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  • The Return of Her

    Author’s note: The following takes place in an alternate version of season 7.
    Chapter 1
    Her heart almost burst through her chest, as her feet touched the tarmac of the small airfield, as she stepped out of the private jet. For a long time, she hadn’t thought that she’d ever return to Smallville. It was part of her past, she had left it behind years ago.
    “How does it feel to be back home?” Her fiancé hugged her from behind.
    “A bit scary…” She replied.
    He kissed her cheek. “You’ll be fine. Okay, let’s go.” They got into the silver Mercedes and drove off, passing through the town. “Has it changed much?” He asked in the passenger seat.
    She looked around. “Not really. Impressed by how much they’ve been able to rebuild since the second meteor shower.” A tear ran down her cheek. “I wanted to go back and help with the reconstruction but felt that it might stir up too many bad memories.”
    “Your parents?”
    “Yes. Took me a long time to be able to move on.” She paused. “Maybe we should turn back. There is nothing left for me here. Everyone’s dead or probably gone. My best friend died, right after I left. Didn’t even go to the funeral. Just started drifting through Europe.”
    He stroked her arm. “At least now you’ll be able to say goodbye to her.” She stopped the car outside a farm. “Kent Farm?” He added. “What is this place?”
    “It belongs to a boy I once knew… Haven’t spoken to him in almost four years.”
    “You wanna go and talk to him?”
    “I doubt that he’s even here anymore.”
    “Let’s give it a try, before we visit the cemetery.” Her fiancé’s smile made her smile. She turned the wheel to the right and drove up to the red barn. “You want me to come with you?”
    She hesitated. “No, I’ll be fine. Stay here, it won’t take long… I hope.” She stepped out of the car, closing the door behind her. She thought about trying the yellow house, but she remembered that he tended to spend much time in the barn and decided to try there first. She stepped into the barn, she could hear his voice coming from the loft, he was talking to someone.
    She stepped up the staircase. Clark was there, with a raven-haired girl – Clark appeared to have a type – the girl’s back was towards her, preventing her from seeing her face. She stepped into the loft, Clark caught a glimpse of her, causing him to drop a book that he was holding – same clumsy Clark Kent.
    “What the…?” A shocked Clark Kent proclaimed, causing the raven-haired girl to turn around and face the visitor.
    “How…?! What’s going on here?!” Screamed both women. Clark placed himself between the visitor and the raven-haired girl.
    “Who are you?” He asked.
    “What do you mean, who am I? Who is that?”
    “Clark, what’s going on?” The raven-haired girl asked.
    “I…I don’t know. But, don’t worry, Lana, I won’t let her hurt you.”
    “Why did you call her that? What is going on here?”
    “You tell me.”
    “Clark, I don’t know who that woman is, but it’s me. Can’t you tell?” The visitor protested. “I am Lana.”
    “Are you a clone?”
    “A clone? Of course not.”
    “Then who are you?”
    “LANA LANG! As I’ve always been.” The visitor hyperventilated. “I have to get out of here.” She ran down the stairs. She knew returning to this nuthouse was a mistake. She jumped into the car and pressed down the gas.
    “What happened?” Her fiancé asked, as they drove back to the airfield.
    “I can’t explain it, Pierre. My time in Smallville was full of madness. I should’ve known that it would return, the minute I set foot in this town. Let’s go to Metropolis, I need to see that aunt Nell is still okay… Haven’t heard from her for years, thought that she had just broken contact with me, when I went to Paris.”

  • #2
    Chapter 2
    “Okay, back up a minute.” Chloe said, as she, Clark and Lana were standing in the kitchen of Clark’s house. “So, this woman just showed up, claiming to be Lana?”
    “It must be some sort of trick by Lex.” Clark said, as he stroked the back of the horrified Lana. “Wouldn’t be the first time that he’s cloned her.”
    “Not to mention, it wasn’t that long ago, that someone impersonated you, Clark.” Lana added.
