have sex will decrease a bit, to normal Kryptonian levels after she gets pregnant.” Jim revealed.

“What!?” The parents shouted together. Yet another thing that a parent didn’t want to hear in relation to their child.

Previously from chapter 23: “Clark?” Liz murmured into his chest.

“Yea?” He was beginning to doze off; content to stay right where they were for a few more hours.

Liz began to pull away from him but Clark wouldn’t have it keeping a firm arm around her waist. “Umm, we never used a condom.”

Chapter 24

Parker Household

“Excuse me? Pregnant? No.” Jeff shook his head not liking that explanation at all. “I don’t accept that answer.”

“You don’t accept it? Well you’re going to have to get used to it.” Jim chuckled.

“Not yet I don’t.” Jeff argued.

“It will happen eventually. However thankfully you’ll have some time to get used to it.” He figured he better put Jeff out his misery before he popped a blood vessel.

“What?” He looked back the Sheriff. “And what’s that suppose to mean?”

Jim didn’t get the opportunity to answer him because Kyle woke up. “Ok, what the hell happened?” He held his head between his hands. A headache pounded at his temples and his stomach rolled from the pain.

“It takes a lot out of you, you’re almost completely connected to Liz.” Jim ran a hand up and down his back hating that his son had to go through this but at the same time he was proud of him. All Protectors had to go through the pain of being connected to their charge, some didn’t survive, and others hardly had any pain.

Over the two weeks the bond between Kyle and Liz would grow until he was a full Protector. When that happened he’d be a nervous wreck. The pain Kyle felt now would probably be nothing compared to what he would feel later. He believed with all his heart that Kyle would make it through the process that didn't stop him for worrying.

~*~*~*~

At her words Clark’s eyes shot open. Naked and desperate he hurried from the bed. He moved so fast that she hardly saw him grab the pillow that was once behind his head and place it in front of him hiding his private area from her.

“We never…” He swallowed. That was not good. How could he have been so stupid, Dad had beaten into his head that when he did become sexually active he’d always use a condom until he was emotionally, mentally, and financially ready for a kid. Clark wasn’t any of those things right now.

Liz raked her eyes up his sculpted body. Her tongue wet her lips remembering the way those grooves and dips tasted. He really shouldn’t have gotten out of bed, it only gave her a better view of what she had and wanted again.

In an instant she was up from the bed, pressing her lips to his, brushing her bare breasts against his muscular chest, and pushing him toward the wall. The pillow that kept her body from his fell as he dragged her closer to him.

Liz knew she was insane, she had to be. She wasn’t a sex crazed beast but oh God she couldn’t help herself with Clark. He was so powerful and strong but soft and sweet to her. She wanted all of him. He held her so close, so tenderly. It warmed her like nothing else had before.

Clark couldn’t get enough of her unique taste. His tongue swept over hers and dared it to meet with his own. Her small hands rested on his waist and brought him a little closer. Liz trailed her fingers over the little dimple above Clark’s behind.

Growling Clark lifted Liz up so her feet dangled off the floor. He carried her like that over to her nightstand and swung his arm out getting rid the things that were on top. Clark placed Liz on the empty end table…

The loud crash of the lamp on her nightstand falling and shattering around his feet brought them back to reality. Pulling back Clark jumped over to the other side of the bed. Breathe Clark, breathe. “You stay over there and I’ll stay here.” He breathed heavily, Kal battling inside him telling him to forget everything but pleasing Livara/Liz. “We need to talk to that Jim guy.”

“Right there with ya.” Liz agreed nodding her head frantically. Livara cried and shouted in her head. Kal was too far away and she wanted him back.

The two teens dressed in a hurry; she grabbed his large flannel shirt and shrugged it on hastily buttoning it. While Clark jumped into his jeans zipping them but forgot about the button, there were more important things; right now he needed a shirt. Liz turned searching for a pair of pants, when she found a pair she grabbed them and hopped into the rough denim as fast as she could.

