Earth, North Atlantic Ocean
The beam of rainbow light that transported Clark from the barren nightmare of a planet appeared in the earth's sky over the North Atlantic ocean, not too far from where the V-2 rocket exploded and where he disappeared. The light tunnel beamed into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic and vanished as quickly as it appeared. Barely a second so if there were any witnesses they wouldn't have seen much to draw certain conclusions. Some steam sizzled up from the ocean as the beam of light had vaporized some water, even making a small hole trench but it was quickly evened out as more water flowed in.
[Gasped of fresh air]
Clark broke through the surface of the ocean and sucked in as much air as he could while coughing up a lung and some sea water. That was as sudden of an exit as it was an entrance. One second he was traveling through space via a beam of rainbow light and the next he's submerged in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. But the second Clark broke the surface of the water and got some air in his lungs, he felt better as the rays of the yellow sun began rejuvenating his body. He felt better instantly as all the bruises, cuts, and bumps he had begun to heal.
"What…[Cough] on earth was that?" Clark looked around and didn't see Kelex anywhere. "Kelex? Kelex?!"
Something burst from the water, and it was Kelex in his drone form. "Are you all right, Kal-El?"
"That remains to be seen. Kelex, please tell me we're back on earth?"
"We are. Approximately 1 mile from where the rocket exploded, and you were transported off planet."
"Good. Good." Clark combed his hair back and rested a bit. Now that he was back on earth, all that worry and tension he had before was gone. "What happened? What was that beam of light and how did it bring us back?"
"The tunnel of light seemed to be made of trans-dimensional energy configured into a method for near instantaneous transportation. I have no such record of that kind of energy source in my database but clearly whoever was responsible for it is responsible for our returning home. The question remains who and why."
"All right. We can figure that out later. I got to let the others know I'm ok." Clark held out his arm and Kelex wrapped himself around, turning back into his disguised form before he took off swimming at super speed for land.
SSR Headquarters London, England
The SSR Headquarters were as busy as ever, which was no surprise given the war. For one Agent Carter she was working on various intelligence reports as per usual, but part of her attention was still on the whereabouts of Kalvin Elbert AKA the Superman. Their board of facts and possible sightings/locations had grown since he was originally reported missing and still now sign of him. People who knew him were now getting worried, especially Peggy but not just her. She could tell that Howard was worried that Clark had been killed in the explosion and Colonel Phillips was not happy entertaining the idea of the meetings he would have with the Joint Chiefs and the President when he would tell them that the Superman was still missing or presumed dead. He had been putting it off but people were beginning to talk and ask questions so it would only be a matter of time before he would need to come clean.
Peggy put her completed files away and handed them to a clerk for filing so she could go back to her work AKA the investigation into Superman's disappearance. She picked up her pencil and chewed the eraser, something that had become a nervous habit of hers she had picked up since he went missing.
"Peggy! Peggy! PEGGY!"
She turned around and saw Howard running towards her like a chicken with his head cut off. "What, Howard? What's wrong?"
"They found him." Howard's excitement and glee could not be understated and Peggy, for a brief moment, needed to pinch herself just to make sure that this wasn't a dream. "He's alive."
"How? Where is he?"
"Colonel Phillips got a call from the Royal Navy. A patrol boat found him swimming to England in the North Atlantic. They radioed ahead and are bringing him here. He's fine." Howard smiled in delight and Peggy wobbled a bit before sitting down in a chair like a giant weight on her shoulders was finally gone and she could breathe again. Howard signaled everyone to leave the immediate area which they did so Peggy could have a moment. She was grateful for that as all the emotions she had kept welled up broke through and she shed small tears of what was once sadness and loss but now was joy and relief.
Several hours later…
A group of MPs escorted Clark into the SSR base after picking him up at the harbor. His suit was tattered, but he was alive and well and all the agents were grateful for that. The second he walked into the main room everyone gave him a round of applause and cheers, grateful to have him back alive. Clark gave them all his smile and a wave as he walked by when Howard came and gave him a hug.
"Oh, Kal, you had us worried. We thought the worst." Howard told him and Kal relaxed, hugging him back.
"You have no idea." Clark patted Howard on the back. Peggy was next as she came over and hugged him before he gave Colonel Phillips a salute.
"Glad you're alive and in once piece, Elbert."
"Good to be back, Colonel. Sorry for the scare." Clark apologized as everyone went back to their duties. "Rogers and my team?"
"They're fine. Trudging behind enemy lines to link up with the advance force in the French Riveria." Colonel Phillips informed him, and Clark breathed a little easier knowing the others were ok.
Peggy wanted nothing more than to embrace Clark in a big kiss but would have to wait. She was more concerned with where he was. "Kal, what happened?"
