Jon could feel his entire world shattering…
Everything he believed in was not true. His whole live was a lie! And his greatest fears came true!
He was indeed the unwanted, human, powerless child of Superman. His brother had all the powers and he had nothing! Forced to live a live as a bystander and unloved extra. After listening to his doppelganger's stories and Earth-Krypton's Clark's statement, that was evident now. And he really killed himself in the original timeline…
"I guessed that you would be able to live a normal life. I never meant to hurt you. Or your parents…"
The thought about his parents, let Jon-El shudder. His parents… his lovely, great parents, who always supported him, always had been there for him and who loved him. The same parents, that got coldly killed in that Metropolis hotel-suite, when he tried to figure out more about himself. That was five years ago!
After eight months in a lab, one month with Tal and a bit more than four years in Argo City, Jon thought that he finally found his place. But everything was a lie! Jon looked on his doppelgangers again.
The adult one from Earth-AU was an embittered person, who was forced to live under a fake identity and was hiding from the authorities. The A.I. from Earth-Krypton went through hell, before he got killed on his attempt to escape to freedom and not really willing to forgive, too. And Earth-TUD25-Jonathan, was close from loosing his mind, too and was living a life in the constant shadow of his superpowered brother, without any support from the own family and with the feeling that nobody cares for him. Wondering why he didn't already run away, too!
Jon looked back on Earth-Krypton-Clark, who was kneeling on the ground in front of him, looking up to him with tear filled eyes and a glance, full of guilt and sorrow. Then he looked on his biological family, that was among the other frozen people.
"What else?" Jon asked, trying to not to cry, too. "What else did you change in this world?"
"Nothing!" Earth-Krypton-Clark confessed. "Everything what happened after was just a result of you being not with them."
Clark looked over to his doppelganger and spotted the teenage girl among them, that looked like Lois!
"After loosing you, he… obviously became a better father! That girl there is their daughter Natalie, right? She was the miscarriage in the original timeline. This is an unfortunate similarity among all of us. We Clarks, we… need to lose you before we realize how much we actually need you! More than any superpower and more than everything else… It was with me!" Clark said, looking moodily on his son's A.I. Before he looked on Earth-AU-Connor and Earth-TUD25-Jonathan. "It was with his parents. And I am sure it will be with his, too one day!"
Earth-AU-Connor and Earth-TUD25-Jonathan looked on each other. The younger one could see the embarrassment and the bitterness in his doppelganger's eyes. And the elder one saw in his younger self, that he got recently hurt terribly. And that not for the first time.
"I have to interfere now… but how do I fit in here?" Earth-TUD25-Jonathan asked.
Everyone looked on him. But Clark understood the question.
"I mean… you took him to another family, you saved him when he tried to kill himself, and 'holo-me' is from your world! But why it is affecting me, too?"
Clark starts to sob again…
"I… I recently started to watch your world!" Clark confessed. "Looking if you were fine or if you need help. And you do! I see it in the way they treat you!"
Jonathan lowered his head and thought about it…
He looked over to his own parents and grandparents who were still frozen in place. Jonathan was unaware that they could hear and see everything. But Earth-Krypton-Clark didn't mention it on purpose, to allow all Jonathans to be able to speak out loudly their problems…
Jonathan took a deep breath and start to tell his story. Not aware that his family was able to see and hear him.
"If you want to hear the truth: It sucks! I came with them to Smallville because it was my grandmother's wish! Because my father promised to me he would spend more time with us and be more around now that we know that he is Superman… and… and he was ashamed for Jordan getting powers and not being able to live a normal life. But I think it was a lie!"
A tear ran down Jonathan's face when he spoke. Trying to not to have a meltdown. His parents meanwhile were shocked.
"At first, I didn't believe it! I mean… okay, Jordan needs help to control these powers! But the stronger and better he got, the more I realized that my father only prefers him. Whenever I needed him or when I wanted something, he let me down… I told him angrily that Smallville is my Kryptonite and he didn't care because he was more worried about Jordan. I told him under tears that I have no future and that everyone hates me, and he ditches me because he prefers to go flying with Jordan instead. He tells me that it is good that I have no powers, but everyone shows me ever and ever again that I am useless without them. Mom, Dad, Jordan, grandpa… even in School I am not spared. Half the team took X-K, but nobody cares…"
Earth-TUD25-Clark thought about his son's words and had flashbacks to all those moments, his son needed him, but got dismissed for his brother's sake.
"I do everything they want. Be the easy uncomplicated one that does not complain, and does not get in trouble. But it is hard…" Jonathan lowered his head in shame. "…because I know there is absolutely nothing I can do to prove them that I can be special, too. Or that I am good at something. Jordan got everything he wanted ever since he got his powers. They allowed him to play football and to cheat with his powers, while I got punished by the Coach for hiding his talent. They tell him ever and ever again how proud they are on him, while nobody cares what I lost for protecting his secret. Believe me, when he told Jordan how proud he is on him after they ditched me, I had never ever been so ashamed in my entire life."
