Authors Notes: Hola! The characters all used in this story are owned by DC
(That's Detective Comics people, dammit, you should know this but like
nobody does) Comics, which in turn is owned by Warner Brothers studios. The
only character that I would dare claim is Kevin Clark… who might already be
part of the DCU, I dunno, my DCness isn't nearly as good as my Marvelness,
but if he isn't he came up in this here mind, okays? The time that this
story takes place in is just after Superboy #100, in which Clark takes Kon
to live with Ma and Pa Kent in Smallville, ironically that issue came out
the day after I start this, but hey, inspiration strikes when it strikes
right? A quick little message, I hate Kon with any sort of goatee, so for
my story he shaved it, don't ask… it just doesn't seem right to consider
him "the kid" if he has a goatee, I know, I'm an idiot but it's my story
dammit! This story shifts from Kon's point of view to a 3rd person point of
view, it might be a little confusing, and if so I apologize, but you'll
know when the shifts happen. In order for this story to work out continuity
wise the events of Superboy #100 must have happened AFTER the events of
Superman #183, even though they came out the same week, and Superboy was
supposed to come out a week before, let's just ASSUME that it happens like
my story dictates, if only for this and any other possible future
continuations. Let's get started shall we…
Chapter One
I couldn't sleep a wink during my first night at the Kent farm in Smallville Kansas. I've stayed here on several occasions and never had that problem, but it seemed as though the rooster they owned was intent on making sure that I would get no sleep during my first night of lodging in the foreseeable future. Several times during the night I'd quietly mutter obscenities at Superman, cursing him for the idea of staying here instead of still being near the glitz and glamour of Metropolis. Deep down, however, I knew that Clark thought this was for the best, and Clark was basically my father figure/big brother rolled into one. Besides, who tells Superman no? Well… okay there was always Batman, but the Dark Knight had always had a severe complex of having the worlds largest stick stuck as high up his ass as the intestines would permit, and he was also the exception to many other rules. Who else but Batman would devise ways to kill his TEAMMATES? "Friend" was far too strong a word to use when in regards to Batman, even when comparing anyone in his immediate "bat- family". To him all but himself were inferiors, to order around like common slaves. It was something that the Joker would probably do for sure, but not a person as… respected… yes respected, for all his brass there was not a single hero on Earth that did not respect the Batman. Sometimes I'd ponder why the two were at odds over so much, they seemed more alike than anything else. Well… once you got rid of the fact that one of them was a psychopathic killer, the other is just… psycho. Of course, I would never say these things aloud, I'd heard Clark's story about that chunk of Red Kryptonite… Batman's one person that I don't want to talk to when he is having a bad day. I've come to the conclusion that if it were between fighting Darkseid one-on-one or getting reamed by Batman it would be Darkseid ho for this meta. Stupid cowl. Gee Kon, you've started mindless babble already, this might be Kansas but you'd think that retaining a somewhat passable IQ would be possible. The rooster does his cock-a-doodle- doo thing again, I'm sure Clark knows what the technical term is called. You know the old saying, you can take the hick outta the country but you can't take the country outta the hick. Dammit Kon, focus on something other than the fact that you've pretty much gotten stuck in the boonies! What's next? Gonna go on a spending spree of country CD's? Do they even have CD's in Kansas? Stupid bird… I would kill it except Jon and Martha probably wouldn't be happy if I killed their rooster, even if he deserves it. I open the window and yell at the rooster, "Alright, I'm up! Are you happy now?" If I didn't know better I could swear that my super-hearing picked up the sound of that damned fowl laughing, assuming they can laugh.
"Oh, you're up Kon?" I jump a bit at the voice from behind me, who says super-hearing is all it's cracked up to be? I turn around and see Martha smiling at me.
"Yeah, morning."
"I hope you slept well."
I yawn and rub my eyes before I reply. "Yeah, I slept fine." A lie of course, but I don't want to hurt the poor lady's feelings, after all, I AM a guest. I'm sure Tim would just kill to see me right now, being courteous. Our resident Boy Wonder seems to believe that I'm only capable of being a pompous ass all the time. The thought alone makes me smile, I just hope Martha doesn't pick up. She doesn't, she just closes her eyes and begins to walk away.
"Breakfast is almost ready Kon." I can hear her walk down the stairs and I walk over to the vanity. I'm staying in Clark's room, of course, and I'm also wearing his sleeping attire. The first thing I look at is, of course, my face. I shaved the 'tee off last night, my latest stage of wanting to look more mature passed by after I realized I was mature enough to inspire a former villain to save people in a burning building. Besides, it would take your average 16 year old plenty of time to grow a fashionable 'tee, and since I'm stuck this way for a long time… it would probably take even longer. Even then my fights along with the rest of Young Justice usually cause my hairs to get fried, why even bother anymore. My hair looks awful… damn that bird, making me toss and turn. Whatever, Martha said that breakfast was almost done, and I am pretty hungry. I walk downstairs in Superman's clothes, that he wore when he was my age, in the house that Superman lived in at my age and I can't help but wonder; Since I'm basically a clone of him does that mean I look like he did when he was 16? I chuckle, Superman lite might be causing a Déjà vu for his parents. I should ask them to see some pictures of Clark when he was a teenager, we don't look that much alike right now, same hair color, eyes, but a persons look can drastically change in 12 years (Authors Note: ASSUMING that Clark is 28… might be older, might be younger, don't shoot me!). I can smell the bacon and eggs as I close in on the kitchen. There are few pleasures that a person really has, a home cooked meal from mom is at the top of my list, but since I don't have a mom, Martha will fill in fine. Jon is reading the planet, don't see why, Perry fired Clark a couple of days back, been all over the Metropolis news, he's probably still buying the paper because he and Perry go way back and the fact that Lois still works there. He doesn't even look up from the paper, but he knows I'm there.
"Morning Clark." He says, startling me.
"Uh, I'm not Clark, Jon."
"Don't play those games with me Clark, and you know better than to call me "Jon"." He starts to raise his voice as I turn over to Martha, who is looking at him and biting her lip.
"Jonathan, Clark dropped off Kon here yesterday, don't you remember?" He finally tears himself away from the paper and gives her a "In this as well are you?" look, then he looks at me and I can see by the movement of his face that he realizes that he was wrong.
"Oh, sorry Kon, you just looked so much like Clark in that outfit, I got confused." He turns and looks at Martha, "Doesn't he look like Clark when Clark was a young whippersnapper?" Whippersnapper? Mental note: I've found the one thing worse than a lecture from the big black bat, common language used in Kansas. Martha nods and smiles as she turns back to the frying pan.
"Don't worry about it Jon, I'm sure a lot of people would have made the same mistake if they let the clone of their son stay in their house." Jon smiles at me as I continue yawning.
"Listen Kon, you've stayed with us before, and we really do consider you to be another son that we never had. Please, call us Ma and Pa." I try to keep the shock off my face, but it's hard. They really consider me to be like another so to them? I've never really been part of a family before… it feels good.
"Thanks Jon… err, Pa." I say with a smile. I will not cry, I will NOT cry, but a tear does manage to trickle down my cheek, they don't see it… I hope. Ma is working hard over the stove and she puts an omelet on the plate beside her, already adorned with slices of bacon and some potatoes. The wonders of a housewife never cease to amaze me. She turns around again and walks with a glass of milk in one hand, the plate in the other.
"I hope I made the omelet the way you like it Kon." She places the plate on the table and walks over to the counter, pulling out some oatmeal. Pa again turns his attention away from the Planet and looks at my plate, salivating.
"Aren't you going to have some breakfast Pa?" I ask, engulfing a piece of the omelet, cheese dripping from the side of my mouth.
"I'm making him his breakfast right now." Ma puts the oatmeal in the pot of boiling water that I noticed out of the corner of my eye when I walked in. Pa grimaces at the sound of the oatmeal hitting the water.
"The old heart can't take the finer things in life these days Kon, I can't eat the good stuff anymore."
"Oh." I reply. How stupid could I possibly be? I should have known the heart attack that he had a little after Clark "died" would have affected him like that. Stupid Kon, keep it up and you won't make Clark proud. "Sorry Pa, I forgot." He smiles and rustles up my hair, messing it up even more than before. Mental note: after breakfast, shower, with lots of conditioner.
"Don't worry about it son, it isn't important, but if I want to see Clark and Lois give me some grandbabies I gotta watch what I eat, right?" I nod, secretly thinking in the back of my mind how Lois would act if she was preggers, she has enough mood swings on a normal day. Right after I think about that the next thought is the things that Lois would be doing to Clark during labor. The man can crush a ton of explosives in his hands and not feel a thing but Lois during labor pains might just take the "super" out of the man. I can't help myself, I start laughing hysterically. "What's so funny Kon?" Pa wonders, confused as hell. After a couple of attempts I finally manage to swallow my laughter enough to reply.
"Oh, I was thinking about what Lois would be like during the pregnancy, and then how she would act during labor." Pa's face goes blank, obviously he's thinking about it too. Ma is already letting out low chuckles, and by the time I shift back to Pa he's laughing too. It feels good to see them laughing, maybe I will make Clark proud, just maybe I will. Ma puts the oatmeal in a bowl and places it in front of Pa. She sits down and begins to enjoy a cup of tea. "Ma, aren't you going to eat some breakfast?"
"I've already had my breakfast Kon. I enjoy eating my breakfast on the patio watching the sun rise over the hills."
"You get up that early Ma?" I ask, awestruck, she just winks at me.
"I don't get up that early Kon, but you aren't the only one that our rooster enjoys waking up unexpectedly."
"So you knew that I didn't get a good rest?"
"Yes, and I also know that amid all the complaints you made to Clark while you were tossing and turning that you are indeed in the right place." I blush. Damn this gal is good, no wonder Clark said that lying to her was harder than fighting a horde of white Martians. I decide that I don't really want to get into a deeper conversation on the things I said last night, so I scarf down the rest of my breakfast. Next time I pay a visit to my birthing parents over at Cadamus I'll have to thank them for the super- speed they gave me.
"Thanks for breakfast Ma, I'm going to go take a shower now." I place my dishes in the sink and run up the stairs to the bathroom. (Not from Kon's point for a bit, you know how comics are, just because someone is the star of the story doesn't mean the entire story has to revolve around him, get used to it because sometimes he won't be in for awhile.)
Pa's eyes peer from the tip of the paper across the table to his wife. "I think you embarrassed our charge a bit Martha." Ma gaves Pa a look that explains everything that she was thinking, and the phone rang.
"Who in the world could be calling us this early in the morning?" Ma walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Is this a Miss Martha Clark Kent?" The voice on the phone asks.
"Yes, this is she, how can I help you?" Pa got up from his chair and walks over to Ma, attempting to listen in on the conversation.
The voice over the phone speaks again, "You have a nephew by the name of Christian Clark, and a niece-in-law by the name of Tori, and they have a son, Kevin. Am I correct?"
Ma's face shifted to a deeply concerned state, "Yes, yes you are correct. Are they alright?"
