Chapter Text
Smallville, Kansas, 1946
Lana Lang had just left school, and she had hours left before her parents expected her to arrive home. They were trusting sorts who allowed her a lot of independence. For the most part, she repaid that trust. She'd never smoked a cigarette, never swore, or had anything alcoholic, no matter how much her friends called her a square. Her parents would probably be proud of her for that. They might not be so happy with what she spent her free time doing instead.
The Secret Sanctuary (which she personally thought was a dumb name, but whatever, It wasn't her secret cave hideout) had been built into a cave system about a mile out from town. The entrance was sealed by a huge metal door, twice as tall as Lana herself and far too heavy for even the strongest strongman to shift, never mind a skinny 15 year old girl. But then, the boy this cave belonged to was much stronger than the strongest strongman.
She reached out, and pressed the doorbell. "Superboy? It's me, Lana!"
Nothing happened.
Lana frowned, and tried again. "Superboy? Are you all right? Superboy?" She looked around, to see if anyone was listening. "Clark? Are you alright?"
Still no answer.
He's probably just late, Lana thought to herself. Something must have come up in Smallville, like a cat stuck in a tree, or a burning building, or a crashed car. But no it couldn't be that, Clark could have dealt with all three of those and still made it to the secret sanctuary before she did. It had to have been something more serious, like a crashed alien spacecraft or something like that. Well, she'd just have to wait, and hope he didn't take too long to deal with it.
Clark wasn't the sort to keep her waiting. It was one of the things she liked best about him, the way he never let you down. She'd known him for years, the kid whose parents ran the towns general store, and looked way too old to have a kid that young. That had gotten him a lot of attention and one point, and even then, she could see the way it made him wilt. One day, when they were six, it had gotten to be too much for her, so she marched into the crowd surrounding him, grabbed him by the shoulder, marched him out into the woods, and asked him what he wanted to play. They'd been best friends ever since.
Being best friends, they shared secrets with each other, some a lot bigger than others. Lana's mostly tended to be which boys in their classes she thought were cute. Clark's secrets had been a little bigger.
The biggest one of all had been when she'd been giving him a hug after the boys on the school football team had called him a sissy, and asked why he never played ball with the other boys. He responded by lifting the Lang family car over his head with one hand. He'd been 10 at the time.
See, it turned out that the reason that Ma and Pa Kent looked way too old to be Clarks parents, was because they had found him as a baby, in a crashed rocketship. Lana's best friend was an alien. And superhuman strength was far from the only thing he was capable of. He could run faster than the trains that took people from Smallville all the way up to Topeka. He could take a point blank shot to the face from a hunting rifle and not even flinch. He could see through walls, and hear a twig fall in forest half a mile away. He could even fly!
Some people would have taken the opportunity to make themselves a star, and bask in the limelight for the rest of their lives. Clark had rejected that quite firmly. It wasn't that he hated his powers, flying was one of his favourite things. But while he'd gotten more confident as he'd gotten older, he'd never gotten completely comfortable with being the centre of attention. He hadn't been able to avoid it completely, as his drive to help people would always override his desire for privacy, but he always seemed happier in the sanctuary, peering over his weird experiments.
Shaking of her reminiscing, Lana glanced down at her watch, and blanched. She'd been waiting by the door for nearly half an hour! Clark had never kept her waiting that long before!
She was starting to get really worried. Had something bad happened to him? Maybe he was stuck fighting someone strong enough to seriously threaten him? Or maybe he was inside the sanctuary after all, and one of his experiments had gone wrong, leaving him trapped inside!
Lana was pacing back and forth in from of the door, each imagined scenario swirling through her brain worse than the last, when a voice came from the doorbell speaker. "Lana? Are you there?" Lana sagged with relief. He was alright! He must have just come into the sanctuary through the back entrance.
"Clark! Oh, I'm glad to hear your voice! Where have you been? I was getting really worried!"
"It's, um, its a long story. I'm going to open the door, but you have to promise not to panic."
Promise not to panic? Oh god, what had happened to him? There was certainly something odd sounding about his voice. "What do you mean, not panic? Clark, are you alright?"
"Just promise! Please, Lana, It'll be easier to show you."
She took in a deep breath, and tried to steel herself for whatever was coming. "Alright, Clark, I promise."
