Days passed since Jonathan Kent's death. Harry shuffled through some papers in his room. He knew the contents of them completely by heart. Still, Harry could not help and look for something that he might have missed previously.
He missed the knock on the door of his room. However, it got persistently louder, and Harry cleared hsi throat.
"It's unlocked."
Chloe slipped into the bedroom and looked serious. She brought two cups into the room and handed one to Harry. The piping hot coffee which Chloe handed to Harry was something which was needed. Or perhaps something that he wanted.
"I'd ask you how you're doing, but that seems like a silly question."
"I'm managing," Harry said. "Mom is as well, although Eliza's making sure that she's doing okay with what happened. And I'm looking these over, very carefully."
"Medical reports? Why?"
"Why not?"
Chloe could tell Harry had one of those looks that he was after a story. And really, Chloe under many circumstances, would be right there along with him. Still, even Chloe, who wanted to uncover the strange and mysterious no matter what the cost, had to frown when she eyed the reports on Harry's desks.
"You know, there might not be anything odd there. I know we're so used to dealing with the strange and the mysterious, but maybe this is just what it was. Occam's Razor applies here."
Harry just hummed, and when he did not respond, Chloe pressed forward.
"Jonathan just had an undetected heart condition. You know him better than I do, but you always said he worked hard. What if all of that hard work caught up to him and he had a heart attack at the worst possible time?"
Harry spent a few more seconds flipping over the report. And slid the papers completely over.
"It's possible."
"It's very likely,' Chloe firmly replied. "Well, the gang's all here."
Alex stepped into the room. She stopped at the door and frowned at the pile of papers Harry had just set up on top of the desk.
"You're still on about that?"
"Well, I'm just curious," Harry said. "But, I'm going to drop it for now. At least until the autopsy reports come back."
"Are you determined to find something wrong?" Alex asked.
"No, but something about this doesn't feel right."
Alex and Chloe exchange a dark look. Chloe responded with a shrug, as if saying that she kind of understood, but kind of thought Harry was chasing white rabbits down a whole to nowhere.
"I didn't see it coming," Harry said.
"Well, it's not like you're a living death detector," Chloe said. "Wait, you're not a living death detector are you?"
Harry just responded with a shrug and put the documents away, much to Alex's approval. He supposed he had been chasing puffs of smoke and perhaps, Chloe and Alex had a point. He was willing to concede that much.
"I should go with you to check up on Mom," Harry said. "How's she doing?"
"Well, she's throwing herself into the funeral preparations," Alex said. "Mom's keeping an eye on her though. She's been through this once before."
"With your Dad?" Chloe asked.
Alex nodded. She rarely talked about her father, and Chloe knew it was kind of a sore subject for Alex, like Chloe's mother was for her. Although for entirely different reasons.
"Let's go," Harry said. "We'll take a walk."
Chloe and Alex both silently agreed that it is a good thing. Better than Harry pouring over Jonathan Kent's medical records, hoping to find some vast conspiracy within them.
Jonathan Kent had a small and intimate gathering for his visitation. Harry sat down alongside Martha, with Eliza nearby. Alex, Lana, Chloe, and Emily sat a little bit behind them. Several of Jonathan's old friends appeared and shook hands with Harry and Martha, offering their condolences and their respects.
"Harry, it's been a long time."
"Lex?"
Harry turned up and saw Lex Luthor standing there, in his best. He leaned in and took Harry's hand and shook it.
"I'm sorry about your loss. Your father was a good man. And the good men unfortunately die way too young. And he didn't deserve to go in this way."
Lex moved away to offer his condolences to Martha. Harry shifted back a tiny bit and noticed another Luthor appear. Lena stepped back and threw her arms around Harry in a hug.
"I'm sorry to hear….I rushed back as soon as I heard."
Lena moved over to do the same to Martha. Harry had been glad to see his old friend and he had many questions, although he wondered whether or not it was the time or the place.
"It's nice to see you, Lena, dear, and thank you," Martha said.
Harry had questions, lots of them, but it was not the time nor the place.
