The man aimed his pistol at Clark, a cold sneer curling across his lips as he pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The sharp crack of the gunshot split the air as the bullet tore free from the barrel and spun toward Clark.
In the gunman's eyes, Clark appeared frozen in fear, completely still, unable to move. The man watched with open disdain, already imagining the moment the boy would collapse.
But what happened next shattered that expectation.
A wisp of green smoke drifted through the air.
Before the bullet could strike Clark, Alicia suddenly appeared in front of him, teleporting instantly and placing herself between Clark and the gunfire.
Her sudden movement filled the exact space where the bullet was traveling.
For a single terrible moment, it looked as if the bullet had appeared inside her chest the instant her teleportation completed.
Thud!
The bullet slammed into Alicia's chest, and blood burst outward.
The force of the impact threw her backward.
Her footing vanished beneath her as she was knocked off balance, falling from the second story overhang of the barn.
As her body tipped backward into open air, Alicia reached out toward Clark.
Clark had been completely stunned by what he had just witnessed. When Alicia appeared in front of him, he had not even processed what she was doing.
Everything had happened too fast.
By the time her body fully solidified from teleportation, the bullet had already entered her chest. There had been no time to react.
In that instant, Clark felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.
The air he breathed felt like fire tearing through his lungs.
Alicia's hand failed to reach him.
She continued falling.
Looking at the shocked and horrified expression on Clark's face, the girl said nothing. She only gave him a gentle, relieved smile as she fell.
Whoosh!
A violent gust of wind rushed past.
Clark moved in an instant, appearing outside the barn just in time to catch Alicia before she hit the ground.
Holding her fragile body tightly, he cradled her in his arms. Her pale face rested against his chest.
"Why? Why would you do that?"
Clark's voice shook violently. Tears poured from his eyes like shattered glass.
"You know my body is like steel. Bullets can't hurt me. Why would you do something so foolish?"
"I..."
Blood spilled from Alicia's lips as she struggled to breathe. Despite the pain, she smiled faintly.
"I didn't think. When I saw you in danger, I just... moved. You're right, Clark. I guess I really am a little foolish."
She weakly reached out and took his hand.
"I'm sorry. I lied to you about many things, Clark. But when I said I liked you... that part was never a lie."
"Don't say anything else!" Clark cried, tightening his hold on her. "I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"
"It's too late."
Her voice was faint, barely more than a breath.
Tears shimmered in her eyes as blood continued to spill from her mouth. She pressed herself weakly against him.
"Clark... you have to promise me something."
"You and I... we aren't monsters. What we have is a gift from God."
Even as her life slipped away, Alicia managed a fragile smile.
"Don't be afraid of your gifts. Don't hide who you are. Don't be afraid to show the world how different you are."
Her fingers trembled in his hand.
"You'll never be alone. I'll always be with you."
Her voice faded to a whisper.
"I love you, Clark."
With those final words, Alicia's eyes slowly closed.
The life in her body vanished.
Clark held her tightly as a terrible cold spread through him.
It was colder than anything he had ever felt, even inside the Fortress of Solitude in the frozen Arctic.
"No... no... no... no!"
Clark pressed his face against her lifeless body as tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes. His face twisted in unbearable grief.
"Alicia, wake up."
His voice cracked as he spoke.
"We'll go to California like you wanted. We'll drive a convertible. We'll start in the morning... or noon... or the afternoon..."
He wiped the blood from her lips with trembling hands.
But no matter how many times he called her name, Alicia did not wake up.
The pain on Clark's face slowly changed.
Pain turned into rage.
"Why?"
He gently laid Alicia's body on the ground before standing up slowly.
"This cannot be your ending. It cannot be your future."
His voice trembled with fury.
"You haven't even begun your life yet. You haven't traveled the world. God cannot be this cruel to you!"
The air exploded with wind.
Clark vanished.
A second later he appeared in front of the gunman and grabbed him by the collar.
Bang!
Clark hurled the man forward with overwhelming force.
The gunman flew through the air and crashed into the barn wall, smashing straight through it.
Wood splintered everywhere.
Clark moved again instantly, catching the man in midair by the throat and slamming him into the ground.
Bang!
The impact drove the air from the man's lungs. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
"Why?"
Clark's voice was low and shaking.
He grabbed the man's face and forced him to look up.