With a low rumble, the door lifted up, and revealed the form of her best friend, standing in the opening of the cave.
The very feminine form.
Lana stared in shock at the girl who was Clark, who smiled nervously at her. "Hey, Lana. So, uh, funny thing happened on the way..."
At this point, to her later regret, Lana broke her promise to Clark, and disappointed her parents.
"CLARK, WHAT THE FU-"
***
"Clark, I'm really sorry, I just... wasn't expecting this."
Her best friend still looked a little hurt, but gave a thin smile anyway. "It's OK Lana, really. I get that its a shock. It certainly was for me."
It was more than just a shock. Lana was finding it difficult to take her eyes of her best friend, and hoped dearly that the way she was staring didn't come off as rude. The person in front of her was definitely Clark. Even ignoring the unique costume he wore as Superboy, she knew that face very well, the startlingly blue eyes, the shiny black hair that always seemed to spin itself into a little curl at the front.
But the person in front of her was also very clearly a pretty young woman, the skin-tight costume not leaving much in the way of doubt. The eyes were framed by long lashes, and the hair came down enough to graze the shoulders. And while the face was clearly Clark's, all the details had been subtly altered, the eyes a little larger, the lips a little plumper, the jawline a little softer. And when she spoke, she could recognize Clarks voice in there, but it was notably higher, and a little softer. If she hadn't been Clark's best friend, she might not have recognized it.
"So, uh how did this happen, exactly?"
Clark reached up with his(her?) hand, and scratched the back of her head, nervously. "OK, I'll tell you, but... don't get mad. It's a little embarrassing."
"Embarrassing? Clark, what did you do?"
"Just... just listen to me, and I'll explain."
***
Clark Kent had just left school, and he had all afternoon to complete his plans. He was hoping to get some decent experimenting done tonight, and hoped there wouldn't be too many disasters that needed his attention. His parents knew all about how he spent his free time, and heartily approved, as long as he turned up for meals and went to bed on time.
He made sure to avoid the boys from the football team. He hadn't told Lana they were still picking on him. Having a girl defending him had only made them worse. He wasn't a sissy, no matter what they said. He'd love to play ball with them, if only he wasn't afraid of hurting them by mistake with his super strength.
As he left the school building, he rushed over to the nearest phone booth and closed himself inside. In a blur of movement, he swapped out his school clothes for the blue and red of his Superboy costume. He still marvelled that the clothes he had been wearing when he arrived on earth as a baby could still fit him as a teenager, had grown with him for all these years. Some sort of symbiotic life form perhaps? That might explain how it always seemed to repair itself when it was damaged. Of course, not all of it was Kryptonian by origin. The cape was a Ma Kent original, one of several that he swapped out when the old one got too dirty or too damaged.
Fully dressed in his heroic attire, he opened the phone booth door and launched himself into the air. In a matter of moments the whole of Smallville was spread out below him, and he could look around to see if there was anyone who needed his help. Satisfied that the people of Smallville didn't need any help right this minute, Clark began heading towards his secret sanctuary, when he spotted something in the distance. It looked to be a spaceship, and one of a kind he'd never seen before. Intrigued, he turned in the air, and sped towards it.
It was a small green flying saucer, with no visible engines that he could recognize. He flew close, hoping he might get to ask the spaceman pilot how the craft flew. As he drew in over the glass dome of its roof, he was a little startled to see that it was in fact a spacewoman pilot, who seemed even more startled to see him. The craft wobbled, and spun away, heading into a crash on the rocks below. Clark shook his head, thinking of the things his Pa would sometimes say about women drivers, and dived after her.
He knew he couldn't grab onto the saucer. Even if he could get a grip on its smooth surface, with his strength and the speed the craft was falling at, he could tear it apart. Instead, he swooped down to the rocks, and ground as much of them as he could into sand and gravel, so that the craft could have a soft landing. He turned around, and saw it land roughly, sliding to a stop with a nasty grinding sound.
He landed next to the ship, as its occupant emerged. Clark was used to people seeming grateful when he rescued them, so he was a little taken aback when he saw the annoyed look on the spacewoman's face. She turned to face him, and even though her lips didn't move, Clark heard her voice inside his head. "Haven't you caused me enough problems for one day, you chauvinistic fool?".
Clark was stunned. "What are you talking about, lady?"
