TITLE: A Different Kind of Hiro

AUTHOR: William Rayne

EMAIL: knytmare@yahoo.com

RATING: PG-13

SUMMARY: AU sequel to Idol. Hiro is your normal Princeton freshman, he can't help it that he's also Superman's little brother. Hiro's birth was a miracle and now the time has come to pay the devil his due.

SPOILERS: Exodus, Exile, Hereafter

PAIRING: none

DISTRIBUTION: FanFiction.net, email me

DISCLAIMER someone else owns 'em, I'm just taking them out to play. Don't sue me, I have no money

FEEDBACK: Desired like none other.

NOTES AND NEWS: Set 5 years after Idol. Clark is Superman, lives in Metropolis, went to Kansas State for college. His brother has a quarterback football scholarship (full ride) at Princeton. Set in the spring semester of his freshman year. Oh yeah, in my stories, I'm interpreting the meanings of the traditional Superman symbol and the Smallville (Jor-El branded) symbol to mean whatever fits my stories best…I apologize for confusion b/c I'm lazy. Plus, AU, I think I have some leeway to fudge a bit. Also, don't know football too well so hopefully I get the terms right and the stats are believable.

As always: bold italics for stressed, italics for thoughts or voice-over, and underlines for sarcasm or disgust. 

Oh yeah, I'm horrible with tenses, so please forgive me, I'll try to clean and tighten that up some in the future.

228

A Different Kind of Hero

Prologue

Smallville, January 2023

Hiram Robert Kent, otherwise known as Hiro, stood in Kawatche cave, looking at the drawings that told the prophecy of his brother. Hiro was going back to Princeton in a few days and wanted to see the caves that gave him comfort in his youth, especially during his teens. Hiro found solace in these caves while his brother, Clark, was always worried when Hiro came here. Hiro chuckled to himself as he looked at the octagonal indentation in the wall across from him, I'm 18 years old and I still have to sneak out to these caves. Some things never change. Don't know why Clark worries about me being here. I'm more worried about when he comes here alone. After all, Jor-El would have more interest in him than me.

Hiro thought back to what he was told about his birth. How Clark had destroyed the ship which resulted in Mom and Dad getting hurt and his near death. Most people have near death experiences when they're breathing. I have mine when I'm still in the womb. Then again, after all these years I should know that being a Kent means not having the most normal of life experiences. Clark and Dad had a falling out then, which resulted in Clark running away for a few months. The family is full of secrets, he sighed, then again, we Kents are a stubborn lot.

When he was younger, he wanted more than anything to be like his brother. There was a time where he secretly thought that due to the circumstances of his birth that when he hit puberty, he'd develop superpowers like Clark. That was when he was younger. Hiro had grown up a lot since then. Not enough, never enough, Hiro thought as he touched the eyebrow ring he had on his right side since he was 14 and smiled, you think they, of all people, would know that appearances aren't everything.

Hiro couldn't wait to get back to campus, he loved being out of Smallville but missed his folks sorely. Though he'd never let his mother know, she was still nesting and wanting him to transfer to KSU to be closer. His father and him had come to an understanding about his body piercings, they didn't talk about it. Though to ease the family drama, he used retainers on his lip and ears when he came home as well as dying his hair back to a more conservative color. He'd have to dye it again back to its usual green when he got back to campus. The sports world called him 'the Dennis Rodman of college football', it was the closest player he resembled and when Hiro looked the man up, he agreed with the analogy.

The only reason he was allowed to be so eccentric was he was the best quarterback in the past 2 decades. With a career history of never have been sacked, a miraculous 74 yard 'Hail Mary' throw that was accurate to the inch and an average QB run of 64 yards and that was when he was in high school, he was expected to get better. The papers described him as 'almost inhuman' and 'the Superman of the sports world.' He and Clark had laughed for 15 whole minutes when they first saw that headline. Mom and Dad weren't happy about the quote that made it into the paper at his Princeton signing press conference. Clark's old friend, Chloe, asked what he thought about being called 'the Superman of the sports world.' To which he remarked humorously, "I don't mind it one bit. After all he's my brother." The crowd laughed and the questions resumed. He got chewed out for that one but he managed to convince the family that no one would think it was true. Clark Kent may report on Superman, but Clark had managed to refine both personas to the point that his secret was far from being found out.

