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Sorry it's been so long, but I hope you enjoy!
Chapter Three
No one said a word during breakfast.
Clark picked at his food, but he couldn't bring himself to actually eat it. Just the thought of putting it in his mouth made his stomach churn.
"Remember, Jordan," Lois began as she looked over at their remaining twin. "School and back."
Jordan put his fork down. "I was gonna hang out at Sarah's this afternoon," he said.
Clark shook his head. "No, Jordan," he said, though his heart ached at the words. "Until we know more, we need to know where you are at all times."
Jordan looked at him, and for a second Clark thought he was going to fight, but he didn't. He sighed.
"Okay," Jordan said as he stood up. "I'm gonna go finish getting ready."
Lois nodded. "Okay, just hurry," she told him. "You've gotta leave soon."
Clark watched as his son left the room, then took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
He looked over to his wife. She looked so tired. So miserable.
He wrapped his arms around her. "Did you get any sleep?" He asked softly as he pressed his face into her hair. He wondered if his presence soothed her as much as hers soothed him.
Lois shook her head. "I couldn't stop thinking about him," she said. "You?"
Clark closed his eyes. Technically, as a Kryptonian, he didn't really need much sleep. Though, after a lifetime of sleeping, he did find that he didn't feel as alert without it.
"No," he said. "I was listening for him..."
Lois sniffled. "What if we don't get him back?"
Clark shook his head as he tried not to tear up himself. He wasn't even sure that he had any tears left. "We can't think like that, Lo," he told her. "We're gonna get him back."
Lois squeezed his hand, then wiped her eyes with her other hand. "I'm going to drop Jordan off at school, then work on gathering a search party," she said.
Clark nodded and cleared his throat. He put his glasses back on. "I'm gonna ask Tal for his help," he told her hesitantly. He knew that this idea could go either way, but that he should tell her before he just showed up with his sort of criminal half-brother.
Lois frowned. "Tal?" She asked. "As in Tal-Rho?"
Clark nodded again. "Having another Kryptonian around might help the search efforts."
Lois's frown deepened and she turned back to her husband. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked. "He's a criminal."
Clark rubbed the back of his neck. "He's my brother too," he said. "And he proved himself against Anderson."
Lois seemed to consider this for a moment. "But how much of that was for his own personal gain?" She asked. "He is out of his prison now, Clark."
Clark sighed. Lois always made really good points... "I can't even promise that he'll agree to help, but imagine how much more space we could cover if we had another Kryptonian on our team," he said. "Just let me try. For Jon."
He knew it was a dirty pull to remind her why he was doing this, but he also knew that it might help her soften up to the idea of letting Tal-Rho help. Clark was willing to do whatever it took to get his son back, even if it involved another fight against his brother.
Lois grabbed her purse and coat. "Fine," she said. Her voice was tight, like she was trying to hold back tears. "But he does not get anywhere near Jordan without both of us around."
Clark nodded. That sounded more than fair. While he trusted Tal-Rho to be a part of the search, he definitely didn't trust him alone with Jordan.
"Jordan!" Lois called. "You're going to be late if we don't leave now!"
Clark heard his son's footsteps on the stairs, then he stood up and walked over to Lois.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. After a second, he felt her shoulders start to shake with fresh sobs. His own hurting heart broke for her.
"I can't lose another one of my babies," she said between the tears.
Clark swallowed back the lump in his throat at the mention of Natalie. They didn't talk about her often, even though Clark knew that they probably should...
"Hey," Clark said. He tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. "We are not going to lose Jon."
Lois watched his eyes for a moment, then nodded. She didn't say anything.
Clark looked up when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He smiled at his son and let go of his wife before walking over to Jordan.
He handed Jordan his lunch, then gave him a quick hug. "Have a good day at school," he said.
Jordan flashed him one of the fakest smiles Clark had ever seen. "I'll try."
Clark swallowed. School had been hard for Jordan since Jon had been moved to online school, now Jon wasn't even around.
"C'mon, kid," Lois said as she gently placed her hand on Jordan's back. "We gotta get out of here."
Clark waved at the two of them as they walked out of the house, then suppressed a shudder at the silence. On a normal day, Jon would be sitting at the table typing away on the laptop he did the school on now. That sound wasn't there anymore.
Clark looked around the silent house one last time, then left for Tal-Rho's desert fortress.
He just hoped that his older brother would be willing to help.
"Jordan!"
Jordan turned around at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. "Hey, Sarah," he greeted.
Sarah reached down and grabbed his hand. "My dad told me what happened," she told him. "I'm so sorry."
He frowned, but Sarah seemed to pick up on his confusion.
"They called the police this morning, and the fire department found out too," she said. "We're gonna find him."
Jordan nodded, but he wasn't sure he believed what Sarah had said. If Superman couldn't find Jon, how were a handful of volunteer firefighters supposed to find him? How was anyone supposed to find him?
Sarah frowned and gently brushed the curls away from Jordan's face. "Hey, what's wrong? What aren't you telling me?"
Jordan swallowed. After everything with Edge the year before, he had told Sarah everything. There were no secrets between them anymore. She knew about his developing powers, and he knew everything about her.
"The guy who kidnapped him knows the secret," he told her. "And we have no idea where he is because for some reason Dad and I can't hear him or Jon. We spent all night trying to listen for him."
Sarah nodded her head slowly. "Well… Is there anything I can do?" She asked.
Jordan shrugged. "I dunno," he said softly. "I mean, if Superman can't even find him, what chance do we have?"
It was true. Jordan had never felt so useless. Ever since he had gotten his powers, things had been easier for him, but now he felt like that scared kid again.
But this time his brother was on the line. His twin who had always been brave. His twin who had helped him through everything.
He had to return the favor. He had to save Jon.
"Maybe…" Sarah began. "Being like Superman is the problem."
Jordan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Sarah grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. "It means that we're gonna start looking for Jon too."
Sarah and Jordan are gonna start looking for Jon and Clark is gonna try to convince Tal to help them! Hope y'all enjoyed!
Thanks for reading!