Even though the farm was nearby, we were too tired to drag Clark all the way there. Our only option was to wait.

The storm lasted about twenty more minutes after the truck blew up. Martha and I were both shivering and numb when it finally stopped. Clark had stopped thrashing and had sunk into oblivion. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm while the bruises on his back and chest faded to nothing.

"Is it over?" Martha asked me.

I didn't know. I wished I did. At least Jor-El had stopped terrorizing us; either we'd gotten rid of him for good or he'd just retreated until the next available moment to strike. There was no way to know, although I really, really hoped that we'd gotten rid of Jor-El for good.

We hitched a ride back to the farm on our neighbor Jensen's truck. He'd seen us out on the road after the storm had cleared and had come out to see if we needed any help. He offered to drive us to the hospital to get all three of us checked out - being out in the rain hadn't done much for Martha's or my health, not to mention Clark's - but we convinced him to drive us back to the farm instead.

Clark woke up during the short drive back. "Are you all right, son?" I asked him when I saw him blink awake.

He began to respond, glanced at Jensen, then paused and began again. "Just fine, Dad. What happened?"

"The truck got hit by lightning. You passed out during the explosion."

Clark's eyes widened when he heard about the truck, but another glance at Jensen and he refrained from asking any more questions.

After we'd gotten to the farm and changed into some drier clothes, I asked the question again. There was no way that Clark was fine. None of us were fine. Maybe Jor-El was out of our lives for good; it was too soon to tell, but I really hoped so. While it was the thing I desired the most, I was too busy feeling worn-out and worried about Clark to even think about celebrating. Whatever Jor-El had done to Clark couldn't have been good.

"I don't know," was his reply this time. "I feel fine, but...I had the strangest dream after I was hit from behind by that energy. I was on Krypton, and I was fighting someone. I think it was Jor-El. There was a group of people watching us - I think they were some sort of council."

"What was it you were shouting?" Martha asked him.

Clark gave her a puzzled look. "I was shouting something? In Kryptonian? Um, I don't know. What did it sound like?"

Martha and I tried to verbally reconstruct what we'd heard. It didn't sound anything close to what he'd shouted, but Clark seemed to understand us well enough. His eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Of course--the fight I saw in my dream...we were fighting for head of our house..."

"You want to run that by us again?" I asked him, confused.

"What you guys heard me say was, I, Kal-El, challenge thee, Jor-El, for the right of Leadership of the House of El. Right?" At our nods, he continued, "What that means is this: I, Kal-El, challenge thee, Jor-El, for the right of Leadership of the House of El."

"What does that mean?" Martha asked, voicing both of our bewilderment.

"It's my family's house," Clark said, staring at his hands. "Jor-El had been in charge of it when I was born. The House of El was one of the most prestigious houses on Krypton. I was his heir. There was this old custom where a member of a house could challenge the head to a duel to the death for right of leadership. The head of the house would be forced to meet this challenge or lose his position by default because of his cowardliness."

Wow. Martha and I exchanged an amazed look. "How do you know all that?" I asked him.

Clark gave me a bitter smile. "I learned about it over the summer."

Martha and I were silent for a few moments as we processed everything he'd told us. Just how powerful was Jor-El, back when he was alive? It was a scary thought.

Martha said after a while, "So, in your dream, you were fighting Jor-El for the position of the head of your house?"

Clark nodded. "Only, I'm not sure it was a dream. I think I was really fighting him."

"Did you win?" God, I hoped he did. Otherwise, why would he even be talking to us now? That thought was even scarier.

Clark nodded. "I think so. I'm not sure. We were fighting, and I was about to...end it..."

He looked ashamedly down at his feet at the thought of killing anyone. I bit me lip. Despite my hatred for Jor-El, we'd always taught Clark that killing was not a good thing. As much as I still believed that, I wished for once that I could tell Clark that it was okay. Jor-El should have died completely on Krypton.

"Son..." I began, placing a hand on his. "I know I've always told you that killing is not an option, and that's still true. But if Jor-El didn't give you any other choice..."

He only bit his lip before hurrying on. "Then I woke up in Jensen's truck. I think I won, but I'm not sure."

I felt my shoulders slump. If Clark wasn't sure if he'd killed Jor-El, then we couldn't be certain that we were free of him. Damnit it all! I should have known better than to get my hopes up.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Martha asked. The tone of her voice made me glance up. She was regarding Clark strangely. I wondered what I'd missed.

He flashed a smile at her. "I'm fine, Mom, though I think I do need to get some sleep."

"I'd say we all do," I said, imagining taking a very, very long shower. I sighed. "After we get some chores done, that is. The cows need to be milked, for one." I grimaced at the thought of the unhappy cattle.

We got wearily to our feet and headed outside.

*****

It was only as I was halfway through my own chores that I came to a realization. I hadn't had a strange day. My life had been filled with so many days similar to that one that I almost took it in stride. I would never get used to seeing Clark get hurt, and I was a little annoyed that we lost another truck, but I hadn't even started to react to the other bits. Most people would have been in such a state of shock after the day's events that they wouldn't be able to function, but not us.