"I'm afraid not Ms. Kent. Christian and Tori died yesterday in a boating accident." Ma gasped and began to weep. Pa was close enough to overhear and he clutched Ma's hand, his eyes tearing up.
"Is…" Ma started to say, but she choked up. A moment later she tried again, "Is Kevin alright?"
"He is fine. However, he has no living relatives aside from you, your husband, and your son. Being the only relatives living, we found it mandatory that you be called and asked if you would be willing to take care of him."
Chapter Two
The voice over the telephone got a little sterner. "Hello, Ms. Kent, are you there?" Ma had been quite for awhile, thinking of the request that had been placed before her. "Ms. Kent, hello?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, if you don't mind I'd like to talk this over with my husband for a moment."
"Take all the time you need Ms. Kent, I'll stay on hold."
"Thank you." Ma placed the receiver on the counter and slowly walked over to the table. "Poor Kevin, to lose his parents at such a young age." She cupped her hands over her eyes and began to weep. Pa sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder, not saying a word and letting her mourn. She did not stay quiet for long, she looked up at Pa and asked, "Jonathon, what are we going to do about him?"
"We're going to take him in of course! It's the right thing to do. Your brother, god rest his soul, would have taken care of Clark in a heartbeat if something happened to us while he was growing up. We're going to bring him here and make sure he finishes high school and goes to college. It's the least we can do for Christian and Tori."
"We haven't seen Kevin since he was six years old at the family reunion, that was ten years ago. What if he doesn't remember us?"
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't remember us, we have to be there for him." Ma wiped away her tears and sniffled as she placed a hand over Pa's. Ma picked up the receiver, took a deep breath and talked to the person on the other line again.
"I'm sorry for the delay."
"Not a problem Ms. Kent, have you come to a decision?"
"Yes…" Ma replied, "Yes, we want to bring Kevin home with us."
"The funeral for his parents is the day after tomorrow. Will you be attending?"
"Yes, of course we'll be there."
"Splendid. I will inform Kevin that he will be going home with you and your husband, he should be packed by then."
"Please, tell him that we should be there later tonight. Could you please give us his home address?"
"Certainly Ms. Kent." The voice on the telephone gave Ma the information she requested. "I apologize for your loss Ms. Kent, goodbye."
"Goodbye." Ma said before the phone rang dead. "We're flying out before the end of the evening Jonathon."
"Of course Martha… but what about Clark?" Martha gasped.
"Clark! I forgot… we should call him right now, he and Christian were so close." Martha dialed his number in Metropolis. "I hope he's home," several rings and she turned up with nothing, "that boy, saving the world at the worst possible time! I know! I'll call Lois at the planet." She dialed the planets number and got the receptionist, "Lois Lane please." Within moments someone answered on the other line.
"Lane here."
"Lois…"
"Martha?" Lois put the story she was working on down and focused on her Mother-in-law.
"Lois, where is Clark at?"
"Knowing my husband, he probably has his head stuck on the moon or something." Lois was careful with her wording.
"It's very important that I talk to him right now Lois, please find a way to get him here."
"Martha? Is everything okay?"
"We're fine dear, but no, everything is not fine. Please Lois, get him here." Ma hung up the phone and walked away. She was confident that Lois would find a way to get in touch with Clark, she had ways.
At the Planet Lois grew concerned, she had never heard Martha quite that tense since… since Clark "died". She had no way of contacting Clark on the moon, but she knew someone who did. Superman's "best pal" Jimmy Olsen. Lois walked away from her desk and looked for Jimmy. Luckily for him he was at his desk, working out some pictures on his computer. "Jimmy, fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah Lois… imagine the possibilities of me being at… my desk." Jimmy looked up and noticed that the usually cool reserved Lois looked rather tense. "Did you need something Lois?"
"Jimmy, I need to talk to Superman, right now."
"And I factor into this how?"
"You have the watch that only he can hear Jimmy, use it." The boy looked at Lois, the woman he probably respected more than any other woman in the world.
"Lois, I'm not really supposed to use it unless it's an emergency."
"Dammit Jimmy! This is an emergency!" Lois stared at him, she didn't mean to sound so rude, but it was important that she get in touch with Clark. "I can't tell you what it's about, but please, I need to talk to him." Jimmy looked at her for a little while before he finally relented.
"Alright, let's go to the roof and I'll call him."
"Thank you Jimmy."
Within five minuets Jimmy and Lois were on the roof of the Daily Planet. Jimmy placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a stopwatch. The watch was a gift from Superman, and it had a special feature on it, if Jimmy ever needed him all he would need to do is press the button on the top of the watch and a signal would emit from it, a signal that only Superman could hear. Jimmy pressed the button as he watched Lois pace up and down the roof. Whatever she needed to talk to Superman about it was obviously bothering her a lot. "Lois, I did what I can, now we just have to wait, and hope he can hear the signal."
"He just has to hear it Jimmy. He just has to…"
As it turned out Lois' first guess on where her husband was turned out to be correct. He was on the moon, on monitor duty with another member of the JLA. "You really don't mind me watching Springer on one of the monitors while you keep track off everything, do you Supes?" asked Plastic- Man.
"Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into these things." Superman retorted.
"Hey, I told you not to make that bet with Batman about who could get the higher score on Jeopardy. But you just HAD to try and show up Batsy, and now you get stuck on monitor duty with me!"
"Only he would know the capital of Assyria…"
"Right… Personally I wish that Wonder Woman would have made the bet with him… but I guess spending time with you is, ah who the hell am I kidding, WHY DON'T I EVER GET ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH WONDER WOMAN!"
"Probably because she doesn't like you."
"What's not to like? I'm cute, cuddly, funny, and great with kids!" Plas did not hear a response. "Don't tell me the world famous reporter is out of witty comebacks! Maybe I should take up your job at the Planet!" Superman was quiet because he could hear Jimmy's signal down on Earth.
"Plas, I gotta go!"
"HEY! You lost the bet, you have to stay with me on monitor duty!"
"I'll stay with you the next time, promise!" Superman replied as he flew out of the watchtower.
"Well… if you can't trust Superman who can you trust?" Plas gave a sigh, "I guess now I have to start paying attention to the world activities." Springer's voice came on the monitor that Plas was watching.
"Up next, midgets and the people who love them!"
"The world can wait, BRING ON THE MIDGETS!"
Lois was still pacing on the rooftop, wondering where he was. "Maybe you should try it again Jimmy." Jimmy looked at her and nodded, putting his finger over the button.
"That won't be necessary Miss Lane." Superman said, floating above them. "Jimmy, you look fine, why did you push the distress signal?"
"Ask your gal pal over there Superman, she wanted to talk to you bad." Jimmy watched as Superman gave a concerned look over at Lois. "I'm going to go back downstairs, have fun you two."
"Lois…"
"Clark, your mother called and told me that she needed to talk to you right now."
"Did she give a reason?"
"No, no she didn't, and that worries me."
"Thanks." Clark was about to fly away when Lois grabbed his cape.
"Hold up Smallville, I want to see what's up. After all, they're my family too!" Clark nodded and picked Lois up, and sped off towards his hometown.
"So she gave you no reason?" Clark asked while they were flying.
"No reason at all." Lois said. "But usually when she gives no reason it's not something good."
"I know." Clark landed in front of the Kent farm and placed Lois on the ground. They walked to the doorway, hand in hand, Ma and Pa waited for them in the kitchen. "Ma, Pa, I'm here." They walked into the kitchen and walked in to greet them. "Lois said you called."
"I knew you'd get him here Lois." Ma said as she hugged her son.
"Next time you see Jimmy Olsen you should thank him, it was through him that I was able to get Clark here."
"Please, tell me why you needed to talk to me right away."
"Son, your cousin Christian and his wife Tori were killed in a boating accident sometime yesterday." Pa said as he placed a shoulder on Clark's shoulder. "Someone called your mother a little while ago and told us that. They also told us that Kevin is still alive, and that we are his only living relatives."
"Christian… is dead?" An astonished Clark asked. Lois said nothing, she just gripped her husband's hand for emotional support.
"Yes Clark." Ma said as she wiped her eyes. "Plus, they asked us if we would take Kevin home with us, and of course we agreed. I'd hate for that poor boy to grow up without any family, it just isn't right."
"Of course not Ma, I'd never hear of it either." Clark said as he leaned on the table. "Do you want Kon to leave?"
"Of course not!" Pa said, "That boy needs some family too, we just took him in yesterday, to throw him out a day later would be preposterous!"
"I'm sure he would understand, and I think one teenager in this house is enough." Clark replied.
"Son, if the Kent farm can handle one teenager who is just coming to terms with being one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy I'm pretty sure it can handle another super-human who knows his limits and a grieving child." Lois chuckled at Pa's statement, she knew it was true. "Now I'll have no more talk of Kon leaving this house until he thinks he is ready, do you hear me!"
"Yes sir." Clark answered softly.
(Back to Kon's point of view, if only for a little bit)
I get out of the shower and walk into the room I'm staying in. I can hear Ma and Pa talking downstairs, but I'm far to involved with making my hair look perfect to pay further attention. As I rummage through the clothes that are in the dresser I laugh, so much flannel. You'd think that Clark would have taken the time to get some silk or leather, something else but flannel. Still, when in Kansas… and it's not like I can just be wearing my Superboy outfit around town, don't want to draw any attention to Ma and Pa's newest charge as a well known metahuman. With my hair finally perfected I get dressed and walk downstairs to see who else is down there. When I do get down there… I'm shocked to say the least. "Clark, Lois? I know I can be a handful sometimes but even I can't mess up bad enough to merit a visit when I've only been here less than a day. I mean, it's not like somebody died or anything right?" The four of them glance at each other, then back at me. "Was it something I said?"
Chapter Three
It is now official: Kon-El is the biggest jackass this side of New Genesis. I had no clue that Clark's cousin and his wife died yesterday, I had no clue that their son would come to live with Ma and Pa because they were the only people who were related and still alive aside from Clark. I knew nothing about the tragedy that had befallen this family in the last hour since they got "the phone call". I was so clueless and yet I went and made such a stupid comment. After I came down we migrated to the living room so they could tell me everything that happened. I feel awful for Ma, Pa, and Clark, Clark especially. I know how much it tears at any of us when someone we care about passes away. Some of us are among the most powerful on the planet and we can't save them, we did not have the power to save them. I felt like that when Tana died. For all our vaunted "power" we just can't stop the cycle of mortality, not even so called "immortals", like Hippolyta, can stop whatever is going to happen from happening. The death that we all experienced during the War last year hardened all of us, but you can never get used to death, especially when it is a death in the family. Clark was an emotional wreck when both of his parents were M.I.A., but they both turned out alive, thankfully. This Kevin, he lost both of his parents, he'll never see them again, and he's only a year younger than I "am", he barely got enough time to get to know them. I feel horrible, then it hits me, "I guess you want me to move out so you can take care of Kevin right?"
"Did that Cadimus that made you graph your brain off of Clarks'? It seems like both of you assume that we are going to kick you out." Pa said, somewhat annoyed.
"But I…" I attempt to explain.