Against his better judgement he turned to look at Liz. She stood there facing away from him draped in his shirt; the sheer size made her look smaller and more delicate then she was. His eyes flared red but he stamped down the need and desire, even though it killed him.

Clark turned away and bent down picking up his white T-shirt that he had on under his flannel shirt. He shrugged it on and pulled it down over his stomach. Once dressed they both headed for the door, reaching for the knob at the same time their fingers brushed.

The flame of desire that hadn’t gone away flared between them again. Clark leaned down, staring down at her intently as Liz stepped closer, her bare feet lifting her up as she stretched to meet his lips.

Liz had enough brain activity going to continue to grope for the doorknob. Finally she gathered the willpower to turn and pull open the door and inched past Clark hurrying down the hall with him following closely behind.

~*~*~*~

A breathless Clark and Liz hurried out of the bedroom determined to keep their hands off of each other until they figured some things out. Like whether or not they were having a baby.

Liz couldn’t believe how stupid she had been. She wasn’t even taking birth control pills, and the saying was ‘it only takes one time’. Well she and Clark had taken many times without protection. Oh boy, Daddy was going to kill him then lock her in her room till she was eighty.

Still in the living room were her parents, Jim and Kyle. Oh crap, did they hear her and Clark earlier? This just continued to get worse and worse. A bright pink blush filled her cheeks and she brought her hands up to cover the embarrassment.

Nobody missed the tangled hair piled on top of Liz’s head or the mark on her neck, which no doubt came from Clark paying far to much attention to that area. Crescent fingernail marks stood out on Clark’s arms and an impression of teeth was on his earlobe.

Kyle smirked, guess Kryptonians could be marked but only by their own kind. “So…have fun you two?” He chuckled at Liz’s discomfort.

Liz’s blush deepened and she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and played with the shirtsleeve of Clark’s shirt that dwarfed her. Damn Kyle, asking the one question she really couldn’t answer in front of her parents. She didn’t answer though instead she turned to Jim. “We need to talk. The three of us.”

She didn’t look at Clark, even though she wanted to more than anything. Was it hot or was that just her? A bead of sweat trickled down her spine and stopped when it reached the top of her pants.

Seeing her worry Jim stood and nodded. Until Kyle was a full Protector he still had a duty to Liz, and since he knew things of Krypton that Kyle did not he’d have to be the go to guy for a while to come.

“Of course. Where would you like to talk?” Jim asked.

“Kitchen.”

Jim followed her and Clark into the kitchen shut the sliding door behind him and leaned against it as Liz and Clark occupied opposite sides of the room. They were trying to physically distance themselves until they got answers. He better answer whatever they wanted quickly. If they waited too long it could get ugly. Somehow he didn’t think Jeff, Nancy, Martha, and Jonathan would be able to handle seeing their kids screw in front of them.

“What will happen when I get pregnant?” Might as well cut the chase, Liz thought.

“If.” Clark brought up. Neither knew if she was or not, there was a possibility that she wasn’t, meaning if they used condoms from here on out it would be unlikely she’d get pregnant now.

“At the rate we’re going it’s going to be when not if. So far it was four maybe five times that we haven’t used anything. Gotta be realistic here.” She argued back barely glancing at him not trusting herself yet.

Jim held up a hand. “Don’t worry. Breathe Liz. You won’t be getting pregnant for a while yet. No matter how many times you and Clark don’t use protection.”

“What are you talking about? No condom or birth control of any kind usually means surprise here’s a baby.” Her heart rate accelerated with panic at the idea of having a child at her young age. She wasn’t ready. Yes, she always wanted a child, more than one actually but not now. Not when she had so many things she wanted to do before having him or her.

“Kryptonians can’t become pregnant before they’re thirty. Or here on Earth when you’re about twenty-five. Because most mates meet and become bonded during the teens and twenties Mother Nature made it so females couldn’t get pregnant until they’re thirty and males can’t get a female pregnant until they’re thirty.” He explained.

