Red Like Roses
AN: The response to this has been overwhelmingly positive! I also like changing up the format and posting my responses to the reviews at the end. However if you prefer it to be here then please speak up and I'll change it! Anyway! Onto the chapter!
Oh! Also I found out the hard way that I said the Jon's height was 4'3", I meant to write 5'3" I'll have changed it by now but in case anyone misses it….well you can grow a lot in a year.
Also the next few chapters will be shorter as they're basically the trailers for RWBY…..but you'll probably be surprised by what happens in them.
Training for entrance into Beacon for Jon was…slow going. Not that he wasn't eager to learn, but with him still in primary school, he needed to dedicate time to that just as much as the training he and his dad were doing. Both his parents agreed that the education he got was important. While it wasn't as widespread as it was back on Earth according to his parents, going to school was nevertheless important for him. So that meant he went through his homework first before any training if his dad was home.
"Be honest, do you ever use calculus?" Jon asked his father as he followed him through the field of wheat that stretched over the hill on their property. Fall had come and gone and a fresh coat of snow covered the ground, meaning that they didn't need to worry about damaging crops. Jon was dressed in a red hoodie while his dad wore a wool lined coat, the cold didn't affect them but they did need to look the part.
Clark smiled, "On occasion." he admitted, "You'd be surprised how much math goes into my line of work." he said as they stopped in the middle of the field. "Alright, we've been practicing your control with your strength and while it's important, I think you might be ready for your speed." he explained as he took off his glasses and folded them up before slipping them into his pockets.
Jon did the same as his father, "Are you sure? I mean shouldn't I get strength down before moving onto something else?" he asked unsurely. So far their exercises in strength had been of him safely lifting heavy objects up over his head for long periods of time while making sure he didn't crush them. It was slow going but he now knew he could throw something without worry of crushing it in his hands.
"Normally I'd agree, but with Beacon's entrance exam a year away, getting you used to some of your more basic powers before you get there would probably be for the best." he explained. If Jon was accepted into Beacon he would have to live on campus, which was a big change from the farm, less privacy and no open fields to practice his powers in like he did when he was a kid. Clark gave him a reassuring smile, "But we got this." he assured.
Jon smiled, "Right…..so how does super speed work?" he asked.
Clark chuckled, "Well first it's just you running. Just run as fast as you can and we'll take it from there." he planned out. However it sounded a little too simple for Jon, he's obviously run before but he's never gone faster, as fast, or relative to the speed of a bullet. But his dad knew how their powers work backwards and forwards, if there's anyone who knew who what they were talking about when it came to his powers it was him.
Looking down at his old dirty sneakers, he hopped on the balls of his feet before sliding one foot back and stretching his arms out in front of him, touching the ground with his hands as his foot dragged across the snow and made a little pile. "Ok. On your mark, get set…Go!" Clark shouted, his son taking off running through the field. He took off at a respectable speed for someone his age, he was over twenty yards away from his dad and where he started within the first minute. By the first minute he half a football's field away from Clark. I miss the Smallville Crows. Clark thought with a bit of woe as he followed his son's progress, he was running as fast as an athlete would.
Super Speed sounded simple of course, just running fast, but that was it's most basic function. It took him a few months to learn how to properly use it and years until he could reach his full speed. Watching his son turn his direction so he was running along their property line to the North, taking off from the ground he flew over to his son, catching up to him easily, "Alright, great start. Now try putting more power behind it." he instructed as he dropped to the ground and jogged beside his son at a easy pace.
Jon nodded and when his foot hit the ground he leaned onto it more and shot forward in the blur!
…..and straight through a dozen trees.
Clark winced as he rushed over to his son who was underneath one of the trees, You ok?" he asked as his son blinked and looked around, not entirely sure what he just did. Pushing the trunk off his chest he sat up and saw the field a couple yards away with all the new path he accidently carved into the tree line.
