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Chapter 3: I’ve Already Run Out of Sucky Chapter Names
“Flying? You mean arms-straight-out-like-a-plane’s-wings flying?
“I don’t know what my arms were doing, they could have been flapping like a hummingbird for all I know. I was just focused on getting to that truck, whatever it took. I’ve never consciously been able to fly…though I have had dreams about flying. After one such dream, I woke up in the middle of Route 8 in the middle of the night.”
“What?”
“Yeah, Lex nearly ran over me with his Porsche.”
“Lex?” More distractions. “Never mind,” she said ,waving her right hand back and forth in a dismissive gesture. “Back to the tornado. How’d you hang on to the truck, much less open the door and climb inside?”
“That’s ability number two, though technically, it’s the first ability I ever developed.”
“Which is?”
“Super-strength. I grabbed the truck, ripped the driver-side door off its hinges, and climbed in on top of you. Oh, and I apologize for being so familiar; I didn’t have time to ask for permission first.”
“Well, I should think not,” Lana smiled. “Though normally, guys don’t try to climb all over me until we’ve been on a few dates first…that’s a joke, Clark. Smile!”
Glowering at Lana over a pair of glowing cheeks, Clark said, “Oh, since you’re having such a good time, I suppose you liked it with me on top?”
“Touché, Clark,” said a rapidly reddening Lana. “Umm…if this is your first ability, when did you get it?”
“The strength first showed up soon after I was adopted. I was hiding under my parents bed and my dad was trying to get me out from under it when I suddenly lifted the entire bed over my head. My parents were freaked out at first and decided to keep me on the farm and away from other people as much as possible to protect me. If anyone found out, they thought I would be taken away from them and studied in a lab or something.”
“Well, that explains the reclusive Kents. Aunt Nell knew your parents had adopted a child, but we almost never saw you until you started kindergarten.”
“As far how strong I am, the most ridiculous feat of strength I’ve performed was just recently when Perry White was in town.”
“Heh, turns out that drunk wasn’t so drunk after all.”
“No, but I think I scared him straight. He really did see the tractor fall into the middle of the road out a clear, blue sky.”
“And…?”
“I was helping Dad fix the tractor by lifting it up so he could work on it, only, due to an unforeseen problem, I was having difficulty controlling my strength and I ended up throwing it from the middle of the field all the way to the bus stop.”
“No way…that’s gotta be at least a half-mile-long throw!”
“Mmm…probably farther, but I’m not the kind of guy that likes to brag,” Clark said grinning widely.
Lana answered, “No wonder I’ve never seen you sweat while doing your chores; hay bales must weigh less than nothing to you.” After changing her position on the couch, Lana said, “Hmm…when did the speed show up?”
“A few years later. I was playing one day when all of a sudden, I took off at a tremendous rate of speed and ended up in the middle of the woods. It took a while for anyone to find me.”
“That must have been terrifying!”
“For me and my parents. At first that initial burst of speed was fun ‘cause no one could catch me, but then I realized I didn’t know how to stop. When I finally stopped, I was lost and started to cry. My folks were scared they’d never find me again. I still don’t know what excuse they gave to Sheriff Ethan to explain how I got out into the woods.
“Super-speed is an expensive ability, too.”
“Expensive?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve worn out more shoes that the Joffrey Ballet. I keep waiting for Goodyear to come out with running shoes with speed-rated soles so I don’t wear them out so fast.”
“Oh, Clark,” said a visibly amused Lana.
“No joke, Lana. I’ve owned more pairs of shoes in my life than even you, and that’s saying something!” Shrugging off a sudden, playful slap from his listener, Clark continued, “When you run as fast as I can, either the rubber melts from the friction or the soles separate from the uppers, but either way, it’s expensive. These days, if I have time to think about it, I’ll take off my socks and shoes before I run, and put them back on when I’m done.
“Getting back to finishing the tornado story, once the remnant of the truck landed, I picked you up and ran you to the hospital before going back to the farm to find my parents.”
“Yeah, I remember the search for your dad, Clark. I was at the Talon helping out along with your Mom and we ended up having a conversation that included a nice story about you and me.”
“Really, what was it?”
“Well…it’s not really my story to tell, you’ll have to ask your mom. If her story is right, though, you do have me to thank for being adopted by the Kents,” Lana said with a smile.
“Not likely, though that sounds a lot nicer than what really happened.”