"I've been busy," Lena told them. "But, I had to return. It might not be the circumstances that I wanted it to."
"I'm just glad you came," Harry said.
"Me too. And it's good to see you again. You've really….wow it's been a long time."
Lena tapered down what she was going to say a little bit, although Harry caught a little bit of the sentiment from her. She had been busy, but now she had to return.
"Lena, this is my girlfriend, Alex Danvers, our girlfriend, Chloe Sullivan, and our friends, Emily Dinsmore and Lana Lang. Girls, this is Lena Luthor."
To say Lena had not been surprised that Harry had himself a pair of girlfriends would be a lie. The fact was, she approved very much. Lena did know Lana, kind of, given that Lana was Harry's neighborhood, and she caught Lana riding her bike by the Kent Farmhouse a lot. It was almost adorable how she had a crush on Harry.
"Oh, yes, Harry's told us a lot about you, although he hasn't heard too much from you lately" Alex said.
Harry could sense Alex's overprotective nature coming into play, but Lena remained cool under the face of certain fire.
"Unfortunately, I was in a place where communication was difficult," Lena said. "Can I talk to you?"
Harry nodded and he walked off a little ways to be with Lena.
"I can't tell you everything here. But, I'm sorry that the letters cut off without warning. I'll tell you everything soon. In a couple of days, when everything calms down."
"Are you sticking around?"
"For the foreseeable future," Lena agreed. "But, I'll tell you more soon."
Fair enough, Harry suspected. He walked off to return to the funeral. Alex had been in conversation with a nicely dressed redhead woman. She turned to Harry.
"My cousin, Patricia Swann."
"So, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Kent," Patricia said.
Harry took her hand and planted a light kiss on it, which caused Patricia to just smile. She had been looking over Harry a little bit before pulling back to a more respectful eye contact.
"Eliza and Alex speak the world of you, and my father, he speaks most highly of your accomplishments."
Harry knew where he heard the first name Swann in the past.
"You're Virgil Swann's daughter?"
Patricia responded with a nod. She wrapped Harry up in a hug, which surprised herself. She leaned in and whispered in Harry's ear.
"Sorry about your loss. We'll talk soon."
Harry had been rather curious about why Virgil Swann of all people had been keeping tabs on him. Especially given that Swann was a recluse who had very little contact with the outside world, at least in the last decade.
After a few more people turned up, it was time to get the actual funeral service underway.
Harry arrived at the Luthor Mansion, upon Lena's invitation. It had been impressive to say the least. Harry walked down to where Lena's study was located, where she requested they meet.
An ajar door followed by an open envelope caught Harry's attention. Old habits, they had an unfortunate nature of dying hard. Harry stepped into the room and noticed a picture on the desk. It was his father and Lionel Luthor, having a heated argument. Along with a note taped. Harry casually read it.
"I'll keep digging. But, you'll find the enclosed audio tape juicy. Nixon."
Harry had no idea who Nixon was or even if that was the guy's real name. Harry leaned his head to the right and to the left and proceeded to scan the study for anything out of the ordinary. He found nothing.
The sound of approaching footsteps caused Harry to zip away before he was caught rifling through Lex's personal things. The man himself came off the steps.
"Harry? What brings you to my castle?"
"Well, Lena invited me here."
"Right," Lex said. "You'll find her down the hallway, and the third door to your life. So, are you doing okay?"
"Fine," Harry said.
"I don't know if you've heard, but last month, I was involved in a car wreck. The car was completely destroyed. But, I lived, for some reason. I woke up in a hospital, without a scratch on me. I wondered why."
"Perhaps someone was looking out for you," Harry said.
"Maybe. Although it does seem unfair that no one was looking out for Jonathan Kent. But, I guess this mysterious crusader, as prolific as he is, can't be everyone at once. He's saved a lot of people. Including your friends, Ms. Lang and Ms. Dinsmore, if the papers clippings I've collected are accurate."
"Well, whoever he is, he's doing good for some people," Harry said.
"Well, he has my vote. Otherwise, I would be the one in that casket."
Lex checked his watch.