She stared at him coldly. "My name is Shar-La, and as you've probably noticed, I am a telepath. I heard what you were thinking about women driving. I can't believe this planet is so backward."
Clark spluttered a little. "I mean, you did crash. And I did save you, which I think you could stand to be a little more grateful for!"
Shar-La snorted contemptuously. "I would have been fine, if some strange boy hadn't come speeding out of the sky at me from nowhere. And I am quite capable of taking care of myself. On my planet, women are allowed to take care of themselves."
Clark's mind was swirling. He knew that his thoughts about women drivers were unfair, and that his father was just a little old and set in his ways. And he did feel a little embarrassed that he had caused this woman's accident. But the argument had got him heated, and instead of apologising, he said something that he would soon deeply regret.
"Well, I-I hope they're better drivers than you!"
Shar-La glared at him - then, rather alarmingly, began to smile. "You are young enough to learn a lesson, child. Let me teach you one." She raised her left hand, and adjusted a dial on a large gold ring on her forefinger. It began to glow with a sickly yellow light, and emit a strange buzzing sound that resonated through Clark's whole body. He tried to ask her what she was doing, but his mouth had suddenly gone numb. His eyes began to blur, and he keeled over, fast asleep.
When he awoke, Shar-La and her ship were gone. Clark could instantly tell something was wrong. His body felt different, in ways he couldn't quite describe. His centre of gravity was lower, and when he tried to walk he found it very difficult to keep his balance. He spotted a sheet of paper lying on the ground, with a small golden medallion attached. It had a message written on it in impressively good English:
You will soon understand how it feels to be condescended to by men.
The attached device contains a psychic imprint from me. It should convince people that you have always been the way you are now. It emits a single pulse of psychic power out over a one mile radius. It should cover the whole of your town, as long as you activate it in the centre.
I will be back in one of your years, to see if you have learned your lesson.
Shar-La
"Been the way you are now? What has she done to me?" Clark gasped! He flew up into the air, and hurtled towards Lake Solitude. As he flew down towards it's surface, he could already see in his faint reflection that something was not right. The proportions on his body were all wrong, and his hair was longer almost like...
"Oh My Gosh! I-I'm a girl!"
The reflection was unmistakable. It was his face, but changed into a girls face! Clark could feel his(her?) heart pounding like mad. What was she(he?) going to do?
Lana. She might be mad at him to for the women drivers comment, but she would know what to do.
Clark turned, and sped off, towards the Secret Sanctuary, hoping like hell that Lana wouldn't be too mad.
***
"Lana, please, you can stop laughing now!"
Lana stopped, if only because she was out of breath from laughing so hard, for so long. "Tha-That's what did it? 'Women Drivers'? That's-it-you sound like my Grandpa, Clark!" And with her breath back, Lana looked set to start laughing again.
"Its not funny, Lana!" Clark wailed. "How am I supposed to deal with being a girl for a whole year?"
"I'm sure you'll manage, Clark." Lana said, a little archly. "I've managed it for 15 years, and I'm not complaining."
"That's different." Clark mumbled. "You've always been a girl. How would you like it if someone turned you into a boy?"
"Sounds great to me. I'd be able to join the school baseball team, wear trousers without getting stared at, and not get treated like a particularly stupid four year old whenever I ask a question about science!"
This blasé attitude was not entirely honest. While there were a lot of things Lana would enjoy about living as a boy, there were just as many things she'd miss. But she wasn't going to tell Clark that and lose the argument.
She was regretting her tone already, Clark had buried her face in her hands and looked like she was about to cry. Lana rushed over and gently pulled her into a hug. As Clark quickly reciprocated, Lana realised with a jolt that she was now the taller of the two. She hadn't been able to look down on Clark for a long time, and it reminded her of the scared child she'd felt so bad for all those years ago.
"Look, I'm sorry. Whatever you need from me, I'll help you. You're my best friend, Clark, and I care about you very much, even if you are an idiot sometimes."
Clark was very quiet for a while. Eventually, she spoke. "If I activate the device in the centre of town, the sanctuary will be outside its range, so as long as you stay here, your mind won't be affected. But what about my parents?"
"Do you not want to tell them?"
Clark fiddled her hands nervously. "I feel like I should, but it scares me. They're not young, and I don't know how they'll react. Part of me wants to just let them think I was always a girl, until Shar-La gets back."