    “Yeah, that too.” Clark took out a piece of paper from his pocket. “I followed her and a man to the airfield. Young brunette guy. They got on a private jet. Wrote down the numbers on it.”
    “I’ll check it out.” Chloe turned to her laptop and entered the information. “The plane’s registered to a Pierre Rousseau. French national, appears to be extremely wealthy.”
    “What’s his connection to Lex?” Lana asked.
    “No idea. I need to use the Isis Foundation computers, if we wanna find out.” Before Chloe could finish her sentence, Clark had moved all three of them to the Isis Foundation. “Thanks, I guess.” Lana opened the false bookcases, revealing the computer screens behind. Chloe began searching for any connection between Pierre Rousseau and Lex Luthor.
    “Well?” Asked Clark after 20 minutes.
    “I’m sorry, it’s just coming up empty. As far as I can tell, Pierre Rousseau has not only never met Lex Luthor… He’s never been on this side of the Atlantic before.”
    “Maybe they kept it off the records.” Lana added.
    “Possibly.” Chloe responded. “Still doesn’t answer us who this mysterious… other Lana… Okay, can we come up with a better name than other Lana? It’s just going to get confusing.”
    “How about Tina?” Lana chuckled. “It might be her.”
    “No, I x-rayed her. Her bones looked normal.”
    “How about hers?” Chloe nodded towards Lana. “How do we know that this one is real?”
    “I AM REAL!” Lana protested.
    “She didn’t mean it like that.” Clark assured her.
    “I know, but you probably should…” Clark complied and x-rayed her.
    “No, your skeleton looks normal.”
    “If I was a clone, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.” Lana noted.
    “Probably not.”
    Tears ran down Lana’s cheeks. “Can we be certain that I’m the real Lana? Not just a clone made by Lex. Maybe this other Lana is real. Maybe the one, who died in the car explosion was the real one… and I’ve been fooling myself ever since.”
    Clark hugged her. “Don’t worry about it, Lana. Everything will be fine.”

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    • #3
      Chapter 3
      The other Lana Lang knocked frantically on the door to Nell Potter’s apartment.
      “Lana,” said Pierre, “calm down.”
      “You didn’t see what I saw, in that barn.” Lana replied. The door finally opened; Nell was standing there. Lana hugged her. “Aunt Nell, thank god that you’re safe.”
      “Of course, I’m safe, Lana.” Nell replied. “What’s going on? Who is this?” She pointed at Pierre.
      “This is Pierre, my f… No, when was the last time that we met?”
      “Two days ago, Lana.”
      “Two days! Nell, we haven’t seen each other for almost four years!”
      “Lana, are you okay? Is it the drugs again?”
      “Drugs? I’ve never taken drugs.”
      “You know what the therapist said. Denial isn’t going to help you.”
      “What drugs? What therapist?”
      “Calm down, I’ll call Clark.”
      “No, don’t call Clark. He’s with her…”
      “With who…?”
      “The girl. The girl who is pretending to be me.”
      “I don’t know what you’re talking about Lana.”
      “Listen… Four years ago, I went to Paris… Only, when I arrived, I heard about Chloe dying…”
      “Chloe’s not dead.”
      “What?”
      “She was at your wedding to Lex Luthor.”
      “Why would I marry Lex Luthor?” Lana paused. “No, listen. After I heard about her death, and that Clark was gone again, I wasn’t sure what to do. So, I packed some of my things, in a backpack, and took off. Drifted through Europe for a while, taking odd jobs, growing as a person.”
      “No, Lana. You went to school. Only you came back, before your senior year, with that boy Jason Teague.”
      “Jason Teague? I’ve never met anyone by that name.”
      “Okay, I’m going to call Clark.” Nell picked up the red cordless phone.
      “No, don’t…”
      “Lana,” said Pierre, “maybe we should just go.”
