A Strange Visitor at the Old Kent Farm
By Ezraaa46290 on AO3 (that’s me!)
https://archiveofourown.org/works/90055426#main
2:46 AM, Clark Kent (15 years old) wakes up in a cold sweat. Most nights Clark dreamt of being a space pirate or finally asking Lana Lang out on a date, but every so often he had a nightmare. The same nightmare. The ground crumbling, two robed figures placing him in an escape pod, the total destruction of Krypton behind him. When he was younger he would knock on his parent’s door and ask if he could sleep with them, but 15 is too old for that.
He knows that he can’t go back to sleep, so instead he grabs his discman and some headphones. The Mighty Crabjoys were a source of comfort for young Clark. They were something familiar in a time of constant change.
Suddenly over the sound of a guitar solo, Clark hears something… a loud groaning noise. A sound you might hear while scraping a key down a piano string.
Clark cautiously steps off of his bed. He scans his room… nothing. Not a single piece of dust astray. Determined to solve this mystery, he tip toes through the house and out the front door.
Clark slowly veers from left to right hoping to find anything that looks out of place. Just then he sees it… a police box. Something he’s only seen in a history textbook. He slowly walks towards the box, still confused about what’s happening.
“Do you like my TARDIS? She’s a little bit old, but she gets the job done. Same could be said about me. Ha!”
Clark quickly turns around to see a man with very unique fashion choices sitting on the roof of the farmhouse.
“Who are you and what are you doing on my roof?”, Clark asks nervously. He wasn’t nervous about being hurt himself… he was more nervous about someone hurting the two sleeping Kents.
“Come up here and we’ll talk. I’m not going to hurt you, in fact I might be able to answer some important questions for you. You’ve been dying to know where you came from… haven’t you?”
Clark slowly and cautiously climbs up onto roof. He plants himself about 4 feet away from the mysterious figure.
“Hello. I’m The Doctor. Would you like a Jelly Baby?” The Doctor opens a little paper sack and gestures it towards the young Kent.
“Um sure. Thanks. Wait… Doctor Who?”
“Exactly!”, The Doctor answers with a large toothy grin.
Clark’s confusion only grew by the second. “Ok…? Why are you here Doctor?”
“Your dream was so powerful that your psychic waves reached the scanner in my TARDIS. Fascinating.”
“Sorry… I didn’t know I could do that. There’s been a lot of that in my life lately.”
“Eh, I was planning on stopping by Earth anyway. Now I’m on the roof of a farmhouse. I love a farm!”
Clark’s eyes widen. “Are you… from another planet?”
“I’m from the planet Gallifrey.” The Doctor sighs, “It’s all gone now. My entire species is gone, but I’m still here. I travel time and space helping where needed, but like you Earth has been a sort of home for me.”
“I landed on Earth as a baby and I know nothing about where I come from. All I have are fleeting memories from when I was sent away from a burning planet.”
“It was only glimpses, but I have no doubt that what I saw on that scanner was Krypton. A planet about 30 light years from here… it was destroyed 14 and a half years ago.”
“Krypton…? That’s where I’m from? Do you know anything about my people?”
“The man who put you into that escape pod… his name was Jor-El. Your father I presume. I met him a few times… I had a different face each time. Funny that.”
“My father? What was he like???”
“He was a brilliant scientist, a man who revelled in the discovery of something new. We talked for hours and hours about theories and discoveries and mysteries of the universe. He used his scientific knowledge to try and create a better tomorrow for Krypton and for you. I’ve never met another man so hopeful.” The Doctor grins, reminiscing on his old friend.
“If he was such a great scientist… why didn’t he save his planet?” Clark asks, staring at the shingles beneath him.
“He tried to warn the high council that the continued mining of Krypton’s core would result in something catastrophic, but they didn’t take him seriously. In the end nothing more could be done, Krypton was beyond fixing.”
“He warned them and they did nothing to stop it? His hope was worthless.”
“I wouldn’t say that. His hope for you led to Clark Kent… a 15 year old boy with two loving parents. A happy life for his son was his biggest hope.” Clark smirks before quickly turning to a look of contemplation.
“How do I live up to the legacy of a man I’ve never met?” Clark wipes a tear from his cheek.
“Who you are isn’t determined by your space dad or your Earth dad. You can learn a lot from your parents, but your life is forged by you. Who do you want to be?”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks for everything Doctor!”
“Glad I could help! See you around kid.” The Doctor stands up and walks to the edge of the roof.
“Wait! Before you leave I have to ask… in your travels have you seen another Kryptonian? Am I the only survivor?”
“Not that I know of, but don’t lose hope. The universe is massive and crazy things happen every day. Maybe someday you’ll run into a Kryptonian cousin or something.” The Doctor winks at the nonexistent camera.
He swiftly climbs off of the roof and saunters over to the TARDIS. Again the loud groaning sound is heard, but this time Clark sees the blue box fading in and out before disappearing entirely.
Clark puts his hands into his pockets and starts to think about the strange and intriguing encounter he just had. Strangely he feels a piece of paper folded up in his pocket... a paper he didn’t put there.
After unfolding it he notices a sort of crudely drawn symbol. A 5-sided diamond with what looked like an S inside. A very alien looking S. The teen is mesmerized, but still very confused. He quickly turns over the paper to see a short note. It’s from The Doctor!
“This symbol is your Kryptonian family crest; Jor-El wore it on his robes. He said it means ‘hope’… I figured you could use some of that right now. Good luck lad. See you around!- Doctor, The”
Clark smiles and makes his way back inside to slumber once more. Maybe what he was experiencing wasn’t a nightmare, but a warning. Maybe if the people of Earth had a fraction of the hope his father had… they’d care if their planet dying. Maybe.
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