The moment, Jon realized what he did, it was already too late to return…
He sat upright in the pod and saw the planets passing at high-speed. In safe distance to Argo, the pod entered the 'hyper-room' and jumped through the space.
Jon, who was used to travel through space, suddenly got a show like never before. He saw the stars passing in a blur, yellow suns, a huge blue whirlwind, that was a sun, too, a violet sun… Lights flashing … and a wall of flames he passed when he jumped from one galaxy into the next…
Full of awe, Jon looked out of the windows to see the spectacular lightshow on his journey to Earth… to face his supposed brother…
On the Kent-farm, a cold shiver ran down Jordan's back when he felt that someone was thinking about him… it was so scary that he trembled.
"Hold still!" Natalie Kent, his younger sister, complained while she went with the brush through his hair.
"Oh… This is odd… I have this weird feeling!"
"You're pissed off! I can't believe you want to tell her everything! Mom and Dad are going to kill you when they figure out!" Natalie complained.
When she offered Jordan to make his hair before his date with Sarah Cushing tonight, she didn't expect her elder brother to reveal that he will tell her tonight that he is Superboy for a while now…
"They will understand! I mean… her mom already knows, so…"
"But they only allowed you to go public if you promise to not to tell anyone! And that Mrs. Cushing knows was an accident! And what about me? I can probably never go public, because I look too much like mom and people recognize me easier."
"Nattie… I ditched her on three dates this month, because I was busy helping dad! I lie to her every day. I have to do this! I love her too much to lie to her face constantly… And don't dare to tell Mom and Dad about this!"
"Why? Because they will ground you forever?"
"No, because they wouldn't understand!"
"Dad told Mom, too! But just when he was so sure that she is the right! You must really love her if you are so convinced?" Natalie murmured. She finished brushing her brother's hair and took the little hand-mirror to show her brother her work. "Okay! We are ready! And now you look like… ehm… like dad!"
Jordan's self-confident smile vanished instantly, and he grabbed the mirror to watch what his sister did to him. Then he took his fake-glasses (he was using for four years now) from the table to check if it was in booth personas. Jordan Kent and Superboy! And it was true! His sister just let him look even more like their father!
"What the hell did you did to me? I told you I want to look like Chris Hemsworth!" Jordan complained.
"Dad wanted that, too!" Natalie defended herself when she suddenly heard someone approaching. "Uncle Morgan is coming!"
Natalie's super-hearing was much better than Jordan's. Jordan might be older, got his laser-vision first and had, except for the X-Ray vision, all their father's abilities now. For that Natalie was able to fly first, was more resistant to Kryptonite and had a better control of her abilities. And she had the X-Ray vision, Jordan was waiting eagerly for. But with her 14 years she was a bit too young to join them on missions. Not to forget that she was not as well trained as her brother. And that she looked a lot like Lois and that people would recognize her easily as Lois Lane's daughter which would bring the family secret at risk.
There was a loud thud from outside, indicating a landing person. The rear door opened and just like Natalie predicted, their Uncle Morgan, Tal-Rho, entered the kitchen. Wearing casual black human-clothes and holding a shopping back in his hand.
"Hello, kids!"
"Hello, Uncle Morgan!"
"Where is your father?" Tal asked. "I have to ask him something!"
"Dad is in Russia, dealing with a collapsing bridge! And Mom is in town! She should be here in a few minutes!" Natalie said ranging out her hearing. She took the scissors again. "Want a haircut, too! That scissor was invented by my namesake. It works with red-solar light!"
"Later, maybe!" Tal said, before he looked over to Jordan and saw the similarity immediately. "Let me guess… Chris Hemsworth? Your father wanted to look like him, too!"
"Ha ha ha…" Jordan moaned sarcastically and left the room.
Tal put the bag on the table and took the wine out.
"Natalie, here is the wine for your parents. To thank them for their help here in town. The new plant is now supplying 20 % of Kansas with green energy."
"Thank you for giving my friend Mindy's dad a job!" Natalie said.
While Natalie tidied up, Tal took a seat at the table and looked around.
Four years ago, Tal never dared to believe that he could be part of a family. His whole life was just about to prepare the takeover of Earth to turn it into a new Krypton. But then came Jonathan into his life and he changed everything. He gave him a new perspective. A chance to make up for everything. And made his greatest wish come true: A real family!
