Second Chances: Superman and Lois

Chapter 22

"Wow, that was a rush." Sarah said, panting for breath as Superman landed with her and her mom at the fortress of Solitude, though she was freezing since it was in the Arctic.

"Not top speed though." Lana said, hardly phased, though that was probably because she used to be able to fly on her own.

"Sarah's not used to flying yet. Didn't want her to throw up on the trip." Clark said as he landed.

"Mom, how could you ever give that up?" Sarah asked her mother.

"To have a family." Lana reminded her.

"Still, Mr. Kent is proof that you can have both." Sarah pointed out.

"I didn't want to have both. I wanted to have one. But now I don't have a choice, since I clearly am going to need my powers to coach you through yours." Lana said.

"Lana, are you sure you want to do this? I remember what happened when you put your powers in that crystal. I still hear the screams at times." Clark said to her as Lana pulled out her crystal.

"And I feel the pain of changing what I am every night when I close my eyes. I'm well aware of what this will do to me. But if I want to keep my family safe, I have to do this." Lana said.

"So whatever you're gonna do is gonna hurt mom?" Sarah asked.

"No. This could kill me. It nearly did the first time." Lana said.

"And if she does survive this, she won't be able to give up her powers again. It's not something that she can do whenever she wants." Clark said.

"Mom, you don't have to do this. Mr. Kent can teach me just like how he's teaching Jordan. You can keep your normal life." Sarah said.

"Honestly Sarah, my life has never felt normal. But when I had my powers, it felt right. Ever since I gave them up, I've missed them. Missed the purpose they gave me." Lana said.

"Are you sure? Once we do this, it can't be undone." Clark said.

"I know. So let's do this before I change my mind." Lana said as she, Clark and Sarah entered the fortress, only to have Kelex float up to them.

"Unauthorized personnel detected. Identify yourself or be destroyed." Kelex said.

"Kelex, stand down." Lana barked before Clark could say anything.

"Hello Lady Lana. It has been a long time." Kelex said.

"Wait, this thing knows you?" Sarah asked.

"Kelex, this is my daughter Sarah. You're to give her the same access you give Clark's children." Lana said.

"Of course. Master Kal, can you confirm this?" Kelex asked Clark.

"Do it." Clark said.

"Why does it need Mr. Kent's approval?" Sarah asked.

"Because this is my fortress and Kelex is my robot there's only one person on this planet who has the same level of access to this place as me and it's not your mother." Clark said.

"Who?" Sarah asked.

"Clark's cousin Kara, also known as Supergirl." Lana said.

"Why does she have that access and you don't?" Sarah asked.

"Because she's blood. Like me, she's a member of the house of El, which is what Kryptonians call families." Clark said.

"How can I assist you Master Kal?" Kelex asked.

"Prepare the solar chamber. Lana has decided to reclaim her powers." Clark said.

"And she is aware that if she survives the process, it cannot be undone?" Kelex asked.

"I do. But I need my powers back. And I'm aware of the risks and I'm going to do this regardless." Lana said.

"Very well, please follow me so you can be prepared. Did you bring the crystal?" Kelex asked.

"I did. Lead the way." Lana said as she held up the crystal, but before she followed Kelex, she hugged her daughter and then Clark.

"You survived this process once. You can do it again." Clark said as Lana nodded before she followed Kelex into a more private room.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"This is not something that you're going to want to see or that your mother wants you to see. Not only will this be very painful for her, but it also requires her to expose as much of her body as she can to ensure that her cells properly reabsorb their Kryptonian powers." Clark said.

"Wait, how exposed are we talking?" Sarah asked.

"Let's just say that the only thing in that chamber that would survive is your mother. Not even her clothes would survive the kind of energy she's gonna be charged with." Clark said.

"Got it." Sarah said, trying not to imagine that as the hologram of Jor-El appeared.

"Everything is ready for Lady Lana to reclaim what is rightfully hers. She is not in the chamber and awaiting transfer." Jor-El said and Clark nodded.

"Do it." Clark said and Jor-El nodded, right as the room behind them began to glow a bright yellow as Clark heard Lana begin to feel the pain and it quickly turned to screaming.

"We have to stop this." Sarah said as she heard her mom screaming.

"We can't. Once the process starts, it can't be stopped until it's completed, trying to interfere with it now could make things worse." Clark said, though he did have to fight his own impulse to pull Lana out of there, just like he did last time, though now it was somehow worse. Before they were taking something away, but now it seemed that returning it caused her even more pain.

Lana felt like every cell in her body was on fire, only a million times worse than it was before. She'd known that this procedure would be painful, but not this painful. She honestly wasn't sure if she'd survive it, but everytime she felt like giving up, an image popped into her head. Her girls. Sarah and Sophie, she knew they needed her to survive and she would. Her family gave the strength to endure this treatment and eventually, the pain started turning to a strength that while it had been years since she'd felt it, she'd still recognized it immediately.

As beam blasting energy into her began to get weaker, Lana felt herself getting stronger. Pain turned to power and by the time the process was complete, the pain was gone and she quickly supersped back into her clothes and into the main chamber where Clark and Sarah were waiting.

"How do you feel?" Clark asked and Lana smirked.

"I forgot how good this feels. It's just like riding a bike." Lana said.

"We should run some tests to make sure there weren't any complications." Clark said and Lana nodded.

"We can also use this time to run tests on Sarah, find out the limits of her powers." Lana said.

"My father can handle that, just like he did Jordan." Clark said and Sarah nodded.

"It's good to be back." Lana said.

"Good to have you back." Clark agreed.