TITLE: Rentry

AUTHOR: Jackie (Miss Linda Lee)

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: Exile and Phoenix

DISCLAIMER/AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a fix-it story, guys. I didn't like how Phoenix was (no Pete, to say the least), so I am rewriting it. It starts in Exile where Clark and Jonathan got finished talking on the phone. SPECIAL THANKS TO CAS, WHO HAS HELPED ME OUT SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And none of these characters belong to me. They belong to their respective owners.

Rentry
by Jackie (Miss Linda Lee)

Jonathan stared at the receiver in his hand. "I’ve got to go get him," he said.

"How, Jonathan? If he sees you he could either run, or if he’s angry enough he could hurt you. You can’t stop him."

Jonathan put the phone down and walked over to his wife, taking her shoulders gently and looking down at her. "Martha, if I don’t go and get him now, we may lose him forever."

Martha looked hesitant, but after a few seconds she nodded, accepting the fact that, as scared as she was for both of her men, her husband was right. Jonathan kissed her, then he looked at her again before grabbing his coat from the kitchen and walking out the back door.

- - - -

In the barn, Jonathan opened his toolbox and pulled out a small rag-covered object. He unfolded the rag and pulled out the octagonal key to Clark’s spaceship. He stared at it for a few seconds, looking at both sides of the small object, wondering if there could be another way to bring his son home. That thought quickly passed when he realized that there was no other way. Determined, but feeling more scared than he ever remembered feeling, he left the barn.

- - - -

Jonathan walked into the underground caves, holding a flashlight, looking around. He searched for a few seconds before stopping at the wall where Clark had described the octagonal groove was. He looked at the key in his hand, then slowly stepped toward the wall. He shined his flashlight on the spot where Clark had told him the groove was, but Jonathan could see nothing; the groove was no longer there. He tapped the wall, and then he felt around, looking for the groove; he pounded the wall in anger when he realized the groove was gone.

"He wasn’t ready!" he shouted as he looked up. He backed away, staring at the wall, wanting to talk face to face to the person responsible for tearing his family apart. It was in vain, he knew, but he still couldn’t stop himself; he had to let his anger out. "But you, you had to keep pushing him anyway, didn’t you?" He turned around and looked up. "What kind of a race are you people?" He shined his light back on the wall once more, then looked at the key. Disgusted, he tossed the key to the cave floor and walked away. "No wonder you destroyed yourselves."

Jonathan was about five feet away when he heard the soft, high-pitched sound. He turned and saw the key, the symbols on it glowing, float into the air, spinning as it floated over to the wall, shooting directly into the center where the groove used to be. Jonathan slowly walked over, amazed, as the symbols on the key turned red, yellow, and blue, and the symbols surrounding the key glowed a brilliant white, rotating in alternating directions. The farmer stood mesmerized as the key seemed to open up into a pentagonal shape. A few seconds later a blast of energy shot out towards Jonathan, but before it could hit him, he was hit from behind. He flew threw the air and landed twenty feet from where he had been standing. He hit the ground hard, the wind knocked from him, and he rolled a few more feet. He stopped himself with his arms and turned back to see what it was that hit him. His eyes widened at what he saw.

Standing where he had been was a slender woman. She was surrounded by a brilliant column of white light that almost blinded Jonathan, but he could see she was young, around Clark’s age dressed in a black t-shirt, dark jeans, and bright red, leather boots. Her long, blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she stared upward as a loud voice thundered through the caves,
rattling Jonathan to the bones.

"I am Jor-El, the true father of Kal-El," the voice said.

"His name is Clark Kent," the woman shouted. "His parents are Jonathan and Martha Kent; they raised him; he is their son!"

"His destiny is too great for someone like you to comprehend," Jor-El’s voice thundered.

"Wanna bet?" the woman challenged.

Jonathan could feel the tingle as a surge of energy rushed from different directions toward the young woman. He saw them hit her with enough force to break anyone in half, and Jonathan had to turn his head as the intensity of the light increased to the point where it was blinding. After what seemed like an eternity, the light faded, and Jonathan slowly looked back. He gaped when he saw her standing there, her feet planted firmly, appearing as strong as ever.

"Convinced?" the young woman asked. "Or do you want to try disintegrating me again?"

"You are . . . not of this world," Jor-El said slowly. "You are -"

"I am who I am," the woman interrupted. "Just as Clark is who he is. And you have no business or right telling him to be something else, nor do you have any right tearing him from the only family he’s ever known."

"Kal-El has a destiny to fulfill," Jor-El thundered, shaking the walls of the cave. "You, of all people, should understand that."

"The only thing I understand is that you are keeping him from becoming the person who he is really meant to be," the woman replied. "You may have all these hopes and ideals for him, but they are the hopes and ideals of a dead world. Now, I don’t care what you say, but this little test that you have Clark in the middle of right now is over. I’m bringing him back to where he
belongs - now."

"He will fulfill his destiny," Jor-El replied harshly. "Bringing him home will not -"

"Oh, bug off," the woman interrupted. She looked down at the wall, focusing on the key, then she slowly raised a hand, palm facing the wall. The key shot from the wall, as if it had been blasted out from behind, and the young woman caught it. The column of light quickly faded, leaving the young woman and Jonathan in the semi-darkness of the caves.

The farmer slowly got to his feet, breathing hard, watching the young woman with extreme caution. He almost flinched when she turned and walked slowly towards him; he wasn’t sure what to make of her, so he tensed, his guard going up. "Who are you?" he asked.

The young woman smiled. "Someone who had waited a long time to meet you, Jonathan Kent," she said. She put the key in her jeans pocket. "Go back to your wife. I’ll take care of everything."

Jonathan frowned. "Like hell I will. My son is out there, scared and confused, and alone, and I don’t care what he’s done, I'm going to find him and bring him home!"

The young woman just smiled, her blue eyes bright. "You don’t know how grateful I am that you and Martha were the ones who found him."

Jonathan stopped. She knew the truth. The farmer frowned, towering over her by a good foot. "Who are you?" he asked through clenched teeth. "How do you know so much about my son?"

"I know a lot about him," she answered. "Just like I know a lot about you and Martha. I know how much you love him, which is why you came down here; you want him back so badly that you were going to ask for Jor-El’s help."

Jonathan sighed, frustrated. "Look, whoever you are -"

"My name is Linda," she interrupted.

"Okay, Linda," Jonathan said. "You explain to me how you know so much about my family, or you will be very sorry you came down here."

"You would never hurt me, Jonathan Kent," Linda replied.

"If it came down to getting my son back, do you really want to challenge me on that?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, I have no doubt you’d try taking me out if you thought you had to," Linda said, "but it would be a pointless exercise. Besides, we’re wasting time standing here talking. I’m going to go get Clark like I told Jor-El I was going to."

Jonathan reached out to grasp Linda’s elbow. "You won’t tell me who you are; why should I believe that you want my son home and safe?"

She looked up at him with painful honesty. "Because without him, I would be nothing." She paused for a moment, holding his gaze, then she loosened her elbow.

"What -" Jonathan didn’t get any further in his question as Linda blurred away, leaving the farmer alone in the caves.

(End of Chapter 1)