He was surprised how openly Kal welcomed him to the family. Martha treated him like a son from the first day. There were some trust-issues in the beginning. Especially with Lois. And especially when he confessed them, what his true mission was. But those times were luckily behind him. He didn't join his brother on the heroic-path. Also, they never revealed their relation to the public. Eighter their human nor their Kryptonian one. But Tal was always welcome in the Kent-home and Smallville had a lot of potential.
Four years ago, he would have only come to Smallville because of the X-Kryptonite in the mines! And because the people here would be good subjects to Eradicate because of their long-time exposure to the X-K. And today his company was running the biggest wind park of Kansas here and gave the place jobs. And Clark was happy that even one of his old friends is going to move back to Smallville, just because of Tal's job opportunities.
But no matter how much Tal changed his life, he wished he could show it to Jonathan. Jonathan was the reason for his positive changes. Jonathan was the reason for him to free himself from his father's bad influence. And now the boy was gone. Vanished into space, in a pod, that was designed to go to Argo City.
According to Lara, the journey to Argo takes three weeks. And if Argo didn't survive the destruction of Krypton, the pod would automatically return to Earth. But slower, to safe energy. After 14 weeks of hopeful waiting, the pod didn't return. Which meant it eighter reached Argo and proved that the place was existing, or that the pod ran out of power and was now floating through space forever with Jon in hibernation until he starves when the pod's systems fail. Something nobody wanted to think about and believing in Jon being safe in Argo…
The front door opened, and Lois came in with a bunch of folders she wanted to look through.
"Hey, Tal!" Lois said. Knowing that Tal was preferring his Kryptonian name when they were in private.
"Hello Lois! I hope I don't come inconveniently!" Tal said. "I wanted to talk to my brother. But now that you are here, I hope you can give me some advice, too!"
Earth-TUD25…
Jonathan was laying on the couch at the Gazette, with an icepack on his head while his father walked up and down in front of him. Lois sat with crossed arms at her desk and looked on Jon with a stern face. Jordan was in town, doesn't knowing what happened yet, and they send Chrissy to the Diner to 'get coffee'!
"When exactly did you plan to tell us about your visions?" Clark asked, trying not to sound too angry.
"That are no visions!" Jonathan said. "I… I don't know what they are?"
Clark shacked his head. He was glad that Kyle got suspicious after Jonathan's second 'seizure' and called him immediately.
"So what? What are these events?" Clark asked before he kneeled next to Jonathan. "Jonathan, I know that things have been difficult lately and that I let you feel left out. But if the past months told me one thing it is to listen to you better! Please! I promise I don't leave; I don't accuse you for anything and don't lie to you. Just please tell me what's going on!"
And so, Jonathan began to tell his parents that for some reasons he had flashbacks to his worst memories…
Earth-AU…
"The barn, the day he yelled on me for the X-K… and there are a lot more events, I don't even want to think about!" 'Connor' said, while sitting on the couch, surrounded by his wife, his parents-in-law and his closest friends, who were all aware that he was once the infamous Jonathan Kent! "I have no clue why they suddenly come. Why they appear now, or if there is a trigger."
His wife offered him a glass of water, which he took thankfully and drunk it.
"Your eyes glowed so bright as if you are going to blow up the whole town." His father-in-law said.
"Maybe you should cancel the trip to Juneau tomorrow?" his mother-in-law advised.
"What? No… I will not let this ruin everything! I worked so hard to get this program working. And I will not let my freaky heritage ruin everything. Not again!" Connor said. He lifts from the couch to continue setting the table and preparing everything for the big dinner party, they planned for weeks. And tomorrow he will take the plane to Juneau to get to his meeting. No matter what!
His friends and his parents-in-law were still worried. They knew his story! They knew what he went through. Everything what has to do with Krypton, or his father, was like a red trigger for Connor. He might have powers, but he does everything to avoid using them. He can fly, but rather takes a plane every time he has an appointment in another city. He had a fortress, just a few miles away, but only Lara, whom they all met, was allowed to call Connor an Kryptonian.
But no matter what: They all loved him! He was a part of their town, a great member of the community here and he helped a lot of people with just the way he is. And not with the powers, he barely (almost never) used…
So, it was a huge surprise for everyone when they saw Connor bringing in the baking tray with the baked salmon. But without using oven mitts…
"Oh, forgot the candles!" Connor said before using his laser-vision to light up the candles on the table. "Dinner is ready!"