"No lip from you! You'll stay in Clark's old room and Kevin will stay in the guest room."
"I just don't feel right imposing myself on you when you have a family crisis on your hands." Ma walks up and places he hand on my shoulder.
"We told you before Kon, you are family." Ma turns around and looks over at Clark, "We are going to take the next plane out and be with Kevin as soon as possible. The funeral is tomorrow, you'll be there right?"
"No." Lois interrupts, "we'll be there."
"Thank you Lois." Ma hugs her hard.
"Well, I guess we should get back to Metropolis and pack." Clark says as he walks outside and sweeps Lois up. "See you sometime soon." And with that, he flies away. I look out the window as I tell Ma and Pa,
"Well, looks like I'll get some farm training while you two are gone."
"You won't come with us?" Ma asks.
"No, I did not know either of them, and I shouldn't be there for something like that. Besides, the kid will have plenty of time to get to know me when he comes to live here." Pa grabs my wrist,
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"I'm sure." I turn around and glance at both of them. "You two should go pack, I'll milk the cow."
"Uh, Kon… we don't have a cow anymore." Ma tells me.
"Oh, well then what am I gonna do while you two are gone?"
"Ma, pack up for me please. I'll take Kon to the general store and show him how to work things. Odds are he'll be working there while he stays here with us, so the earlier we teach him the earlier he learns right?"
"You are right about that Pa," Ma answers, "I should be done by the time you get back."
"Come on Kon, let's get in the pickup truck and go to the store."
"You know Pa, I could just fly us over…" Pa looks at me, "shutting up now…" Pa smiles as he grabs the keys to the truck. And with that I'm off to go learn the ways of the Smallville General Store, imagine my "delight". God I hope that they have a television at that store with cable, I haven't watched me the cartoon network in so long…
(Not Kon's POV anymore.)
Clark landed on the balcony of the apartment and quickly changed into his civvies. Lois stayed on the balcony wondering about the anguish that her husband was possibly going through after hearing the news. Only one way to find out, "Hey Smallville, you okay?"
"He was like the big brother I never had Lois." Clark looked at a picture he took with his cousin ten years ago, the last time they saw each other. "He taught me how to play ball, taught me how to pick up girls, he taught me so much and now he's gone."
"That reminds me, why wasn't he at the wedding?"
"He had business to attend to in France that entire week. He hated the fact that he had to miss the wedding, but he couldn't really do anything about it." Clark sat down on the couch and sulked. Krypto walked in from the bedroom and sat in front of his master.
"Why was that dog in our room? What did he tear up this time?" Lois walked into the bedroom, but not before she shot a glare at the superdog.
"You didn't tear up anything did you boy?" Clark patted Krypto on the head and he wagged his tail. "No you didn't, because you're a good boy. Yes you are!" Krypto jumped on the couch and planted his head on Clark's lap. "Hey Lois, do you think that we should bring him with us? Maybe a dog will cheer the poor boy up a little."
"Right, that's all we need, the strongest dog in the world gnawing on and then destroying the caskets of your late cousin and cousin-in-law, right in front of your parents and second cousin."
"He wouldn't do that Lois, he got a lot better at self discipline while you were away spending quality time with your mother. As you well know, he didn't even destroy a thing while we were away."
"That might be true," Lois said as she walked back into the living room, "but the boy might be allergic to dogs, and we don't need him going through an allergy attack at his parents' funeral." Lois remained quite for a moment before adding, "They are painful enough by themselves."
"Lois…"
"Forget it Clark. Why is the dog on the couch? Krypto, down!" Krypto tilted his head as Lois pointed her finger at the ground.
"Come on boy, you should listen to your mother."
"Why do you insist on calling me his mother?"
"Because I'm his father, you're my wife, and that makes you his mother."
"I don't want to be considered a mother to this… this… DOG!" Lois waved her hand in front of her face. "I'm going to go pack." She stormed back into the room.
"She didn't mean it Krypto, she's probably just thinking about the pain of losing her own father. Let's go visit Ned for a couple of days, okay boy!" Krypto barked in approval and they both flew to the fortress.
The moment that they were both in the fortress they were greeted by the Super-Robot, Ned. "Greetings Kal-El, and Krypto too."
"Ned, I need you to watch Krypto while I go and attend to some family issues. I should be back to get him in two days."
"Affirmative, I will watch the dog while you attend to these issues Kal- El."
"Thanks Ned." Clark looked down at Krypto, "I'll be back as soon as possible okay boy? Give me a kiss bye-bye." Krypto licked his master with a sad look on his face. "Don't worry, after I come back, we'll play catch with some asteroids!" Clark flew out of the fortress leaving Ned and Krypto alone.
"What will I do to keep you entertained for two days?" By the time Ned finished his question Krpyto was dragging him around by the cape. "Well… there always was this."
Clark flew back into the bedroom and grabbed Lois by the waste. "You know you don't have to go if it's too painful for you."
"I know I don't have to, but I also know that I want to." Lois turned around and kissed her husband on the lips. "I think that it's important that your cousin have someone close to his age who has gone through this kind of loss. I might not have lost both my parents, but I still know what someone goes through whenever they lose a parent. And I'm just a tad bit more on par with the youth of today than your parents."
"I love you Lois Lane."
"And I love you, Clark Kent." The two embraced again. "Clark, you could do me a big favor by booking a plane for later today. I'll finish packing while you make the call."
"You know that getting a plane for later today is going to cost an arm and a leg, right?"
"And you know that the income pulled in by two award-winning journalists who work at one of the country's widest circulated paper can more than make up for it, right?" Clark turned his head. "Oh… I'm sorry Clark, I forgot…"
"No Lois, it's alright. I'll go make the call right now." Clark left the room.
"Lois Lane, you are the most insensitive wife that any planet in the galaxy has ever seen!"
"No you aren't!" Clark yelled from the living room. Lois smiled and thought to herself,
"Hey, it could be worse, you could have been married to the Martian Manhunter. Unless he's impersonating Clark again…" Lois dug through her pocket and pulled out a pack of matches. "Let's test that theory out shall we?" She walked to the living room and struck the match against the striker, lighting it. Ever so coyly she walked up behind Clark and placed the fire in contact with his skin, nothing happened.
"Why did you do that Lois?"
"Just testing something…" Lois walked back into the bedroom.
Chapter Four
Ma and Pa sat in the lobby of the airport that they landed at. "We got lucky that they booked a flight that landed twenty minutes after ours." Pa said as he picked up their luggage from the baggage carousel.
"Yes, but even if the plane was late it wouldn't really matter to someone who's faster than a you know what." Ma took some of the luggage off Pa's hands and walked to a seat. "Do you think Kon will be fine running the store all by himself? He never really got some time to see how either of us ran it."
"Don't worry Martha, I gave him a run down of how things work. Besides, he's a bright boy, he should pick up what needs to be done with little problem."
"Still, I should call him and tell him just not to open the store tomorrow." Pa placed his hand over hers and shook his head.
"If we coddle the boy too much he'll never learn how to be independent, better to teach him stuff like that now, even if he's never ran the store before. Think of it like the sink or swim test that we gave Clark when he was little."
"But Jonathon, Clark sank when we gave him that test."
"In order for someone to succeed at something they have to fail at least once. Trust the boy Martha, I do." Pa winked at her.
"You're right, he'll do fine. Do you want to go get some coffee while we wait for them?"
"I'd like that." Pa said as he got up and then helped Ma up. "Let's just hope that they have regular coffee, none of that confounded new flavor stuff you see plastered all over the television these days." Pa saw that the coffee house was a Starbucks and let out a heavy sigh.
"Well Pa, at least we get to try out something new, right?"
"I guess."
By the time that Ma and Pa had purchased their coffee and gotten back to their seats they did not have to wait long for Clark and Lois. In fact they found Ma and Pa, not the other way around.
"You know you didn't have to wait for us if you didn't want to." Clark said as they walked out of the airport.
"Nonsense Clark, why bother with renting two cabs if we can all pile into one for half the cost." Ma replied.
"Just make sure our resident Man of Steel sits in the front seat." Lois added with a giggle.
"You have directions, right Pa?" Pa handed Clark a piece of paper.
"Tell the cabbie the directions on the paper son, those are the directions that we were given to the house." Pa looked around, noticing that Ma and Lois were gone. "Um… where are our wives?"
"Flagging down a cab, Pa."
"Ah. Looks like they got one, come on boy, the sooner we get there the better."
"Yes sir."
The ride to the house went smoothly. Kevin's house wasn't far from the airport, and the cab driver was not the type that would run the meter with meaningless side-trips. Clark paid the cabbie and unloaded the luggage from the trunk. Ma took a few steps towards the house before she stopped, "Well, it looks like that someone is in the living room."
"Only one way to find out…" Lois said as she walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.
"I've finally realized why you have to save that girl from so many problems Clark," Ma said, astonished, "she just walks into everything head on." Someone opened the door.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Lois looked at the person who answered the door. He was a head taller than her and had sandy blonde hair with pale green eyes. "Wait a minute… you're… you're…"
"Lois Lane-Kent. Are you Kevin?" The boy nodded, flabbergasted at the fact that the world famous reporter was standing in her doorway. Kevin looked behind her and saw his family standing there.
"Uncle Jon! Aunt Martha!" Kevin ran over and hugged them both.
"Oh Kevin, I'm so sorry about everything that happened." Ma said as she hugged Kevin.
"We're here now Kevin, we're here to take you home with us after the funeral tomorrow."
"I know Uncle Jon, I know." Kevin smiled as he looked at Clark. "Ditched the jock-boy look since the last time I saw you, didn't you Clark?"
"And you've gotten your two front teeth back, plus grown a couple of feet."
"Yeah well, puberty brings a lot of unexpected changes."
"You don't have to tell me twice Kevin…" Clark smiled as he hugged his cousin, "So, I see you've met my wife?"
"I knew you married her, but I never thought I would meet Lois Lane… it's so cool." Lois walked down the steps and offered her hand,
"Sorry we had to meet under such… morbid conditions Kevin, but it's a pleasure."
"Oh believe me Miss Lane, the pleasure is mine."
"Miss Lane? Kevin, you are my husbands cousin, you can call me Lois. I insist that you call me Lois."
"Alright… Lois." Kevin gave a low gasp. "Oh, how rude of me, please, come in, come in."
Kevin spent the remainder of the night telling his family about what had happened, it was obvious he hadn't talked to anyone about it since it occurred and he broke down a couple of times. The house was almost completely bare, everything was being shipped to Smallville except for the stuff that Kevin insisted on taking with him without waiting for the U-haul to trek across the country along with the bed ware that would be used by Ma, Pa, Clark, and Lois in the guest rooms. By the time Kevin finished his story it was late and he wanted to turn in for tomorrow would be the hardest day that he would probably ever have to go through. Clark paced around in the room that he and Lois were staying in for the night. "Lois, do you think I should tell him?"
"Tell who what?"
"Kevin, and tell him the secret…"
"Oh…" Lois put down her laptop, "Why do you want to tell him that you're Superman?"
