Jon deals with his first power and his parents deal with the CPS again.
Jonathan's scream was so loud, the whole neighborhood was able to hear it. Just seeing that 'skeleton' approaching him let him let him stumble…
When he stumbled into the bathtub, his hand somehow turned on the handle for the water and hot water start to shower on him from above. Jonathan, still in shock rubbed his eyes while everything around him was suddenly filled with steam. The skeleton suddenly turned into Timmy, the walls appeared again, and his vision focused back to normal…
"OH MY GOD!" Timmy yelled shocked and tried to grab the handle of the tap. "Are you… AGGHHHHH…"
When Timmy's arm got under the water, the boy got start to scream in pain. As the water was way too hot for a human. Jonathan, who was still in shock, instinctively grabbled the handle of the tap and closed it to stop the water by himself. With tears in his eyes, Timmy ran over to the sink to pour cold water over his aching arm.
"Aww… Timmy, are you okay?" Jonathan asked shocked after he climbed out of the bathtub. Soaking wet with hot water that should normally cause someone to scream in pain.
"Okay? What about you? You scream like in a horror-movie! What happened?" Timmy asked.
"I… you… you were a skeleton! And things in my hands were suddenly so big!" Jon explained.
"Wow… you have x-ray-vision!" Timmy realized.
"NO! PLEASE… Why today?" Jonathan yelled and left.
Jonathan stormed out of the bathroom to leave the house and walk up and down in the garden. Timmy watched him through the window and thought about it…
Ever since Jonathan told him about the family-secret, he did his best to not bomb him with questions. The fact that his friend was actually Superman's son, and that Superman was not the perfect man he always imagined was a lot to deal with. Especially for a devoted Superman fan like him. But he understood why Jonathan was so upset…
His parents preferred his superpowered brother over him in the last two years. And after Jonathan's X-K abuse, their relationship even worsened. And after all the broken promises of his parents, Jonathan didn't want powers anymore. He feared that the powers will prove that his parents will only love him when he has them.
Jonathan walked up and down in the garden behind the house. The sun was shining bright today. Jon looked up to watch the sun and thought about Lara's words…
According to her, he was absorbing the sun's energy for his whole live and that his powers will come sooner or later anyway. Jonathan never bothered to think how it feels. For him, the sun was never as unpleasant or anything like that as it was for others. While many of his friends often complained about sunburn or about that the sun feels too hot, Jonathan just thought that the sun feels 'okay'. Till today, he never felt a difference. He expected a sudden change, but he mentally had already accepted that he was different. But that something like this happens today… a day before he returns to Smallville to face all his haters and his family and demand respect from them… he didn't need that.
Timmy arrived in the garden, too. A tube of moisturizing cream with him.
"Jon, are you okay? That was very hot water! You need some cream?" Timmy asked.
Jon looked on his friend. His arm was red from the too hot water. Jon felt guilty. The bandages, his friend had to wear after his former teammates almost kidnapped him were gone, but some injuries were still visible. And Jon was sure that scars will be left. Visible, but also mentally. Timmy went through a lot since he called him a week ago and desperately asked for a place to stay to get away from his family. And since he told his friend everything, he felt a lot better. While Timmy now had to wear the burden of that secret.
"Timmy, I am so sorry! I am so terribly sorry!" Jon cried.
"Hey, that's not your fault! But are you okay? Or do you have invulnerability, too?"
"What?"
"That was very hot water! And you didn't even bother!"
"Aww…" Jonathan was upset again.
He told Timmy everything. Everything what happened with his family, everything what bothered him about his alien-father and his alien brother and everything what happened while he lost his memories. How embarrassed and humiliated he was. And how ridiculous he felt. He could tell Timmy, knowing that he wouldn't get any condemnation.
And so, Jon began to tell his friend about the sudden appearance of X-ray-vision a few minutes ago…
Meanwhile, somewhere over Kansas…
Clark flew back to Smallville, with the hope that his plan will show Jonathan that he cares for him. It was an awful week full of revelations, drama and other stuff, Clark ignored too long. Smallville was not the town he used to grow up anymore. Jonathan was right! But he would continue to work on it. And Lois, too. Lana offered her help as well as everyone else he knew. Lara was still mad on him but he was not surprised about that…
When he landed behind the barn and walked towards the house in human pace, he saw that Lois was back. And she was not alone…
A foreign car stood in the driveway and a woman, Clark recognized as the mother of one of the football-players, stood in front of Lois. Her face full of shame and guilt. And Lois was furious…
"You dare to ask this? After you insulted my son terribly that evening and even after you figured out that your son lied to you, you continued to try to give my son the blame for it…"
Lois was furious. That was evident. As soon as they saw Clark both stopped talking and looked on him.
