AN: Thanks to the few of you who reviewed. It's good to see I'm not the only one interested in the darker possibilities of Superman. I realize that the story is pretty dark, and it's not going to get much lighter any time soon, I'm sorry to say. I just couldn't resist wondering what Jason would be like if Superman had stayed at a distance and not been such an active and open part of his life the way most of us expect him to do. I really do think they will get a happy ending, but this idea was too interesting to me to ignore. So now to get to the heart of the story. I hope this chapter gives you a better idea of just where Jason is in his life and the history behind him. I would have liked to post this in a few days, but I felt it important to get it out and let more of you see where I'm going with this. The next chapter won't be for a few days yet.

Thanks to htbthomas and Red Devil for their suggestions and improvements to the fic This chapter has been altered slightly from it's original posting..

Chapter One

It was half past six when I pulled up to house. Damn. I was early. Mom said dinner was at seven, which meant that I had an extra half hour to worry and fret over just how she would react to my news. Dad would probably take it okay, but Mom…Mom was always overprotective. Sometimes I wondered how I ever managed to get out of the house at all and off on my own.

I turned off the car and sat in the quiet, thinking over my plans for how to break the news to them in the gentlest way possible. I'd start with the competition first. Anything having to do with my music always made Mom happy. So music first, Kate second. I'd get Mom smiling and then hope that she would keep smiling.

I took a deep breath and willed my heart to stop racing. It was ridiculous that I wasn't nervous at all about proposing – it was telling my mother that scared the crap out of me. As long as Mom didn't freak out, we'd be fine. I just had to do this gently… carefully.

The light by the front door to the house switched on and the door opened to reveal my dad waving at me. "Hey!" he called. "What are you doing out there?"

I smiled, calming my nerves, and climbed out of the car. "Sorry. I was just listening to the radio."

"Yeah, well, come on in. We have a radio in here, you know."

Once inside, he hugged me and directed me to the kitchen where Mom was fussing over dinner. I frowned when I caught the smell of the food. "What is that?" I asked in displeasure.

"Dinner," Dad sighed.

"And what is she fixing this time?"

"Some kind of tofu."

I rolled my eyes. "You're kidding?" I entered the kitchen to find my mother with her back to me as she stirred something on the stove. "Mom, you realize that I eat normal food now, right?"

She turned to look at me. "You eat food you shouldn't be eating when you're off on your own. When you're home, you will eat right."

Dad and I looked at each other blank-faced. "How about we order a pizza?" I offered.

"You will do no such thing," Mom scolded, her hand on her hips. "After two months of avoiding me, I thought I would have gotten a better greeting than this."

Crap. She was right. So much for keeping her happy. "I'm sorry," I said, walking up to her and letting her hug me.

"I missed you," she said, leaning back to look at me.

"I've been busy."

"You cut your hair."

"I like it short."

"You look pale."

"I've been inside most of the semester."

"You need to get out into the sun."

"I'm fine," I said, brushing off the comment. I wasn't willing to let the conversation head in the direction she was taking it. "I, um – I have news."

"News?" Dad said, handing me a glass of wine.

I couldn't resist teasing. "Oh, I don't know, Dad. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to have that. My twenty-first birthday is several months away. And you never know what sort toxins are in the wine."

"All right," Mom sighed, giving in. "I get it. Next time we'll order a pizza, but we're eating this tonight."

"Agreed," I said with a smile.

"So, what's this news?" Dad repeated.

"Um – why don't we eat first?" I had a plan, and the plan included eating first.

We carried the food to the table and sat down to start working our way through the muck my mother insisted we eat. I couldn't care less if I never ate another vegetable again in my life, but I didn't want to fight about it tonight. I needed Mom to smile. I'd already started things off badly. No need to further upset the apple cart.

After several large bites without so much as a complaint, I said, "This isn't so bad. Thanks for having me out tonight."

"You're the one who wanted to visit," Mom reminded me.

"I didn't say you had to fix me dinner though."

"You were probably avoiding it," Dad surmised.

He guessed right, but I didn't dare say that.

"So…your news?" Mom pressed. "I'm in suspense."

"Right…okay." Here we go. Make her smile. "Remember the recital at the end of last year?"

"Of course," she said.

"Well, the head of the department was there, and he's nominated me to participate in a competition next semester."

Mom's eyes went wide. "Jason! That's wonderful!"

I nodded. "Yeah, I was surprised. I thought for sure they would only ask Angela Beckett – and they did ask her. She's amazing. But this year, the school gets to send two participants, so… I get to go."

Mom was very happy. I loved making her happy. "Oh my goodness, Jason! That's just…What all do you have to do?"