"Because he looked so sad when he was telling us about the accident…"
"Clark, anyone who loses both of their parents on the same day would look like that, especially someone as young as Kevin."
"I know that, but this is the kind of thing that could change his entire outlook on life, and it probably wouldn't be for the better."
"Oh Clark, always the hero."
"It's what I do best."
"I know that… but Clark Kent could do a lot more for his cousin than Superman could."
"What makes you think that?"
"He doesn't know that you have the powers of a demi-god Clark. If you tell him that you are the most powerful person on the planet right now he'll always lean on you for support. Under the guise of a mere mortal former journalist you can teach him more about humanity. The choice, as always, is yours to make, and I'll respect the choice no matter what…"
"But you're right Lois, I shouldn't tell him, not yet. I just don't know what he's going through and would do anything to help him through it."
"You could introduce him to Bruce." Clark smirked at the idea.
"I want to help him, not crush his psyche. Bruce is a great guy but he's a little too… dark for someone Kevin's age."
"How about Plastic-Man, it wouldn't seem odd, being a former reporter."
"If I introduced him to Plas it would have to be at our house."
"Never mind then…" Clark kissed his wife on the forehead.
"I knew you'd see it my way. Good night Lois."
"Good night Clark."
Chapter Five
The funeral service was held early the next morning in the local parlor. Very few attended since both were rather isolated and had few friends and little family aside from those that were there. The Priest talked about how it was a horrible tragedy that they were taken from the world at such a young age and left their only child alone in the very same world. He attempted to assure Kevin that his parents were going to be with the angels because they were very nice people and God loved all of his children. Although the service was held with both bodies in a closed casket due to the extensive damage that was a product of the crash Kevin spent a lot of the time after with a hand placed on each. The Priest came up from behind and gently said "I hope that I helped bring you closure my son."
"Oh yeah, my lack of faith in God has pretty much been sealed by everything you've said. Thanks Father." Kevin walked out of the room.
"Forgive the boy Father, he is grieving." Ma requested. Clark started to walk out,
"Maybe I should go talk to him." Lois grabbed his arm.
"No, let me." Clark nodded. Lois slowly walked over to the hallway where Kevin was looking out one of the stained glass windows. "Quite a stir you made in there with your comment to the Priest kid."
"Leave me alone Lois, please."
"No, I won't leave you alone Kevin, because I know for a fact that right now the last thing you need is to be alone."
"What would you know about anything that I'm going through right now?"
"I might not know exactly what you are going through kid. I still have my mother, but I don't have my father." Lois clutched her hand tight.
"Lois… I didn't know."
"You're right, you didn't know, because I don't like to just tell everyone that I'm still coping with the loss of my father. Me, Lois Lane, the tough as nails gal reporter can't afford to show any weakness that would damage my image. No one, not even Clark, knows that there are times when I can't sleep because I just want my daddy to hold me and tell me that I'm important to him. We never got along Kevin, but we loved each other and appreciated the time that we spent together because we knew that we were sharing quality time together. My pain has been a private hell because I made it my own private hell, thinking that no one would know what I went through, just like you. So I'm telling you right now Kevin, that if you ever need someone to talk to, a shoulder to lean on, I'll be there. It'll be hard at first, but time heals all wounds… even ones as bad as this."
"Are you done yet?"
"Yes, I'm done." Kevin walked away, leaving Lois alone. "Just like I knew you'd react." Clark walked in, "That was quite some speech you gave him Lois."
"He needed to hear it. Right now he's acting like he doesn't care about a word that I said, but deep down I know that he's thinking about every single word I told him and taking comfort in knowing that he'll have someone if he needs someone."
"Do you really go sleepless because of your father's death?"
"No, but I thought I would toss that in for added effect." Lois was lying, she knew it, but there was no reason Clark should know.
After the burial at the cemetery everyone returned to Kevin's home to gather all the belongings that he would take with him on the plane back to Smallville. Within minutes they had piled the luggage into their taxis and were ready to go. "Hold on for a second please, I have to do something." Kevin asked before they left. He walked back into the house and stood in the hallway for a second, saying only one word, "Goodbye." He walked back out, visibly shaken, but everyone gave him the space that they felt he needed. "Okay, now I'm ready." The party piled into their respective taxis and ventured to the airport again. The ride was met with complete silence, and their planes were close to being boarded, which left little time for goodbyes.
"We'll call you once we get back to Metropolis." Clark said as he and Lois got ready to board their plane. "Maybe you'll come for a visit soon Kevin, see how life goes on in the city of tomorrow."
"I'd like that Clark, maybe sometime soon?"
"Just ask, I'm sure we'll be able to arrange something."
"Remember," Lois started to say, "If you need anything at all you just have to call." Kevin remained quiet and stared at the ground, still putting on what Lois was certain was a show. Clark and Lois hugged Ma and Pa and quickly walked through the gates.
"Well, we should probably go to our gate now." Pa looked at Kevin, who looked back at him. "You've got your carry-on bag ready with all the stuff that you wanted right?"
"Yeah Uncle Jon, I've got everything I need to keep me busy on the plane."
"We'll be there before you know it Kevin, the plane ride home is just a little over two hours." Ma said as she hurried Kevin alone the walkway.
"Aunt Martha, do you think I'll like living in Smallville… it sounds rather… small."
"Well it isn't as big as Metropolis or Gotham, but the President likes the town, so you might like it."
"I hope so."
"Well you won't know until you get there, and if we don't board that plane right now we won't get there for awhile!" Pa said with a laugh. "Come on, let's go home."
"Right… home…" Kevin muttered as he walked on the plane.
Chapter Six
The plane ride to Smallville went smoothly, Kevin spent most of his time reading a novel while occasionally engaging in conversation with Ma and Pa. Many questions ran through the young man's head. Questions about how he would like living with his Uncle and Aunt, about how he would like school there, if the people would like and accept him, about how he would be able to live life without his parents. He remembered what Lois told him about time healing all wounds, and he knew that if she thought so, it must be true. As soon as the luggage was gathered they walked to the car. "You own a pickup truck?" Kevin asked as he placed his belongings into the back of the car.
"You were expecting the newest Toyota?" Pa asked. "Boy, here in Smallville we keep our cars till they can't run, and only then do we buy some newer, shinier, commercial vehicle."
"We've had this since before Clark was born, so you might be able to go shopping with us." Ma said as she smiled.
"Nonsense Martha, the tank has at least ten years left in her." Pa started the truck and it sputtered a bit. "At least I hope she does…"
"Is it… safe to ride in that?" Kevin wondered with a hint of fear in his voice.
"It might not sound like the most fit of vehicles, but it gets us where we want to go. Now into the truck with you." Ma answered.
The journey back to the Kent farm was more or less a tour of Smallville for Kevin. Ma and Pa showed him the General Store, which had already closed, the high school that he would be going to soon, the town hall, and several other "landmarks" that the town had. Kevin tried to look excited but every time he saw something he couldn't help but think about how hickish the entire town seemed. Dusk had fallen as Pa drove the tank up the dirt driveway to the farm. "You live on a farm?" Kevin asked as soon as the house came into view.
"Yep, my pa bought this land when I was running around in diapers, and when I go it'll go to Clark."
"I wonder if Kon's home." Ma said.
"Um… who's Kon?" Kevin asked, perplexed.
(Back to Kon's POV)
I can see the truck down the driveway as I sit on the porch enjoying a glass of sun tea. Look at me, two days in Smallville and I'm already practicing the hillbilly arts of sun tea on the porch at dusk. I wave as soon as they can see me and I notice the kid on the passengers side. I wonder if they told him anything about me yet, I hope we can get along, if not I'm sure I can smack some sense into him. Alright… I won't smack him that hard, if at all, but I'm not about to let some regular teenager show me up! I put my tea down and walk over to help them with the luggage, which looks pretty loaded. God I hope this kid has some video games on him, I'm beginning to go through withdraw.
"Evening Kon." Pa says as he gets out of the truck. "Were you waiting for us?"
"No sir, I was just enjoying some tea and the sunset. You don't see it that often in Metropolis."
"Did you have a hard time running the store today?" Ma asks as she gets out on Pa's side, the kid is still sitting where he was when I first saw him.
"Nope, it wasn't that hard at all. I met a lot of your friends and told them that they'll probably be seeing me around the store."
"Well that's great." Ma replies as she closes the door. "Kon, I'd like you to meet Kevin." I walk over and shake his hand. "Hey Kevin, nice to meet you."
"Kon?" Kevin asks as he looks at Ma and Pa, "Is that short for something?" He turns to me.
"Kon…er… Conner, Conner Kent." Riiiiiiiiiiiiight, good one their Kon, pulled that out of your ass.
"So you're related to them too? How?" This Kevin kid is one nosy person.
"I'm Pa's oldest brother's youngest grandson." Hell that explanation just confused me, and I made it up. "Here, let me help you bring your stuff to your room." I could take all his luggage if I wanted too, but it's a tad bit to early in the introduction process to show off. I walk into the house and up the stairs, stopping at the guest room. "This will be your room. Mines right across the hall and theirs is the one at the very end of the hall. There is a bathroom two doors down, right next to the master bedroom and another one downstairs."
"So, what's your story Conner?"
"Please, just Kon, and what do you mean "my story"?"
"Why are you here, don't you have any family aside from them?"
"No, everyone other than Ma and Pa were killed during the war… the attack that struck Topeka." I absolutely hate using the name of the people who lost their life in Topeka in vain like that, but if the kid insists on asking me questions about my personal life I have to give him answers that sound true. Not that he should care where I came from or why I'm here, but I'll be nice to him for now, because he's adjusting to everything and it must be hard. "We've got a lot in common Kevin, I'd like for us to be friends, after all, we're actually cousins by marriage."
"Another family member that I need to get to know, I hope we can be friends too." Kevin flashes a smile at me, the first time I've seen him look happy. Granted, I've only known him for five minutes… but anything is an improvement over that dismayed face that he had when I first met him. "So, you used to live in Metropolis?"
"Yeah, the glitz and glamour of the city of tomorrow, it was great."
"And now you're stuck in Smallville."
"Correction, we're stuck in Smallville." Both of us laugh a little.
"Maybe together we can manage to stay one step cooler than these hicks."
"Yeah, just do me one favor okay?"
"What's that?" Kevin asks.
"Don't ask me to give up flannel, it's grown on me in the two days I've lived here."
"Flannel? Only in Kansas…" Kevin looks at me and winks, "but if you start liking country I will do everything within my power to get you to stop."
"Country? Me? Please."
"Don't be so sure that you can resist the demon vice." Point for him, that country can get into your mind and take over any semblance of taste in music. "We should go get the rest of my stuff before it gets too dark."
"Yeah… we should." As we walk downstairs Ma stops us.
"Tomorrow we'll get you boys registered at the high school." Boys… plural… wait a minute…
"But Ma…"
"No Kon, you are going to school too, and that's final." I guess it makes some sense, I look like I'm 16 years old and it wouldn't give them a good image to be taking care of someone who would appear to be a high school drop out. Besides, I didn't try too hard the first time when 'ex was tutoring me, and I'm sure that even the girls in Kansas must be somewhat good looking. I guess I'll have too…
"Why did you think that you could get out of going to high school?" Kevin asks.