"Got to head off to the Plant to supervise it. The days of sleeping in until Noon are over. A common hazard of being an adult with responsibilities. I'm afraid."
The two men crossed paths. Harry prepared to head out, well until Lena made her way up the steps to join him.
"We should head out for breakfast," Lena said. "Gives us a chance to talk."
"You can't get food here at the Luthor Mansion?" Harry asked.
"Well, we can, but for some reason, the dining hall is a bit too impersonal," Lena said. "Maybe it's just me."
Lena offered her arm to Harry and the two headed out.
Living in a lavish house could be a convenience. Still, there was something about going to a nice cafe for waffles and coffee which was nice and relaxing, for Lena.
"Sorry it's nothing too extravagant," Harry said.
"I've been in some of the most premium restaurants in all of Europe," Lena informed him. "Trust me when I say, I'm pretty much done with extravagant. The best cuisine money can buy. I liked all of it, but some of it didn't like me."
Harry felt Lena's pain. An attractive blonde woman appeared to be their waitress and brought their order. She smiled at Harry.
"Every time you're here, you're with a different woman. I wonder about you, Mr. Kent."
Harry just smiled at the pretty waitress and leaned towards her.
"Well, Imra, if you play your cards right, you might be on this side of the table."
Harry patted the side of the table with Lena and Lena could not help and be amused. Imra just tossed her hair back and made sure the order was secure before she walked over. Harry and Lena dug into their food. The best waffles in town. It took a few moments of them eating before Lena spoke up.
"I'm sorry I just stopped writing to you without warning. I don't know what you thought of me. I hope I didn't make you worried."
"Well, I thought you got busy."
"I would have written if I could, but...I couldn't. I had to go on a journey to figure out who I really was and where I needed to be. I guess all of those years, I remembered where I needed to be."
Harry reached underneath the table and patted Lena's knee. Lena just smiled and grabbed Harry's hand and shifted it so it rested on her thigh in the dress she was wearing.
"I've taken one of the only decent people I've ever known for granted. Although, you've done rather well for yourself. Women are flocking to you."
"Are you right behind them?" Harry asked.
"You should know that if I wanted to, I would be at the front of the line."
The confident inflection in Lena's tone of voice made Harry smile.
"So, anyway, I've been securing investments so I can start my own company, independent of Luthorcorp?"
"Really?" Harry asked. "Well, that's great."
"It is," Lena agreed. "That's not the only reason why I haven't been in touch with you, but I've been working with putting out some feelers and making some contacts to get it off of the ground. Although, I'm not sure what to name it."
"How about Horizon?" Harry asked. "You know, because you always have big things on the Horizon."
"Hmm, Horizon?" Lena asked. "I like it. I like it a whole lot. It's great. Fantastic even."
Lena took a long drink of her coffee. It had been good being with Harry and she missed out on a lot with him. And he really matured, to the point where Lena thought about taking him back home and giving him a guided tour of as many beds of the Luthor Mansion as she could.
"I'm surprised with how well you've done in school, you haven't made the trip to university. With your grades, you seem just too above slumming it in high school."
It was Harry's turn to take a long drink.
"I mean, any person would trip over their feet to give you a scholarship."
"Maybe," Harry said. "But, I don't want to leave my friends behind. And I've been taking as many advanced courses that I could."
"Well, you got to keep yourself busy," Lena said. "Maybe we can finally improve the communications grid in Smallville. That's actually one of my big projects that I intend to work on with Horizon."
Harry could tell Lena was over the moon talking about all of the things she wanted to do at Horizon. Harry just let her go off, because it was her passion and Harry did not want to do anything to stall that at all. There might have been a few things which Lena did not tell him, but to be fair, there were many things Harry had to share with Lena.
He would wait to see whether or not Lena would be back for the long term. He felt a bit burned by her before, just causing their letters to stop. Harry tried not to let it get to him, but emotions were strange things. Even for an alien who was a reincarnated wizard.
"Promise me you won't drop off the grid like that again?"
"I'm back," Lena said. "And I swear that I won't ever drop off the grid like that again."
That night, Harry headed home, only to see Martha walk out of the door, in a hurry. She stopped and turned to face her son.