      “Yeah, maybe we should.” Lana and Pierre departed the apartment, stepping into the elevator.
      “No, Lana wait.” Nell said, as the doors closed. Lana and Pierre rode the elevator down to the bottom floor. When they opened, Clark was standing there.
      “Clark?” Lana shockingly exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
      “Nell called me… I was just around the corner. Lana wanted me to make sure that she was safe.”
      “I am Lana!” Lana grabbed his jacket. “I don’t know who that girl was, but it wasn’t me.”
      “Lana, calm down.” Pierre pleaded. “Let’s just try and sort this out.”
      Lana let go of Clark. “Right. Is there any place where we can talk?”
      “The Metro Coffee Stop is not far from here.” Clark said.
      “Will she be there?”
      “No, for the moment, I’d rather keep you two apart. Just to be on the safe side. We’ve gone through situations like this before.”
      “Clark, I’m not a clone. I swear.”
      “Maybe you are telling the truth, maybe you are not.”

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      • #4
        Chapter 4
        Lana facepalmed, sitting with Pierre and Clark at a table, outside the Metro Coffee Stop.
        “Okay, let’s try this a fifth time.” Lana said. “After I heard about Chloe dying, I didn’t know what to do, so I grabbed some things and drifted around Europe for the next few years. Lived in Berlin for a while. Stockholm, London. Went back to Paris, last year, that’s when I met Pierre.”
        “Why didn’t you ever contact anyone in Smallville?” Clark asked.
        “I wrote to Nell, for a while. Then she blocked my e-mail. Thought I had done something wrong, that she didn’t want to talk to me. Now I’m not so sure, probably thought I was an impostor, as this other Lana lived in Smallville.”
        “Perhaps.”
        “With you gone, again, and me thinking that Chloe was dead… still can’t believe that she’s alive. Can I see her?”
        “When we’ve sorted this whole thing out.”
        “Right… Like I was saying, I didn’t think that there was anyone in Smallville to talk to. So, I moved on. Getting away from Smallville for a few years, did me a world of good. Not being reminded every five seconds of my parents, I was able to move on. Now, do you believe me?”
        “I…I don’t know what to believe. It sounds plausible, yet Lana Lang came back for senior year.”
        “That girl is not Lana Lang!” Lana protested.
        “Okay, calm down… Lana. This is difficult for everyone involved. As much as it pains me, I must consider that my Lana is the impostor. Something similar happened, a while back, I… came home and found that someone had been living with her, pretending to be me.”
        “See, that proves it.”
        “Not really, Lana.” Pierre noted. “It just means that weird things happen in that town. Not surprised you didn’t want to go back.”
        “Still wish that I hadn’t.”
        “You!” Screamed a voice, as another Lana approached the table, looking at the European Lana. “I don’t know what Lex’s game is, but we’re not falling for it.”
        Clark stood up. “Lana, calm down. We’re trying to figure this out.”
        “No more talking.” The newly arrived Lana grabbed the hand of the sitting Lana, a mild green light emerged from their hands. Both girls started screaming in pain, as their hands seemingly began to melt together. Clark and Pierre each grabbed a Lana, pulling them apart, their hands returned to normal. Only, their nail varnish had changed, on the hand that they had touched each other with. One had worn red, the other green. Now, each Lana had one hand green, the other red. Both Lanas vomited at the same time, then collapsed as blood came out of their noses.
        “We need to get them to a hospital.” Pierre insisted.
        “No, we need to take them someplace else. This isn’t normal. A hospital won’t be able to help.”

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        • #5
          Chapter 5
          Dr. Jenet Klyburn knocked on the door of the Isis Foundation. Chloe Sullivan opened the door.
          “I’m Jenet Klyburn.” She said. “Oliver Queen told me to come here.”
          “Yes, come in. Follow me.” Jenet Klyburn complied and followed Chloe through the reception and into a small room, where the two Lana Langs were lying on beds. Clark and Pierre sitting by their side. Just looking at everyone in the room, it was clear to Dr. Klyburn that she was a decade older than everyone else there.
