Lana Lang

[ooc: Dedicated to the shiny new Pete on my list, bossmanross!]

Eli had just finished his newest drawing. It had taken him quite a few times to get the skyline of Metropolis just the way he wanted it, but it was worth the effort. It still needed coloring, but the question was if it should be day, night, or somewhere in between.

His train of thought was broken when he heard a noise from the living room. He was about to rush in at superspeed, but then remembered that he probably shouldn't. They might have company.

When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, his temper flared. He didn't see the box with the ring, or the tender way Pete held his mother. All he knew was she was on the floor, along with the laundry basket and a good number of their clothes.

"What'd you do to Mom?"

[ooc: I've already written some about Eli as an older kid. Thought I'd actually get around to writing his birth.]

Nine months after she took a life and she was bringing another into the world, life that came from the one she'd ended. The pain was worse than she could have ever imagined. All she could do was scream, scream about how much she hated that bastard phantom who stole Clark's face. He deceived her into thinking he was Clark, took advantage of her feelings for him, and even though he was gone, he was still making her suffer.

"If he wasn't already dead I'd KILL him!" she sneered as her nails dug into Pete's hand.

"I know, I know! Just don't kill me instead, okay?!"

Another wave of pain, another scream.

"GET THIS DAMN THING OUT OF ME!"

Fifteen minutes later, everything faded as she held her baby in her arms. It didn't matter where he came from. It was love at first sight.

"Hey little boy," she cooed at the infant. "I'm your mommy."

It was a question Lana always dreaded, and it was worse every time it came out of her little boy's mouth.

"Momma, what was Daddy like?"

She always answered the same way.

"Eli, sweetie, I already told you. He was a bad man."

It never seemed to satisfy him, just inspired more dreaded questions, ones she tried to answer as honestly as she could manage. He was too much like her for his own good.

( 'But you still loved him, didn't you?' )