Chapter 110: The Longest Day

Disclaimer: All things Supergirl/Superman belong to DC. No infringement is intended.

In Memory of Kevin Conroy, the one true voice of Batman

Despite all the excitement about Earth's new sister worlds, the founding of an interstellar alliance, and the ongoing effort to peacefully unite planet Earth under a single government, life seemed to slow down for the Kryptonian called Kara-El and her family. Oh, there were still many challenges, many situations that required their attention, but somehow none of them seemed as big or insurmountable as those they had already dealt with in the past.

So life settled into a routine. Superwoman and her children saved lives. CEO Karen Kent ensured that the technological progress of Earth never slowed down, but did not veer off into dangerous directions, either. Her daughter Kona aka Cornelia Jones-Kent proved her mettle as heir apparent of the vast corporate entity and moved out of the Kent house to share an apartment with her best friend Zatanna Zatara in Las Vegas.

Her son Clark married his girlfriend Lois Lane and became a reporter at the Daily Planet. The Justice League grew larger, becoming ever more proficient at protecting the Earth and its allies. The interplanetary alliance grew and ensured peace in their corner of the Milky Way. Even the civil war in the former Dominion finally ended after several years, the victorious faction putting an end to the caste system and liberating all of the annexed races. Everything, it seemed, was going well.

And so the years passed, time flowing along like a broad, peaceful river. But the river is ever-changing, even when it appears calm and tranquil. And sometimes the rapids of change come suddenly and without warning.

One such change happened one night when Jonathan Kent went to bed early, feeling tired, and did not wake up again.

Smallville, 4:00am (CT)

Kara woke up with a start, not sure what it was that had wrenched her from her sleep. With her enhanced senses, there was always a deluge of sensory information flooding into her mind, but she had long ago learned to tune out most of it. Certain keywords like 'help' or 'fire' would always penetrate her sleeping mind, just like the sounds of explosions and other disasters, but she could register nothing of the sort.

There was only the sound of the wind outside the house, though a far cry from the levels required to form a tornado or anything like that. So what had awoken her? Concentrating, she focused on the sounds in the house. There was Sandy's heartbeat in the room next door; the girl made from sand now proficient in maintaining her Kryptonian form indefinitely and having figured out how to sleep a while ago. Everything was okay there, it seemed.

The house she and Sandy were living in was still relatively new. A few years back Kara had constructed this second house on the land of the Kent Farm. After Kona had moved out, Kara and Sandy had moved into this separate house with the intent of giving Martha and Jonathan some privacy after many years of having rumbunctious super-powered kids in the house. Kara had never really considered moving away from Smallville, it was her home, but she figured her parents deserved some space to themselves.

Still, the main house was close enough that she could easily refocus her senses and she quickly listened in on the master bedroom. She made out Martha's heartbeat and even breathing. There was, however, something missing. Icy fear gripping her heart, Kara realized that it was not a sound that had woken her. It was the absence of a sound.

Kara blurred out of bed and was at Jonathan's side of the bed a second later.

"Dad? DAD!? Dad, please! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Metropolis, 5:20am (EST)

Clark woke up to the ringing of the telephone next to the bed. No, it wasn't the phone, he realized a second later. It was the emergency communicator he only ever took off to sleep and even then always placed it right next to himself. Coming fully awake, he quickly took it.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Next to him, Lois came awake upon hearing him speak. Sitting up sleepily, she looked at her husband. When she saw the way his face fell, though, she came wide awake. The communicator dropped from his hand to the floor.

"Clark?" she asked, putting a hand on his arm.

He was looking straight ahead. For a moment she thought that he was using his enhanced vision to look at something beyond the walls of their apartment, but that wasn't it. He was simply staring at nothing.

"Clark, what's wrong?"

He slowly turned towards her and the utter devastation in his eyes almost made her gasp.

"That was mom," he finally muttered. "She said that... that Uncle Jonathan is dead."

Lois put her hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. "Oh my god," she muttered.

