I found a little half-page notebook with an entry for a story. One that must have served as a beginning or a launching pad for my D.E.O. story with Superman and J'onn J'onzz. I picked up a stack of loose papers and among them was the beginning of this same story, the very same scene with only very minor differences. The strange thing is this scene has never made it into the established story or narrative of that Earth in the first place. I wrote down a conversation in the DEO which made direct reference to it...then took the story in a completely different direction. Anyway this is how Superman and Nikita met each other, and why Kal'el is the DEO's closest and most dedicated alien ally on Earth 21// Earth 27. Whichever I end up calling it.
Memories of Smallville
“My name is Clark Kent. You are safe here.”
“I'm not sure You are.”
“I'm sorry, what?” an older man said from the dining room table.
“I didn't mean that as a threat and I am not radioactive or anything. But I am...I'm...”
“...In trouble.” Clark finished for her. “I kinda figured seeing you were both unconscious and shaking when I found you.”
“I wasn't running away. I was an asset. My D.E.O. Taskmaster will most certainly want me back.”
Clark looked uncertain. “D-E..Department of extra-normal operations.” He sat in his chair reasoning out the situation. “Does that mean you are an alien?”
“My home-planet is fifty miles past nowhere. And yes I'm a resident alien from the stars. I Wa-- Wait KENT?!”
The older man stood and walked over to her. “Yeah. The name mean something to you?” Imposing manner and forceful tone there was no hint of either challenge or hostility in his voice. Nikita judged that he sincerely wanted to know and it was simply that important to him.
“When I came to Earth the first...backing up for a second. The name Hiram Kent is treasured for me. I never found him though.”
“You never met him, yet you value him?” Johnathan prompted. “More importantly, what went wrong?”
“Sir please first tell me, are you descendant from him?”
“Yeah I...I guess that would come first.” Clark said gently. Hegestured to his father-figure. "Johnathan Kent is my adopted father. He is Hiram Kent's natural son.”
“Breth-so-ree. Ya Thay Fa Sool.” The young woman said with her head down and eyes shut. “My name is Nikita. I disavowed my family name when I arrived on your planet. On Earth I mean.”
Clark Smiled faintly. “So I take it you know I'm an alien? It stands to reason at least.”
“I know you are a Kryptonian of the house of El.” Nikita corrected. Both men snapped to, as if someone had dropped a bowling ball in front of their faces. “the first friendly person I met on this planet was similarly forgien to it. He told me of a woman he had loved with all his heart, though hr'd only known her a short time, in a small village in Kansas and a Good Man named Hiram Kent who helped him stay hidden, then get safely away. Being bulletproof proved a tragedy for this alien who identified himself to me as Jor'el.”
“Wait Kent, as in Hiram Kent? ” Clark looked at his father, Johnathan looked confused. “Okay this is almost too cool to be real. I would ask what is going on but by your faces I think you're the ones owed an explanation.”
“What do you mean-by any of this?” Johnathan asked curtly.
“I mean I believe in providence and IF I'm right this is awesome. And, while I have absolutely no way to prove this to you, it was not deliberate on my part.”
“Johnathan is my adoptive father.” Clark said quickly. “He is Hiram's natural son.”
“Breth so-ree. Ya Whey Fa-sool.” The young woman said with her head down “My name is Nikita. I disavowed my family name when I arrived on your planet. On Earth I mean.”
“So yu know I'm an alien...it reasons.”
“I know you're a Kryptonian of the house of El.” Nikita corrected. Both men snapped to, as if someone had dropped a bowling ball in front of their faces. “the first friendly person I met here was similarly foreign to this place. He told me of a small village, a girl, a woman he had known only a brief time but loved with all of his heart. And of a good man named Hiram Kent who, although he had absolutely no reason to believe him, implicitly trusted his claim of innocence, hid him in his farm, and then helped him get out of town before sunrise. This man, this alien identified himself to me as Jor'el.”
“Did he stay long?” Clark asked urgently.
Nikita shook her head. “He said with the death of his love he had no reason to stay on this 'fractured planet'. I think he meant by that hopelessly divided into millions of exceedingly different individuals. I went in a different direction, geographically from Smallville. I was eventually enfolded --that's the only word I have for it-- into the DEO. Speaking of, I know you're there.”
“It's good to see you too, Nikita.” A dark-skinned man in his mid forties with short-cropped hair spoke from the door. “Found some new friends I see?”
“They most kindly gave me shelter, yes.” Nikita said suddenly sounding very detached and deliberately formal. “I take it...” She hesitated. “I have to ask for his sake...Jeremiah?”
“I haven't seen him in three days.” The man said with the restraint and dignity of a solider.
“Johnathan and Clark Kent, Director Hank Henshaw, my... superior I guess you would say.”
“You were not kidding when you said you were in custody.” Clark said, wisely omitting whose custody she had claimed to be in.
“It's hard to define, even harder to explain. Wait...” All eyes turned to the female alien in the room. “Something else happened, didn't it?”
“You...could say so, yes.” Hank said with obvious discomfort.
“Then let's get back to the base so we can talk about it, privately.” Nikita said blithely.
"I'm glad you agree." hank said as he turned to walk out of the house.
“She's not going anywhere.” Clark said taking a threatening step forward.
“Clark, legally I am a ward of his organization, which means you have no grounds to resist thier request. But slightly more importantly, if you try to keep me from them YOU will be the one holding me against my will.” Clark and Johnathan both looked floored. “It's a kind of not replaying kindness with blood situation. But also, I don't mind staying at and working for the DEO, not in and of itself. Either way, it's my choice to make and I have made it." She turned to the director. "And yes, they know I'm an alien that was...rather unavoidable.” She pressed her hand to the left side of her ribcage. “I never had a family to be torn from. The D.E.O is, sadly enough the closest thing to what a family should be that I can even remember. And in going back to it, I am going HOME.”
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