He bent to pick up his books. To his surprise, Pete Ross came forward to help him. He picked up Plato’s The Republic and handed it back to Clark, still unable to meet his eyes.
Jonathan stopped a short distance away, and waited.
“I wanted to help,” Pete mumbled, “but, you know—”
He had changed since Clark had saved him from drowning. He was less cocky, and more inclined to leave Clark alone.
“It’s okay,” Clark said, and he meant it. He didn’t expect Pete to fight his battles for him. Any small kindness was appreciated. The boy recovered another book, handed it to him, then drifted away.
Clark hoped Pete wouldn’t be too hard on himself for not coming forward. It was enough that he hadn’t joined in the tormenting.
His father waited until Pete was gone before stepping closer.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked.
“You know they can’t,” Clark said bitterly.
“That’s not what I meant,” his dad said. “Are you all right?”
Clark wasn’t sure. He looked into his father’s eyes.
“You want the truth,” he replied. “I hate them. I wanted to hit him so bad—”
“I know you did,” Jonathan said. “Hell, part of me even wanted you to. But then what? Would it make you feel any better? They pick on you because you’re different. That’s what people do. We’re hard-wired that way. You want to hit back. I get it. It’s easy… especially for someone like you.
“But showing mercy?” he added. “That actually takes character. That takes real strength.”
I know, I know, Clark thought. But it still sucks… big time.
His father wasn’t finished. He spoke carefully, making sure Clark was listening.
“You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Because whoever that man is, good character or bad, he’s going to change the world.”
Right now Clark would have settled for just getting through junior high with a modicum of dignity. But he understood what his father was saying. Like it or not, his special abilities were a burden—and a responsibility—he couldn’t escape. He could either use them the right way, like saving Pete and the others, or he could cause a lot of damage, maybe to people like Ken Braverman.
He just wished the Bravermans of the world didn’t make that choice so tricky sometimes…
“Can I help you?” the priest asked.
Clark looked up to see the priest gazing down on him with a concerned expression on his face. Memories of Smallville retreated, as his present-day dilemma descended on him like the alien ship hanging in the sky.
“I’m sorry, Father,” he apologized, reluctant to burden the man with his troubles. “I just… needed someone to talk to, I guess.”
“I’d be happy to sit with you, if you like.” He joined Clark in the pew. “What’s on your mind?”
Clark doubted the priest had ever heard a confession like this before.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Wherever you want.”
Clark began cautiously, keeping things vague.
“In my work… I often have the opportunity to save people.”
“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It is. But sometimes I have to make choices—”
Father Leone nodded as if he understood.
“Every time a doctor has to triage a patient, or a dispatcher has to decide where to send a squad car, they’re choosing, he said. “It’s part of life. That’s what makes us human.”
Clark took the plunge.
“What if I’m not human?”
The priest’s eyes widened in surprise. An uneasy expression came over his face. Clark heard the man’s pulse speed up.
“The ship that appeared last night,” he said. “I’m the one they’re looking for.”
Clark half-expected Father Leone to run for help, perhaps shout for the authorities, but the priest stayed where he was. Although his body language was considerably warier than it had been before, the father kept on talking to him.
“Do you know why they want you?”
Clark shook his head.
“No,” he admitted. “I’ve lived here my whole life. Until last night, I thought I was the only one of my people left. But this General Zod—” He decided to spare the priest a lesson in Kryptonian history and politics, which he still barely understood. “Even if I surrender, there’s no guarantee he’ll keep his word. But if there’s a chance I can save earth by turning myself in, shouldn’t I take it?”
Father Leone regarded him with obvious sympathy. He seemed to understand the tremendous weight of Clark’s dilemma. There was so much at stake—including, perhaps, the fate of two very different peoples. How could even a superman know what was best for the world?
“You want me to make the choice for you,” the priest said gently. “I can’t.”
Clark’s shoulders slumped. For the first time since learning to fly, he felt trapped. Was this what Krypton’s terrible gravity felt like? He wished his human father was still alive to counsel him.
“What does your gut tell you?” the priest asked.
“That Zod cannot be trusted,” he replied. Zod had launched a civil war on Krypton, and Clark shuddered to think what he had in store for Earth. “Problem is, I’m not sure the people of Earth can be, either.”
He realized how harsh that sounded. He hoped Father Leone didn’t take it the wrong way, as a threat or a rebuke. Fearing he’d said too much, Clark stood up and started to ease his way out of the pew.
“Look, I’m sorry I bothered you.”
The priest waved away Clark’s apologies. Then he offered the best advice he could.
“Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith first,” he said. “The trust part comes later.”
How much did Clark trust humanity?
And how far did he have to go to earn their trust?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Where is the alien, Ms. Lane?”
General Swanwick leaned across his desk at NORTHCOM HQ. Colonel Hardy and Dr. Hamilton— whom Lois remembered from Ellesmere—were also taking part in the interrogation. A pair of federal agents stood guard by the door, just in case she tried to make a break for it.
Fat chance, Lois thought. She knew better than to try to get past an army of soldiers on high alert. She’d have better odds breaking out of a supermax prison.
“I told you,” she said irritably, “I don’t know.”
“The FBI have your hard drive, your emails,” Hardy said, playing bad cop. “They know you were tracking him. Keeping silent doesn’t benefit anyone.”
Except maybe Clark, she thought. And everyone who’s depending on him.
“We believe the ship you discovered transmitted a signal that guided the visitors to Earth,” Emil Hamilton stated. “The question is, why is this particular individual so valuable to them. Did he ever discuss a motive for his people’s journey?”
Lois kept silent, unwilling to reveal anything that might be used against Clark. She stared back at her interrogators without flinching. She wasn’t about to let anyone intimidate her—not even a five-star general.
“Be reasonable, Ms. Lane,” Swanwick said. “If you’re found guilty of treason, you could be given the death penalty.”
“I’ve been threatened with death before, General,” she responded. “It doesn’t scare me.”