          “Okay, so these two are twins right? Mr. Queen didn’t give me much information over the phone. You know, I’m not a medical doctor.”
          “This isn’t a normal medical problem, doctor.” Clark walked up to her. “At first, I thought one of them might be a clone, but when they touched… I don’t know what to think. Oliver says that you’re an expert on Kry… um, the Smallville meteor rocks.”
          “I still think that we should take them to a hospital.” Pierre protested.
          “We need to give her a chance.” Clark responded.
          “I’ll see what I can do… But, first, you need to tell me everything.” Clark recounted the account of both Lana Langs and the incident at the Metro Coffee Stop. “I see, has Lana Lang ever been exposed to meteor rocks?”
          “She had a piece, in a necklace.” Chloe noted. “Wore it daily, from when she was three until she was a teenager, when it vanished.”
          “So, an extremely long exposure.” Dr. Klyburn noted, closing her eyes.
          “What are you doing?” Pierre asked. “Aren’t you going to, at least, examine them?”
          “Trying to remember. And, like I said, I’m not a medical doctor. You said that it looked like they were melting together…”
          “Yes, that’s what it looked like.” Clark responded.
          Dr. Klyburn remained silent for a moment. “What was the kid’s name…?” She asked.
          “Lana, their names are Lana.”
          “No, not her… them… There was a kid, at Belle Reve, years back. Mr. Queen supplied me with some patient files, for my research. Randall something.”
          “Ian Randall…?” Chloe asked.
          “Yes, that’s it. Had an ability to split himself into two.”
          “What does that have to do with anything?” Clark asked.
          “You suspected one of them to be a clone, but I think you were wrong. I think both girls are the real Lana Lang. You said that she was exposed daily, to meteor rock radiation, for over ten years. It mutated her. When she went to Paris, her power manifested itself… Possibly out of the shock of learning that a dear friend had died. Resulting in her splitting herself into two: one who went back to Smallville… and the other, who traveled around Europe.”
          “Why would the knowledge of a death grant her the power of duplication?” Chloe asked.
          “Not a lot of studies have been made, into the effects on meteor rocks. Some of it doesn’t make sense. Similar circumstances, different results. I have a theory that there might be a mental component, into the effects on the human body.”
          “Mental component?” Chloe asked.
          “Imagine…” Dr. Klyburn looked at Chloe. “Imagine that you come across the dead body, of a loved one. In your heart, you wish that you had the power to bring them back… and then you do. Coincidence? Or did the meteor mutation, merely grant you your deepest wish? What can you tell me, about Lana, before she went to Paris?”
          “She wanted to leave. She was unhappy here.” Clark said.
          “And yet, she returned. And have stayed in Smallville for the better part of almost four years. Strong conflicting emotions. Enhanced by a traumatic experience, the loss of loved ones. Wanting to both stay in Europe and to go back home. Her psyche, combined with the mutation in her cells came up with a solution, splitting her body into two Lana Langs. One, who could go back home… and one that could stay away, move on. Of course, all of this is just a theory.”
          “Wouldn’t they have remembered the split?” Chloe asked.
          “You said that they experienced pain, when they touched. Imagine the pain of being split. The trauma. Both likely suppressed the memory.”
          “So, what are we going to do now?” Pierre asked.
          “We have to combine them.” All four watched as half of each Lana’s face appeared to start melting for a moment.
          “What’s happening?” Clark asked.
          “When they touched, their bodies reacted, trying to engage fusion. When you pulled them apart, you interrupted the process. The bodies are breaking down, without each other they will die. Our only chance to prevent the death of both, is to combine them.”
          “How do we do that?” Asked Pierre. “They’re unconscious.”
          Dr. Klyburn hesitated. “Having them making physical contact should be enough. We don’t have much time. Help me undress them.”