Lana smiled gently. "Clark, its up to you, but your parents handled you being an alien just fine. This isn't all that weird by comparison. I bet they'll take it just fine."
Clark took in a deep breath, and nodded. "You're probably right. Anyway, I shouldn't keep secrets like this from them, I never have before." She stood up straight, a little of the old Superboy confidence trickling back in. "Alright, how do we handle this?"
***
All things considered, the Kent's took it pretty well. Pa Kent didn't quite seem to know whether to clap Clark on the back or pat her on the head, but settled for a hug, which seemed the least confusing option. Ma Kent, if anything, seemed worryingly happy about the whole situation.
"So, when this Shar-La lady gets back in a years time, she'll turn you back into a boy?", Pa Kent asked, once Lana and Clark had finished explaining the details.
"I guess so. Her letter implied it anyway, and if she changed me, she should be able to change me back."
Pa Kent nodded, thoughtfully. "Well then. I guess I'd better get used to having a daughter for a while."
"It'll be nice to not be the only woman in the house for a change" Ma Kent said with a little smile. Clark looked more than a little nervous at this.
"So, how are we gonna explain this?" Pa Kent asked.
"This medallion Shar-La left for me should convince everyone in Smallville that I've always been a girl. If you and Lana head up to the sanctuary when it activates, it shouldn't affect you, but everyone else will forget that I was ever a boy."
"Well then", Pa Kent said, "Best get it done. Martha, Lana, lets head up there now."
"Oh Dear", Ma Kent sighed. "That is a long walk, and my legs aren't what they used to be."
"Don't worry, Ma", Clark said. "I can carry you up there pretty fast."
And so she did, taking each of them up to the sanctuary, one by one. It had always felt a little strange when she needed to carry Pa Kent around for whatever reason, and even more so now. She hadn't felt this small next to him in years.
Once they were all up in the sanctuary, there wasn't much else to do but activate the medallion. Clark floated down and landed in the middle of the town square. By now, night was falling, and there was nobody out to see her. She lifted up the medallion and stared at it. There was a single button in the centre of it. One press, and her girlhood would be sealed. Everyone would remember her as a girl, treat her as a girl. She had a feeling she wasn't nessicarily going to like that very much.
Then again, the boys on the football team weren't going to bother her about not being enough of a boy if she wasn't one.
Trying to focus on the positives, she closed her eyes, and pressed the button down.
***
"So", Pa Kent asked, "do we think it worked?"
It was a little while later. Lana and the Kents were sat around the table, eating dinner. Lana had been able to convince her parents to stay at the #Kents house for the night. With them now remembering Clark as a girl, it had been a lot easier than usual.
"Well", Ma Kent said, "When I was saying goodbye to Lana's mother, she asked me to give Claire her love, so I have to assume it did."
"Claire?" Clark yelped, more than a little disconcerted.
"I suppose the psychic imprint Shar-La put in that amulet figured it would be easier to convince people you had a different name all your life, than to convince them that Clark is a normal name for a girl.", Lana mused. "And Claire is pretty close to Clark. It was probably either that or Clara."
The newly minted Claire gulped. "I-I guess so. It's going to be a lot to get used to."
Lana took her hand gently. "I'll be there for you."
***
It was time for them to go to sleep. Lana insisted that since they were both girls, there would be nothing wrong with them sharing a bed, and despite nervous protests from Claire, the matter had been settled. Lana didn't say so out loud, but the truth was she was still a little worried about her friend, and didn't want her to sleep alone. Sharing a bed was as far as Claire was prepared to go at the moment however, and she insisted they change into their sleepwear in separate rooms.
None of Claire's old pyjamas would fit her anymore, so she'd had to borrow some of Lana's. They weren't too different in style from the ones she'd worn as a boy, but the floral print patterning and lace collar made it very clear they were not boys pyjamas. Lana herself was wearing a frilly nightdress, and Claire couldn't help but stare at it, wondering how long it would be before she was wearing something like it herself.
As they got into bed together, Lana's mind was still spinning from everything that had happened in the last few hours. It wasn't everyday your best friend got himself turned into a girl.
"I'm really glad you're here, Lana." Claire whispered.
Lana took her hand. "Whatever happens in the next year, we'll deal with it together. I promise.