Welcome to this new story!
The idea to this was older. It came up during the first half of season one. But I thought it would be too far fetched and too freaky to be published. So I decided to keep it in my head. But then came the X-Kryptonite storyline, Jonathan's issues in the series and of course the Bizzaro-world. So I thought it would be time to finally publish this.
I hope you all enjoy. I try to update regulary.
This is an alternate universe story. It takes place 20 years in the past, but with the known Superman & Lois characters. The timeline matches around the Richard-Donner-movies. Purposefully written in the time before social-media came up and the Internet was that advanced as it is today.
That all too familiar song, they heard around millions of times was playing at the end of the movie. A Kryptonian ballad dedicated to him… During the final scene… After a mixup of different scenes of learning the shocking truth, fleeing back to the USA, the press beeing dominated by it, and other stuff, there was this particular final scene…
That scene when Jonathan Samuel Kent, or Jon for short, the 16 years old son of Clark Kent, alias Superman, and Lois Lane was leaving that prison, that used to be their home for years but became a prison for him… when he left the house, climbed over the wall next to the locked gate and vanished…
It was an icy cold, foggy and unpleasant morning, five years ago, in a suburb of Argo. The capital of the Republic of Krypton. An island in the northern Atlantic of alien origin. A remnant of an distant planet. The place his parents were forced to flee to after their big secret was revealed to the world. The place that turned into a nightmare for Jon.
Jonathan (or at least his actor), only wearing a white pajama-like body suit that was a bit too big for him, how he looked around and fainted away… The picture turning black, and the final titles blended in…
Jonathan Kent left his parents house in Argo on April 24, 1997, at 4:58 am… and was never seen again.
What followed were pictures of other involved people. With descriptions who was punished, who was suspected, who did what after Jon vanished, and of course the negative effects this had on his family. And it was a lot of what happened.
Today, they sat here in the cinema, together. In a separate lodge. The audience in the main hall was crying, some more and some less. It was a really intense movie. Emotional and catchy. Deserving it's nominations for several Oscars. People giving standing ovations. They remained sitting there. During the whole closing credits and even after the audience in the hall was gone.
They didn't see it for the first time. They read the script before screening began. They met the actors. They watched the filming-process closely and from distance at the same time. But even after watching this movie for the who-knows-how-much time, it made them sad. The premiere being directly on the fifth anniversary of his disappearance on purpose.
"Oh, sorry… I had no clue…" a male voice suddenly said.
The Kent's, consisting of Clark Kent, also known as Superman, Lois Lane and their 21-years-old son Jordan looked to the entry, to see the surprised janitor, who was not aware that there were still guests in here.
"Ehm… Sorry, sir!" Clark said when they lift up. "We will leave now!"
"You can… stay a bit longer if you want!" the janitor said. He knew the movie, and he knew the Kents. He knew that it was not easy to bear. Especially for the family portrayed in that movie.
"No, thank you! We won't disturb you!" Clark said and together they left the room so the janitor could start to tidy up.
Clark flew them home, avoiding listening to the people chatting about the movie, about them and about Jon. There was a big party in the Lobby. But they would spend the rest of the evening like they spend every anniversary of Jon's disappearance: as a family. Commemorating Jon. Clark, not listening to the world, to spend the evening together and without distractions. And so they arrived on the rooftop terrace, of this spacious penthouse in Metropolis.
The table was already set since the morning. The dinner prepared earlier and just waiting to be warmed up. A fourth set of dishes was prepared for Jon. Like they always did… as if he would join them later… they so deeply wished for it.
Everyone was dealing with it differently. But they agreed to not to fight tonight. Jon wouldn't like it. He never liked it when they fought about him. It was so silent, everyone (even without superhearing) could hear a tiny pin falling. They barely talked with each other. Jordan was not in mood. Lois respected it. But Clark was not able to bear this embarrassing silence…
"How is your studying?"
"Fine!" was Jordan's numb and brief answer before he looked down on his plate again.
"Do you already know, which field you will work later or do you have a field that's interresting you?" Clark tried to start a conversation so desperately that everyone could hear it in his voice.
Jordan looked on him and said, cold and slightly spiteful: "Human Rights!"
Clark knew it was an attept to make them upset. But they didn't deserve better. The movie today just proved it much more to the world. But they agreed to every scene anyway, so it was not a surprise for Jordan that his father became pale and his mother holding back tears.
"I will… get the dessert." Lois said, audible upset and left before her tears became visible.
Clark looked on his son reproachful.
"Really?"
"Sorry, I know that went a bit too far, but it's true!"
"It is a great working field! Something that is very honourable."