"Mr. Kent!" the woman said with a weak bow to great him.
"And where the heck have you been!" Lois snapped on him angrily.
Ever since Jonathan left, Lois was permanently upset. It was worse than after Natalie's arrival and mostly she let out her whole frustration on him. Clark ignored that, knowing that this was not the right moment, as they had a 'visitor'.
"What is going on here?" he asked.
"She is the woman I told you about. The woman was one of the two adults attacking Jonathan at the night of the election. Jon ran out humiliated and cried the whole night!" Lois said with tears in her eyes.
Ever since Jon left, she had that scene in her head again. How she just watched it happen and didn't even dare to defend Jon and instead 'agreed to them'. It was actual abuse! And Lois let it happen. She allowed others to verbally abuse her son. Lois felt like the world's worst mother. Clark remembered Jonathan telling it to his friend, too.
"Ba… Back that evening you were not that…" the woman tried to defend herself.
"BACK THEN MY SON DID AT LEAST EVERYTHING TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT HAPPENED! HE TOOK THE BLAME, SO YOUR SON DOES NOT GET PUNISHED, TOO!" Lois yelled angrily.
"I had no clue that he bought X-K, too and knew all the time about Timmy Ryan. I am sorry that he was part of the intrigue to turn your son into…" she said with tears in her eyes, but Lois cut her off.
"And after everything what happened, you dare to come here and ask us to drop the charges. The parents of that boy they hurt instead would yell the shit out of you if they were here. At the next conference at school, you will face my son and apologize for everything you said to him. AND NOW LEAVE OUR PROPERTY. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!"
The woman left. After the kidnapping attempt and the revelation that Coach Gaines knew about the doping all the time, her own son confessed under tears that he knew about the X-K long before. She even found an empty inhaler in his bag. Most of the team took it. And after everyone figured out that it was planned to continue Jon to turn into a scapegoat and that they even wanted to use X-K while beating him up the team's reputation was ruined for good…
Full of shame, she walked to her car and tried to not to burst out in tears in front of the Kents. Aware that she made a terrible mistake and that it won't be easy to make up for it. The woman left while Lois stormed into the house. Clark followed her to talk to her.
"Lois… was it about…"
"YES!" she yelled angrily and burst out in tears. "Gosh… Clark…I was a terrible mother. I… I… I lied to you…"
"About what?"
"When I told you that I tried to have a conversation with him! Back that day when he got caught with the X-K." she replied. Clark could remember Jon telling his friend about it, but he pretended to be surprised. "He… tried to explain everything to me. And I only grabbled out keywords and ignored that he actually tried to give an explanation and I told you that he was not! And then you went into his room and yelled on him. And I didn't even dare to tell you that he tried to explain it to me."
Lois sank on the couch. Tears running down her face. Clark sat down next to her and tried to comfort her.
"It is not your fault! I made the mistake that I didn't listen to him when he tried to explain himself. I called him a lot of untrue things!" Clark said. "I am supposed to be the one who is keeping a cool head and I failed."
"He gave up!" Lois cried. "He gave us up because he thinks we gave up him! But what should I say… What we did to him was not normal! It was abuse! We abused him, Clark!"
Abused! The word echoed threw Clark's head like a too shrill ELT, or a supersonic weapon. He heard him crying in his room after he yelled on him. He could feel his son's pain and his guilt. And he treated him like a criminal. Like all the good things he did in his life never happened and as if he was not more than a criminal. Jon, who is the best son, they could wish for. Jon who gave up everything for his brother and for his parents, to move here. To a town that only existed in his memory…
DING-DONG.
The sudden ringing of the doorbell distracted them. Over the past days, a lot of people came to their house with 'apology-cakes', with flowers or other stuff to say sorry for prejudging Jon. Clark, still full of sorrow, lift to open the door… just to see the last person he and Lois needed right now.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Kent!" the woman from the child-protection-service was back…
Jonathan meanwhile sat on the picnic-table in Timmy's garden and finished his explanation for his outburst. That he suddenly was able to see threw the bathroom-walls and threw Timmy's body.
"The only positive thing was that I can tell you that your bones look all okay and those guys don't break any of your bones!" Jon wailed.
"So at least something positive! And now? I mean… do you have it under control?"