His family and friends looked on him worried.
"Connor… we need to talk!" his wife said worried before they realized that Joel stood on the stairway and witnessed his father's laser-vision with big eyes …
Suddenly Connor let the baking tray drop and became pale…
"Joel… I can explain…"
Earth-Krypton…
Connor stood in his own fortress in the Arizona desert. Scanned by his former self…
"With all the knowledge I copied from Lara and Jor-El, I should be able to detect the reason for this. Our father was very eager to pretend that he is a Superdad in front of his other failing doppelgangers!" the Jonathan holograph said. "Have you experienced any other visions in the meantime."
"No! Only the day Jordan learned to fly and the day he called us a shame for the family." Connor told.
"When we had no powers, we were not even a real part of the family. Only when we messed up!"
"I don't like it, but I think we should ask him how many Earths he visited." Connor said. "Or what he did there?"
"It must have been something big!" the Jonathan holograph said while looking on the little holographic image of his clone in his hand.
Another Earth…
"Jonathan is gone!" the 'local Clark' yelled desperately when he superspeeded into the living-room of their Metropolis brownstone.
"What?" the local Lois said shocked.
"He is not in his room! And some clothes are missing!" Clark said. "He was really mad on me for some reason when he called me!"
"And what did he say?"
"That I am a liar, that I should screw up and that he never wants to talk to me again! And when I went to his school they told me he left…"
"I have an idea where he could be…" Lois said and together they left the house.
Earth-TUD25…
"Jonathan… listen I am sorry!" Clark said desperately. "I was not fair to you! You lost a lot and you sacrificed more than you should have, just that I can train your brother! And…"
"Stop it… I am honestly so sick of this speeches!" Jonathan said and raised from the couch, throwing the icepack away. "Every time I get to hear a promise for you, you just prove me that you don't care. And then you fly away with Jordan, because he is actually your favorite because he has powers!"
Jonathan stormed away and left the office…
"Jonathan, that's not true…" Clark begged, but Jonathan smashed the door close after him to go back to the firehouse.
It was a longer ongoing issue in their family. Clark just recently got aware of it. He ignored it too long. But he also hoped that he and Jonathan found a way to let it behind them. But Jonathan was also right to be mad on them. Clark really let him feel left out and there were multiple occasions that just proved to Jonathan that he was really preferring Jordan because of his powers. The barn-scene was just one of them. There was Jordan's suit, the fact that he was allowed to play football despite his powers, the frequent trips to the fortress…
"Gosh…" was everything Clark was able to murmur. Lois meanwhile was totally pale.
"Clark, something is wrong! Whatever is happening, I feel as if it is trying to create a rift between him and us!" Lois realized.
"By using his bad memories?"
"Clark, there were a lot of bad things that happened to him! Maybe you should take him to the fortress and get him checked? I am afraid, someone or something tries to manipulate him!"
"Then he will yell again that he is human and does not belong there!"
"Maybe it is time that you actually prove him that he belongs and that he is part of our family!" Lois said now sterner and with crossed arms.
Clark only nodded silently and left…
Earth-359…
The pod still shoots through the various solar systems until it suddenly got slower, and Jon could recognize Jupiter and Saturn! He was back in Earth's solar system, the yellow sun easily recognizable in the distance…
Jon looked around and wondered how long it took. A few hours at least. But much faster than his journey from Earth to Argo…
But suddenly a warning…
"Oh no!" was everything Jonathan was able to say when he realized that the yellow sun was charging the whole ship and its energy core. The core got hotter and hotter and would overcharge if he does not find a way to cool it down.
Hastily, Jon tried to turn off the core, but the ship was so heavily shaking now, that he was barely able to adjust the holographic control panel properly… This was going to be a difficult landing. He had to be extremely careful. They expected something like this, but it was much stronger than they could have assumed.