"Yeah…..what….what just happened?" he asked as his dad offered him a hand which he took.
Pulling his son to his feet, he dusted a few leaves off his arm, "Well you put power into your foot instead of your legs, you basically launched yourself forward." he explained with a little amusement in his voice. "Basically you leapt a tall building horizontally." he explained. Jon smiled sheepishly as his dad patted his shoulder, "Same thing happened to me, only it was through the silo instead of a few trees." he said, making Jon snort.
"Alright good to know." he replied as they walked back out towards the field, "So what do I do?" he asked his father.
Clark thought of how best to explain the first step, "Focus on your speed, not how much strength you put into your legs but how fast your moving." he tried to explain. Truth be told it had come fairly natural to him as a boy, so he was hoping the same could be applied to Jon. However the unsure look his son made told him that might not be the case, "Alright how's a better way to put this?" he asked himself, with Conner Kent, the clone that used his and Lex Luthor's DNA had started training under him it had been easy since Conner already had a solid handle on his powers. Suddenly a thought came to mind, "Jon, I want you to try and go for it."
Jon blinked at his dad, "What?" he asked with a confused shake of his head, "Go for-what does that even mean?" he asked.
His dad put a hand on his back and pointed the other one straight ahead, "I want you to run as fast as you can in that direction, full speed, don't worry about anything on your way." he said, making Jon look at him strangely. The past month or so had been about controlling his powers, but now he had to just….do the opposite of that?
"Um….ok?" he responded unsurely as he got into another running position. Taking a deep breath he took off running, Just…..go all- he thought as he threw his power into all of his body, his shape shooting across the snow in a blur of red! -OOOOOHHHHHHH CRAAPPPPPP! as he ran up the hill and shot off it over their the far like a plane taking off from a runway. His looked down as the ground got farther and farther away, his arms and legs flailing out before slowly stopping. Oh…..wow. he thought in awe as he reached the apex of his takeoff.
He smiled to himself, remembering how when he was a kid he would sometimes try and hop off the ground and fly like his dad would. "Up, up and away." he said to himself before gravity started to act on him, "Uh oh." he said as he began to fall. Before he start plummeting however, his father flew up behind him and looped his arms under Jon's shoulders and lifted him up.
"Gotcha!" Clark said as he flew down towards the ground and landed in a field, "Ok, maybe I shouldn't have pointed you towards a hill." his dad admitted with a laugh to his voice as Jon turned to him. The father and son both chuckled to themselves as he patted his son on the shoulder, "But you did it! You got super speed!" he said with a congratulatory voice.
Realization dawned on Jon's face, "I….I did! Holy crap! I did!" he said before smiling, "Ha! Second try!" he said proudly. His dad help up a hand for a high five which he happily slapped, "Man I don't know how you haven't crashed into a building with how fast you are like that." he said in awe, he could see in front of him but he closed in on the hill so fast it was like he was at it's base one second, then the next he was launching off it.
"Well that's the first part, getting your body to use super speed, the harder part is getting your mind to operate that fast." he explained as he tapped the side of his head.
Jon blinked as he thought it over, "So….I need to think as fast as I move?" he tried to understand.
"More like you need to synch your perception of time up to your speed." he explained as he took out a multitool out of his pants pocket. He tossed it up in the air and caught it leisurely. "When I'm moving at superspeed, I'm able to slow down my perception of how time operates. It allows me to act fast and with precision." he said as he tossed the tool up into the air, only for it to disappear in a quick swipe from his father's hand which Jon barely saw. "Check your pocket." he said.
Jon patted his hands over his jacket and his eyes widened when he felt a shape in his right coat pocket, pulling it out he found the multitool. "Woah…I can be that fast?" he asked in awe as he handed it back to his dad who simply smiled.