“Really? No matter how many times we…” She finally looked at Clark and saw a predatory gleam. “…have sex no baby can come of it?” Liz swallowed passed the sigh of relief she felt.

“Yea. Not yet anyway.” He too noticed the Kent boy’s lustful gleam. Immediately he knew that it wasn’t the Kent boy in the driver’s seat. It was Kal-El, the former future leader of their planet and people.

“That’s good to know Val ‘enti.” He growled. Not waiting a second longer he rushed forward picked Liz up in his arms and hurried through the house hurrying up to his room instead of Liz’s.

“Well that went well.” He sighed and went back out to the living room where the parents and Kyle were waiting anxiously.

“What did you tell them? What did they ask?” Kyle stood. He felt some of what Liz had been feeling. Nervous, scared, worried, and excited.

“They were worried about her being pregnant. As I told them they can’t get pregnant until they’re thirty or in Earth years twenty-five.” There was a collective sigh throughout the room. Noticing the time he clapped Kyle on the back. “We’re going to go. There are many more things we need to discuss but it can wait till morning. I’m fairly certain Clark and Liz won’t be down for a while.”

Nancy reluctantly nodded. “If we need you we’ll call.” She wanted to know more about what was going on with Liz but she had to agree that it would be better if Liz were there to listen as well.

Together the Valenti’s left and headed home. Meanwhile the Kent’s and Parker’s sat silently in the living room. Their children were growing up right before their eyes, having to deal with otherworldly things and there was nothing they could do to stop it or slow it down.

TBC

A.N. When I first thought up this story a couple years ago I did plan to have Liz get pregnant in Book 1. I even wrote the prologue for Book 2 in the series with Liz pregnant. However about a year ago I started wondering if I should get her pregnant yet. Even though in my story a Kryptonian pregnancy lasts about two years and she wouldn’t be giving birth for a while I just didn’t want her to get pregnant yet, especially at sixteen in Earth years. So instead there was a small pregnancy scare, of course this means that I’ll have to rewrite the prologue for the next book but that’s a small price to pay. I’d rather rewrite the prologue then abandon this story because I didn’t like where I was taking it. Plus I already have plenty of fics right now where Liz either is or is going to get pregnant.

Chapter 25

July 8; Valenti Household; 6:45 a.m.

Kyle scratched his chest; he yawned and went into the kitchen. He needed coffee. Reaching up he grabbed his favorite coffee cup and filled it with water. Dad was probably still sleeping, that’s where he should be, in bed dreaming of Playboy models. Instead he was awake; he hadn’t even had a full four hours of sleep, what the hell was up with that?

After he and Dad returned home he was too wired to sleep so he stayed up till one watching TV. Then Dad came back from his room and told him to go to bed. He went to his room but he didn’t go to sleep. Not until almost three.

Now he desired coffee and coffee was what he’d get. The microwave dinged and he pulled out the hot water. He briefly entertained the idea of heating it up with heat vision…if he knew how anyway. Besides he didn’t even know if he had it. For all he knew he had strength and speed but not heat vision.

He remembered when Liz got heat vision. That was the day he found out about where she came from and his life changed forever.

As he made his coffee Dad came down the hallway and entered the kitchen. “Son.” He greeted, not quite awake enough to say much else.

“Father.” He teased.

“Very funny.” Jim reached up and grabbed the Frosted Flakes. He pulled out a bowl from the dishwasher and gently tossed it onto the counter. “How’d you sleep?”

“That had to have been the worst night sleep I’ve gotten in a long time. Couldn’t get to sleep till almost three. Then I couldn’t stay asleep to save my life.”

Jim nodded. “I was hoping you wouldn’t get that side-effect but you are my son.” He finished pouring his cereal and went for the milk next.

“What are you talking about?” Kyle took a sip of the coffee.

“During the change to become a Protector there are certain side-effects. When I was going through it I couldn’t sleep through the night either. Some sleep fine and continue as normal but others not so much.” He submerged his spoon in his breakfast and began eating.