"Well, the competition requires us to play two contrasting pieces of our choice. You know, something traditional – classical, and then something more contemporary or jazzy. I haven't decided what yet, but I have to turn in my selections at the end of this month. We have thirty minutes to perform, and five winners are selected to receive a monetary award of five hundred dollars. The champion, though, gets a thousand dollars and a record contract for the two pieces he played at the competition along with one other piece. And it can be an original piece if he wants. So, it's really a chance to not just be heard, but to get your music out there to the public."

"Jason, that's great!" Even my dad, who had never understood my obsession with music, was impressed.

"Oh, honey," Mom said, taking my hand. "This is what you've always wanted."

"Yeah, I know. I mean…I don't think I'll win, but you never know."

"Don't say that," Mom snapped. "You have every chance of winning."

I leaned back in my chair. "Well, there are over a hundred people in the competition, and I know that Angela is…" I sighed. "She's way out of my league."

"They must have thought you were just as good if they asked you to compete," my dad reasoned. It made me feel good that he would even think it.

"Well, we'll see. I'm going to work my ass off to get it. Or rather – work my fingers off."

Mom was still smiling. "I'm so proud of you, Jason. This is just so wonderful."

"I'm glad you're happy."

Keep her smiling.

"'Cause I have some other news, too."

"More news?" Dad asked.

"It couldn't be more exciting than this," Mom added.

"I think it is." I looked over at my mom with the intention of holding her gaze as I told her the rest, but I just couldn't. My eyes darted down to my plate as I said, "I'm going to ask Kate to marry me."

My announcement was met with silence.

"When?" Dad asked.

"Next weekend."

"That's a little sudden, don't you think?"

I looked up to see that Mom was still smiling, but the feeling behind the smile had changed.

"We've been together over a year, Mom. I don't think that's very sudden."

"But you're so young."

"I'm just going to propose. That doesn't mean we're getting married tomorrow. We probably won't get married until we've both finish school."

"Then why the rush to propose?"

"There is no rush. It's just the right time."

"But Jason, she's only your second girlfriend. How can you be sure…?

"How is anyone sure?" I ignored the slight from Mom about only having two girl friends. There had been more girls than that along the way, but none of them caught my interest long enough to actually date more than once. "Look, I love her and she loves me and I can't imagine not having her around."

"But--"

"You just don't like her," I pointed out. "If I were saying this about any other girl, you'd be thrilled for me."

She shook her head at me. "No, that's not it. I just don't understand why you want to get engaged if you don't have plans to get married for a while."

"Says the woman who was engaged for seven years." The words were out of my mouth before I had the chance to think about them.

What little smile was left on my mother's face vanished.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't mean to go there."

Her eyes were hard and full of hurt. She shoved her chair back from the table, tossed her napkin down and said, "Excuse me," in a cold voice.

I slumped over, holding my head in my hands and hating myself for bringing it up. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"I'm not the one that you have to apologize to, Jason."

"I know, I just…I just thought she'd be okay with this."

Dad laughed. "Jason, you know Lois doesn't care for Kate. Why would you ever think that your mom would be okay with this?"

"Mom liked Kate just fine when they first met."

"Yes, she did. Until Kate mentioned how much she hated a certain someone in a red cape."

"Don't," I warned, shooting him a nasty look.

"Well, Jason, it does seem a little odd that you'd want to spend your life with someone who…well…has those kinds of feelings."

"I don't think it's odd at all," I bit. "Her feelings are the same as mine. We agree on something that's very important to me."

"Jason," he groaned. "It's a little different for you."

"Yeah, and I'm tried of being a little different." I pushed myself away from the table and stood up. "I knew telling you both about this would be a mistake. It's one of the reasons I didn't want to come out here, but I thought that you'd be even more upset with me if I didn't tell you. I should have stuck with my instincts and stayed in the city."

I stormed out of the house, ignoring the way Dad was calling to me to come back. I knew I should have at least gone back and apologized to him and to Mom one more time, but my temper had gotten the better of me and I just couldn't face them until I had a chance to calm down.

I walked around the back of the house and sat down on the deck. The cool breeze coming off of the water refreshed me, and I lay back with my knees bent so as to soak up the stillness of the night. The sun was setting, and I purposefully turned my face away from it and the warmth it offered.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps approaching from the house. "I thought you'd left," came my mother's voice.

"I just wanted a minute to sit in the quiet," I explained.

"I warned you when you moved to the city that all the noise would bother you. With your sensitive hearing--"

"Mom," I stopped her. "Please."

But she wouldn't let it drop. "I know that you like to ignore your gifts, but Jason—"

"MOM! Just let it go!"

She didn't say anything for a moment. We just sat and let the tension between us grow.

"Does Kate know?" Mom asked at last.

"Know what?" I said, even though I knew very well what she was asking me.

"Does she know...about you?"

"She knows everything about me that she needs to know."

She shook her head in disagreement. "If you're thinking of marrying her--"

I sat up fully and turned to face her. "Mom, I'm not thinking about getting married. I am going to get married."