"Eventually yes, but it's taken me years to get as fast as I am now. I wasn't 'Faster then a speeding bullet' until I was a decade older then you are now." he explained. Jon felt a sense of relief at that, his dad didn't expect him to be as proficient as he was right off the bat with his powers. The goal was getting him able to control them, "So, want to give it another try?" his dad asked.
Jon grinned and nodded, "You bet."
Patch was thankfully not a highly populated island as if it were? Jon probably would have gone through every building in his path. "Ok…Ok. I think I got it this time." he said assuredly to his dad before taking off in a blur towards a tree, as he neared it one would expect him to veer off course and run around it to avoid crashing into it and making it topple over to the ground….that is not what happened…again. Clark pursed his lips together, trying his hardest not to smile at his son with his hands up at the now fallen tree as he turned around to him. "Maaayyybe not…should we stop?" he asked.
This was the Fifteenth victim of his super speed practice, not counting the one he crashed into at the farm, Clark walked over, "If you want to, sure. You managed to get a lot farther than I thought you would." he praised, he had thought it'd be a while before his son got to the point of being able to use his super speed. But now he could use it to cross distance…provided nothing was in the way.
"Thanks dad, I apricate it." Jon said sheepishly, "I know that the whole Beacon Idea is a lot and…..well-" he began before his dad set a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey bud it's no trouble. Just needs some creative thinking." he replied as they started walking away from the fallen tree. "Heck when I was around your age I joined the Leigon of Superheroes in the 31st century." he said with a fond smile as he recalled the childhood memories.
"….wait a second, 31st? I thought it was the 21st century back in your universe?" he asked with confusion. When his parents had told him about their old world a few years ago. He had more then a few questions to say the least, he remembered being fascinated with stories of warrior princesses, dark knights, and young titans when he was a kid and finding out that his dad knew and worked alongside them made it even more amazing.
"Well they were time travelers." he provided.
Jon blinked, "THERE'S TIME TRAVEL?!" he exclaimed.
Clark snorted, "Yes. Time travel is a thing."
"Then how did you even have crime?! Just rewind time, go back and make it never happen." he asked.
Clark looked up, "Well…it's not exactly that simple." he breathed out, signaling to Jon that it must have been if his dad sounded tired of it. Suddenly Clark's head snapped forward at attention, Jon immediately stiffened and suddenly became well aware of his surroundings. While Patch was moderately safe from Grimm compared to other places outside the kingdom of Vale that didn't mean that there wasn't any on the island.
On one occasion a pack of Ursa had come onto the farm property, Clark was over in Atlas showcasing some Kryptonian technology that he had been able to put together for scientists to study. However Krypto was always home, and it was more entertaining then frightening to watch him 'play' with the Bear looking Grimm.
He looked head through the thicket and saw something red move through the trees and….right at them…..with rose petals? The red shape stopped a few feet away from them and in their place was a young girl who looked be a year or so younger then Jon. She wore a black, gothic looking dress and corset with a skirt that had red hem an fluff on the underside and at the ends of her long sleeves. She also wore a long red cape with a hood clipped to her shoulders.
She had short dark hair with red tips on the end, and striking silver eyes, "Oh…hello!" she said, raising a hand and waving to the father and son stiffly in an awkward manner.
Jon relaxed as his father smiled welcomingly, "Afternoon Miss." he greeted in just a friendly tone, he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "What brings you out this way?" he asked.
The girl seemed to straighten up, "Oh! Well…Um….We're out here looking for the grim that's in the area." she explained, her eyes went behind them and widened, "It must have come by this way! Look!" she said as she pointed past the father and son to the tree which Jon had knocked down. "We've been finding those for the last hour, it's super weird too because Grimm don't normally wreck trees. Or this many of them at least."
…oh you gotta be kidding me. Jon thought, fighting the urge to run his hand down his face in embarrassment. He knew his dad was trying not to smile, but he was failing at it…badly, "Ah. Well…..that's….odd." he replied for them both. "Are you sure it's a Grimm though I mean….bears rub against trees." he tried, his dad stifled a chuckle which made his son elbow him. Bears!? There are no bears on patch!