Clark shook his head. "I... I need to fly to Smallville. I... mom needs me. Aunt Martha needs me. I... I have to go..."

He stumbled out of bed, snagging his foot in the sheets, nearly falling to the floor. Seeing that her husband was all out of sorts, Lois quickly got up.

"Okay, let's get dressed, then we fly together!"

Her words seemed to snap Clark out of his confusion, at least a little bit, and he gave her a grateful look.

"Right, let's go!"

Las Vegas, 2:22am (PST)

"Okay, I'm an alien half breed with superpowers who doesn't need much sleep," Kona laughed. "What's your excuse?"

The two young women were walking down the Las Vegas Strip, having just left a party where they had stayed a lot longer than originally intended. Mostly due to Zatanna refusing to stop partying.

"My excuse," Zatanna told her, words slightly slurred due to her being a tiny bit drunk, "is that my solo stage show is a hit! A great big hit! And all those idiots who said that there would never be a successful female stage magician are now eating their words! Ha!"

"I'm proud of you, Zee," Kona told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to pull her closer (and make sure she didn't run into anything). "Still, I think it's time for all successful female stage magicians to go to bed."

"You're no fun," Zatanna pouted, doing her best to walk in a straight line. "This is Vegas! The city that never sleeps!"

"Yeah, but cities don't really need much sleep, either."

"Are you saying cities are Kryptonians?" Zee asked, giggling. "Or that you are the human form of a city?"

"You are hilarious when you're drunk, Zee," Kona told her.

"And you're beeping," Zatanna told her.

"What? Oh, right!" Kona took the emergency com out of her handbag and held it to her ear.

"Mom? No, me and Zee haven't even been to bed yet. What...?"

Zatanna almost instantly sobered as she saw the way her best friend blanched and almost stumbled.

"Kona?" she asked.

"I... I'm on my way," Kona simply said, switching off the com. When she turned to look at Zatanna, there were tears streaming down her face.

"It's grandpa Jonathan," she sobbed.

Smallville, 5am (CT)

J'Onn J'Onnz, known the world over as the Martian Manhunter, was no stranger to loss. Thousands of years ago he had been the sole survivor of his people, whose war with the invading Imperium had driven both races into extinction. He had lost his friends and his family, including his wife and daughter. And for thousands of years afterwards he had been all alone.

Then he had found new friends and a new family. Kara-El, who had lost her people just like him, had taken him in, had introduced him to her own adopted family, and he had become one of them. He had become Cousin John. Cousin John, who regularly visited his family in Smallville, not just for the holidays, but whenever there was time. For there was nothing more important than family, no matter whether it was one connected through blood or not.

And now Cousin John arrived in Smallville for another family matter. For it seemed his family had suffered a terrible loss.

When he arrived at the Kent Farm, having landed a little way off to assume his human guise, he already saw that a number of unfamiliar cars were parked in front of the main house. One was an ambulance. The other... the other was a black hearse.

As John approached the house, a body was carried out on a stretcher.

"John?" a voice tore him out of his revery. Martha Kent was standing in the door, pale and trembling, her eyes puffy from crying.

Without needing another prompt, John quickly walked over to her and took her into his arms. Martha collapsed into his chest, fresh tears falling from her eyes.

"Oh, John," Martha sobbed. "He... he just... I didn't even notice. When I woke up, he was already..."

"It was his heart," a new voice said. John looked up to see Karen walking out of the house. Clark and Kona walked beside her, their arms around their mother. Clark and Kona had clearly been crying, while Kara looked lifeless, her face utterly expressionless. Sandy was a step behind them, looking confused, while Lois was wringing her hands, clearly having no idea how to help.

"I was... I was unaware that Jonathan had heart problems," John finally said, still holding a crying Martha.

"None of us knew," Karen said, her voice barely audible. "Apparently he had been to a doctor recently but was told that it was nothing. I... I assume he did not tell us because he felt there was nothing we should worry about."