"I dunno… wishful thinking, very wishful thinking." Well, maybe living in the middle of nowhere won't be so sad. I've got another person my age to talk too, two great people who can help me whenever I have a problem, and I guess I could make a lot of new friends at school… I guess.
"Well I'm going to turn on the radio." Pa says… and of course, it's country. Maybe I could have Tim steal me a descrambler from the Batcave and place it on the radio tower…
I hope you enjoyed this story, please review.
Chapter One
I couldn't sleep a wink during my first night at the Kent farm in Smallville Kansas. I've stayed here on several occasions and never had that problem, but it seemed as though the rooster they owned was intent on making sure that I would get no sleep during my first night of lodging in the foreseeable future. Several times during the night I'd quietly mutter obscenities at Superman, cursing him for the idea of staying here instead of still being near the glitz and glamour of Metropolis. Deep down, however, I knew that Clark thought this was for the best, and Clark was basically my father figure/big brother rolled into one. Besides, who tells Superman no? Well… okay there was always Batman, but the Dark Knight had always had a severe complex of having the worlds largest stick stuck as high up his ass as the intestines would permit, and he was also the exception to many other rules. Who else but Batman would devise ways to kill his TEAMMATES? "Friend" was far too strong a word to use when in regards to Batman, even when comparing anyone in his immediate "bat- family". To him all but himself were inferiors, to order around like common slaves. It was something that the Joker would probably do for sure, but not a person as… respected… yes respected, for all his brass there was not a single hero on Earth that did not respect the Batman. Sometimes I'd ponder why the two were at odds over so much, they seemed more alike than anything else. Well… once you got rid of the fact that one of them was a psychopathic killer, the other is just… psycho. Of course, I would never say these things aloud, I'd heard Clark's story about that chunk of Red Kryptonite… Batman's one person that I don't want to talk to when he is having a bad day. I've come to the conclusion that if it were between fighting Darkseid one-on-one or getting reamed by Batman it would be Darkseid ho for this meta. Stupid cowl. Gee Kon, you've started mindless babble already, this might be Kansas but you'd think that retaining a somewhat passable IQ would be possible. The rooster does his cock-a-doodle- doo thing again, I'm sure Clark knows what the technical term is called. You know the old saying, you can take the hick outta the country but you can't take the country outta the hick. Dammit Kon, focus on something other than the fact that you've pretty much gotten stuck in the boonies! What's next? Gonna go on a spending spree of country CD's? Do they even have CD's in Kansas? Stupid bird… I would kill it except Jon and Martha probably wouldn't be happy if I killed their rooster, even if he deserves it. I open the window and yell at the rooster, "Alright, I'm up! Are you happy now?" If I didn't know better I could swear that my super-hearing picked up the sound of that damned fowl laughing, assuming they can laugh.
"Oh, you're up Kon?" I jump a bit at the voice from behind me, who says super-hearing is all it's cracked up to be? I turn around and see Martha smiling at me.
"Yeah, morning."
"I hope you slept well."
I yawn and rub my eyes before I reply. "Yeah, I slept fine." A lie of course, but I don't want to hurt the poor lady's feelings, after all, I AM a guest. I'm sure Tim would just kill to see me right now, being courteous. Our resident Boy Wonder seems to believe that I'm only capable of being a pompous ass all the time. The thought alone makes me smile, I just hope Martha doesn't pick up. She doesn't, she just closes her eyes and begins to walk away.
"Breakfast is almost ready Kon." I can hear her walk down the stairs and I walk over to the vanity. I'm staying in Clark's room, of course, and I'm also wearing his sleeping attire. The first thing I look at is, of course, my face. I shaved the 'tee off last night, my latest stage of wanting to look more mature passed by after I realized I was mature enough to inspire a former villain to save people in a burning building. Besides, it would take your average 16 year old plenty of time to grow a fashionable 'tee, and since I'm stuck this way for a long time… it would probably take even longer. Even then my fights along with the rest of Young Justice usually cause my hairs to get fried, why even bother anymore. My hair looks awful… damn that bird, making me toss and turn. Whatever, Martha said that breakfast was almost done, and I am pretty hungry. I walk downstairs in Superman's clothes, that he wore when he was my age, in the house that Superman lived in at my age and I can't help but wonder; Since I'm basically a clone of him does that mean I look like he did when he was 16? I chuckle, Superman lite might be causing a Déjà vu for his parents. I should ask them to see some pictures of Clark when he was a teenager, we don't look that much alike right now, same hair color, eyes, but a persons look can drastically change in 12 years (Authors Note: ASSUMING that Clark is 28… might be older, might be younger, don't shoot me!). I can smell the bacon and eggs as I close in on the kitchen. There are few pleasures that a person really has, a home cooked meal from mom is at the top of my list, but since I don't have a mom, Martha will fill in fine. Jon is reading the planet, don't see why, Perry fired Clark a couple of days back, been all over the Metropolis news, he's probably still buying the paper because he and Perry go way back and the fact that Lois still works there. He doesn't even look up from the paper, but he knows I'm there.
"Morning Clark." He says, startling me.
"Uh, I'm not Clark, Jon."
"Don't play those games with me Clark, and you know better than to call me "Jon"." He starts to raise his voice as I turn over to Martha, who is looking at him and biting her lip.
"Jonathan, Clark dropped off Kon here yesterday, don't you remember?" He finally tears himself away from the paper and gives her a "In this as well are you?" look, then he looks at me and I can see by the movement of his face that he realizes that he was wrong.
"Oh, sorry Kon, you just looked so much like Clark in that outfit, I got confused." He turns and looks at Martha, "Doesn't he look like Clark when Clark was a young whippersnapper?" Whippersnapper? Mental note: I've found the one thing worse than a lecture from the big black bat, common language used in Kansas. Martha nods and smiles as she turns back to the frying pan.
"Don't worry about it Jon, I'm sure a lot of people would have made the same mistake if they let the clone of their son stay in their house." Jon smiles at me as I continue yawning.
"Listen Kon, you've stayed with us before, and we really do consider you to be another son that we never had. Please, call us Ma and Pa." I try to keep the shock off my face, but it's hard. They really consider me to be like another so to them? I've never really been part of a family before… it feels good.
"Thanks Jon… err, Pa." I say with a smile. I will not cry, I will NOT cry, but a tear does manage to trickle down my cheek, they don't see it… I hope. Ma is working hard over the stove and she puts an omelet on the plate beside her, already adorned with slices of bacon and some potatoes. The wonders of a housewife never cease to amaze me. She turns around again and walks with a glass of milk in one hand, the plate in the other.
"I hope I made the omelet the way you like it Kon." She places the plate on the table and walks over to the counter, pulling out some oatmeal. Pa again turns his attention away from the Planet and looks at my plate, salivating.
"Aren't you going to have some breakfast Pa?" I ask, engulfing a piece of the omelet, cheese dripping from the side of my mouth.
"I'm making him his breakfast right now." Ma puts the oatmeal in the pot of boiling water that I noticed out of the corner of my eye when I walked in. Pa grimaces at the sound of the oatmeal hitting the water.
"The old heart can't take the finer things in life these days Kon, I can't eat the good stuff anymore."
"Oh." I reply. How stupid could I possibly be? I should have known the heart attack that he had a little after Clark "died" would have affected him like that. Stupid Kon, keep it up and you won't make Clark proud. "Sorry Pa, I forgot." He smiles and rustles up my hair, messing it up even more than before. Mental note: after breakfast, shower, with lots of conditioner.
"Don't worry about it son, it isn't important, but if I want to see Clark and Lois give me some grandbabies I gotta watch what I eat, right?" I nod, secretly thinking in the back of my mind how Lois would act if she was preggers, she has enough mood swings on a normal day. Right after I think about that the next thought is the things that Lois would be doing to Clark during labor. The man can crush a ton of explosives in his hands and not feel a thing but Lois during labor pains might just take the "super" out of the man. I can't help myself, I start laughing hysterically. "What's so funny Kon?" Pa wonders, confused as hell. After a couple of attempts I finally manage to swallow my laughter enough to reply.
"Oh, I was thinking about what Lois would be like during the pregnancy, and then how she would act during labor." Pa's face goes blank, obviously he's thinking about it too. Ma is already letting out low chuckles, and by the time I shift back to Pa he's laughing too. It feels good to see them laughing, maybe I will make Clark proud, just maybe I will. Ma puts the oatmeal in a bowl and places it in front of Pa. She sits down and begins to enjoy a cup of tea. "Ma, aren't you going to eat some breakfast?"
"I've already had my breakfast Kon. I enjoy eating my breakfast on the patio watching the sun rise over the hills."
"You get up that early Ma?" I ask, awestruck, she just winks at me.
"I don't get up that early Kon, but you aren't the only one that our rooster enjoys waking up unexpectedly."
"So you knew that I didn't get a good rest?"
"Yes, and I also know that amid all the complaints you made to Clark while you were tossing and turning that you are indeed in the right place." I blush. Damn this gal is good, no wonder Clark said that lying to her was harder than fighting a horde of white Martians. I decide that I don't really want to get into a deeper conversation on the things I said last night, so I scarf down the rest of my breakfast. Next time I pay a visit to my birthing parents over at Cadamus I'll have to thank them for the super- speed they gave me.
"Thanks for breakfast Ma, I'm going to go take a shower now." I place my dishes in the sink and run up the stairs to the bathroom. (Not from Kon's point for a bit, you know how comics are, just because someone is the star of the story doesn't mean the entire story has to revolve around him, get used to it because sometimes he won't be in for awhile.)
Pa's eyes peer from the tip of the paper across the table to his wife. "I think you embarrassed our charge a bit Martha." Ma gaves Pa a look that explains everything that she was thinking, and the phone rang.
"Who in the world could be calling us this early in the morning?" Ma walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Is this a Miss Martha Clark Kent?" The voice on the phone asks.
"Yes, this is she, how can I help you?" Pa got up from his chair and walks over to Ma, attempting to listen in on the conversation.
The voice over the phone speaks again, "You have a nephew by the name of Christian Clark, and a niece-in-law by the name of Tori, and they have a son, Kevin. Am I correct?"
Ma's face shifted to a deeply concerned state, "Yes, yes you are correct. Are they alright?"
"I'm afraid not Ms. Kent. Christian and Tori died yesterday in a boating accident." Ma gasped and began to weep. Pa was close enough to overhear and he clutched Ma's hand, his eyes tearing up.
"Is…" Ma started to say, but she choked up. A moment later she tried again, "Is Kevin alright?"
"He is fine. However, he has no living relatives aside from you, your husband, and your son. Being the only relatives living, we found it mandatory that you be called and asked if you would be willing to take care of him."
Chapter Two
The voice over the telephone got a little sterner. "Hello, Ms. Kent, are you there?" Ma had been quite for awhile, thinking of the request that had been placed before her. "Ms. Kent, hello?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, if you don't mind I'd like to talk this over with my husband for a moment."