"Huh. I didn't know there were bears on Patch…" the girl muttered, Jon letting out a breath of relief.
"Ruby! Don't run ahead!" a female voice called out as someone else ran through the trees to catch up to the younger girl who looked at her sheepishly. She leaned forward on her knees, "One second…..gotta just….catch my breath….man I miss being that fast." she huffed out at the now named Ruby before looking at Jon and Clark who both waved politely. "Oh! Hello!"
"They haven't seen the Grimm mom." Ruby said to the woman who looked to be a spitting image of her, but with a white cloak that matched the snow on the ground. Her hair was longer and was tied back in a bun.
Clark raised his hand, "Nice to meet you miss, my name is Clark Kent, this is my son Jon." he explained as he raised his hand for the woman to shake in greeting which she did so kindly.
"I'm Summer, this is my daughter Ruby. And don't worry there's no Grimm out here." she said, waving it off with her other hand while Ruby squawked at her mother's betrayal of her theory.
"But the trees! The evidence!" Ruby said, gesturing to the fallen trees.
Summer gave her daughter an amused look, "Really? Well what kind of Grimm would hurt an innocent tree?" she asked, not seeing how Jon shuffled his feet around.
I mean do we know for a fact that those trees were innocent? Someone could have gotten hit in the head by their branches. Jon thought to himself. Ruby opened her mouth to retort but couldn't come up with a solution, however it did make Jon ponder something, "Wait, why are you looking for Grimm?" he asked. Most people would run the other way when they saw one of the monsters, which as perfectly natural.
Summer ruffled her daughter's hair, "She's learning to be a huntress, we go out once in a while to train on the Grimm on the island, thankfully the ones here aren't the strongest. They're perfect for beginners." she explained. Jon noticed the folded weapon that Ruby had holstered across the small of her back as she frowned in disappointment. Clark patted him on the shoulder and gave him a supportive look, Jon was a little unsure but seeing his dad's smile made him feel less of that.
"Well….I'm actually learning too. The huntsmen thing! Not the scouting thing." he said, making Ruby's eyes widen in glee, "Also….those trees um….might have been me?" he added awkwardly. His dad letting out a chuckle as Summer and her daughter's eyes both widened before the mother's seemed to understand.
"Oh! You were practicing your semblance!" she bumped her palm against her forehead, "That makes sense. Sorry." she apologized to Clark.
He waved her off, "It's completely fine, we were just wrapping up actually." he said as Ruby walked over to Jon.
"Oh that's cool! What's your semblance?" she asked politely.
"I'm um…super strong! And…..well that's it." he replied simply with a shrug of his shoulders. It wasn't exactly an uncommon semblance, there were a number of which that were similar types and some that were even inherited through lineage. However enhanced strength was one that was common amongst huntsmen to varying degrees.
Ruby nodded, "Oh cool! My sister has a variation of that, what about your weapon?" she asked, looking him up and down for it.
"Weapon?" he asked. He knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were known to have weapons but he didn't think they were needed.
Summer glanced at Clark and saw that he looked a little unsure himself, realizing that he himself wasn't a huntsmen she turned to Jon and explained, "You see Jon, most Huntsmen and Huntresses carry weapons with them. In fact Signal, the place I teach at, we have our students make their own." she said, giving her daughter a look which she chuckled from. Ruby had spent hours after class tinkering with Crescent Rose which she would have to end after getting her work done for the day with her husband Tai.
Jon pursed his lips, "I mean….I can punch stuff." he replied.
Clark patted his son's shoulder while Summer giggled, "Well….that's valid too." she admitted, thinking of her other daughter. "There's been a hew huntsmen I've known who don't use weapons. I mean you gotta work a little harder but it's not a rule, you know?" she asked. Jon nodded in understanding before Summer turned to Clark, "Are you two from around here? Me, Ruby, my Husband, and my other daughter live in Forest Hills."