"Sorry, but I might be gone for a couple of hours. I've got some business to deal with in town. Regarding the bank and also Jonathan's estate."
"Right," Harry said. "Is there anything that I can do to help?"
"That's nice of you, Harry, but I've got this," Martha said. "Dinner's in the fridge. All you really have to do is zap it...oh before I go, how did things go with Lena?"
"Great."
Martha knew there was more, but Harry could tell her to get back. She hugged her son tight, kissed on the cheek, and lingered for a little bit longer. She pulled away and moved off to meet her appointment.
Harry had the Kent Farm all to himself tonight. He would have to do some more research, especially in light of what Harry learned in Lex's study. It did put Lex's comments at the visitation in a brand new light. This Nixon guy made him uneasy, and the blurry photo of Jonathan and Lionel in the midst of some kind of heated discussion right before the accident raised a red flag.
While it was simple enough that Lionel set Jonathan off, Harry supposed there could be alternating explanations. And as a budding journalist, Harry needed to figure out all of the angles, no matter how dark and depressing they were.
A knock on the door pulled Harry out of his thought process. He rose up to go and answer it. A very attractive and somewhat familiar blonde woman appeared on the other side of the door. She dressed in a blue crop top and jean shorts which showcased her legs.
"Hello? Is Jonathan and Martha Kent home?"
"Jonathan Kent recently passed away. And you just missed Martha by about ten minutes."
"What? They're not home?"
Suddenly, more memories, the first memories Harry subconsciously remembered in this life, clicked into his brain. His earliest memories, back on Krypton, returned to his mind, fullly formed.
"Kara?"
"How do you know my name?"
"You're more than a little late getting here, but I turned out alright," Harry said. "I'm your cousin, Kal-El. It's good to see you again. You're as beautiful as I remember."
This caused Kara to completely look befuddled.
The moment Kara got over her initial shock that this handsome young man was her baby cousin, she had gone into full skeptical disbelief mode.
"You can't be. Kal-El was just put on the rocket ship, he was about as high as my knee. And your eyes are green, not blue."
"Which you noticed change, when we were on Krypton," Harry said. "I can show you the truth."
Harry grabbed Kara by the shoulders and pulled her into his memories. The ones from Krypton at the very least and also Harry's memories on this Earth. The truth flooded into Kara's mind. She had been aghast, confused, that she had missed so very much.
"I've missed it. I thought only hours had passed. Not years. Countless years where I missed being with you...Kal….Harry, training you, teaching you everything you need to know about your heritage. Everything you need to know because of your unique gifts. Although I didn't expect your gifts to be this gift."
"Kara, look at me."
Kara finally stopped ranting and looked at her cousin in his beautiful green eyes.
"I'm fine."
"I know," Kara said. "But I made Aunt Lara a promise. I was supposed to be here to watch over you, in case something happened. Although the Kents were here. You found them, thankfully."
Suddenly, something pulled Kara a little bit closer in. She looked at him, astonished and it hit her suddenly.
"You're a mage. And your allure is pulling me in."
It took every bit of self control not to mount Harry and mate with him right here. Cousin or not. Which did not matter, because he was a powerful man and Kara had a strong attraction to him. The only reason she did not, because she knew a couple of others had been promised to be taken by Harry.
Even though, Kara bitterly thought, she should be first in line, being Harry's blood. And they were the last two of Krypton.
"There's no mages on Lara's side. And there are none in the house of El, for sure. No one related to Jor-El would have the tiniest bit of magical blood."
"Yes," Harry said. "Why don't you sit down and I'll explain it to you?"
It was a whole lot for Kara to take in. The fact her cousin was grown up, would be more than enough. The fact he had a strong allure which would attract numerous mates to him was something else. But the fact that he lived another life, and his first waking memories had been Kara holding him on Krypton, well that had been something.
"You have this strength," Kara said. "This allure, which will attract numerous mates to you. You are the ideal man. If you can control it, you can be...well you can be dangerous. Although even more dangerous if someone can control you."
