slayers_desire | a different experience with the future

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Entry tags:

clark,
destiny

a different experience with the future

Normally, April is granted glimpses into her future, or the future of people she cares about. And when that happens she often feels drained and tired. Today a totally different experience with the future occurred, when she talked with an older red-kryptonite influenced Clark.

The initial contact and a possessive kiss had fueled her Beast. Then after using green kryptonite to null the red, April had learned more about Clark's future.

Including things she has to tell his younger self.

Even if it wasn't a vision, April feels drained all the same. And so draws herself a bath and slips into the warm, relaxing bubbles. If older-Clark was right, then his younger self should still be contactable. She just needs to figure out the right way to explain what she saw, what happened and how to not say certain things about his future.

Using her PINpoint, she calls her Clark. And there is a moment of pure anticipation as it rings.

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Clark is doing homework when he hears his phone go off. He automatically reaches for his ordinary cellphone, and is momentarily puzzled when he sees it isn't even on.

The phone rings again, and he snaps his fingers. "Magic phone." He pulls it out of his pocket and smiles when he sees her name on the caller ID.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Hi Clark." The relief in her voice is pretty audible. She had been worried just a little.

"Did I catch you at an inconvenient time?"

He puts down his pencil and leans back into the couch. He's up in the loft of the barn, like usual, and through the open window he can hear the cows grazing out in the far fields. "No, just working on some stuff for school. What's up?"

"Someday you will have to tell me about school. I never went."

There is no easy way to start explaining why she called. So April takes a breath, "I ran into a future version of yourself in the Nexus today Clark. And he was under the influence of red kyprotonite."

Clark immediately forgets everything about what he was doing. "Oh my God. Did he hurt you?"

"No. I was able to word everything just right that he didn't think about hurting me."

"He did kiss me." April feels guilty about that. Can you cheat on your boyfriend with his future alternate?

Clark closes his eyes in relief. "Good." That would have been so many levels of awkward and anguish if his future self had done something.

He's not sure what to make of the last part, though. The last few times he was red kryptonite he was sexually aggressive towards almost every girl he saw, and didn't seem to care which one he was with. "That's, uh. You sure you're okay?"

"It felt different. He was almost possessive and territorial of me." April leans her head back. "It almost called out my Beast. But luckily that didn't occur."

"He told me several things about his timeline... your future... that might be advantageous to know."

Pausing, April wonders if she explains how she was able to get Clark back to himself, if it would run into a time paradox in the future. "And I also was able to talk to the regular future-you."

As a person who is immune to cold, he's unused to feeling the sensation of being chilled, but the thought of Kal and the Beast collaborating on anything is enough to scare him into it. "God. I am so sorry."

He's confused for a second. "How did you... the kryptonite," he realizes. "I gave that to you just in time, huh? I thought about putting it off. I'm glad I didn't."

"You were in so much pain." April gave a half-sob in remembering. "Even with it being the right thing... I still hated to see you in such a state. Even with you thanking me later."

"Hey." He doesn't want to hear her cry, to hear her upset. "You did what you had to do. Better to hurt me to save me, than let me hurt others." He doesn't know the circumstances of his future self's dive down the ruby road of madness, but there's one thing he does know for certain. Kal is beyond dangerous.

"I know I was saving you, and your friends. I just didn't like seeing you in pain, because of me. Even if it was necessary."

But she would do it again.

"And future-you apologized for your actions. So none of that," April gave a slight smile. "And speaking of future-you, he gave me a message for you. That might be better delivered in person."

If she didn't have his full and undivided attention before, she certainly does now. "He did? Why... what..." His jaw tightens a little. "When would be a good time? I can be there in half a second."

"Half a second? That works. It gives me enough time to..." April paused, stepping out of the bath and getting her robe. "...Get dressed."

Over the phone, Clark can hear the splash of water, and his cheeks burn as he pictures where she is and what she's doing. "Um. I'll give you five. Seconds, that is."

He uses that time to descend from the loft at normal speed, not in any hurry to blow his homework all over and have to pick it out of the hay later. He glances around to make sure no one's watching except the chickens, then vanishes, rows of corn marking his passage by parting like a zipper being opened.

Five seconds is enough time for April to drain the tub, and throw on a dress. She feels really nervous for some reason. Trying to change the future can have strange effects.

Clark takes his time opening the Nexus portal in the cave and making his way to her apartment. He could just PINpoint straight there, but he needs the run to help focus his thoughts.

He's actually at her door after only four seconds, but he hesitates a moment before knocking, so it evens out.

Moving towards the door, April is still is balancing her own thoughts and emotions. When she opens it... and sees her Clark at the right age, she hugs him. Tight.

He's somewhat surprised by the hug, but returns it at once. He can tell she needs reassurance about something, and it doesn't come as a shock if she's talked to him on red kryptonite. "You sure you're okay?"

"I guess I still wasn't sure that you would still be here. Even with the future-Clark telling me that I still had time with you."

"For a moment, I thought I lost the man I love."

Oh.

No wonder she's clinging to him like he's going to disappear. "I'm not going anywhere," he says firmly. He doesn't know quite how Nexus time works, or if something like that could happen, but he refuses to accept it as a possibility.

"Speaking of my future self..." He's not quite sure how to ask. Nothing like this has ever happened to him before.

"Future-you told me that I would still be in your life. But sometimes it takes proof to ease the worries."

The message she needs to deliver is quite serious. So she will guide him away from the door and to sit on the couch. "Future-you says to trust Jor-El and obey what he says. You have misinterpeted what he wanted. And the simulation used force because of the resistence."

Whatever Clark had been expecting to hear, this is not it. "What?" He can't believe what he's hearing. "No, this is... you're sure he wasn't still Kal?"

"I saw the red bleed out of him. It was you. Future-you."

"He wanted to tell you this, to prevent a very bad future he saw."

This goes against everything he's ever been taught. He can't just stay sitting there, and he gets up to pace. "I... that doesn't make any sense. Maybe you heard him wrong." He can't think of any possible way that could be misinterpreted, but he's rather desperate to find some proof that giving in to Jor-El is some kind of trick. Or at least one hell of a mistake.

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