The closer, Jon got to Earth, the more the ship was trembling, and the more Jon had to switch off to prevent the core from overheating. Suddenly there were sparks flying… Electronic systems start to fail… Earth was directly ahead of him. But he had no time to enjoy the view, as there was suddenly a loud bang and the ship start to toss around uncontrollably…
Jon starts to scream and pushed the button to shut down everything completely. Absolutely everything. Including the live-sustaining systems that allowed him to breath. He also didn't know where he lands now… He planned to land in Metropolis. But now he had no clue where he was going to end. He was falling towards Earth uncontrollably while parts of his ship start to fall off… When he entered Earth's atmosphere, Jon lost consciousness!
Meanwhile, in Smallville, Jordan changed into other clothes and left the house to go to his date, where he will reveal himself to Sarah…
"I am with Sarah!" he yelled.
Natalie avoided eye-contact to Lois and Tal when Jordan left. And Lois was still unaware of Jordan's plans.
"Have fun!" Lois said before turning back to Tal. "So, tell me about that woman you want to ask out for a date…"
Tal only smiled…
He had no clue that the boy, who was responsible for his changes was falling through Earth's atmosphere. Unable to control the pod anymore. The energy core fell off and fell like a meteor to Earth…
Jon didn't realize how much sunlight he already absorbed. He also didn't realize that he flew over his old home-city Boston. Or that he passed Metropolis…
All over the people could see a bright flashlight in the sky that looked like a meteor… Clark was still busy with the bridge in Russia, Jordan was distracted with his plan to tell his secret to Sarah and Natalie distracted herself with loud music in her room. So nobody was playing attention to the 'meteor' that was heading directly towards the Southeast Arm of Lake Yellowstone…
On a hiking-trail, east of Lake Yellowstone, 16 years old Timmy Tanner, walked reluctantly with his parents up the path, while desperately trying to get some phone service with his smartphone.
"Timmy, put the phone away! We came here to enjoy the nature and get a break from the Internet!" his mother moaned.
Reluctantly the teenager put the phone away. He was bored. He wanted to experience something. And not get bored here in the nowhere without phone, Internet and everything else a teenager needs these days. Another boring day, in this boring rural area… not knowing how his parents were able to convince him to get here. Until he could hear suddenly something weird!
Timmy looked up and was shocked to see a small fiery object approaching them…
"What the hell is that?"
His parents were not listening. They went on the trail and looked into the other direction.
"Mom, Dad…" Timmy was shocked. But his parents were too far away to listen.
So it was only Timmy who saw the 'meteor' falling from the sky, heading directly towards the lake…
Jon was still unconscious when his pod tossed around. But luckily for him, his knowledge about 'backup-systems' on Earth was useful while constructing the pod. So, it breaks far enough to not crash into the lake at supersonic-speed, but at the speed of a falling body… Just making a big splash, that was not even noticed by that many people. Even if most camping grounds around the lake were pretty crowded. And the few people who actually witnessed, thought it was something else.
"MOM, DAD! LOOK!" Timmy yelled in shock and finally caught his parents attention.
"What? Timmy, what happened?" his father asked when he and his wife ran towards their son.
"Have you seen that?" the pale teenager asked.
"No, what?"
"That thing! It just crashed into the lake…" Timmy said. "Like… I don't know, it could be a little plane?"
"A plane?"
"Definitely not a bird!" Timmy yelled and start to run down the hiking trail to get to the lake.
"TIMMY… WAIT…" his mother yelled shocked and so she and her husband followed their son back down the slope and to the lake…
Jon meanwhile, regained consciousness, when his pod ended on the surface and he could feel water dropping on his head…
Jon lift his head and looked around. Everything was dark. But for some reason he was able to see clearly. He was surrounded by water. Wherever he landed, if it was in a Ocean or a lake, he had to get out of here. Jon activated the pod again to get an overview of the damages and had to see that the energy core was gone.
Jon had no clue that his energy core, and some other parts of his pod fell over Europe like meteors and caused severe damages in Chisinau, Moldova and Stuttgart, Germany…
With the backup-system he was able to seal the pod and open the vault to get out. Jon had no clue why he did what he did next, or how he was able to get to the surface that quick… but his body suddenly felt so powerful like it never did before…
And so he raised his arms, shoot through the water and up in the air…
Timmy and his parents just reached the shore when they could all see a boy in a weird black outfit shooting out of the middle of the lake like a rocket and floating towards them.
Jon was so surprised by the reaction of his body, that he starts to fall again and stumbled over the shore, landing on his face, directly in front of the stunned Tanners who all gasped in shock…