"Why did you do that? You killed Alicia!"
Clark's fists trembled violently.
"I love her. You took her away from me."
His eyes burned red with fury.
"You are unforgivable!"
Clark punched him.
Teeth shattered and scattered through the air along with blood.
Before the man could even fall, Clark appeared again and grabbed him by the throat.
Another punch smashed into the side of his face, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Why did you take her from me?! Why?!"
Clark roared like a man who had lost everything.
"Clark!"
A voice suddenly called from behind him.
Clark froze.
He turned his head and saw his mother, Martha Kent, standing behind him with tears in her eyes.
Beside her stood Adrian.
Adrian's face remained calm and unreadable as he watched the scene.
"I..."
Clark looked at his mother's terrified expression.
Then he looked down at the man in his hands, who was barely conscious.
Slowly, Clark released him.
The nearly lifeless man collapsed to the ground.
Clark stumbled backward before falling to his knees.
His head hung low as his hands dug into the dirt.
Tears struck the ground one after another.
Martha rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her son.
"Clark... everything will pass. Everything will be alright."
Clark did not answer.
He simply cried.
"Alicia wanted me to go to California with her," Clark said hoarsely. "If I had gone... none of this would have happened."
"This is not your fault, Clark."
"No."
Clark shook his head violently.
"I will never forgive myself. If it weren't for me, Alicia would still be alive. If I had just called her... if I had listened to her..."
After a long moment, Clark slowly stood.
He wiped his tears away and walked toward Alicia's body.
Gently, he lifted her into his arms.
Without another word to Adrian or his mother, he began walking away into the night.
"Clark!"
Martha took a step forward, but Adrian gently stopped her.
"Let him be alone for a while, Mom."
Martha watched Clark disappear into the moonlight.
Tears streamed silently down her face.
"Clark..."
Two days later.
Dark clouds covered the sky above Smallville. The heavy air made the entire town feel subdued and mournful.
Adrian walked quietly through the cemetery wearing a black trench coat.
A thin mist drifted between the tombstones.
Several black crows perched on nearby branches, their dark eyes watching the stillness of the graveyard.
Adrian stopped in front of a newly placed tombstone.
Just as he expected, Clark was already there.
Clark stood silently in front of the grave, staring at the smiling photograph of Alicia engraved on the stone.
"Adrian."
Clark's voice sounded rough.
"Is it so difficult... being different?"
Adrian kept one hand in his coat pocket as he looked at the words Clark had carved into the stone.
My Beloved Alicia.
"Maybe," Adrian said calmly. "Some people will accept you. Others never will."
Clark continued staring at the grave.
"Before all this, I always believed I was alone. You and I both have abilities that set us apart. Gifts that also feel like curses."
He paused.
"One day I might become someone people admire. Someone they depend on. The boy I saved from the cliff. Kara. So many people believe in me."
Clark exhaled slowly.
"But the loneliness never goes away."
His voice softened.
"Alicia helped me understand something. Loneliness itself isn't the worst thing. The real prison is fear. Fear of loving someone. Fear of letting people in."
Clark lowered his head slightly.
"I finally understood what she meant."
"But it was already too late."
Silence settled over the graveyard.
After a while, Clark spoke again.
"Alicia said she would always be with me."
His eyes never left the tombstone.
"I think she still is."
Adrian shook his head slightly.
"Even someone like you has to learn how to lose, Clark."
Clark nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
He pulled a slightly crumpled rose from his pocket and placed it gently on the tombstone.
"It isn't easy realizing you aren't all powerful."
Clark turned toward Adrian.
"Do you know something strange? I once had a dream."
"In that dream, humanity was judging us."
"You were standing in the United States Capitol Building, sitting in judgment over the world. And everyone was turning against you."
Clark's eyes were serious.
"I heard someone say something in that dream."
He spoke slowly.
"Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?"
"Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more then matters of this life?"
Clark continued.
"In the dream you talked about everything you had lost. Bart. Zan. Jayna. Lana."
"And then you stood against the entire world."
Clark looked directly into Adrian's eyes.
"When I woke up, I was terrified."
"I couldn't understand why you would fight the whole world."
Clark's voice became quiet.
"But now I think I understand."
A heavy silence lingered between them.
Clark finally spoke the truth he had realized.
"Because people like us..."
"We never learn how to lose."
---