I better get back before they notice I'm gone, Hiro thought to himself as he fondly touched the octagonal indentation, Clark should be back home soon. Of course that means I'll have to try to make front page when I get back to school. Clark had rushed off earlier when he heard about the earthquake in Japan. Though Clark would never admit it, Hiram suspected they were in competition for the amount of headlines Mom and Dad kept in their scrapbook. The only difference in the scrapbook was that they didn't have to hide Hiram's so they could avoid awkward questions if someone found it.

As he turned to leave the cave, he didn't see the indentation open and the beam of pure white light that shot out to strike him. Hiro was lifted into the air and inside his mind he heard, You have no idea what you are. What you are truly capable of, what you shall become. Kal-El still resists me. I grow weary of it. He leaves me no choice but to charge you with his quest. Hiro felt like as if his veins pumped lava and his scream was a silent one. After what seemed like an eternity, he slumped to the ground and passed out.

********************************************

 Clark found Hiro the next morning.

"Hiro, wake up," Clark said as he shook his brother.

"Huh?" Hiro groaned and rolled over.

"Wake up, you little brat. You had Mom pace a new groove into the floor," Clark said impatiently as he shook his brother by the shoulder once more.

Hiro looked at his brother groggily.

Clark sighed and said, "What are you doing out here? I thought we've told you a million times to stay away from these caves. They're too dangerous."

Hiro growled at his brother, "I'm not a child anymore. I can take care of myself. Besides, this place helps me think and it's one of the few places I know I can be left alone for a while."

"Still Hiro, I'd rather you not come here alone. Let's get you home," Clark said with authority which normally would've been taken seriously by a normal person. After all, the Superman outfit held a sense of power for most. However, most weren't related to the Man of Steel.

Clark extended his hand to help his brother up and as Hiro rose from the ground, Clark asked, "Why didn't you come home?"

Hiro shrugged, "Dunno, last thing I remember was lying down in here thinking about all my years here in Smallville and the next thing I know, I wake up to your ugly mug."

"I wouldn't have found you if not for the racket you made snoring," he replied with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"I do not."

"Do too."

"Whatever, Pansy Ballerina-man."

"What is it with you and the tights? You helped choose them," Clark asked as they exited the caves.

"Yeah, I was 9. I can't believe you listened to a 9 year old kid's advice on fashion. Is there a color Kryptonite out there that makes you mentally deficient?" Hiro stated dramatically as he slung his arm around his brother's shoulder.

"You still picked it out," Clark ribbed as he elbowed his brother gently in the stomach.

Hiro growled and changed the subject, "You ever have that feeling like you've left the oven on?"

Clark laughed, "It's the pot calling the kettle black, and I'm the one you're saying is mentally deficient? Besides, if you did that…even I couldn't save you from the wrath of Mom."

Hiro stopped, taking his arm from his brother, and turned to Clark, "No, I'm serious bro. Like you're forgetting something very important but don't know what?"

"Yeah, I have but I think that if were really important, you wouldn't have forgot."

"Well, when you put it that way…I guess you're right."

Clark threw an arm around his not so little brother's shoulder. Hiro stood dead even in height and build when compared to his brother. "You think too much, that's not a good thing for a jock."

Before Hiro could remark, Clark continued, "You figure out a major yet?"

"I'm thinking about Computer Science, I seem to have a knack for it," said Hiro seriously, his eyes looking for approval.

Clark almost doubled over in laughter, "My brother, the closet computer geek. I can't wait to see how your school will spin that one."

"Like journalism majors are so much cooler," Hiro stated sorely as they continued walking home.

"We're über-cool."

"You just said 'über', now who's the geek?"

"Punk."

"Boy Scout."

"Know-It-All."

"Pretty boy."

"Glory monger."

"Loser."

"Freak."

*roll opening credits and cut to commercial*

A/N: Not sure how often I'll update this, but I do have an outline and a rough idea of how I'm doing the next chapter. Sorry about the lack of description with the dialogue, I'm meaning to get better with that but tired now and I should've been doing my take-home final. SHHH, don't tell. Now I really must sleep and study…doh, new episode later this night. K, study *before* the show and *after* also.