          “What?” Clark asked.
          “Ian Randall always took his clothes off, when he did it. We can only imagine the side effects of their clothes separating their bodies. Might prevent it, might cause the clothes to end up inside of her.”
          “And both will be fine?” Pierre asked.
          “They’ll both die, if we don’t do it. Now, get to it.” The four removed the clothes of both Lana Langs, before pushing the beds together – no one dared trying to carry one of them, in their current condition. The two Lanas were pressed together. Their skin melting into each other, growing together. Within a minute, one single Lana appeared on the beds. They covered her with a blanket.
          “She’s still unconscious.” Pierre noted.
          “Yes, well, her brain has got a lot to work out.” Dr. Klyburn responded.
          “What do you mean?” Chloe asked.
          “For almost four years, the two Lana Langs have been separated. Living extremely different lives. Ian Randall only remain split for a few hours, at a time, but Lana and Lana have been split for years. Years of information and memories, trying to be sorted out, in her head.”
          “Will she be okay?” Clark asked.
          “We’ll only know, when she wakes up. In theory, she could have the memories of both Lanas. Or just one of them. Perhaps her brain will reject both sets of memories and reset itself.”
          “What does that mean?” Chloe asked.
          “It means that she will lose everything, that happened to her, after she split into two.”
          “Good.” Said Clark. “My Lana had a lot of unhappy memories.”
          “Will they be able to split themselves, again?” Pierre asked.
          “I’d have to run some tests, but it wouldn’t surprise me, if the prolonged separation has burned out her abilities.”
          “I guess the only question is… What will happen, when Lana wakes up?” Chloe noted.

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          • #6
            Chapter 6
            Lana was sitting up in her bed, at Metropolis General Hospital, looking at her engagement ring, on the table before her. Next to it, her neutralized Kryptonite necklace.
            “How are you feeling?” Clark entered the room.
            “Exhausted.” She responded.
            “You were out for five days. We were starting to worry.”
            “Guess I needed the rest.”
            “So, what now? Both me and Pierre have been asking ourselves that for days. So, who are you? The one that graduated Smallville High or the one that traveled Europe?”
            “Some memories are gone, others remain. I don’t think that I’m one or the other. Rather, a combination of both.”
            “The best of both?”
            “Let’s hope so.”
            “So, where does that leave us? The three of us, I mean. Us and Pierre.”
            Lana hesitated. “Clark… When I was in the coma, my mind played out both of my lives, in my head. I could see the good parts… and the bad.” She placed the engagement ring on her finger. “The part of me, that returned to Smallville, was stuck living in the past. Never able to move on. The other could do nothing more than to move on. I will always cherish our time together, Clark. But my heart belongs to Pierre and my life in Paris.” She took his hand. “For what it’s worth, I will always hold on to Smallville… Kal-El.”
            The End

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            • #7
              Creator Credits
              Chloe Sullivan first appeared in the Smallville TV series episode “Pilot” and was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
              Jenet Klyburn first appeared in Superman #304 and was created by Gerry Conway and Curt Swan.
              Lana Lang first appeared in Superboy #10 and was created by Bill Finger and John Sikela.
              Nell Potter first appeared in the Smallville TV series episode “Pilot” and was created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
              Pierre Rousseau first appeared in the Smallville TV series episode “Apocalypse” and was created by Turi Meyer and Al Septien.
              Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1 and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
              Trivia
              Been playing around with ideas for an alternate exit, for Lana, for a while. However, I had a hard time making them work, as her prolonged stay on the show had been negative to the character. I tried writing a story set in the gap, between seasons 7 and 8 (including a draft of what I wrote below); but couldn’t buy that Lana would just change after one encounter with Whitney’s ghost.