Which was why I was a little confused when Martha sidled up to me in the kitchen the next morning. We'd all rested and begun a new day on the Kent Farm, one that we all prayed would be incident-free but prepared for them anyway. Clark had just left for school, wincing before he'd super-sped out the door. He'd missed two days of school that week and would probably cop a lot of flack not only from his teachers but also from his friends for not keeping them informed. There were at least five messages from Lana and Chloe on our answering machine.

"Jonathan, don't you think Clark has been acting a little odd today?" Martha asked me.

I laughed. "Well, of course he has. After what he went through yesterday?"

"I don't know if that's it," she said. "He's just been acting...different, like he'd switched bodies with someone again."

I looked up at her sharply. "You think Lionel Luthor has taken over his body again?" That was just as bad as the possibility that Jor-El was still at large.

Martha bit her lip and shook her head. "No, it's definitely not Lionel. Clark has the same characteristics and mannerisms he's always had, but they just seemed...forced, as if he was play-acting."

I gave her a look. I wrapped my arms around her and smirked. "Or maybe you're reading too much into it."

Martha sighed. "You're probably right. I just-after everything, I-"

"Shh." I pulled her in for a hug and gave her a lingering kiss on the lips. "How about we don't go looking for trouble, alright? If there is something wrong with Clark, we'll know soon enough, but I doubt there is. He seemed perfectly fine to me."

Martha nodded. "I probably just imagined it."

*****

As time wore on, I wasn't so sure. Two days went by. Clark didn't have any nightmares either night, and he wasn't unconsciously speaking in Kryptonian anymore. Chloe came for a visit, and from what I saw of them, she didn't think Clark was acting strangely. But, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that something was wrong.

I sighed as I walked into the barn on the afternoon of the second day. Clark was in the loft doing his homework. "Hey, Dad," he said, smiling at me as I came up the stairs.

"Hey, Clark."

"What's up?"

"We need to talk."

Clark closed his history textbook and sat back in his chair. I leaned against the railing post and faced him. "About what?" he asked.

"About what happened two days ago." I studied him but his expression didn't change. "Have you experienced any...side-effects of what happened to you?"

Clark raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

This was getting uncomfortable. Why couldn't Martha do this sort of thing? She was much better at it than me. "Have your abilities backfired on you, or do you feel different in some way?"

"I feel fine," Clark said.

I must have looked doubtful, because Clark leaned forward. "Dad, it's okay. I'm not perfectly fine with the idea that I may have...killed...Jor-El, but I'll be okay, I promise."

"That's just it, son," I said, feeling frustrated with myself. "You may have killed a man, and you can't just go on like nothing happened."

Clark bit his lip and looked away. "I know, Dad," he said quietly. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "It bothers me, too." He looked up and met my eyes. "But I had to...just as I had to do this."

A shiver went down my spine. Clark's look had turned into one of fierce hatred in under a second, and it was directed toward me. My instincts told me to run while my shock kept me rooted to where I stood. "Clark?"

He slowly got to his feet. The mask of determination and anger was still in place. "He's here, although not for much longer," he told me. "I've nearly won."

My mind shut down on me for the second time in three days. I couldn't seem to comprehend what was happening. "No."

It was Kal-El. It had to be. I recalled Martha's description of Jor-El's protégé and felt fear.

'He was so cold and detached. He had confidence without any arrogance, and he radiated power. Jonathan, it was the scariest thing I've ever seen, because when I looked into his eyes, I couldn't find Clark anywhere.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. "Why not continue the charade?"

"Because there is no need," Kal-El said, "and there is now nothing you can do to stop me from meeting my destiny."

He walked over to the bed and pulled a lead box out from underneath it. I didn't need to glimpse inside it to know that the bits of red and green kryptonite were in it.

He placed the box on the table and stepped back. "Don't-" I said, stepping forward. I had no idea what I was planning to do, but I wouldn't just stand by and watch him destroy that box.

He grabbed my arm and squeezed. I yelled as I felt bones crack. He pressed down, forcing me to my knees.

The pain was too much, and for a long moment, all I could focus on was it. Kal-El wouldn't let me do that for long, though. He grabbed my chin and turned my head so I was looking at the table. I watched as Kal-El burned the lead box with his Heat Vision, reducing it to a mess of molted metal and crystal in a matter of minutes.

He let go of my chin, picked up the infused mineral and held it out for my inspection. "I've completely infused the radioactive kryptonite with the lead. It can't harm me now."

As if to demonstrate how much of his strength he still possessed, he crushed the infused mineral in his fist. Tiny pebble-sized fragments fell through his fingers to the table.

He let go of my arm. I lost my balance and collapsed, crying out again when I tried to brace my fall with my arms.

Kal-El's shadow loomed over me. "I am Kal-El of Krypton, and it is time for my Reckoning."

I heard a whoosh. When I looked back up, Kal-El was gone.

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