"Back in my old timeline, I had a friend who was giving me lessons on how to control it," Harry said. "But, other things took precedence. She owed me a debt for saving her sister's life."
Kara just smiled. It was more than a lot for her to take it and to realize that her baby cousin was not a baby anymore.
"The war I was in though, it did not have much time for interpersonal relationships."
"Is your ship still here?" Kara asked.
"Take my hand."
Harry teleported both himself and Kara down to the basement. Kara leaned into Harry and did not relinquish his hand. Harry waved his hand and the ship manifested. After Jonathan showed him the ship, Harry took further steps to hide it from prying eyes.
While Harry disagreed that he would ever be normal, he could not argue about being too careful.
"A piece of it is missing," Kara said.
"I noticed it too. Do you know what it is?"
"It's an Octagonal disc," Kara explained. "The artificial intelligence ship won't function without it. We have to find it."
"It's been missing since my father brought it back….wait, artificial intelligence?"
"Yes," Kara confirmed. "Your parents left it behind. I was supposed to help you with the basics and they would take over. Although Jor-El's might be a little stuffy. He used a method which would leave his Artificial Intelligence detached and emotionless."
"So, we have to find it," Harry said. "But, it could be anywhere on Earth."
"Maybe if I salvage some crystals from my ship, we can track it,' Kara said. "My ship is obviously much larger than yours."
Harry figured as much, given Kara was a mature adult woman and he was a baby. So, it stood to reason the ships would be of different sizes.
"So, why did you not bring me on your ship?" Harry asked. "And why couldn't Jor-El and Lara build a ship like yours, to carry them as well?"
That had been a very good question and one which caught Kara off guard.
"I don't really know," Kara responded with a shrug. "They never really confided in me with their reasons. And as for my ship, well it's glad that I didn't because we both would have been stuck down there for a long time."
"Down there?"
"My ship is buried in the dam."
Harry and Kara made their way to the area where Kara's ship was. As Kara said, it was submerged underneath a large dam, which was about ready to break. Thankfully, it had not attracted any attention. Although the waters below, they had been flooded with green rocks. Kara shifted a bit and looked a little bit woozy.
"Here."
Harry tapped his finger on Kara's cheek and a warm sensation erupted over her. Her entire body had been encased in a protective shield which allowed her to move without any issues.
"It took me a while to get the shielding right."
Kara raised her eyebrow.
"And way too much exposing myself to the green rocks as well to get it right."
Kara just frowned. She did not want her cousin to expose himself repeatedly to these rocks, but the shielding worked. Harry put one on himself as well and the two walked down to the area where the ship had been submerged.
"Easy does it."
Harry very gingerly levitated the ship out of the dam and set it down. He and Kara floated up for Harry to seal the dam. With a snap of his fingers, the ship disappeared.
"I transported it back into the barn," Harry said. "And I'll put a few spells on it where people will think it's just an old, rusted piece of equipment. No one will mess with it."
"Good, because they could blow up half your world if they messed with the core," Kara said.
"Which we would like to avoid."
Harry thought about it and realized Kara being here would cause some problems.
"We need to work on your cover story. Because, there are some people who will ask some questions, if my cousin just randomly showed up out of the blue."
Oh, Kara had not thought about that. Yes, a good cover story would be very important for what we would do.
"I really should have thought of that," Kara replied.
Harry leaned over and wrapped his arms around Kara. He could tell the attraction had been very strong between the two. Which Harry knew his allure would seek out women who were highly compatible very aggressively.
"Fortunately, I know someone who can help us."
Harry knocked on the door of the Danvers Household. Kara hung out outside, her arms swaying back and forth. The door opened up, and Eliza poked her head out the door.
"Is everything alright?"
"Oh, everything is fine. This is Kara, my cousin."
Eliza's eyes went wide as she looked at Kara.
"Cousin? As in….?"
"Yes."
"Kara, this is Doctor Eliza Danvers."
Kara leaned in for a second and had got a good look at Eliza. For a second, it looked like she was going to say something. However, Kara managed to recover very quickly and extend a hand towards Eliza. She pulled her in for a nice little handshake.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Danvers."