"Take all the time you need Ms. Kent, I'll stay on hold."
"Thank you." Ma placed the receiver on the counter and slowly walked over to the table. "Poor Kevin, to lose his parents at such a young age." She cupped her hands over her eyes and began to weep. Pa sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder, not saying a word and letting her mourn. She did not stay quiet for long, she looked up at Pa and asked, "Jonathon, what are we going to do about him?"
"We're going to take him in of course! It's the right thing to do. Your brother, god rest his soul, would have taken care of Clark in a heartbeat if something happened to us while he was growing up. We're going to bring him here and make sure he finishes high school and goes to college. It's the least we can do for Christian and Tori."
"We haven't seen Kevin since he was six years old at the family reunion, that was ten years ago. What if he doesn't remember us?"
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't remember us, we have to be there for him." Ma wiped away her tears and sniffled as she placed a hand over Pa's. Ma picked up the receiver, took a deep breath and talked to the person on the other line again.
"I'm sorry for the delay."
"Not a problem Ms. Kent, have you come to a decision?"
"Yes…" Ma replied, "Yes, we want to bring Kevin home with us."
"The funeral for his parents is the day after tomorrow. Will you be attending?"
"Yes, of course we'll be there."
"Splendid. I will inform Kevin that he will be going home with you and your husband, he should be packed by then."
"Please, tell him that we should be there later tonight. Could you please give us his home address?"
"Certainly Ms. Kent." The voice on the telephone gave Ma the information she requested. "I apologize for your loss Ms. Kent, goodbye."
"Goodbye." Ma said before the phone rang dead. "We're flying out before the end of the evening Jonathon."
"Of course Martha… but what about Clark?" Martha gasped.
"Clark! I forgot… we should call him right now, he and Christian were so close." Martha dialed his number in Metropolis. "I hope he's home," several rings and she turned up with nothing, "that boy, saving the world at the worst possible time! I know! I'll call Lois at the planet." She dialed the planets number and got the receptionist, "Lois Lane please." Within moments someone answered on the other line.
"Lane here."
"Lois…"
"Martha?" Lois put the story she was working on down and focused on her Mother-in-law.
"Lois, where is Clark at?"
"Knowing my husband, he probably has his head stuck on the moon or something." Lois was careful with her wording.
"It's very important that I talk to him right now Lois, please find a way to get him here."
"Martha? Is everything okay?"
"We're fine dear, but no, everything is not fine. Please Lois, get him here." Ma hung up the phone and walked away. She was confident that Lois would find a way to get in touch with Clark, she had ways.
At the Planet Lois grew concerned, she had never heard Martha quite that tense since… since Clark "died". She had no way of contacting Clark on the moon, but she knew someone who did. Superman's "best pal" Jimmy Olsen. Lois walked away from her desk and looked for Jimmy. Luckily for him he was at his desk, working out some pictures on his computer. "Jimmy, fancy meeting you here."
"Yeah Lois… imagine the possibilities of me being at… my desk." Jimmy looked up and noticed that the usually cool reserved Lois looked rather tense. "Did you need something Lois?"
"Jimmy, I need to talk to Superman, right now."
"And I factor into this how?"
"You have the watch that only he can hear Jimmy, use it." The boy looked at Lois, the woman he probably respected more than any other woman in the world.
"Lois, I'm not really supposed to use it unless it's an emergency."
"Dammit Jimmy! This is an emergency!" Lois stared at him, she didn't mean to sound so rude, but it was important that she get in touch with Clark. "I can't tell you what it's about, but please, I need to talk to him." Jimmy looked at her for a little while before he finally relented.
"Alright, let's go to the roof and I'll call him."
"Thank you Jimmy."
Within five minuets Jimmy and Lois were on the roof of the Daily Planet. Jimmy placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a stopwatch. The watch was a gift from Superman, and it had a special feature on it, if Jimmy ever needed him all he would need to do is press the button on the top of the watch and a signal would emit from it, a signal that only Superman could hear. Jimmy pressed the button as he watched Lois pace up and down the roof. Whatever she needed to talk to Superman about it was obviously bothering her a lot. "Lois, I did what I can, now we just have to wait, and hope he can hear the signal."
"He just has to hear it Jimmy. He just has to…"
As it turned out Lois' first guess on where her husband was turned out to be correct. He was on the moon, on monitor duty with another member of the JLA. "You really don't mind me watching Springer on one of the monitors while you keep track off everything, do you Supes?" asked Plastic- Man.
"Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into these things." Superman retorted.
"Hey, I told you not to make that bet with Batman about who could get the higher score on Jeopardy. But you just HAD to try and show up Batsy, and now you get stuck on monitor duty with me!"
"Only he would know the capital of Assyria…"
"Right… Personally I wish that Wonder Woman would have made the bet with him… but I guess spending time with you is, ah who the hell am I kidding, WHY DON'T I EVER GET ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH WONDER WOMAN!"
"Probably because she doesn't like you."
"What's not to like? I'm cute, cuddly, funny, and great with kids!" Plas did not hear a response. "Don't tell me the world famous reporter is out of witty comebacks! Maybe I should take up your job at the Planet!" Superman was quiet because he could hear Jimmy's signal down on Earth.
"Plas, I gotta go!"
"HEY! You lost the bet, you have to stay with me on monitor duty!"
"I'll stay with you the next time, promise!" Superman replied as he flew out of the watchtower.
"Well… if you can't trust Superman who can you trust?" Plas gave a sigh, "I guess now I have to start paying attention to the world activities." Springer's voice came on the monitor that Plas was watching.
"Up next, midgets and the people who love them!"
"The world can wait, BRING ON THE MIDGETS!"
Lois was still pacing on the rooftop, wondering where he was. "Maybe you should try it again Jimmy." Jimmy looked at her and nodded, putting his finger over the button.
"That won't be necessary Miss Lane." Superman said, floating above them. "Jimmy, you look fine, why did you push the distress signal?"
"Ask your gal pal over there Superman, she wanted to talk to you bad." Jimmy watched as Superman gave a concerned look over at Lois. "I'm going to go back downstairs, have fun you two."
"Lois…"
"Clark, your mother called and told me that she needed to talk to you right now."
"Did she give a reason?"
"No, no she didn't, and that worries me."
"Thanks." Clark was about to fly away when Lois grabbed his cape.
"Hold up Smallville, I want to see what's up. After all, they're my family too!" Clark nodded and picked Lois up, and sped off towards his hometown.
"So she gave you no reason?" Clark asked while they were flying.
"No reason at all." Lois said. "But usually when she gives no reason it's not something good."
"I know." Clark landed in front of the Kent farm and placed Lois on the ground. They walked to the doorway, hand in hand, Ma and Pa waited for them in the kitchen. "Ma, Pa, I'm here." They walked into the kitchen and walked in to greet them. "Lois said you called."
"I knew you'd get him here Lois." Ma said as she hugged her son.
"Next time you see Jimmy Olsen you should thank him, it was through him that I was able to get Clark here."
"Please, tell me why you needed to talk to me right away."
"Son, your cousin Christian and his wife Tori were killed in a boating accident sometime yesterday." Pa said as he placed a shoulder on Clark's shoulder. "Someone called your mother a little while ago and told us that. They also told us that Kevin is still alive, and that we are his only living relatives."
"Christian… is dead?" An astonished Clark asked. Lois said nothing, she just gripped her husband's hand for emotional support.
"Yes Clark." Ma said as she wiped her eyes. "Plus, they asked us if we would take Kevin home with us, and of course we agreed. I'd hate for that poor boy to grow up without any family, it just isn't right."
"Of course not Ma, I'd never hear of it either." Clark said as he leaned on the table. "Do you want Kon to leave?"
"Of course not!" Pa said, "That boy needs some family too, we just took him in yesterday, to throw him out a day later would be preposterous!"
"I'm sure he would understand, and I think one teenager in this house is enough." Clark replied.
"Son, if the Kent farm can handle one teenager who is just coming to terms with being one of the most powerful beings in the galaxy I'm pretty sure it can handle another super-human who knows his limits and a grieving child." Lois chuckled at Pa's statement, she knew it was true. "Now I'll have no more talk of Kon leaving this house until he thinks he is ready, do you hear me!"
"Yes sir." Clark answered softly.
(Back to Kon's point of view, if only for a little bit)
I get out of the shower and walk into the room I'm staying in. I can hear Ma and Pa talking downstairs, but I'm far to involved with making my hair look perfect to pay further attention. As I rummage through the clothes that are in the dresser I laugh, so much flannel. You'd think that Clark would have taken the time to get some silk or leather, something else but flannel. Still, when in Kansas… and it's not like I can just be wearing my Superboy outfit around town, don't want to draw any attention to Ma and Pa's newest charge as a well known metahuman. With my hair finally perfected I get dressed and walk downstairs to see who else is down there. When I do get down there… I'm shocked to say the least. "Clark, Lois? I know I can be a handful sometimes but even I can't mess up bad enough to merit a visit when I've only been here less than a day. I mean, it's not like somebody died or anything right?" The four of them glance at each other, then back at me. "Was it something I said?"
Chapter Three
It is now official: Kon-El is the biggest jackass this side of New Genesis. I had no clue that Clark's cousin and his wife died yesterday, I had no clue that their son would come to live with Ma and Pa because they were the only people who were related and still alive aside from Clark. I knew nothing about the tragedy that had befallen this family in the last hour since they got "the phone call". I was so clueless and yet I went and made such a stupid comment. After I came down we migrated to the living room so they could tell me everything that happened. I feel awful for Ma, Pa, and Clark, Clark especially. I know how much it tears at any of us when someone we care about passes away. Some of us are among the most powerful on the planet and we can't save them, we did not have the power to save them. I felt like that when Tana died. For all our vaunted "power" we just can't stop the cycle of mortality, not even so called "immortals", like Hippolyta, can stop whatever is going to happen from happening. The death that we all experienced during the War last year hardened all of us, but you can never get used to death, especially when it is a death in the family. Clark was an emotional wreck when both of his parents were M.I.A., but they both turned out alive, thankfully. This Kevin, he lost both of his parents, he'll never see them again, and he's only a year younger than I "am", he barely got enough time to get to know them. I feel horrible, then it hits me, "I guess you want me to move out so you can take care of Kevin right?"
"Did that Cadimus that made you graph your brain off of Clarks'? It seems like both of you assume that we are going to kick you out." Pa said, somewhat annoyed.
"But I…" I attempt to explain.
"No lip from you! You'll stay in Clark's old room and Kevin will stay in the guest room."
"I just don't feel right imposing myself on you when you have a family crisis on your hands." Ma walks up and places he hand on my shoulder.
"We told you before Kon, you are family." Ma turns around and looks over at Clark, "We are going to take the next plane out and be with Kevin as soon as possible. The funeral is tomorrow, you'll be there right?"
"No." Lois interrupts, "we'll be there."
"Thank you Lois." Ma hugs her hard.