"She said yes already?"

"Not in exact terms, but we have talked about it. We've talked about where we want to live, things we want to do with our lives, kids – no one talks about having kids unless they want to get married to each other."

"Kids?" She looked totally taken aback.

"Yeah. You know, as in a family. Kate wants at least two."

Mom rolled her eyes. "Oh, Jason."

"What? I'm not allowed to have a family now?"

"No! Not like this!"

"Not like what?"

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it quickly and turned away from me.

"Not like what?" I asked again.

She huffed and looked at me with determined eyes. "Well, first of all, she needs to know that any children of yours will be special."

"Oh, lord," I groaned.

"And second of all, you need to tell your father and see what he has to say about all of this."

I froze. "I did tell my father."

"You did?" She sounded surprised.

"Yes. Just now. I told him at dinner."

She glared at me. "Jason, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do know what you mean and to tell you the truth, I'd like to forget you even said it." I got to my feet and started to walk away.

"Jason," she called, walking after me. "I know that for the most part you'd rather ignore your relationship to him, but in this case, you really can't."

"Yes, I can."

"You don't even know if this is possible."

I turned on her at that, enraged that she would even bring up something like that. "Mom, look at me. Given the fact that I am here, I think I have enough proof that it's possible."

"That's not what I mean. Of course, it's possible, but is it…"

"What?"

"Is it allowed? I thought…I thought it was one of those rules."

I squinted at her, hardly believing what she was suggesting. "Those rules are for him."

"And he's a part of you."

"And if I could, I would cut it out of me."

She gasped and I could see that her eyes were filling with tears. "You don't mean that."

I did mean it, but I knew that to repeat myself would only make things worse. I took a deep breath and refocused my temper. "I think I should just go, Mom."

"Don't leave like this. Don't leave angry."

"I'm not…angry." I lied. "I just…wasn't expecting you to bring up…him."

"Well, what did you expect?"

"I expected you to be angry about my choice, and I was ready to defend Kate to you. I was ready to try to convince you that she is a good person with a kind heart who loves me. I was ready to fight about that, but I wasn't ready to fight about him."

She raised her eye brows at me. "You had to know that he would come into this. I mean Jason – children. Really. How can you even think of that and not tell Kate the truth?"

"Fine," I gave in. "I'll tell Kate the truth, but that doesn't mean I have to tell him about it."

"He has a right to know."

Something in me snapped. "No. He doesn't have any right. He gave up that right a long time ago. Technically speaking, he never has had that right - or have you forgotten that I am legally Richard's son?"

"Is that what this is about? That it's Richard's name on your birth certificate?"

She didn't get it. I doubted that she ever would. "Just forget it, Mom. I'm going to head out of here." I walked around the house to my car.

"All right, fine, but promise me something."

I huffed and turned around to look at her. "What?"

"Promise me that you'll consider talking to him about this."

She would never give it up.

"Promise me," She repeated when I gave no reply.

"Why?"

"Because I think he has a lot of insight into this – more than you are willing to give him credit for. And you need to remember that no amount of pretending will actually change your biology. He was given those instructions for a reason, Jason, and they are obviously very important to him."

"More important than I am, even," I mumbled under my breath so that she couldn't hear.

"Just think about everything you've learned from him about his home. Think about all those messages from your ancestors."

I cringed. It was those messages that drove such a wedge between us. Ever since I'd first heard Jor-El speak, I'd been trying to forget it.

"Please," Mom continued, "think about talking to him before you make any decisions. There might be consequences you aren't even aware of."

I hadn't thought about that. Consequences. I wondered for a moment if she was right. After all, Kryptonian technology was far more advanced than human technology. There was no telling what they could do to me, but I wasn't ready to talk about that with my mom. Instead, I sighed softly and said, "Mom, I love you. I really do. But I can't. I just can't."

But that was a lie. I did think about it. I thought about it all night long. I thought about it on the drive home. I thought about it as I tried to fall asleep that night. Voices echoed through my head over and over again, reminding me of a past I had spent the last few years trying to forget.

It is forbidden to interfere with human history.

Was that what I was doing? Would getting married be considered interfering with history? He interfered once…and I'm the result.

You can not serve humanity by investing your time and emotion in one human being at expense of the rest. The concepts are mutually exclusive.

That one was pretty clearly stated. It was obvious to me that Jor-El was against marriage, and clearly he had listened to Jor-El and taken those words to heart or else he would have stayed with my mother, right?

But those laws were meant for him. They were never intended for me. Or were they? I couldn't get my brain around it. I wasn't supposed to be part of the equation. I wasn't even supposed to be here. According to Jor-El, my very existence was an impossibility. But I was here, and part of me was Kryptonian. Still…I was also part human. That had to account for something.

It was too confusing. As much as I hated to think about it, I was simply going to have to do something I swore to myself I would never do again. I would have to talk to him.