"Likewise. Although I assumed that Harry was the only one."
"It's a long story," Harry said.
Harry stepped into the house, with Kara following behind her. The moment Eliza walked down the hallway, Kara turned to look at Harry.
"She looks like your mother. Lara, I mean."
"A little bit, yes, but there are differences."
"Yes. I can see."
Harry and Kara followed Eliza down the hallway. They turned the corner right before Harry began to speak once again.
"Kara's going to need some help getting her papers in order," Harry said.
"Don't worry about it, I'll handle it," Eliza said. "The girls are still up in the other room, if you want to sit tight."
"Thank you."
Kara smiled as Harry led her into a sitting room. Two girls close to her cousin in age, one brunette and one blonde, looked up towards them.
"Hey, Harry,' Alex said. "Um, what's going on?"
"This is my cousin Kara. She's from back home."
"Oh, by back home do you mean...ooooh!" Chloe said realizing instantly.
"Yes, Kara, this is Chloe Sullivan and Alex Danvers, my girlfriends."
"The ones you marked," Kara said.
Alex and Chloe had looked at Kara and they could see how she was looking at Harry. Cousin or not, there was some level of attraction between the two of them.
"Not bad. You are ideal, and I can't blame them."
Harry could tell that Chloe was about to say something and Alex was right behind her in talking. He decided to cut them off at the pass before they could begin speaking.
"I know you have eleven billion questions."
"Yeah, give or take,' Chloe piped up.
"But, we should get Kara's story straight," Alex said.
"Which I'll be doing," Eliza said. "I'll get you the papers you need, I just have to call in a few favors."
"Thank you," Kara said. "For everything."
Eliza gathered up her things and had been straight out the door. This left Harry along with the trio of girls. With Kara looking at Chloe and Alex for a good long minute. She decided to break the ice.
"We need to talk. Because, my instincts are getting stronger."
Kara knew they had questions. And she took a deep breath. Being locked in that ship for thirteen years had done wonders in making her instincts stronger.
"Why haven't you two bonded with him?" Kara asked suddenly.
"Well, it wasn't for any lack of asking or begging," Alex said. "Harry wanted to wait until we're all sixteen. Not sure how much he told you but…."
"The entire reincarnated mage, I know," Kara said. "But, are you sixteen yet?"
"I just had my birthday last week," Chloe said. "We intended to do the deed, but Harry's father died, you know Jonathan, and well I didn't want to be that person to tell him. You know, given the circumstances. Just seemed a bit insensitive."
"I was going to mention it, but I wanted it to be your move," Harry said. "Because, you shouldn't do anything until you're completely ready."
"Well, I'm ready," Chloe said. "Really ready."
"So am I," Alex said. "And you know what. I'm older, knew Harry longer and had to wait for you to turn sixteen. I didn't have to wait until you turned sixteen you know. Because I've been sixteen for three months already."
"Well, thankfully you did," Chloe said.
Alex took Harry's hand.
"Shouldn't Kara get to go first?" Chloe asked. "I mean, she knew Harry the longest, technically speaking."
Alex hated to admit it, with how thirsty she was for Harry. But, Chloe did have a point.
"Well, it's up to her," Alex said. "I can wait a little bit longer, if you really want it."
Kara appreciated Alex and Chloe offering. Still, the desire was increased thanks to proximity. Kara only had direct contact with Harry for a short time, and Alex had it the longest. It really had to do, Alex, Chloe, and then her all in a row.
"You've been with him the longest, has to be you," Kara said.
"Well, Alex, what are we sitting around and waiting for?" Harry asked.
"Absolutely nothing," Alex said.
Alex took Harry by the hand and led him into her bedroom. Thankfully, she had fresh sheets on today. Something told Alex she was going to have to clean them again. She left the door open, just enough for Kara and Chloe to get a sneak peak for what was to come later.
Chloe viewed the scene preparing to play out and bit down on her lip. Oh, yes, Alex should go first, but it did not make her want this any less.
"I can wait. I can wait. I can wait."
Kara just patted Chloe on the head as she repeated her mantra.