Clark shook his head, "We're from Hamilton, me and my wife thought Jon should train away from people just to be safe." he explained swiftly.
Summer chuckled as she glanced at Ruby who looked away, "That's a smart idea. Wish I thought of it."
"Mooooom." Ruby groaned out.
Summer chuckled at her daughter's expense, "Well, sorry for bothering you two. Good luck Jon!" she said cheerfully with a wave as Ruby mimicked her mother and they both walked off. As they walked off, Jon breathed a sigh of relief, he can't believe he almost got them both caught!
"They seemed nice." Clark said happily as he adjusted his glasses.
Jon looked back at the tree he had toppled over, "I'm sorry I almost blew it dad." he apologized before his dad patted his shoulder.
"Your fine Jon, I've been keeping an ear out the time we've been training. We weren't in any danger." he said reassuringly as they began their walk back to the farm. Jon let out a breath in relief, he wasn't used to having to come up with something on the spot to cover for his powers since he never had to before. Super hearing was probably one of his father's most used powers he had, and was primarily how he was alerted to danger across the world.
"Speaking of which, how does that power work? I mean do I just….listen harder?" he asked.
His dad pursed his lips together unsurely, "Well to be honest powers like that came in randomly as I grew up. I could hear across Smallville one second, then the next it was normal until one day it just….expanded." he explained as he slid his hands into his pocket and his hearing tuned into the mother and daughter they had just encountered.
"They were nice! Though that Jon guy might need more practice, he killed a lot of trees." Ruby said cheerfully.
"This coming from the girl who leaves petals everywhere she goes?" Her mother teased.
"There's never a reason not to have petals everywhere!" Ruby retorted happily with a whooshing sound and her mother laughing.
Clark smiled to himself, sometimes when he was out flying on patrol, he would hear something like that would just make him smile. Someone telling a clever joke, a musician practicing on a rooftop, humming the cover to a song he couldn't quite recall, a cat stretching it's back and sounding like rope tightening itself out, the crackle of a fire, or just rain falling against a rooftop. "When it does happen though, I got a trick to help you get it down fast." he said as he lifted his hand out of his pocket and let the sleeve slide down to show his watch.
Jon smiled, it was a watch he and his mom surprised him with on his birthday three years ago. "If your hearing does come in at any point, just focus on something small, something you could hear now without a problem. The ticking of a clock, or the hum of a AC unit, anything that has a rhythm you can pick up on." he informed as he unhooked the watch's leather strap and handed it to his son. Jon took it and raised it up to his ear and heard it.
Tic-tok. Tic-tok. Tic-tok. Tic-tok.
Handing it back to his dad he nodded, "Alright, I'll remember but most people just look at their scrolls." he said with a shrug of his shoulders and playful smirk.
Clark grinned, "Well I'm a little old fashioned. Besides you don't need to charge this every ten minutes." he jokingly replied as he tapped his finger against the watch's face, Jon almost expecting it to break from his father's finger, but the small gift did not shatter, it remained intact.
Clark suddenly stopped and looked up into he sky, Jon followed his sight and saw nothing, "There's a airship being attacked by Grimm, sorry son I gotta take care of this." he said as he took his glasses off, his stature straightening out and his shoulders broadening. "Are you ok getting home by yourself?" he asked, he could easily fly him home if he wanted.
Jon looked towards the direction of the farm and shook his head, "I think I can manage." he said with a smirk, Clark smiled at his son before grabbing the folds of his shirt and opening it up, revealing the red and gold shield beneath his clothes to his son before taking off into the sky and flying away in a red streak through the blue sky.
Watching his father fly off into the distance, Jon's fingers traced against his chest, he had seen that family crest everywhere since he was a kid, tee shirts, coffee mugs, even on flags that people flew outside their homes. It's weird…..for the longest time I haven't really thought about it. But…one day I'm going to be wearing that. he thought to himself.