"I am so sorry, Karen, Martha," John said. "I... I am sorry."

It never got any easier to lose a family member, not even after thousands of years. Nor did it get any easier to find the proper words to say, not even for a telepath. So he merely held the broken woman who had just lost her husband and resolved to do his best to be there for his family in this hour of need.

Metropolis, 6:30am (EST)

"Thank you for letting me know, Lois," Perry White said. "Please give my condolences to everyone."

He put down the phone and leaned back on his couch. It was still dark outside and far, far too early for a drink, really. Normally he wouldn't have gotten up for another hour or so, but there was no way in hell he would manage to go back to sleep now.

He had only known Jonathan Kent for a few years, but the two of them were of the same generation and had easily bonded over their shared affection for Karen. They had laughed over the fact that Perry had long considered Superwoman something like a surrogate daughter, while Karen Kent was Jonathan's actual daughter. They had even done a private toast together for Zor-El, Karen's biological father, thanking him for sending his girl into their lives. Perry had visited the Kent farm several times and the Kents had even visited him in Metropolis once when they had been in town for a K-Solutions charity event.

Sighing deeply, he looked down at his wrinkled hands. "It's getting to be that time, isn't it?" he asked no one in particular. "When you start burying your friends."

Knowing that sleep was no longer an option, he decided to get up and pack. It was time to visit some family in Kansas.

Gotham City, 6:40am (EST)

Sitting in front of his computer with his mask pulled back, Batman simply stared into the darkness. Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, he turned to look at his old friend. With a glance he catalogued every wrinkle on that familiar face, saw every grey hair, all the many signs of the relentless march of time.

"Master Bruce?" Alfred asked, seeing the grave look in his ward's face.

"Jonathan Kent died in his sleep tonight, Alfred," Bruce simply said. "We will do everything in our power to make this time as easy for Karen and her family as possible."

"Of course, sir," Alfred said. "Will we be travelling to Kansas then?"

"Eventually," he replied. "First, we will make sure that no one gets any stupid ideas."

Getting up, Batman slipped on his mask and stepped in front of his computer. His mouth a thin, hard line, he activated the communicator. Over the years pretty much every superhero currently active on Earth who was found to be trustworthy had been handed a communicator either by Superwoman or by him, enabling them to coordinate in case of a global emergency. As Batman began to speak, the call went out to hundreds of receivers all over the world.

"This is Batman," he began, his gravelly voice unmistakable to anyone who had ever heard it before. "I am declaring a state of heightened alert. Due to classified circumstances, Superwoman and her family will be out of action for the foreseeable future. Once their absence becomes noticeable, certain elements might look to take advantage of that.

"I am counting on all of you to ensure that anyone who tries something in the next days and weeks will be shown the error of their ways quickly and empathically. Don't hesitate to call for assistance if necessary. Batman out!"

Turning off the communicator, Batman sat back in down in his chair.

"I will make preparations for our trip then," Alfred eventually said, turning to leave the Batcave.

"Alfred?" Batman said, causing him to pause.

"Sir?"

Standing up, Batman drew back his mask again and walked over to Alfred. Hesitating for but a moment, Bruce Wayne gathered his father in all but blood in a long, heart-felt embrace.

Smallville, 6:15am (CT)

"I don't understand it," Sandy said.

Lois was wrenched from her thoughts and looked at the youngest member of the Kent family. Sandy had been mostly silent since everyone had gathered together, standing to the side. To be honest Lois had barely noticed her presence. She knew who (and what) Sandy was, of course, but the girl had never made much of an impression on her so far during her visits to the Kent farm, usually being a mostly silent observer of events.

"What don't you understand, honey?" Lois asked.

Sandy looked at her, looking lost. "Why is he gone?"

Lois put a hand on her shoulder. "The doctor said it was his heart, Sandy. He..."

"No, I understand that," Sandy interrupted her. "I know that a vital part of his body malfunctioned, but... but why is he gone?"