“What do you mean?”
“Flying? You mean arms-straight-out-like-a-plane’s-wings flying?
“I don’t know what my arms were doing, they could have been flapping like a hummingbird for all I know. I was just focused on getting to that truck, whatever it took. I’ve never consciously been able to fly…though I have had dreams about flying. After one such dream, I woke up in the middle of Route 8 in the middle of the night.”
“What?”
“Yeah, Lex nearly ran over me with his Porsche.”
“Lex?” More distractions. “Never mind,” she said ,waving her right hand back and forth in a dismissive gesture. “Back to the tornado. How’d you hang on to the truck, much less open the door and climb inside?”
“That’s ability number two, though technically, it’s the first ability I ever developed.”
“Which is?”
“Super-strength. I grabbed the truck, ripped the driver-side door off its hinges, and climbed in on top of you. Oh, and I apologize for being so familiar; I didn’t have time to ask for permission first.”
“Well, I should think not,” Lana smiled. “Though normally, guys don’t try to climb all over me until we’ve been on a few dates first…that’s a joke, Clark. Smile!”
Glowering at Lana over a pair of glowing cheeks, Clark said, “Oh, since you’re having such a good time, I suppose you liked it with me on top?”
“Touché, Clark,” said a rapidly reddening Lana. “Umm…if this is your first ability, when did you get it?”
“The strength first showed up soon after I was adopted. I was hiding under my parents bed and my dad was trying to get me out from under it when I suddenly lifted the entire bed over my head. My parents were freaked out at first and decided to keep me on the farm and away from other people as much as possible to protect me. If anyone found out, they thought I would be taken away from them and studied in a lab or something.”
“Well, that explains the reclusive Kents. Aunt Nell knew your parents had adopted a child, but we almost never saw you until you started kindergarten.”
“As far how strong I am, the most ridiculous feat of strength I’ve performed was just recently when Perry White was in town.”
“Heh, turns out that drunk wasn’t so drunk after all.”
“No, but I think I scared him straight. He really did see the tractor fall into the middle of the road out a clear, blue sky.”
“And…?”
“I was helping Dad fix the tractor by lifting it up so he could work on it, only, due to an unforeseen problem, I was having difficulty controlling my strength and I ended up throwing it from the middle of the field all the way to the bus stop.”
“No way…that’s gotta be at least a half-mile-long throw!”
“Mmm…probably farther, but I’m not the kind of guy that likes to brag,” Clark said grinning widely.
Lana answered, “No wonder I’ve never seen you sweat while doing your chores; hay bales must weigh less than nothing to you.” After changing her position on the couch, Lana said, “Hmm…when did the speed show up?”
“A few years later. I was playing one day when all of a sudden, I took off at a tremendous rate of speed and ended up in the middle of the woods. It took a while for anyone to find me.”
“That must have been terrifying!”
“For me and my parents. At first that initial burst of speed was fun ‘cause no one could catch me, but then I realized I didn’t know how to stop. When I finally stopped, I was lost and started to cry. My folks were scared they’d never find me again. I still don’t know what excuse they gave to Sheriff Ethan to explain how I got out into the woods.
“Super-speed is an expensive ability, too.”
“Expensive?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve worn out more shoes that the Joffrey Ballet. I keep waiting for Goodyear to come out with running shoes with speed-rated soles so I don’t wear them out so fast.”
“Oh, Clark,” said a visibly amused Lana.
“No joke, Lana. I’ve owned more pairs of shoes in my life than even you, and that’s saying something!” Shrugging off a sudden, playful slap from his listener, Clark continued, “When you run as fast as I can, either the rubber melts from the friction or the soles separate from the uppers, but either way, it’s expensive. These days, if I have time to think about it, I’ll take off my socks and shoes before I run, and put them back on when I’m done.
“Getting back to finishing the tornado story, once the remnant of the truck landed, I picked you up and ran you to the hospital before going back to the farm to find my parents.”
“Yeah, I remember the search for your dad, Clark. I was at the Talon helping out along with your Mom and we ended up having a conversation that included a nice story about you and me.”
“Really, what was it?”
“Well…it’s not really my story to tell, you’ll have to ask your mom. If her story is right, though, you do have me to thank for being adopted by the Kents,” Lana said with a smile.
“Not likely, though that sounds a lot nicer than what really happened.”
“What do you mean?”
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