He looked back to the trees he had wrecked, I….I gotta get better at this. I NEED to be better. he thought before taking off across the ground at super speed towards home.
The only reason he made it back so quick being the path of the destruction he made on his way through the forest.
AN: A shorter chapter like I mentioned but I think it's fitting since this is a 'trailer' for the show.
Now obviously Jon isn't going to be as powerful as his dad right off the bat, which makes him perfect for this story, since as we've seen Superman is really powerful. So Jon isn't 'faster then a speeding bullet' yet, plus moving a superspeed doesn't mean you can just navigate a city, your perception of time needs to match how fast your going. Otherwise when your trying to turn a cirner you'll clip a building.
Like superman has to synch his perception up to Flash's speed in order to communicate with him at super speed. Jon needs to learn to synch his perception up with his own speed.
Now…..Summer…there's a couple things that are going to be different because Superman is around. I touched on it in the first chapter with Superman saving Mt. Glenn from it's demise but Summer being alive could be a big thing going forward, especially with what some of the latest episodes have been indicating. But I'm making things different!
Anyway, review time!
Brave200: I mean it's sorta cannon that Ruby's birthyday is on Halloween, plus having it in the world doesn't screw anything up too much. And your right, Remnant's kingdoms and such are based on earth's but I then wouldn't it also remind you of earth in that regard? I mean the most thing that made Remnant feel different in Vale was the dust and scrolls, obviously the huntsmen and huntresses too but I'll keep it in mind going forward, it does lean more into the mundane side admittedly.
Shadow-Proclomation8: I have something in mind for Teams, thanks for the offer though!
Guest 1: Glad to hear it! Hope you continue to enjoy.
Blacksmith Omniverse: I mean they work when drawn properly but to be honest I prefer the second Rebirth suit with the red and gold around the waist of his suit. But as we've seen the trunks can work if designed right.
Hamilton406: Well Superman isn't a rube, that's all I'm going to say for now.
LunarGamer00: Glad to hear it!
I'mHellaUgly: first off no your not! Secondly yeah that's why we re-read our work before turning it in everyone.
GojiraFan455515: Great! here you go!
Messiah of authors: Ok I do like the DCeased suit for Jon, the black background of the red S being a way of mourning his father while also honoring what he stood for? *chief's kiss* I love it. I also love the red going into the cape which is sorta what Jon's overall design is. However the rest is basically a big blue onesie and that's the only thing that keeps it out of my top spot. It's the same reason I'm not toally into the firest DC Rebirth Suit for superman, that at least has the belt to break up the colors but the blue boots make it look odd.
Guest 2: Thank you! Ruby and Jon get a little bit of play here but later on I think you'll all get to see what sort of give and take they have.
Red: Right now it's the 2nd Rebirth Suit but honestly that's what I'm picturing, it's not that big a deal if you think it's the classic or not, they're basically the same design, just one has trunks and the other doesn't.
robbelmontes: OK! SO! THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION! So, not sure how many people are aware of this, but Apokolips and New Genesis, the homes of the New Gods, both exist outside the multiverse, they're not planets like Earth, Mars, Daxum, or Krypton or anything. This means that they could in fact show up in this, but more impressively? This also means that every version of those characters is technically a cannon version of the characters since they're unaffected from all the reboots over the years. At least that's how it's been explained to me.
Archer: Yeah I mean, you do need to deal with a lot of convoluted comic book BS with convergence, but once you work around that? It's pretty much gold.
And I'm not gonna lie, it was a toss up between having the kents go to Remnant, or MHA Earth. But I also got my DD story with MHA going on. But that doesn't mean I haven't imagined Jon beating the shit out of Chesaki while Saving Eri, or him getting a pretty good score on the License exam because he's got his father as an example.
But if anyone wants to make that story don't hesitate to ask to reach out for ideas!