"Well, I guess we should get back to Metropolis and pack." Clark says as he walks outside and sweeps Lois up. "See you sometime soon." And with that, he flies away. I look out the window as I tell Ma and Pa,
"Well, looks like I'll get some farm training while you two are gone."
"You won't come with us?" Ma asks.
"No, I did not know either of them, and I shouldn't be there for something like that. Besides, the kid will have plenty of time to get to know me when he comes to live here." Pa grabs my wrist,
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"I'm sure." I turn around and glance at both of them. "You two should go pack, I'll milk the cow."
"Uh, Kon… we don't have a cow anymore." Ma tells me.
"Oh, well then what am I gonna do while you two are gone?"
"Ma, pack up for me please. I'll take Kon to the general store and show him how to work things. Odds are he'll be working there while he stays here with us, so the earlier we teach him the earlier he learns right?"
"You are right about that Pa," Ma answers, "I should be done by the time you get back."
"Come on Kon, let's get in the pickup truck and go to the store."
"You know Pa, I could just fly us over…" Pa looks at me, "shutting up now…" Pa smiles as he grabs the keys to the truck. And with that I'm off to go learn the ways of the Smallville General Store, imagine my "delight". God I hope that they have a television at that store with cable, I haven't watched me the cartoon network in so long…
(Not Kon's POV anymore.)
Clark landed on the balcony of the apartment and quickly changed into his civvies. Lois stayed on the balcony wondering about the anguish that her husband was possibly going through after hearing the news. Only one way to find out, "Hey Smallville, you okay?"
"He was like the big brother I never had Lois." Clark looked at a picture he took with his cousin ten years ago, the last time they saw each other. "He taught me how to play ball, taught me how to pick up girls, he taught me so much and now he's gone."
"That reminds me, why wasn't he at the wedding?"
"He had business to attend to in France that entire week. He hated the fact that he had to miss the wedding, but he couldn't really do anything about it." Clark sat down on the couch and sulked. Krypto walked in from the bedroom and sat in front of his master.
"Why was that dog in our room? What did he tear up this time?" Lois walked into the bedroom, but not before she shot a glare at the superdog.
"You didn't tear up anything did you boy?" Clark patted Krypto on the head and he wagged his tail. "No you didn't, because you're a good boy. Yes you are!" Krypto jumped on the couch and planted his head on Clark's lap. "Hey Lois, do you think that we should bring him with us? Maybe a dog will cheer the poor boy up a little."
"Right, that's all we need, the strongest dog in the world gnawing on and then destroying the caskets of your late cousin and cousin-in-law, right in front of your parents and second cousin."
"He wouldn't do that Lois, he got a lot better at self discipline while you were away spending quality time with your mother. As you well know, he didn't even destroy a thing while we were away."
"That might be true," Lois said as she walked back into the living room, "but the boy might be allergic to dogs, and we don't need him going through an allergy attack at his parents' funeral." Lois remained quite for a moment before adding, "They are painful enough by themselves."
"Lois…"
"Forget it Clark. Why is the dog on the couch? Krypto, down!" Krypto tilted his head as Lois pointed her finger at the ground.
"Come on boy, you should listen to your mother."
"Why do you insist on calling me his mother?"
"Because I'm his father, you're my wife, and that makes you his mother."
"I don't want to be considered a mother to this… this… DOG!" Lois waved her hand in front of her face. "I'm going to go pack." She stormed back into the room.
"She didn't mean it Krypto, she's probably just thinking about the pain of losing her own father. Let's go visit Ned for a couple of days, okay boy!" Krypto barked in approval and they both flew to the fortress.
The moment that they were both in the fortress they were greeted by the Super-Robot, Ned. "Greetings Kal-El, and Krypto too."
"Ned, I need you to watch Krypto while I go and attend to some family issues. I should be back to get him in two days."
"Affirmative, I will watch the dog while you attend to these issues Kal- El."
"Thanks Ned." Clark looked down at Krypto, "I'll be back as soon as possible okay boy? Give me a kiss bye-bye." Krypto licked his master with a sad look on his face. "Don't worry, after I come back, we'll play catch with some asteroids!" Clark flew out of the fortress leaving Ned and Krypto alone.
"What will I do to keep you entertained for two days?" By the time Ned finished his question Krpyto was dragging him around by the cape. "Well… there always was this."
Clark flew back into the bedroom and grabbed Lois by the waste. "You know you don't have to go if it's too painful for you."
"I know I don't have to, but I also know that I want to." Lois turned around and kissed her husband on the lips. "I think that it's important that your cousin have someone close to his age who has gone through this kind of loss. I might not have lost both my parents, but I still know what someone goes through whenever they lose a parent. And I'm just a tad bit more on par with the youth of today than your parents."
"I love you Lois Lane."
"And I love you, Clark Kent." The two embraced again. "Clark, you could do me a big favor by booking a plane for later today. I'll finish packing while you make the call."
"You know that getting a plane for later today is going to cost an arm and a leg, right?"
"And you know that the income pulled in by two award-winning journalists who work at one of the country's widest circulated paper can more than make up for it, right?" Clark turned his head. "Oh… I'm sorry Clark, I forgot…"
"No Lois, it's alright. I'll go make the call right now." Clark left the room.
"Lois Lane, you are the most insensitive wife that any planet in the galaxy has ever seen!"
"No you aren't!" Clark yelled from the living room. Lois smiled and thought to herself,
"Hey, it could be worse, you could have been married to the Martian Manhunter. Unless he's impersonating Clark again…" Lois dug through her pocket and pulled out a pack of matches. "Let's test that theory out shall we?" She walked to the living room and struck the match against the striker, lighting it. Ever so coyly she walked up behind Clark and placed the fire in contact with his skin, nothing happened.
"Why did you do that Lois?"
"Just testing something…" Lois walked back into the bedroom.
Chapter Four
Ma and Pa sat in the lobby of the airport that they landed at. "We got lucky that they booked a flight that landed twenty minutes after ours." Pa said as he picked up their luggage from the baggage carousel.
"Yes, but even if the plane was late it wouldn't really matter to someone who's faster than a you know what." Ma took some of the luggage off Pa's hands and walked to a seat. "Do you think Kon will be fine running the store all by himself? He never really got some time to see how either of us ran it."
"Don't worry Martha, I gave him a run down of how things work. Besides, he's a bright boy, he should pick up what needs to be done with little problem."
"Still, I should call him and tell him just not to open the store tomorrow." Pa placed his hand over hers and shook his head.
"If we coddle the boy too much he'll never learn how to be independent, better to teach him stuff like that now, even if he's never ran the store before. Think of it like the sink or swim test that we gave Clark when he was little."
"But Jonathon, Clark sank when we gave him that test."
"In order for someone to succeed at something they have to fail at least once. Trust the boy Martha, I do." Pa winked at her.
"You're right, he'll do fine. Do you want to go get some coffee while we wait for them?"
"I'd like that." Pa said as he got up and then helped Ma up. "Let's just hope that they have regular coffee, none of that confounded new flavor stuff you see plastered all over the television these days." Pa saw that the coffee house was a Starbucks and let out a heavy sigh.
"Well Pa, at least we get to try out something new, right?"
"I guess."
By the time that Ma and Pa had purchased their coffee and gotten back to their seats they did not have to wait long for Clark and Lois. In fact they found Ma and Pa, not the other way around.
"You know you didn't have to wait for us if you didn't want to." Clark said as they walked out of the airport.
"Nonsense Clark, why bother with renting two cabs if we can all pile into one for half the cost." Ma replied.
"Just make sure our resident Man of Steel sits in the front seat." Lois added with a giggle.
"You have directions, right Pa?" Pa handed Clark a piece of paper.
"Tell the cabbie the directions on the paper son, those are the directions that we were given to the house." Pa looked around, noticing that Ma and Lois were gone. "Um… where are our wives?"
"Flagging down a cab, Pa."
"Ah. Looks like they got one, come on boy, the sooner we get there the better."
"Yes sir."
The ride to the house went smoothly. Kevin's house wasn't far from the airport, and the cab driver was not the type that would run the meter with meaningless side-trips. Clark paid the cabbie and unloaded the luggage from the trunk. Ma took a few steps towards the house before she stopped, "Well, it looks like that someone is in the living room."
"Only one way to find out…" Lois said as she walked to the front door and rang the doorbell.
"I've finally realized why you have to save that girl from so many problems Clark," Ma said, astonished, "she just walks into everything head on." Someone opened the door.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Lois looked at the person who answered the door. He was a head taller than her and had sandy blonde hair with pale green eyes. "Wait a minute… you're… you're…"
"Lois Lane-Kent. Are you Kevin?" The boy nodded, flabbergasted at the fact that the world famous reporter was standing in her doorway. Kevin looked behind her and saw his family standing there.
"Uncle Jon! Aunt Martha!" Kevin ran over and hugged them both.
"Oh Kevin, I'm so sorry about everything that happened." Ma said as she hugged Kevin.
"We're here now Kevin, we're here to take you home with us after the funeral tomorrow."
"I know Uncle Jon, I know." Kevin smiled as he looked at Clark. "Ditched the jock-boy look since the last time I saw you, didn't you Clark?"
"And you've gotten your two front teeth back, plus grown a couple of feet."
"Yeah well, puberty brings a lot of unexpected changes."
"You don't have to tell me twice Kevin…" Clark smiled as he hugged his cousin, "So, I see you've met my wife?"
"I knew you married her, but I never thought I would meet Lois Lane… it's so cool." Lois walked down the steps and offered her hand,
"Sorry we had to meet under such… morbid conditions Kevin, but it's a pleasure."
"Oh believe me Miss Lane, the pleasure is mine."
"Miss Lane? Kevin, you are my husbands cousin, you can call me Lois. I insist that you call me Lois."
"Alright… Lois." Kevin gave a low gasp. "Oh, how rude of me, please, come in, come in."
Kevin spent the remainder of the night telling his family about what had happened, it was obvious he hadn't talked to anyone about it since it occurred and he broke down a couple of times. The house was almost completely bare, everything was being shipped to Smallville except for the stuff that Kevin insisted on taking with him without waiting for the U-haul to trek across the country along with the bed ware that would be used by Ma, Pa, Clark, and Lois in the guest rooms. By the time Kevin finished his story it was late and he wanted to turn in for tomorrow would be the hardest day that he would probably ever have to go through. Clark paced around in the room that he and Lois were staying in for the night. "Lois, do you think I should tell him?"
"Tell who what?"
"Kevin, and tell him the secret…"
"Oh…" Lois put down her laptop, "Why do you want to tell him that you're Superman?"
"Because he looked so sad when he was telling us about the accident…"
"Clark, anyone who loses both of their parents on the same day would look like that, especially someone as young as Kevin."
"I know that, but this is the kind of thing that could change his entire outlook on life, and it probably wouldn't be for the better."
"Oh Clark, always the hero."
"It's what I do best."
"I know that… but Clark Kent could do a lot more for his cousin than Superman could."
"What makes you think that?"