Clark knew that question was coming but he still didn't have an answer for them that would explain everything. "Honestly, I don't even know how to explain it. Our mission to Castle Caldera ran into some problems when the rocket was launched but I managed to grab on before it could escape. I was successful in removing the Nova 6 gas and disposing of it, but something happened. The rocket had one of Hydra's energy cores and some kind of container with an atom symbol on it. All the shaking and pressure from the rocket broke the containment and I jumped when it exploded. The next thing I know…I woke up someplace."
"Someplace where? A POW Camp?" Colonel Phillips questioned.
"No, sir. And I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think whatever fuel source Hydra is messing with is more dangerous than they realize. I think the energy in whatever Hydra is using…transported me to another planet."
There was a moment of silence to let that revelation sink in that sounded more ludicrous than anything else they've heard during the war. "You think were transported to another planet?" Howard repeated to make sure he got that right.
"I know how it sounds but when I woke up I was in a gorge that wasn't familiar and by the time I walked out of it I ended up someplace with dark clouds, red sunlight, giant volcanoes and no sign of anything living." Clark explained.
Howard gingerly got to Clark's side and had him sit down. "Ok. Maybe we should get you a physical and have a doctor look at you."
"I know how it sounds but I'm telling the truth. God as my witness, the actual truth. I spent a day there before I got back so I'm not making this up." Clark promised but all he got were looks of confusion.
"A day? What are you talking about?" Peggy wondered.
"I spent at least a day there on this mystery planet before I saw something massive. There were dense clouds and something inside but the next thing I know there's a flash of rainbow light and I'm swimming in the North Atlantic. I started swimming which his when I ran into the patrol boat, and they brought me here." Clark recounted as Peggy walked away to retrieve something.
"Kal…it's been two weeks since you went missing." Peggy showed him today's newspaper which read January 23rd, 1944, as the date. Just about two weeks from when he and the others assaulted Castle Caldera.
"Two weeks?" Clark grabbed the newspaper in disbelief. "But that's…it was yesterday."
"Maybe Stark is right. You should get looked at." Colonel Phillips suggested.
"But I…" Clark stood up but stumble a bit and had to brace himself on a table to catch himself. Peggy and Howard were at his sides and caught him, which is when the two noticed something. He had a thin sheen of sweat on his face, his face was kind of flushed, and he looked drained. "…whoa…"
"Easy, Kal. Take it easy." Howard said as they sat him back down. "Kal, are you feeling ok because you don't look good."
"I'm fine." Clark assured them but they weren't buying it.
"No, Howard is right. You look exhausted and you're sweating. You've never sweated before." Peggy touched his face, and he was warmer than usual. "Kal, I think you might have a cold or maybe the flu."
Clark looked at Peggy like she had grown a second head. "What? That's impossible. I've never so much as gotten a sore throat in my life."
"Yeah, but who knows what happened to you when that rocket exploded, and you were swimming in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Maybe you caught something?" Howard suggested.
"Best to go forward with caution. Let's get a doctor to check you out." Colonel Phillips suggested.
"Colonel, I promise I'm fine. I've still got—" Clark stopped as he felt a weird sensation. His throat got scratchy, his head stuffed up, and there was a funny feeling that was building in his sinuses. Peggy and Howard saw Clark's reaction and could tell what was going to happen, which normally wouldn't be an issue but given it was Superman and the last time they dealt with lasers coming out of his eyes they realized something equally dangerous could happen.
"Everyone get clear!" Peggy shouted, urging everyone in front of Clark to get out of the way. They scrambled out of his path as Clark picked up his head, leaned back and took a big inhalation of air.
"ACHOOOO!"
A full hurricane wind gale came out of Clark's mouth, literally blowing forward everything in front of him. Peggy, Howard, Colonel Phillips, and the others hit the deck and covered their heads from the literal tornado that just happened. Tables, chairs, papers, everything was blown forward and not only that, but Clark's sneeze was so powerful that the release of air managed to punch a massive hole in the brick wall across the room and reveal the abandoned London Underground railway system that the headquarters was built around.
Clark sat there in the chair in pure disbelief as papers rained down around him like snow. Today was a day of firsts. First time he's been on a foreign planet which normally would be what concerned him but not right now. Growing up, he's never been sick a day in his life, not so much as a scratchy throat. But now…he just had his first sneeze…and it blew a hole in a brick wall.
Peggy, Howard, Colonel Phillips, and everyone picked their heads hoping it was safe. The whole SSR looked like a hurricane went through which it sort of did and they all looked at Clark in confusion and slight fear. And even Clark was afraid right now.
"Ok…I'll go see a doctor."
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