"I think so!" Jon murmured. "I… when I took X-K… I… I was able to do it and I think I can control it!"
"You need to tell your dad!"
"No way!"
"Jon! You told me, the last time you and your brother hid a power from your dad, you got a broken arm!"
"But as soon as my father finds out that I have a power, Jordan does not have yet, he will start with his 'training-bonding-time' and I will never figure out if he was honest to me!"
"Honest?"
"Yes! Honest!" Jon wailed and turned his face away to hide his tears.
His father said, he loves him. He told him that so many times. But all the time, his father rather spent time with Jordan or was busy to train his brother or leave him behind alone to make flying lessons… that morning in the barn still bothered him so terribly. Every time he thought about his dad, he had to think about how he got left behind by his father, right after he told him how bad he feels. And for what: For flying-lessons! With this act, his father proved him that he only cares about powers and that he favorizes Jordan about him! And Jon was just an unimportant stockman! A fact Jon didn't want to accept.
He wanted a true prove this time and no empty promises again. He wanted his family's respect! He wanted his father to recognize him for who he really was! And not for suddenly being able look through walls.
"Ah… Understand!" Timmy said. Jon looked on Timmy again and suddenly realized that he said all this loudly, so Timmy heard everything. Jon's face turned deeply red, and he turned his face away again. "So… ehm… why not… I don't know… do you know what he did with your brother when he got it. You could repeat it and…"
"Jordan does not have supervision, yet!" Jonathan moaned. "At least I think so! He hid so many things from me, too… maybe he didn't tell me about that!"
"Hey, that means you are the first one this time!" Timmy said with an encouraging smile.
Jon looked on Timmy again and had to smile, too. For some reason, it felt good. Jon knew: Jordan had their father's ability to fly, he was strong, highly durable, had laser-vision, ice-breath, superspeed… as far as he knew supervision was not among his abilities…
"No… No… I can't tell him!" Jon said and lift from his chair to walk up and down. "Timmy… How does the sun feel to you?"
"The sun?"
"Yeah, when it… when it shines on you! How does it feel?"
"Hot! Unpleasant! I have a sun allergy, you know! Be happy that you don't know how a sunburn feels…" Timmy said. He understood that Jon was a walking solar battery and probably feels the sun different than everyone else. "Shall I call Jay and tell him we won't come to the party?"
"OH NO! I am going to that party! I will have fun! I will talk to others! Today is my last day in Metropolis! Tomorrow I will be forced to go back to that Podunk-town again…"
"But what if you start to look through walls again? You should at least be able to control it before we go there!"
Jon moaned. Timmy was right! He looked up to the sun again and shacked his head. He was a freak! A goddammed freak! A half-alien freak, who feels so terribly out of place. Lara said, his home is Earth and Krypton as well! For Jon it was Metropolis! For his father it was Smallville… Jon wanted to hide somewhere to brood about it. But for that was no time. Timmy's parents will be home in an hour. And the party is going to start in a few hours. He was not willing to let this stupid power to ruin his last day in his city…
"Okay… Okay…" Jon murmured and sat down again. "I… I must get control over this, before your parents come home! What should be so difficult about it? Just because my dad would spend a week with Jordan in the barn to master it, doesn't mean I can't learn it within an hour on my own…"
And so, Jonathan starts to practice a power, his brother doesn't have yet…
In Smallville, the woman from the child-protection-service was not pleased with the 'progress' in the Kent-family.
Clark didn't know that the woman knew his secret. That she was able to count two and two together and concluded that Clark 'preferred' the powered one over the unpowered one… She wasn't going to ruin the boy's life by spilling that secret. But in the past few days, after studying the Kent-family intensively, she was not sure. She wanted to help Jonathan. And at first, she thought that taking him out of his family would be the best… but after hearing how much afford the Kent's made to 'avenge' their son she was not sure anymore.
Clark led her to the dining-room. Lois ran into the kitchen to clean her face and to prepare coffee hastily. When they sat together at the dining-table Lois and Clark felt worse than the first time she came to their house. Clark felt very unpleasant by the way she was looking on him.
For the woman it was a bit weird. And it took her a lot of courage and self-committing to remain calm, knowing that Superman was sitting across the table. A man she never dared to believe would be a bad father. This man was an idol for hundreds of millions of kids… A man, many of the kids she cared for, adored, and looked up to. A man who was not better than many of the bad parents she faced in her twenty-three years in this job…
"Mr. Kent, Ms. Lane… I am here because there are some open questions! You know I had a talk to your son?"