Lois was confused. "Sandy, I'm afraid I don't understand your question."

"It's all just matter and energy," Sandy said. "Everything is just matter and energy. The matter is still here, but where is the energy? Why is it gone?"

Lois only knew the barest details about Sandy's nature. That she was an energy being from another dimension who had created a body for herself, patterned after that of Superwoman. It made sense, Lois mused, that such a being would have trouble with... well, death.

Lois drew the confused girl closer, trying to find the words. "Sandy... you know that... well, energy cannot be destroyed, right? But it can be changed, right?"

"Of course," Sandy replied.

"Well, the… the energy that was Jonathan... of course it's not gone, not really. But... but it has changed. It's like... like when you came here from your dimension. You are still you, but you have changed. You now live in a different world than before, right? And you are different than before, too."

Sandy nodded. "You mean... grandpa Jonathan is not gone, but... changed... and somewhere else?"

"Something like that, yes," Lois told her.

Sandy nodded after a few moments. "Yes, that makes sense. Thank you, Lois." And with that she walked off.

"You're welcome, I guess," Lois mumbled.

Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder. Lois looked up and saw that Martha had walked up behind her.

"Thank you, Lois," she merely said, tears in her eyes.

The two women embraced, even as the sun was rising on Smallville.

Smallville, 2pm (CT)

The announcement of Jonathan Kent's death had hit the small town like an earthquake, for the Kent patriarch had been liked and respected by almost everyone. So it was not a big surprise that a steady trickle of people came by the farm over the course of the day to express their condolences and offer their help.

After yet another couple of people was done telling them how much Jonathan would be missed, Kara was ready to smash a giant robot, demolish an alien armada, or wipe the floor with some minor god or other, if only she could get away from this. She settled on emphatically closing the door behind the latest well-wishers with only a tad more strength than was normal. The door held... just.

"I do not think I can take any more of that," Kara muttered, running her fingers through her hair. She had not cried yet, but the strain was clearly visible on her face and in her shaking hands.

Martha was sitting on the couch, looking as if she had aged a decade since this morning.

"They miss him, too, honey," Martha told her, her voice raw. "They mean well."

"I know," Kara growled. "That is the only reason I have not used my heat vision on any of them yet!"

Kona came into the living room. "I put away the food Mrs. Wallace brought," she said. "The fridge is bursting at the seams."

"You, Clark, and Lois will have to take some of it with you when you go home," Martha said as the young woman sat down beside her, snuggling into her side.

"I can stay," Kona said. "I'm not leaving you alone."

"We're staying, too," Clark announced as he and Lois came in, his arm slung around his wife.

"Yeah, and Perry is probably on his way here as we speak," Lois added.

Martha forced a smile. "Thank you! All of you!"

The door opened and J'Onn walked in, a huge basket filled with freshly baked muffins in his hands. "Mrs. Taylor sends her condolences," he explained. "I asked her to spread the word that we could do with a break from visitors for now."

"You're a saint, J'Onn," Martha told him.

Kara sat down on the couch on Martha's other side and put her head on her shoulder. "How are you holding up, mom?"

Martha squeezed her hand. "I... I have no idea, honey. I think it hasn't really hit me yet. How about you?"

Kara took a long time before she answered. "In my head I always knew that I would probably outlive you and dad. Kryptonian life spans are longer than humans and that does not even factor in our solar-charged powers. I knew that I would one day stand at dad's grave and... and it does not help. It does not make it easier one bit."

"It never does," Martha agreed, holding her daughter close.

Smallville, 9pm (CT)

It was still early in the evening. The sun had gone down, though, and everyone was more than a bit tired. John was already asleep on the pull-out couch, while Kona had taken residence in her old room. Lois and Clark were in the other house, entwined in sleep, and Sandy was over there as well.

Martha stood at the foot of the stairs, looking up into the darkness. She had lived here in this house for so many years. The best times of her life had happened here. Now, though, the very thought of going up there and into the empty bedroom scared her more than anything. The upper floor was like the void, cold and empty, where it had once been a place of comfort and love.