              I’ve often felt that Lana would’ve been better off, if she hadn’t come back in season 4. This led me down the idea of: what if Lana had, in fact, remained in Europe (with someone else having returned in season 4)? That Lana comes back to Smallville and finds Clark with his arms around… another Lana. At first, I was going to have it be Martian Manhunter, believing himself to be Lana Lang (as an homage to a comic book storyline, where Martian Manhunter was brainwashed into believing himself to be Bloodwynd). But that would’ve made things too complicated, requiring massive amounts of exposition. Not to mention, it would’ve meant that we would’ve had a fake Lana for seasons 4-7. By going the Ian Randall path, I could say that both Lanas are real, then merge them together into a single Lana Lang (with the traits of the one who stayed in Europe and grew as a person becoming dominant; but retaining the memories of most of her time on the show).

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              • #8
                Growth
                Chapter 1
                Lana had been walking for over two hours, after the van had run out of gas. It was still dark, but she kept to the side of the road – out of sight, constantly ready for Lex’s people to come back. A light in the distance. Lana walked towards it; a motel sign. She walked into the office. A long middle-aged woman half-asleep, sat there.
                “I’d like a room for the night.” Lana said.
                “45 dollars per night.” Answered the woman. Lana handed over the money in cash – didn’t dare to use credit cards – and received a room key “Room 15. Name?”, added the woman.
                Lana hesitated. “Sylvia DeWitt”, she finally said and went to Room 15, closed the door behind her and turned on the light. Tiny room, bed took up most of the space. Television on a small table. She sat down on the bed, covering her eyes. Tears running down her cheeks. Could she even risk staying here for the night? Maybe she should just keep going? No, her feet were hurting – walking in heels on a country road for more than two hours wasn’t a good idea. She took off her ankle boots, massaged her feet and fell back into the bed, closing her eyes.
                Lana opened her eyes and looked at her wristwatch, 10am. Her stomach was growling, she ignored it. She sat up and turned on the television, before heading into the bathroom and splashed water on her face. She could hear the television, a news report.
                “Breaking news.” Said a female news anchor, “Lex Luthor, 28, has been reported missing, during an expedition to the arctic circle.”
                Lana walked slowly back into the room. “Is this some sort of trick?” Lana asked herself. Could Lex truly be gone? She sat back down on the bed, turning off the television. Sitting in quiet, until she noticed the phone on the nightstand. She crawled over the bed, grabbing it and dialed the number.
                “Come on, Clark… Pick up.” She put the phone back down. Was Clark gone too? Once more, tears began running down her cheeks. Why did everyone leave her? Her parents, Henry, Nell, Whitney, Adam, Jason and now Clark. The cord to the television, it was removable. She pulled it out, stared at it and formed the end into a noose. Walked over to the bathroom door. Attached the cord to the handle on the other side, closed the door. Pulled the one chair in the room over to the bathroom door. Got up on it. There was no point in going on. She took the noose in her hands and moved it towards her head.
                “Lana, don’t!” Screamed a voice behind her. Lana turned around and fell onto the bed. She looked up.
                “Wh…Whitney?!” She proclaimed, as Whitney Fordman was standing there in his camouflage uniform. He had not aged a day. She started crying. “I’m going crazy.”
                “No, you’re not.”
                “This is a trick. I’ve been down this path once before.”
                “It’s not.” Lana grabbed one of her ankle boots and threw it at Whitney, it just passed right through him.
                “You’re not really here.”
                “I am here. I want to help you.”
                “Help me?”
                “You’ve suffered for a long time. I’ve come to end it. I had promised to stay away, but then I heard that you were in a coma.”
                “Promised who?”
                “A friend. He felt that it would be for the best.”
                “No, how could you be here? This doesn’t make sense!”
                “I’ll explain everything… When was the last time you ate?”
                “I don’t remember. Don’t care anymore.” Lana sat down on the bed, with her back towards Whitney.
                “You must eat something, Lana. You must take care of yourself.”
                “You were supposed to take care of me.”
                “I’m sorry. But we should probably get some food in you, before we continue.”