"I know…"
Lois went to the kitchen, closed the swing door and took the pills the doctor ordered her to take twice a day. Nobody need to know that it was already her seventh today. After that she hid the pills back in the cabinet and went to the fridge to grab the dessert… Jonathan's favourite dessert when he was little. Just a bought powder, mixed with milk. Even such a bad chef like Lois was able to make a cream dessert out of it. She placed three already prepared bowls on a tray, but then stopped when she saw the fourth one, she prepared earlier today, in the fridge.
Tears shoot in her eyes again, wishing that Jonathan really would come in every second threw the door and join them…
In the dining-area, Clark and his son had an argument…
"No!"
"Please, Jordan…"
"I said No! No discussion!"
"It's just for an hour, or two. Or just for a few minutes. Your grandparents really want to know how you are. And they want to see you…"
"You know excatly what I think about Kryptonian places."
Clark knew so. He understood it. Lois knew what they were talking about and decided to interrupt before it gets nasty…
"Here comes the dessert." she said, giving everyone a small bowl of cream.
They ate the dessert silently. Nobody dared to talk. Until Lois tried to end the awkward silence.
"Ehm… Jordan… you and Lana's daughter… is that something serious?"
"We are friends!" Jordan respond in a serious and not… tone.
"I just mentioned that you two spend a lot of time toghether over the past year."
"Sarah and I worked togheter on some projects. That's it!"
Jordan was not in mood to tell them about his and Sarah Cushing's (dauther of Lana Lang, a.k.a. ex-girlfriend of his father) 'project'. They wouldn't unterstand him anyway. And so it was silent again.
It was already dark outside. Nobody dared to talk for a while now. All were too upset and sad so if someone would start to talk they would all just get more upset. At least, there was enough of repect for each other in this family left that they remained silent instead of accussing each other for what happened. They did it enough in the past.
Everyone was dealing with it differently. And everone was not happy how the other one dealt with it. And so they had secrets from each other. Secrets nobody was willing to share until he or she was ready to drop the bomb.
Clark helped Lois to bring the used dishes into the kitchen while Jordan went to the bathroom. He heard his cell phone vibrating in his jacket in the corridor. Carefully he sneaked to his jacket to read the SMS he just received from his friend Sarah Cushing…
CMB ASAP HWSA S
Jordan knew what it meant. They developed this code toghether: Call me back, as soon as possible. He was seen again. Sarah.
Jordan was shocked. But he wouldn't tell his parents… not yet…
Lois and Clark meanwhile were in the kitchen. Clark put the plates into the dishwasher while Lois stood at the sink, glaring on the running water.
"Five years, Clark!" she whispered. "Five years and he still does not call."
Clark moaned. "Lois, he can't call from where he is…"
"Don't talk like that!" Lois said now louder. "Please, Clark…"
This was the matter both of them were not the same opinion. After Jonathan's dissappearance, he searched every square inch of the planet. He was gone… like not on the planet anymore. This and the fact that he wasn't able to hear his voice anywhere, or his heartbeat or his breath led him to the conclusion that Jonathan was dead.
Lois, on the other hand, was deeply convinced that Jonathan was still out there. Hiding from his family, the Kryptonian society that treated him so bad, and the world that used to be so mean to him. Clark agreed that it would be much nicer if Jonathan was still out there, living his own life in freedom, being able to make his own decisions, and being free from all the pressure. But it was fact that he wasn't able to hear his voice, his heartbeat, his breath or anything else that was without doubt Jonathan. He was definetly not on this planet anymore. But Lois, the infamous Lane-stubborness being fault, was convinced that he was still out there and just needed more motivation to get in touch with them.
After everthing, Jonathan had to endure it was no surprise that he ran away. They would had done the same if they were in his situation. But what was totally unlike him, was the fact that even after all their efforts and their endeavors, Jonathan never ever even contacted them.
If he wants to live alone, they were fine. If he never ever wants to talk to them, they understood. But not even knowing what happened to him was nagging so terribly. Clark already accepted the possibility that Jon was dead. There was no way he could have left Krypton without being witnessed. The only way out was by plane. And the only flight that departed that day crashed a few seconds after takeoff. But Lois was convinced that he is alive and out there. According to the passenger-list, Jonathan was not on board. According to a witness a boy who 'looked like him' was! But there was no proof.
Jordan agreed that Jon being alive was a much better thought than Jon being dead, or locked up, or even worse: still on Krypton. Locked away in the phantom-zone as many conspirators assumed. Or being sold as a slave to Daxam, or in a Zoo for Hybrids on a distant planet… the people were so creative if it was about Jon's fate. He was ashamed of how he allowed everthing happened to his brother. After everything Jon did for him he disappointed him deeply by not being there for him when his brother needed him most…
He had to get out of here. Now! He could already hear the tension rising in the kitchen…
Over there, his parents had now their own argument…
"Lois, I thought that we…"
"This is not to blame you. I know it is my fault, too." Lois yelled now, tears shooting in her eyes. "What the hell is going on here in this family?"
