Generations
Prologue:
She had a name once.
Sometimes in the darkness, she almost remembered it. Like the fine
mist that lingered on a morning lake, it disappeared as she soon as she took real
notice, remaining forever elusive. It was odd because she had never seen any
place that could be considered a lake, never seen anything so raw as the woods
framing it or the blue sky bounced a murky reflection of its surface. It was
more an idea in her mind, as intangible as the rest of the images that seemed
to teased her in dreams, fragments that vanished in wakefulness
.
She didn't so much remember the Other Life as much as she felt it.
A life where she had people who loved her, to whom she felt she
belonged, who did everything they could to protect her but ultimately could
not. She felt their fear for her, felt saddened by their anguish for being
unable to save her. Although from what menace she could not even begin to
imagine. When she concentrated on trying
to find the source of those feelings, perhaps even to the memory that might
have engendered it, she was assailed with churning sensation of chaos. It was
as if she were plunged in the eye of a maelstrom so fierce and savage, that it
made her sick to her stomach.
The vortex of destruction circled her like carrion birds and yet
it was she who laid the feast.
Yet despite that insanity, there was still the radiance of warm,
caring voices desperately tried to soothe her, invisible fingers that flailed
through the storm of emotions, trying to steer her to safer shores. They never
succeeded but there were fleeting moments when she almost felt their touch,
caressing her with kindness, defying her to remember that that she wasn't
alone. Secretly in the darkness where all things hidden in the heart dared to
speak, she longed to remember them. Despite the inevitability of the Now, she
suspected they had truly cared for her.
Perhaps even mourned her. Whoever they were.
However, in the harsh light of day, such doubts vanished. The
yearnings of midnight withered in the bright of the sun. It penetrated the
dreams and fragments of possibly shredded memories one tangible sense of
clarity, that in that Other Life she had been weak.
She knew this with a faith that was unshakeable. If there was such
a thing as that Other Life, she knew she had lived it weak and afraid. She had
been fear's creature and not the nemesis whose spine she had broken long ago.
In the Now, it had been shed it like a second skin. Once she realised its power over her and with it, the last vestiges
of a self that only seemed to surface like a bitter spectre
in the dark was banished forever.
In the Now, she was strong. She had purpose and needed no one to
protect her. She had no need of soothing comforting voices that enabled that
pathetic creature who skulked through existence like a shadow terrified of the
sun. With her sisters, she soared across the sky, forcing everyone to fall to
their knees and look up at her adoration and terror all at the same time. In
their eyes, she saw no pity, no sadness at what they believed she'd lost, only
awe.
She was delight and despair, cold and heat, beauty and the beast,
amalgamated with far more efficiency than any fairy tale she had ever dreamed
in her forgotten childhood. She was the
ugly duckling that had become the swan, the frightened little girl who had
become fury itself. And when she sang
her song, the world shuddered and crumbled.
She had a name once but it meant nothing to her. She didn't need it anymore.
Granny said so.
******
CONSTRUCTION ON REEVE DAM BEGINS
TODAY
By Byron Moore
Work began early this morning at
Reeve Dam as Lex Luthor
makes good his promise to rebuild the facility five years after its collapse
during Dark Thursday in 2008. Since
then, the dam has remained in ruins owing to the lack of financial resources
required to rebuild it. In the wake of Dark Thursday, the immediate demand to
fund relief programs for emergency assistance to those made homeless and the
revitalization of local economy effected by the
disaster exceeded the need to restore Reeve Dam to its former glory.
Senator Jack Jennings who was
recently regained his former seat in the Kansas state legislature was cited on
record as saying; "People needed a roof over their heads and businesses
needed to recover from the damage caused by the looting and rioting that
occurred on that terrible day. We just didn’t have the money to rebuild a
facility that has already seen its best days.”
Fortunately, Lex
Luthor has a more positive response.
Using the financial might of his
company, Luthor approached town officials with an
offer to rebuild, restoring the irrigation programs and water distribution
across the area that had been disrupted by the dam’s current condition. Luthor intends to rebuild the dam and also incorporate a
hydro-electric system that will provide Smallville and surrounding towns with
an alternate yet clean source of energy.
Recently returned to Smallville, Lex Luthor has made a meteoric rise back to the top of the
corporate world. Luthor
was pardoned by the Governor for the murder of Smallville resident Chloe
Sullivan after revelations that an imposter named Milton Fine, who is still at
large, masqueraded as Lionel Luthor and committed the
crime. Luthor served five years of a life sentence
before his conviction was vacated, thanks to the efforts of Lois Lane and Clark
Kent of the Daily planet.
Since his return to Smallville, Luthor has rebranded LuthorCorp as LexCorp and taken
steps to invigorate the local economy by reopening the former LuthorCorp fertiliser plant and
putting 1500 people on the payroll. Beyond Smallville,
LexCorp has continued to expand its portfolio into
new industries, investing in communications technologies, defense systems and
pharmaceutical research.
Despite his corporate ambitions, Luthor prefers to remain at Smallville in the ancestral
home Lionel Luthor rebuilt from the original in
Scotland, with his wife Lana and daughter Laura.
"I've lived in many places
throughout my life but Smallville is my home," Luthor
quoted to the Ledger, "It is my pleasure to be able to give something back
to the community that welcomed me so warmly all those years ago. Reeve Dam is a
local landmark to signify the enduring legacy of Smallville’s
founding father taken too soon from the world. I am thrilled that I am able to
assist to ensure its future.”
The first phase of the construction
work will continue for 18 months.
EX-SENATOR RETURNS TO SMALLVILLE
After endorsing Jack Jennings as a
her replacement in the Kansas State Legislature, Senator Martha Kent returns to
the family farm she and husband Jonathan Kent occupied prior to his death. The
Kent farm has been in the family for almost 100 years and is a fixture in Smallville’s history. During her tenure as State Senator,
the farm was managed by her son Clark and after the younger Kent moved to
Metropolis, neighbour Ben Hubbard.
Senator Kent came to office after
assuming the seat her husband Jonathan Kent had won. He died of a heart attack
before he could take his office in the 2008 senate election. In his stead,
Senator Kent has been a champion of education and human rights during her time
in office. One of the most vocal supporters of the ‘Meteor Generation’, the
Senator pushed for recognition of the meteor infected to allow them access to
medical treatment and counselling to deal with their abilities.
“They are our children and we cannot
abandon them even if what their abilities frighten us. They are just as afraid
as we and we must support them to show them they are not alone,” the Senator
was heard to have quoted at the 2010 assembly.
The Senator leaves her office as one
of the most respected politicians in Kansas. It is a testament to her popularity
and dignitas that her endorsement alone allowed
former Senator Jack Jennings to be re-elected to office. Jennings had resigned
five years ago, amid scandal involving his extra marital affairs. Since then
Jennings has proven that he intends to continue furthering the causes in which
Senator Kent so passionately served.
When asked what her plans were now
that she has returned to civilian life, the Senator remained coy except to say; “I’m going home,
that’s more than enough for now.”