                “Continue what?” Whitney’s body turned into a transparent green mist, that passed into Lana’s body.
                “I’m sorry for doing this, Lana.” Said Lana, as she pushed the chair back, plugged the cord back into the television and put the ankle boots on her feet. “It’s for your own good. Hope that you have money for something to eat.”

                Comment


                • #9
                  Chapter 2
                  Lana opened her eyes. She was lying on the bed of her motel room. Whitney was standing by the edge of the bed.
                  “What happened?” Lana asked.
                  “I’m sorry, I had no other choice. You were suicidal. I don’t possess anyone, unless it’s an emergency. The host regain no memory. But, don’t worry, I only ate food, while I was inside of you… That didn’t sound right.”
                  “How is this possible?” Lana brushed away a tear on her cheek.
                  “I was as surprised as you are. One second, I was running from enemy fire, trying to get my friends to safety. The next I was standing over my own body, like this. I think I might’ve been meteor infected. Allowing my spirit to exist like this, after death.”
                  “You never came back.”
                  “I wanted to. I tried, but as I came closer… I wasn’t sure what to do, until I met someone. Another dead man, who helped me to understand that it might be better for you to be able to move on.”
                  “Some friend.”
                  “He was right. I’m invisible, Lana. I can only be seen, if I connect myself to that person.”
                  “What does that mean?”
                  “It means that you can see and hear me right now… But, if anyone else walked into the room, all they’d see is you talking to the air and think that you’re crazy.”
                  “Still not convinced that I’m not.”
                  “Trust me, you’re not. But you do need my help, if you’re going to be able to move on.”
                  “From what?”
                  “From everything, Lana. It’s time for you to let go of the past.”
                  “What do you mean?”
                  “You know what I mean. I’ll show you.” Whitney turned into green mist and once more passed into Lana, who fell unconscious back onto the bed.
                  Lana looked around herself, surrounded by darkness.
                  “Where am I?” She asked, as a cemetery materialized before her. Whitney was standing in front of a tombstone. “What is this?” Lana added.
                  “Another part of my abilities. I can access your memories and show them to you.”
                  “Whose grave is this?”
                  Whitney reached out his hand. “Come and take a look.” She stepped forward, it was the tombstone of Lewis and Laura Lang. “Everything started with them.” A horse neighed. A 12-year-old girl riding on its back. Raven-black hair dressed in a pink dress and with a piece of green Kryptonite in her necklace. The girl got off the horse and placed some flowers on the grave.
                  “Hi, mom. Hi, Dad.” The girl said, “Yes, this is a new dress.”
                  “Why are you showing me this?” Lana asked.
                  “Like I said, everything started with them. So, that’s where we’ll have to start.” The cemetery and the girl faded away. Lana was standing in the middle of Smallville’s main street. Off in the distance, Lana could see black smoke. Aunt Nell coming out of her flower shop, carrying a 3-year-old in a fairy princess costume. The 3-year-old waved to a couple on the other side of the street.
                  “No!” Lana began running towards her parents’ car, as a meteorite crushed them, exploding the car and knocking Lana off her feet. Tears came running down her cheeks. “Please, stop…”
                  “I know that it hurts, Lana. But this is the only way.” Whitney helped her back up. “Lewis and Laura Lang died that day. In a way, four lives ended that day.”
                  “76 people died that day.”
                  “I know. But I was focusing on your parents… and those two.” Whitney pointed towards Nell’s flower shop, where Nell had ducked for cover and trying to shield the child in her arms, as meteorites fell from the sky. “A girl, who lost her parents as a young child. The woman who lost her sister.”
                  “We helped each other.”
                  “Yes, and that’s a good thing. However, there were darker aspects.” Main Street faded away and was replaced by Lana’s childhood room. A 3-year-old Lana sitting on her bed, wearing a black dress. Nell entered the room and spoke to the 3-year-old, before placing a necklace around her neck; made from the meteorite that had killed the child’s parents.
