Chapter 1: The Forest
Smallville, Kansas
13 Years Ago
A small spaceship - or pod - is crashing down. Not near any farmland. Not even an open area. No... A forest. It crashes, and flies forward for miles, leaving a trail of sunken dirt behind its quake. Then, the pod opens, revealing a baby, Kal-El. He's not crying, not fussing. He's just looking around, waving his arms around, waiting for... Something. Or someone.
But instead, a monkey comes. It picks up Kal-El, and holds him in its arms. Kal-El reaches his arm out and brushes his finger against the monkey's nose.
6 Years Later
Grown into a 6 Year Old boy, and no longer needing the monkey, Kal-El is starting to learn the arts of craftsmanship, using sharp sticks and cobwebs and grass to sew together hides from animals that he's killed with his heat-vision. He sews a perfectly good pair of shorts and a tunic.
A bear runs up to him, goes to attack him, but the claws and sharp teeth break against the boy's skin. The bear whimpers, and runs away. But the boy shoots the bear with his heat-vision, killing it instantly.
7 Years Later
Now 13, with hair that's grown to his shoulders, he gets curious, and explores the forest. He examines everything along the way, so he doesn't get lost. He's wearing pants and a short-sleeve shirt sewn together with animal hides of different colors and varieties. He walks so far, that he sees fields extending outward for miles upon miles.
He looks out, his vision seemingly zooming inward. A farmhouse, about 15 miles out. He also sees a mailbox, with "Kent" written on the side. He runs back to his spot in the forest, going 100 MPH. He reaches it in just 20 seconds.
"What... Was that?" The boy asks himself, his voice echoing in the quiet forest despite having whispered, and then looks back out. "What... Is that place? What lies... Beyond?"
Metropolis
The Luthor Mansion
"No, dad!" Lex Luthor complains to his father.
"Son," Lionel Luthor, Lex's father, says firmly. "You are 18, you must learn to clean for yourself."
"We have a maid for a reason."
"And she is very good at her job. The least you could do is show a little respect and help her."
"But why would I do that? She's just a maid. Her job is to clean up after us, not for us to start and then she finishes."
"You're also going to have to move out soon."
"What? Why?"
"Every 18 Year Old must get their own place to live."
"But we're rich!"
"No. I am. You are not. I can lend you money to rent an apartment if you'd like. You have a week, Lex."
"But dad, I-"
"Alexander," he says firmly and stronger. "As long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules. It does not matter if you're an adult or not."
"Fine. I'll get my shit together within a week."
"Thank you." He walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.
"Whatever," he mutters under his breath.
Smallville Middle School
Lana Lang and Pete Ross are walking through the halls, laughing and joking around.
"Mr. Smith is so old," Lana chuckles. "His hair is like, super grey."
"Yeah, and Ms. Hall is so strict," Pete chuckles back. "She doesn't even let us listen to music while doing work. Like, let us at least enjoy school a little bit."
"So true. Hey, did you hear about that new girl that showed up this morning?"
"Who, Lois Lane? Yeah, I've heard about her."
"Yeah. She came from Metropolis."
"How come? Do you know?"
"Apparently her dad's an army general. They're moving all over the place."
"Okay, how do you know that?"
"I hear things."
"Yes you do, Lana Lang. Yes you do."
At a nearby locker, a girl is struggling to open it, grunting and groaning.
"Stupid locker combination!" She groans in frustration, and bangs her hand on the locker.
"Do you need some help?" Lana asks.
"Yes, please," the girl sighs in annoyance.
"Alright, what's the combination?"
"23-45-34."
"Okay, let me try." She turns the locker combination, and then tries to open it, but it stays locked. "Can I see your combination slip?"
"Yeah, here." She passed the slip over.
"Oh, I see what's wrong. It's 39, not 34. Principle Phillips has... Questionable handwriting."
"Thank you, so much, uh..."
"Lana Lang." She reaches her hand out for a handshake.
"Lois Lane." She shakes Lana's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Lois Lane."
"You too, Lana Lang."
Lana walks back to Pete and they continue to walk through the halls.
"She's a bit... Awkward," Lana says.
The Forest
Kal-El is back at the edge of the forest, looking out 15 miles. He sees a school bus stop in the street. Then, Lana steps off. Kal-El doesn't know her, but when he sees her, it's like his heart skips a beat. His eyes sparkle with... Something new. He gulps. He doesn't take his eyes off her until she steps into her house that's across the Kent Farm.
He then snaps himself out of it, shaking his head and lightly smacking his face. He looks around, confused by this new feeling he's just experienced and has never felt before.
"Woah..." Kal-El whispers to himself. "I don't know what that was... But I think I liked it."
The Kent Farm
Inside, Martha Kent is holding a pregnancy test with disappointment on her face. Jonathan Kent walks in from the back door, wiping oil off his hands with a rag. He walks in the living room and sees Martha's disappointed expression.
"Still not pregnant?" Jonathan asks, sitting down next to her.
"Nope," Martha replies. "We've been trying for years, Jonathan. I know the doctor said that I can't get pregnant, but-"
"Hey, it's okay, Martha. The doctor also told us that adoption is still an option."
"But I want it to be biologically ours, Jonathan."
"We don't always get what we want," he says softly.
"Well... I guess that's why I got you. Because that is something I want."
"Me too, honey. Me too." He kisses her on the forehead.
Krypton
13 Years Ago
War. Bombs. Gunfire. But most importantly... Kal-El. In the space shuttle, Lara Lor-Van and Jor-El are placing baby Kal-El in the pod.
"Goodbye, Kal-El," Lara says softly. "You'll be sent to Earth, where you'll have great abilities. You can protect the Earth's species, known as Homo Sapiens, with said great abilities."
"You'll rule it," Jor-El says. "You will rule them. You will be a super man. A God walking amongst mankind."
"Jor-El. We talked about this. No ruling. That's how Krypton is getting destroyed now, because of your cockiness in being a ruler."
"What are you saying?"
"This is happening because of you! That's what I'm saying!"
"Me?!"
"You let your ego distract you from what's really important! Krypton needed protection, and that wasn't you!"
"But I-..." He looks around, and then down at his own hands, his eyes tearing up. "I didn't realize. I was blindsided this whole time." He looks at Kal-El. "Listen to me, son. Don't be like me. Be better. Do you hear me, Kal-El? Be better!" The pod closes, and gets sent off into space. Jor-El looks at Lara. "I'm so sorry."
"It's too late for sorry, Jor-El. Because now-" the building collapses on them, killing them.
Kal-El's pod flies through the galaxy, and just as he's about to enter Earth, an asteroid bumps into the pod, sending it 15 miles over, into the forest instead of the field of the Kent Farm.
The Forest
Today
Kal-El walks back to his spot, and kneels next to his pod. He takes a deep breath, and places his hand on it. Then, it opens. Kryptonian symbols engraved onto the outside glow with a bright, yellow light.
"Woah," Kal-El says, startled by the sudden shine, taking a step back. "What the fu-"
