On Earth, in the middle of a country called the United States, where farmland thrived, there was one specific farm doing worse than others; diving deeper into that particular farm, you'd notice dying crops, broken down sheds, and old, rickety barns. The house at the center of the farm wasn't fairing any better, though even so, the one who owned the land was currently inside, lying on the bed with a woman beside him.
"Haa, you've got to make a decision, James. I know you love this farm since it's what your parents left behind for you, but it's too much for one person to take care of, and despite how stubborn you are, you know it as well." Said a petite Asian woman with long black hair as she looked up at the man while resting in his embrace.
"I, I know, but what do you want me to do, Hana? My parents had entrusted me with their farm; I can't just give up on it." Replied the slightly overweight white man as he glanced out the window, looking at the dying crop field before sighing.
"I understand, and if I could, I'd want you to keep it; hell, I wouldn't even be opposed to quitting my job and tending to the farm with you; it honestly sounds like a nice life. But you must consider our future children; being a farmer won't give our children the best possible life. As parents, don't you want to give your- our children the best possible life? Even if they're not blood-related, it shouldn't matter." Said Hana as she eyed the man with her small eyes, his words causing him to grab his head and sigh in frustration.
"Yes, I do, but will moving really be the best way to do it? My childhood was by no means easy as from an early age, I tended to the farm with my father, but it was still nice." Asked James as he scratched his beard before glancing down at Hana, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
"Maybe, maybe not, I don't know, but I know it'll give them more options, not to mention other families surround them, so hopefully, our child will make some friends. No offense, but I don't want my son or daughter to end up like you, James; besides me and your cousin, Darnel, you've got no friends." Stated Hana unsurely as she rested her head back on James' chest while looking out the window at the beautiful night sky.
"Ouch, but I guess you're not wrong; still, are you sure your job will be enough to buy a house in Queens, Brooklyn, or Manhattan, along with raising a child or two? Kids aren't cheap." Said James as he winced in fake pain, causing Hana to chuckle.
"I've just gotten a raise at my job, LexCorp, and it pays well, so buying a small three-bedroom house in New York shouldn't be a problem; however, if you intend to keep the farm, the money will be tight." Replied Hana pridefully with a smile, while James seemed overjoyed by such news, embracing her in an even deeper hug.
"A raise? Haha, that's wonderful; my wife is going places! Though you don't need to worry about the farm, Hana, it's my responsibility; I've got a couple thousand dollars saved up, which will allow me to keep the farm, at least until I find a job." Remarked James with a large smile as he kissed Hana's head before calming down, seemingly accepting her proposition.
"So, from how you sounded, I'm assuming you're coming with me back to New York?" Asked Hana hesitantly as she eyed James, who closed his eyes for a few seconds before eventually nodding his head in defeat, causing Hana to plant several kisses on his cheek, cheering him up slightly.
"Wonderful! Now, we don't have to keep commuting to each other's place; flying between Kansas and New York is such a hassle and a waste of money. So, when shall we leave? I've already narrowed down a few houses and an adoption center; I'm all set, just waiting for you." Remarked Hana with glee as she sat up and straddled James, causing the blanket that was covering her body to fall, revealing her stark body.
"Haa, give me a month; I'll get everything squared away and packed." Replied James with a sigh as he smiled, imagining his future life with his wife and child.
"Great, I would help you, but I must return to work in a few days; I was only given a short break because of my new raise. Since the night's still young, how about we continue where we left off? It seems you are raring to go after that short break." Said Hana with a nod before she leaned down and kissed James while reaching her hand underneath the blanket, grabbing his erect dick.
"~Urgh~ you know me, I may not have the best stamina, but I'm damn fast on the recovery." Said James with a grin as he reciprocated the kiss and began caressing her small breasts, though he suddenly stopped when he noticed a shining light out the window in the middle of the night sky.
"Hmm, what's wrong, James?" Asked Hana in confusion as she glanced at James before looking in the same direction as him, eyeing the same bright light.
"Shooting star? I'm not a kid, but do you want to make a wish to the start of our new life?" Asked Hana with a raised eyebrow before smiling and glancing back at James, who seemed unusually fixated on the shooting star.
"Yeah, sure; go ahead." Replied James dismissively with furrowed brows as his eyes never once left the shooting star.
"Alright, I wish the next chapter in our life will be wonderful." Said Hana as she closed her eyes and clasped her hands together like she was praying, only to open her eyes when she felt James move from underneath her.
"It wasn't just my imagination; it's getting brighter." Muttered James with a frown as he stood before the window, displaying his stark body to the world.
I might've been just seeing things before, but now I was certain that the shooting star, or whatever it was, was getting closer; reaching down, I quickly put on my pants and shoes before leaving the room.
"W-Wait, James! Where are you going!?" Exclaimed Hana in confusion as she watched James swiftly leave the room with speed one wouldn't expect from such a large man.
Running down the stairs, I made a quick turn and grabbed the shotgun I hid in the umbrella container; walking to a kitchen cabinet, I grabbed a box of shotgun shells and started loading them into the chamber while heading towards the front door, just in time to see Hana, frantically walk down the stairs while putting her clothes on.
"J-James, what are you doing, and what's going on?" Asked Hana in confusion as she leaned over the railing while eyeing the shotgun in James' hands.
"Aliens, and I'll be damned if I'll allow them to destroy my crop field!" Yelled James with ferocity in his eyes as he looked back up at Hana while pumping his shotgun before exiting the house, leaving a flabbergasted Hana.
(Note: Not gonna lie; when I wrote this, I envisioned the shotgun farmer at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z for some reason.)
Exiting the house, I looked up at the so-called shooting star, and just as I suspected, not only was it brighter than before, but it was heading right for us, at least, I think so. Standing still, I intently watched it and waited for when it would land, and while doing so, I heard Hana leave the house.