Clark gave her a hug. It was right that they were over it to blame each other for what happened. Jordan was still blaming himself and them until now. But this is what rift them apart…
"I need to go now!" Jordan said when he entered the kitchen. "I need to finish something for my course until tomorrow."
Lois turned off her sorrow immediately and put on a fake smile, every idiot would see immediately. "Oh, why not stay a little bit longer. Let's drink a wine toghether…"
"No, thank you…" Jordan moaned, don't carrying that he was old enough to drink now. "I need to go."
"Shall I fly you to your dorm?" his father offered friendly.
"Thank you, but I already called a cab." Jordan said. He had enough of flying.
"Understood!" Clark murmured abashed before everyone said goodbye and Jordan left. Only Lois and Clark left in the apartment.
"And you Lois? How are you?"
"Well, … how shall I feel? Jordan is still reserved, people believe we deserve the title worst parents ever, and a whole island believes that they can print Jon's face on a banknote and think that everything is okay again. But it can't… I know it Clark. It can never be like before. No matter how much we want it."
Clark nooded. She was right! Even if Jonathan is still alive, or his fate finally clarified, they can't just return to normallcy and pretend that everthing is fine. They were never able to get even with Jonathan before he vanished. There was such a hate on them, in the boy that it was a surprise that he didn't run away earlier. Everthing they could do was live on und hope that Jon somehow knew that they really loved him.
"You better go now!" Lois said. "Before someone sees you!"
"Are you really okay? If you want I can stay a bit longer?"
"No, it's fine! Thank you but…" Lois had to get him out of here. "…I think I go to bed earlier. And… you know I am sure you have to handle some stuff here and there?"
Clark shrugged. She was probably right. He gave her a final hug and flew away…
As soon as Clark was gone, Lois ran into the bathroom to puke out the whole dinner.
As it turns out, taking anti-depressives with wine is not a good idea. Especially after such an upsetting and startling movie. After flushing and walking down to the sink, she was briefly terrified when she looked into the mirror. She didn't saw Lois Lane, once one of the most famous journalists in the world. She saw a zombie…
Lois cleaned her face and went back into the empty living-area. She was alone and she felt lonely. But at least she had her secret… And so, Lois walked over to the bedroom, opened the wardrobe, pushed her clouthes away and revealed a secret cabinet inside. Carefully she opened the swing doors to reveal a huge conspirancy wall. A photo of her lost son in the middle and all informations she found got, or forefully acchieved…
"Hello, Jonathan!" she said, givng the photo a kiss. "I will never give up! I will find you!"
Jordan, meanwhile sat in the rear of the taxi to get to his apartment. He took his cell phone to call his friend Sarah…
"…Are you sure that this is not a fake again?" He asked, carefully watching that the driver does not listen. "Really?... Okay… I will be there in around 10 minutes. We meet there!"
Jordan hang off and told the driver the new destination. Knowing that his father wouldn't eavesdropping and his little secret being safe for now…
In the meantime, Clark thought about his family while flying back to the fortress of solitude, where he was currently residing. He thought about telling Lois and Jordan that he found a way to see other Earths and the Jonathan's there. But Lois mental state was very fragile, right now. And Jordan would accuse him for intruding other peoples lives.
He thought about the Jonathan he saw on Earth-prime. The same family constellation, the same allocation of powers. A family that was divided in a human and a kryptonian section. A family he was sure will sooner or later get torn apart if they continue like they do now…
He thought about telling about his brief trip there. But he was still upset. He scared the hell out of the Jonathan there, that he had to give him a strong Kryptonian sedative to prevent a heart attack… that boy went threw a lot. He was just mad and not able to watch it happen again. He should check them out sooner or later. It was a strong sedative, sloving his hearth beat. But when he wakes up again he will feel like he was new born…
Clark arrived in the fortress, closed the Gate, he build in years ago and went to the control panel to watch other Jonathan's being proud of their heritage and donning the House of El crest with pride or flying side by side with his own doppelganger… Oh how much he wished that Jonathan was with him to fly side by side with him…
Thinking about how all of this could happen…
Please Review and keep well!
Further background details of this world are explained in the next chapter! I hope you like it. Leave a comment if you want to know more.
This is a sequel to 'All I wanted' and 'All he wanted'. Don't worry, Jonathan lives at the end of 'All he wanted'.