She put her foot on the first step but couldn't make herself put her weight forward. Her body simply refused.

"Mom?"

Martha turned, seeing that Karen was standing in the door.

"Karen, I...," she began, but trailed off.

Karen just looked at her, an understanding smile on her face.

"Think you could sleep with me in my bed, mom?" Karen said. "I do not think I can stand to be alone tonight."

Martha nodded. "Of course, honey."

Arm in arm the two women headed for Karen's old room.

Smallville, four days later

Standing at the lectern of Smallville's church, Kara struggled to find the words. She had spoken before the United Nations, before the assembly of the Free World's Alliance, and before thousands of freed prisoners on Vukar Tag. None of which had been anywhere near as hard as this.

Looking at the small crowd inside the church, she drew strength from the fact that so many of her friends were here. Bruce and Alfred, Perry, Diana and Donna, Mary and Robert West along with Wally, Adam and his family from Rann, they had all come to stand with her family. Diana had apologized profusely for not being here sooner, not considering "I was stuck in Hades battling an ancient Titan who wished to destroy the world" sufficient excuse for not being there for her sister in her time of need.

"I first met my uncle Jonathan when I was 13 years old," she finally began. "I had just lost... all the family I had ever known. I felt... like I was all alone in the world. I had a newborn son to take care of and I had no idea how. And then I met Jonathan and Martha. They saved me. When I thought I had lost everything, they were there for me. They were there for me every day since. And knowing that... that he won't be there now... at least not physically... that will take a lot of getting used to.

"I have loved Jonathan Kent with all my heart. And... and if there is one thing I regret... then it is… it is that I needed such a long time to... to call him dad. He might not have been my father by blood, but... but he was my dad. And he always will be."

Sitting down beside Martha, she took her crying mom into her arms and together they watched as the priest took up the lectern to speak the final words of the funeral mass.

"Goodbye, dad," Kara muttered, still unable to cry.

South Africa, one week later

Wonder Woman arrived as the battle was already over. Some mad scientist or other had constructed a huge, towering robot and had planned to... do something with it, who knew? Either way, the robot had rampaged through a small town and had then threatened to approach Port Elizabeth. At that point Superwoman had arrived on the scene.

The battle as such had been short, but when Diana set down, Kara was still busy pounding the sorry remains of the former robot into ever smaller pieces of scrap. As she approached, Diana could see that Kara had tears running freely down her face.

"Sister?" Diana asked.

Kara stopped and fell to her knees, a sob breaking free of her throat. Diana was at her side in an instant.

"He is gone, Diana," Kara sobbed. "He is really gone."

Diana did not know what had set this off, what tiny little thing had finally made the whole thing real, and it didn't matter in the slightest. Taking her sister into her arms, Diana allowed her to cry for her loss.

Metropolis, two weeks later

Clark, moving too fast to be seen, flew into the apartment he shared with his wife Lois by way of their balcony. It had taken them much longer than anticipated to put out the fires in Australia, the winds and scorching heat had made it far more difficult than they figured. The fact that none of them were at the top of their game had, of course, also played a factor.

He was tired and wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with Lois and sleep for a day or two. Looking around, he found his wife sitting at her desk, her head resting on her crossed arms, sound asleep.

He smiled as he moved towards her, careful not to wake her. Apparently she had been busy writing while she waited for him. Looking at the screen, he saw that she was using the heavily encrypted Kryptonian-style hard drive he had installed for her. Lois oftentimes processed things by writing about them. So in order to enable her to write about things not fit for public viewing, they had made sure she could do so without endangering their privacy.

His eyes widened a bit when he read the topic of the piece.

In memory of the most important man on planet Earth

There is a man you have probably never heard of, dear Reader, who recently passed away peacefully in his sleep. His name was Jonathan Kent, beloved husband of Martha Kent, and adopted father of the most powerful woman in the world. He lived in Smallville, Kansas, a town practically no one outside its city limits even knows exists.