"James, I don't know what you're on about, but it's not aliens; you've been watching too many sci-fi movies. Besides, even if they were aliens, why would they want to destroy your crop field? It's already half destroyed as it is." Stated Hana with a frown as she approached James and looked up at the shooting star, only to quiet down as she saw it shooting through the sky just above the house with a fiery trail behind it.
Seeing the aliens nearly hit my house, I inwardly cursed and watched as they flew into my crop field before crashing, causing the earth beneath my feet to tremble intensely, but once the trembling finally subsided, I dashed into the field.
"J-James!" Yelled Hana as she grabbed her head in frustration and ran behind James, though she was quickly left in the dust.
Running through the cornfield, I trampled over numerous crops and nearly tripped over a rock, but after running for about a minute, I finally reached the area where the alien had crashed landed. Exiting from the cornfield and walking on the scorched ground, a cloud of smoke came from the middle of the crater, blocking my view of whatever creatures were lurking in the dark.
"Alright, bastards, come out with your hands up, or I'm shooting!" Yelled James angrily as he aimed his shotgun at the bottom of the crater while trying to listen for movement, which was proving difficult.
I waited a few seconds, hoping I could see something, but the cloud of smoke was too thick, and my hearing was being overwhelmed with the sound of the burning ground.
"J-James, c-calm down, i-it's probably just a m-meteor." Said Hana as she finally caught up to James while breathing irregularly in exhaustion.
"Maybe, but I'm not taking any chances; I've seen the History Channel. I know what those aliens will do to us, and I won't give them a chance to plant their eggs inside of me and use me as an incubator." Replied James seriously as he didn't take his eyes off the bottom of the crater, where the smoke emerged from, which was beginning to clear.
"W-What? Plant e-eggs inside of us? A-Aren't you talking about the movie Predator? The one with A-Arnold Schwarzenegger? I'm pretty s-sure that doesn't air on the H-History channel." Said Hana through her heavy breathing, though once again, she went quiet when she saw the object at the bottom of the crater, which was too smooth and intricate to be just a meteor.
Looking down at the silver pod, which looked just big enough to fit a grown man, I noticed it had a symbol on what looked like the door, though the smoke obscured my vision.
"Stay here, Hana; I will get a closer look." Said James as he leaped into the crater, slowly skidding down the sides until he reached the bottom, falling in the process, but he quickly stood back up.
"I-I'm good!" Added James as he gave Hana a thumbs up, causing her to sigh in relief.
"B-Be careful; if there is really an alien in there, try not to anger it; we don't know what it's capable of." Advised Hana from the crater's edge as she worriedly looked down at James, who was slowly approaching the silver pod.
Nodding to Hana, I readied my shotgun at the pod's hatch while inching closer, finally being able to see the symbol that was on it, which was a large "S". Seeing that, for a second, I thought it might've been from earth, but I quickly denied such a thought, whatever this pod or spaceship was, it looked far too advanced for humanity right now.
Standing before the space pod, I observed it while refraining from touching it as I knew I'd only burn myself; however, suddenly, the hatch opened, causing me to step back. I watched how the hatch slowly opened up, and while I expected to see a lot of things, a gruesome alien with tentacles for a body, an alien made out of slime, hell, even nothing, nonetheless, what I didn't expect was to see a human baby curled up in the what looked to be the softest pillows in the world.
Eyeing the baby for a few seconds, I released a sigh of relief before dropping my shotgun and approaching the baby; looking within the space pod, besides the baby and comfortable pillows, all I saw was a weird black thing that looked to have been broken off from something.
"J-James, did you find something!?" Asked Hana worriedly since while she could see the hatch had opened from her angle, she couldn't see what was inside the pod.
"Y-Yeah, I found something alright; can you come down here? You're going to want to see this; be careful on your way down." Replied James with uncertainty as he looked at the sleeping baby, feeling entirely confused about the situation.
Once Hana made it down, she approached the pod, and when she saw the sleeping child, she reacted much calmer than I thought she would.
"Is that an alien child, James?" Asked Hana curiously as she looked at the peacefully sleeping child, finding him to be incredibly adorable.
"My guess is as good as yours. He looks human, but what human crashes on Earth in some highly advanced space pod without a single scratch?" Remarked James while looking at the baby before handing the shotgun to Hana, who took it, only for him to reach forward and gently pick up the child, surprising her.
"So, what shall we do with him?" Asked James; his words greatly surprised Hana as she looked at him.
"We?" Said Hana with a slight frown while looking at James playing with the sleeping child.
"Yes, I can't just leave him here; my parents didn't raise me to just ignore a person in need, especially when said person was a child. Besides, I've seen the History Channel, so I know what the government will do to him; they'll put him through tests, torture him, and many other things I don't know." Stated James with a frown as he looked up Hana, who glanced at the baby in his hands before sighing to herself.
"I don't think you learned that from the History Channel, but you're not wrong; leaving an alien child in the hands of the government will give him a terrible and probably short life. So, why don't we take care of him then? We were going to adopt anyways, so." Declared Hana with a nod before taking the baby out of James and holding the baby, her motherly instincts taking over as she held the baby deep in her embrace.
"Sure, fine by me; it saves a lot of paperwork, and I don't like the idea of adoption centers; picking children seems very shallow to me." Said James with a nod as he looked at Hana, who softly smiled while rocking the baby back and forth.
"So what will we name him? What about Clark?" Asked James with a smile as he rested his shotgun on his shoulder.
(Note: I'll have images for things on Discord in a few days)
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So will his name be Clark? Or will it be something else? Find out next time on Marvel's Black Steel! (I definitely wrote that while imaging the narrator's voice from DBZ.)