"He doesn't know that you have the powers of a demi-god Clark. If you tell him that you are the most powerful person on the planet right now he'll always lean on you for support. Under the guise of a mere mortal former journalist you can teach him more about humanity. The choice, as always, is yours to make, and I'll respect the choice no matter what…"
"But you're right Lois, I shouldn't tell him, not yet. I just don't know what he's going through and would do anything to help him through it."
"You could introduce him to Bruce." Clark smirked at the idea.
"I want to help him, not crush his psyche. Bruce is a great guy but he's a little too… dark for someone Kevin's age."
"How about Plastic-Man, it wouldn't seem odd, being a former reporter."
"If I introduced him to Plas it would have to be at our house."
"Never mind then…" Clark kissed his wife on the forehead.
"I knew you'd see it my way. Good night Lois."
"Good night Clark."
Chapter Five
The funeral service was held early the next morning in the local parlor. Very few attended since both were rather isolated and had few friends and little family aside from those that were there. The Priest talked about how it was a horrible tragedy that they were taken from the world at such a young age and left their only child alone in the very same world. He attempted to assure Kevin that his parents were going to be with the angels because they were very nice people and God loved all of his children. Although the service was held with both bodies in a closed casket due to the extensive damage that was a product of the crash Kevin spent a lot of the time after with a hand placed on each. The Priest came up from behind and gently said "I hope that I helped bring you closure my son."
"Oh yeah, my lack of faith in God has pretty much been sealed by everything you've said. Thanks Father." Kevin walked out of the room.
"Forgive the boy Father, he is grieving." Ma requested. Clark started to walk out,
"Maybe I should go talk to him." Lois grabbed his arm.
"No, let me." Clark nodded. Lois slowly walked over to the hallway where Kevin was looking out one of the stained glass windows. "Quite a stir you made in there with your comment to the Priest kid."
"Leave me alone Lois, please."
"No, I won't leave you alone Kevin, because I know for a fact that right now the last thing you need is to be alone."
"What would you know about anything that I'm going through right now?"
"I might not know exactly what you are going through kid. I still have my mother, but I don't have my father." Lois clutched her hand tight.
"Lois… I didn't know."
"You're right, you didn't know, because I don't like to just tell everyone that I'm still coping with the loss of my father. Me, Lois Lane, the tough as nails gal reporter can't afford to show any weakness that would damage my image. No one, not even Clark, knows that there are times when I can't sleep because I just want my daddy to hold me and tell me that I'm important to him. We never got along Kevin, but we loved each other and appreciated the time that we spent together because we knew that we were sharing quality time together. My pain has been a private hell because I made it my own private hell, thinking that no one would know what I went through, just like you. So I'm telling you right now Kevin, that if you ever need someone to talk to, a shoulder to lean on, I'll be there. It'll be hard at first, but time heals all wounds… even ones as bad as this."
"Are you done yet?"
"Yes, I'm done." Kevin walked away, leaving Lois alone. "Just like I knew you'd react." Clark walked in, "That was quite some speech you gave him Lois."
"He needed to hear it. Right now he's acting like he doesn't care about a word that I said, but deep down I know that he's thinking about every single word I told him and taking comfort in knowing that he'll have someone if he needs someone."
"Do you really go sleepless because of your father's death?"
"No, but I thought I would toss that in for added effect." Lois was lying, she knew it, but there was no reason Clark should know.
After the burial at the cemetery everyone returned to Kevin's home to gather all the belongings that he would take with him on the plane back to Smallville. Within minutes they had piled the luggage into their taxis and were ready to go. "Hold on for a second please, I have to do something." Kevin asked before they left. He walked back into the house and stood in the hallway for a second, saying only one word, "Goodbye." He walked back out, visibly shaken, but everyone gave him the space that they felt he needed. "Okay, now I'm ready." The party piled into their respective taxis and ventured to the airport again. The ride was met with complete silence, and their planes were close to being boarded, which left little time for goodbyes.
"We'll call you once we get back to Metropolis." Clark said as he and Lois got ready to board their plane. "Maybe you'll come for a visit soon Kevin, see how life goes on in the city of tomorrow."
"I'd like that Clark, maybe sometime soon?"
"Just ask, I'm sure we'll be able to arrange something."
"Remember," Lois started to say, "If you need anything at all you just have to call." Kevin remained quiet and stared at the ground, still putting on what Lois was certain was a show. Clark and Lois hugged Ma and Pa and quickly walked through the gates.
"Well, we should probably go to our gate now." Pa looked at Kevin, who looked back at him. "You've got your carry-on bag ready with all the stuff that you wanted right?"
"Yeah Uncle Jon, I've got everything I need to keep me busy on the plane."
"We'll be there before you know it Kevin, the plane ride home is just a little over two hours." Ma said as she hurried Kevin alone the walkway.
"Aunt Martha, do you think I'll like living in Smallville… it sounds rather… small."
"Well it isn't as big as Metropolis or Gotham, but the President likes the town, so you might like it."
"I hope so."
"Well you won't know until you get there, and if we don't board that plane right now we won't get there for awhile!" Pa said with a laugh. "Come on, let's go home."
"Right… home…" Kevin muttered as he walked on the plane.
Chapter Six
The plane ride to Smallville went smoothly, Kevin spent most of his time reading a novel while occasionally engaging in conversation with Ma and Pa. Many questions ran through the young man's head. Questions about how he would like living with his Uncle and Aunt, about how he would like school there, if the people would like and accept him, about how he would be able to live life without his parents. He remembered what Lois told him about time healing all wounds, and he knew that if she thought so, it must be true. As soon as the luggage was gathered they walked to the car. "You own a pickup truck?" Kevin asked as he placed his belongings into the back of the car.
"You were expecting the newest Toyota?" Pa asked. "Boy, here in Smallville we keep our cars till they can't run, and only then do we buy some newer, shinier, commercial vehicle."
"We've had this since before Clark was born, so you might be able to go shopping with us." Ma said as she smiled.
"Nonsense Martha, the tank has at least ten years left in her." Pa started the truck and it sputtered a bit. "At least I hope she does…"
"Is it… safe to ride in that?" Kevin wondered with a hint of fear in his voice.
"It might not sound like the most fit of vehicles, but it gets us where we want to go. Now into the truck with you." Ma answered.
The journey back to the Kent farm was more or less a tour of Smallville for Kevin. Ma and Pa showed him the General Store, which had already closed, the high school that he would be going to soon, the town hall, and several other "landmarks" that the town had. Kevin tried to look excited but every time he saw something he couldn't help but think about how hickish the entire town seemed. Dusk had fallen as Pa drove the tank up the dirt driveway to the farm. "You live on a farm?" Kevin asked as soon as the house came into view.
"Yep, my pa bought this land when I was running around in diapers, and when I go it'll go to Clark."
"I wonder if Kon's home." Ma said.
"Um… who's Kon?" Kevin asked, perplexed.
(Back to Kon's POV)
I can see the truck down the driveway as I sit on the porch enjoying a glass of sun tea. Look at me, two days in Smallville and I'm already practicing the hillbilly arts of sun tea on the porch at dusk. I wave as soon as they can see me and I notice the kid on the passengers side. I wonder if they told him anything about me yet, I hope we can get along, if not I'm sure I can smack some sense into him. Alright… I won't smack him that hard, if at all, but I'm not about to let some regular teenager show me up! I put my tea down and walk over to help them with the luggage, which looks pretty loaded. God I hope this kid has some video games on him, I'm beginning to go through withdraw.
"Evening Kon." Pa says as he gets out of the truck. "Were you waiting for us?"
"No sir, I was just enjoying some tea and the sunset. You don't see it that often in Metropolis."
"Did you have a hard time running the store today?" Ma asks as she gets out on Pa's side, the kid is still sitting where he was when I first saw him.
"Nope, it wasn't that hard at all. I met a lot of your friends and told them that they'll probably be seeing me around the store."
"Well that's great." Ma replies as she closes the door. "Kon, I'd like you to meet Kevin." I walk over and shake his hand. "Hey Kevin, nice to meet you."
"Kon?" Kevin asks as he looks at Ma and Pa, "Is that short for something?" He turns to me.
"Kon…er… Conner, Conner Kent." Riiiiiiiiiiiiight, good one their Kon, pulled that out of your ass.
"So you're related to them too? How?" This Kevin kid is one nosy person.
"I'm Pa's oldest brother's youngest grandson." Hell that explanation just confused me, and I made it up. "Here, let me help you bring your stuff to your room." I could take all his luggage if I wanted too, but it's a tad bit to early in the introduction process to show off. I walk into the house and up the stairs, stopping at the guest room. "This will be your room. Mines right across the hall and theirs is the one at the very end of the hall. There is a bathroom two doors down, right next to the master bedroom and another one downstairs."
"So, what's your story Conner?"
"Please, just Kon, and what do you mean "my story"?"
"Why are you here, don't you have any family aside from them?"
"No, everyone other than Ma and Pa were killed during the war… the attack that struck Topeka." I absolutely hate using the name of the people who lost their life in Topeka in vain like that, but if the kid insists on asking me questions about my personal life I have to give him answers that sound true. Not that he should care where I came from or why I'm here, but I'll be nice to him for now, because he's adjusting to everything and it must be hard. "We've got a lot in common Kevin, I'd like for us to be friends, after all, we're actually cousins by marriage."
"Another family member that I need to get to know, I hope we can be friends too." Kevin flashes a smile at me, the first time I've seen him look happy. Granted, I've only known him for five minutes… but anything is an improvement over that dismayed face that he had when I first met him. "So, you used to live in Metropolis?"
"Yeah, the glitz and glamour of the city of tomorrow, it was great."
"And now you're stuck in Smallville."
"Correction, we're stuck in Smallville." Both of us laugh a little.
"Maybe together we can manage to stay one step cooler than these hicks."
"Yeah, just do me one favor okay?"
"What's that?" Kevin asks.
"Don't ask me to give up flannel, it's grown on me in the two days I've lived here."
"Flannel? Only in Kansas…" Kevin looks at me and winks, "but if you start liking country I will do everything within my power to get you to stop."
"Country? Me? Please."
"Don't be so sure that you can resist the demon vice." Point for him, that country can get into your mind and take over any semblance of taste in music. "We should go get the rest of my stuff before it gets too dark."
"Yeah… we should." As we walk downstairs Ma stops us.
"Tomorrow we'll get you boys registered at the high school." Boys… plural… wait a minute…
"But Ma…"
"No Kon, you are going to school too, and that's final." I guess it makes some sense, I look like I'm 16 years old and it wouldn't give them a good image to be taking care of someone who would appear to be a high school drop out. Besides, I didn't try too hard the first time when 'ex was tutoring me, and I'm sure that even the girls in Kansas must be somewhat good looking. I guess I'll have too…
"Why did you think that you could get out of going to high school?" Kevin asks.
"I dunno… wishful thinking, very wishful thinking." Well, maybe living in the middle of nowhere won't be so sad. I've got another person my age to talk too, two great people who can help me whenever I have a problem, and I guess I could make a lot of new friends at school… I guess.
"Well I'm going to turn on the radio." Pa says… and of course, it's country. Maybe I could have Tim steal me a descrambler from the Batcave and place it on the radio tower…
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