“Great.” Father and son sat at the dining room table.

“You’ll be okay. When you’re completely changed the sleeping habits will go back to what they were before.” He lightly hit him on the arm in comfort.

Kyle stayed silent for a few minutes drinking his coffee thinking about how to ask a question that had been on his mind since last night. Insomnia gave him a lot of time to think of questions to ask Dad. This one though he wanted…no needed an answer too.

“Dad, how come…well you see how Clark and Liz are? Hell even now I can feel her love and desire to keep Clark close. Which let me tell you makes me uncomfortable.” Here he was a straight guy and he’s having Liz’s thoughts of how delicious Clark tastes. Not exactly something he needed to know.

“That’ll go away when you have better control.” Jim finished up breakfast and left the empty bowl on the table while Kyle continued with what he wanted to ask.

“Okay, well with how they are how come you’re not jumping off the walls because Mom isn’t with you? Why if we’re able to rush some place in a matter of seconds that she hasn’t come back for a visit? Not once has she called.”

Jim sighed, he should have known Kyle would be curious about his mother. After all she left when he was a little kid. He remembered when Michelle knelt down and hugged their son close telling him how much she loved him and that she always would. That was the last time either of them ever saw her or spoke to her.

“Your mother loves you Kyle. Never doubt that for a second.” He stared directly into his eyes making sure he understood that right from the start.

“If she did then she’d give me the courtesy of a phone call every once in a while. The fact that she hasn’t in over a decade speaks volumes.” He argued. Kyle hated doubting his mother’s affection but what else could he believe? Wasn’t he important to her?

“Michelle and I aren’t mates. My chosen mate died when she was only a child and Michelle was never assigned a mate. From what she told me the parents that were supposed the have a child that would have the chance of being her mate were captured by a rival planet. With Clark and Liz they’re mates so it’s difficult for them to be out of contact.” Jim explained.

“Did Mom not feel an attachment to me, her son? How could she just…”

“She had to leave Kyle. Michelle had to protect Clark. One of us would have had to leave.” Jim explained.

“Great, so Clark and Liz were more important than keeping our family together? More important than watching me grow up.” Kyle clenched his hands into fists.

“You are always more important than anything to your mother and I. Please don’t ever think you’re second to Liz and Clark.” He held onto one of Kyle’s clenched fists. “As for rushing back here, Michelle doesn’t have the super-speed that we have.”

“Why?”

“Not every Kryptonian gets the same gifts. There are the basic ones that most of our people got. Heat vision, strength, and hearing. However the speed, ice breath, various mental abilities, flying, and a few others only show up in a few people.”

“Like who?”

“The House of El or Clark’s blood-line. Also Hylena’s, they have their own abilities that normal Kryptonians don’t have.”

“What about Liz’s blood-line. The House of Ra?” As he and Dad spoke he slowly released his hands.

“Not being royal she doesn’t have the same abilities as Clark. Speed, strength, heat vision, and hearing she has but as for anything else that remains to be seen.”

Calm again Kyle brought up the subject of his mother again. “So why isn’t Mom here? Now that Clark’s here shouldn’t she be here too?”

“It’s unlikely that she didn’t know he was coming here. She…she might have thought I could handle it.” He coughed uncomfortably.

Seeing his father’s uneasiness he asked, “What aren’t you telling me?”

Jim sighed. “Your mother probably didn’t show up here because of me. We got an official divorce a year ago and she told me that she’s getting involved with a human. She’s fallen in love with him.” That wouldn’t smooth things over but he couldn’t lie to Kyle.

“Oh, so you a.) have been keeping in contact with her, b.) she didn’t ask to speak to me, her son, and c.) she met someone else and is starting a new family with him. Great. Fantastic. It’s nice to know we don’t matter.” Without another word he hurried off out of the house.

“Kyle!” Jim shouted after him. “Dammit.” He rested his forehead against the front door jam.

TBC