Jonathan was a man who was at the same time entirely ordinary and yet also so very extraordinary. A farmer by trade, a dedicated husband, a regular church goer, a devoted father to his adopted daughter, and a loving grandfather as well. None of which sounds in any way like he should be considered the most important man on planet Earth, right? Yet he was.

For on a day many years ago, an entirely ordinary and unremarkable day as far as the rest of the world was concerned, this man, along with his wife, came upon two children who had fallen from the sky. Two survivors of a cataclysm that had killed a world. By now, dear Reader, I am sure you are fully aware who these children were. Jonathan and Martha Kent were the people who made first contact with the alien refugees that would one day become known as Superwoman and Superman.

I would ask you, dear Reader, to take just a moment to imagine how very, very wrong that moment could have gone, had someone else come upon these two. One of them just a baby, the other a traumatized young girl barely into her teens. How would our world look today had their first experience with humans been one of hatred, of fear, of abuse, or even cold indifference? Would our world have been deprived of its greatest heroes? Or worse, could a disastrous first contact with humans have turned them against our people?

We will never know, thankfully, because the people they encountered upon their first moments on planet Earth were Jonathan Kent and his wife Martha. People who welcomed them with sympathy, with compassion, and with love. People who showed them the very best sides of humanity instead of our worst. People who took them in, cared for them, helped them through the trauma of losing everything, and raised them into the wonderful heroes we know today.

Many people have said – me among them – that Superwoman and her son, despite being aliens, exemplify the very best aspects of humanity. That they hold all of us to a higher standard, showing us what we can and should be. That higher standard, dear Reader, is none other than Jonathan Kent. Whenever Superwoman talked about the potential of humans, about the kindness she had been shown here, she was talking about her adopted father.

I had the pleasure of knowing Jonathan for a number of years and I actually talked with him about that once. I told him that I admired him for what he and Martha had done, what they had accomplished. And what, dear Reader, did Jonathan do upon hearing that? He merely smiled and waved it off. In his mind, he had done nothing extraordinary at all. In his mind, welcoming these alien refugees and showing them love and compassion had simply been the right thing to do. Not even worth a mention. The most natural thing in the world. And that, dear Reader, is what made him so very, very special.

Jonathan Kent was a man who considered himself entirely ordinary. Who firmly believed that his gentle strength, his boundless compassion, and his willingness to extend a helping hand to anyone who needed it, was just something normal. A quality shared by everyone. It is my sincere hope that one day humanity will prove him right. That one day people like Jonathan Kent will truly be the norm and entirely common.

Until that day, though, it is important to remember Jonathan Kent. Maybe the world will never know how much of a debt we owe this man. But those who knew him, they will remember. He will never be forgotten.

Goodbye, Jonathan. And thank you.

With tears in his eyes, Clark gently took his sleeping wife into his arms and carried her towards their bed.

End Chapter 110

Author's Note: I debated long and hard on whether or not to include the death of Jonathan Kent in this story. Jonathan dies in pretty much every canon version of Superman sooner or later (and sometimes in very, very stupid ways. Looking at you, Kevin Costner), so I was very tempted to leave him alive. I also briefly considered switching around and having Martha be the Kent parent to die first. In the end, though, I figured that this was one more step in Kara's journey, experiencing the frailties of her adopted people first-hand, and decided to go with the classics. Hope it made sense.

Fearful symmetry: as I was writing this chapter, I read about Kevin Conroy passing away. The definitive voice of Batman has left us, sadly. Goodspeed, Kevin. Batman has had many faces over the years, but now and forever, you will be his voice, even though you're gone.

Up next: the final story arc of the Adventures of a Super Family begins. Superwoman has defeated gods, raised her kids into heroes, and fulfilled her destiny as the Seeder of Worlds. Everything is as it should be. What is left for a hero to do when all heroic deeds are accomplished, and all quests are fulfilled?