"Yes!" Clark confirmed.
Three days ago, the woman went to Metropolis to talk to Jonathan. Clark didn't listen in. Jon just wrote a brief WhatsApp-message to let him know after.
"So… your son plans to come back to Smallville tomorrow?"
"Yes! School starts on Monday again. And… there is also… the hearing at school about that… incident!"
"Oh, I know! I was here!" she said. Remembering how several members of the football team planned to kidnap Jon to beat him up. "They will be all out of Smallville for a very long time. But I am here to talk about your son and what led to the other 'incident'. And about why you two lied to me about his whereabouts."
"We took him to treat his amnesia!" Lois said. At the thought that Jon almost died if Jordan hadn't insisted on bringing him to the fortress almost let her burst out in tears again in front of her. But that would be too suspicious.
"Yes! To a woman that does not exist! What was the name? Dr. Lara Lorvan?! Who is she really?"
"Ehm… this is… a long story…" Clark said.
"Mr. Kent, I spend the last week to study this case extensively. From the beginning! And you know… I found some… let's call it: inconsistencies!"
"And what do you mean with that?" Clark asked.
"Let's start with you, Mr. Kent!" the woman began and opened a file. "Most people I talked to about you all told me that you are a very mild-mannered man. So it is hard to believe that you are that kind of father who never listens to his children or forces them to a life they actually don't want!"
Clark lowered his head: "I know. I… I failed! My… my mother would be more than disappointed if she would see how much I failed."
"Tell me about!" the woman said.
"Aww… We were living in Metropolis all together. When… my mother died, I figured out that there was a reverse mortgage on the property. And… there were some developments within the family. Our son Jordan… he got diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder a few years ago. And there was an… ehm… Before my mother died, she suggested to move with the boys here on the farm. And I thought it would be good to grow together as a family. I was… often absent. Due to my job and other responsibilities."
The woman made some notes. She could imagine that this other 'responsibilities' were 'super' important.
"I am honest to you. I was so focused on Jordan and on other things that Jonathan got the feeling that we don't love him." Clark said, a tear running down his face. "And we made the mistake to not to realize that everything what happened had affected him, more than we agreed. I gave him the feeling that I care more about his brother, just because he… has this anxiety…"
Or powers, the woman thought.
"When I talked to your son, he made this … embarrassed impression on me. I have seen this kind of behavior often in kids who feared to not to be able to fulfill the high expectations of their parents. But also… your son shows hints of PTSD. Can you explain that?"
"PTSD… Post traumatic stress disorder?" Lois asked shocked. But if they were honest it was plausible.
Jon went through a lot. Not only he was almost killed multiple times, he had to witness things, not even the strongest adult would be able to handle easily. Then there was the footage from John-Henry's RV. Both saw it after Jon left and they were shocked that Jon had to witness this. Clark realized that his son was right to be afraid of him. And he let it happen.
An hour later, the woman left with much more proves that Clark preferred the superpowered son over his unpowered. But also, with proves that he really regrets it and wanted to be a good father.
As soon as she was gone, Lois began to cry again. Clark filled her in with his plan and with his idea he had to surprise Jon tomorrow when he picks him up at Timmy's house…
Jonathan meanwhile continued practicing and realized how shockingly easy it was for him…
"Wow… I can do it!" Jon said euphoric.
He was able to control it! After only one hour of practicing, he was able to activate his x-ray-vision at command and to control his telescopic vision easily. Something his father needed days to get control over it and would force his brother to spend days at home while he must lie for him again.
"This is way better than it was with the X-K! This feels incredible." Jon said enthusiastically while looking over his and then over Timmy's arms. It was indeed much more incredible then it was when he got it while on X-K. This time it felt true and authentic. "I can see everything… and… ughh… Timmy you should go to the dermatologist with that mole!"
"Oh, really!" Timmy said embarrassed and put his hand over the mole on his right arm, Jon was talking about. "I knew it became darker…"
"I think I am ready!" Jon said self-confidently, stood up and walked head held high back into the house.
It was a wonderful evening…
The party was a huge fun. Jon felt as great as he hadn't in a long time. And he was able to forget all his stress for at least one evening… This boost of self-confidence didn't remain unnoticed, and everyone mentioned how much happier Jon seemed. But the next morning and his return to Smallville were unavoidable…
Please Review and keep well!
This story will probably longer than first expected. I have thousands of ideas how this one develops so we start relatively calm. In the next chapter, Clark will try to get through his son.