                  “She was just trying to help.”
                  “Yes… But her decision ensured that you spent the next decade constantly wearing something, that reminded you of their deaths. Then there were the stories she told you, about your mother. Whether she realized it, Nell was trying to mold you into a version of her sister. She tried to replace Laura with Lana.”
                  “What does it matter?”
                  “It means that you’ve never really moved away from this.” Whitney held up a Time’s magazine cover, featuring a crying Lana, aged three. Lana threw it to the ground. “Losing parents at such an early age can leave a child with a hole in their hearts. There are ways to deal with it, but you were never allowed to move on.”
                  “Shut up!”
                  “That thing around your neck, a constant reminder. Main Street, a constant reminder. Everyone in town, a constant reminder.”
                  “Shut up!” Lana ran towards the door and ran through it, suddenly she was at the Talon. Whitney was already standing there.
                  “This place, a constant reminder. A shrine. The place where they met. Right across the street, where they died. The hole in your heart, a constant, growing. And how did you attempt to fill it?” Whitney snapped his fingers. Ian Randall, Byron Moore, Adam Knight, Jason Teague, Lex Luthor, Seth Nelson and Clark Kent materialized. “With us.”
                  “They all left me. You all left me.”
                  “You left plenty of us. The moment that it became clear, that we couldn’t give you what you wanted.” Lewis Lang materialized behind Lana. “The perfect father. What you’ve truly been looking for, all these years.” Lana sat down on a chair, brushing away tears.
                  “No, I didn’t.”
                  “When was the last time that you spoke to Henry Small? I’ll answer it for you: five years. Life gave you a second chance at having a father. But, in the end, he couldn’t measure up to the idea of Lewis Lang. No man can, not even Lewis Lang could. It’s a fantasy, you have to give it up.”
                  Lana stood back up. “So, that’s it? I’ve been trying to replace my father with my boyfriends. Let’s look at some of the one’s you’ve presented me with. Ian was two-timing me with Chloe. Adam was spying on me and Clark. Jason for his mom. Seth was controlling me. Lex used me as a pawn to hurt Clark.”
                  “That’s their sins, not yours. You let Adam move into the Talon, after knowing him for five minutes. You latched onto Byron, a kid who left you letters on a grave, until you learned the meaning of Sonnet 17. Then you never spoke to him again. After Clark broke up with you, a few years ago, you began using drugs. You’ve been afraid to be alone. There is a hole in your heart, Lana. It must be mended. You have to move on.”
                  “I’ve tried.”
                  “Yes, you moved to Paris for three months. You were happy there, then you moved back to Smallville. To a town, that have brought you little more than pain. Where you’ve stayed for the past four years.”
                  “What do you want me to do?”
                  “I only want to help. The question is what you think that you should do?” The Talon and Whitney faded away. Lana was back, on the bed in the motel room. Had it all been a dream? Did it really matter? Lana put on her ankle boots and went outside, returning the key to the office. She walked to the nearest bus stop. Should she contact Chloe and try to let Clark know- if he was still alive- that she was alright? No, Clark had a good heart, but it would also cause problems. A bus pulled up, Lana paid for a ticket- with Lex seemingly gone, she didn’t care if she used a credit card- and had a seat in the back.
                  Only five other people on the bus. A cute guy, a few rows in front of her. No, she decided against talking to him. She had tried to fill the hole in her heart with boys- never staying single for more than five minutes. If she was going to be able to mend it, instantly latching onto another guy wouldn’t be the answer. She stayed in her seat, for the remainder of the journey. When she arrived, she was going to buy some new clothes. A plane ticket out of the country. Spend some time traveling. Getting to know herself. She was 22 and still did not know the answer to that question.
                  Trivia
                  Whitney refers to “another dead man”. This is an homage to Boston Brand (Deadman).
                  “Sylvia DeWitt” is another DC reference.

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