"Ohhh… I know what you mean! With my grandfather Sam it was the same…" Earth-AU-Connor told and crossed his arms. "He told me to don't bother my father when I figured who he is to don't distract him from being Superman and when he figured out that Jordan got his powers, he told me to be afraid of them! And when he began to train Jordan, he said that he is something special. He did everything to prevent that I get a real close relationship with my family, because I don't fit in and he believed that I am useless without powers. And that there is nothing I can do to prove myself without them…"
"Gosh… now it makes sense! With me it was the same! He told me to be afraid of Jordan and my dad and then he suddenly said how special Jordan is, spends time with him and gives him a suit… I think I have to face it: They will always prefer Jordan. Jordan has powers, is a hero, and useful. I am just the useless human nobody wants. And that they will never tell me that they are proud on me."
Jonathan's words hurt his family deeply. Sam start to overthink his relationship with Jonathan…
"How did you escape that?" Earth-TUD25-Jonathan asked his adult doppelganger.
"I left! I gave up to make him proud. Because he made it more than clear that I don't have a place in this family without powers! Nothing I do in my live is to impress them! These times are long over! I really wanted to die! Mostly I do everything I do now to give back something to the people who helped me to get my life, my freedom and my spirit back. And you? How do you still endure it?"
Jonathan shrugged. "Well… After my father directly showed me that he doesn't care for me or my problems by flying away with Jordan, I swore to myself to never ever trust him again. That I stop trying to get his love, his attention or his pride."
Clark could feel a painful stitch in his heart. Having that day in his head again: Of Jonathan's sorrow and his struggles, how he changed the topic to Jordan and left with the latter for the fortress to practice flying while Jonathan was home alone, doing chores and brooding about everything. It doesn't matter that Jordan learned to fly that day. What really matters is that Jonathan was offended and humiliated directly that day! And that terribly!
"I went to my room and wanted to die in shame! I wanted to leave. I wanted to run away, jump from a bridge, take pills, no matter what… Just get away from them! I mean, he never wanted me to meet Jor-El or Lara. So why? And suddenly he lost his powers! And then he told me that my grandmother wants to meet me, wants to teach me about the technology. I thought things would finally get better. But he still focused on Jordan. Took only him to our so called family-fortress. He still does not want me in his fortress! Then mom got cancer, I had to deal with Candice's father, got a new job at the firehouse I almost lost because of Jordan… honestly… when Jordan got that suit from our grandfather, I just pretended to be happy for him. I wanted to grab it and burn it because it was just one more prove that everything will only be about him."
"Ditto!" his adult doppelganger said.
"I was so mad on them, when they gave my brother his suit for our birthday and me nothing, that I did that." the Jonathan-A.I. told. "I took the suit, my father's suit, and the ugly shirt my grandfather got me and threw it into a fireplace… Just to get locked up in my room for it… for a whole week."
"And I deeply regret that! I know now that the suit was an offense to you!" Earth-Krypton-Clark said, starting to cry again.
"You know what an offense was: When nobody realized how much I was suffering! How much I got offended ever and ever again. All the humiliation… Just because they printed my photo on a banknote, doesn't mean that I can forget that easy how you ignored my problems! And now you interfere in other Jonathans' lives to pretend." The Jonathan-A.I. told.
Clark burst out in tears again. Apologizing ever and ever again…
Jon-El was not sure what happened! Everything was too much. He just got the confirmation from his doppelgangers that he was really kind of abandoned for his supposed powerlessness. Just not at birth but later. Nattie was supposed to be never born and his brother, he just met a few hours ago, was supposed to be the arrogant and preferred one who gets everything while he is supposed to play second fiddle to him forever…
"I give you some advice… run as long as you can… Smallville is not the right place for us…" Earth-AU-Connor told to Earth-TUD25-Jonathan who was close from bursting out in tears, too. Now that he knew that nobody will ever be proud on him and that he obviously only got introduced to Lara to postpone his leave.
Jon-El was trying to not to cry. He just looked around and went closer to his biological family again. They all listened closely and they were shocked to hear this story. Knowing that they can do better but obviously not before they made the mistake.
"I… I had a perfect life! My parents… my parents loved me! They loved me unconditionally! I… I had… a great live… I had a future…" Jon-El said. "…and… and I throw it away… for what? To… to live as a shadow? To live as a spare? Doomed… to be an unwanted human in a Kryptonian family? I… everyone in Argo City tells me I am a full legit member of the family! That… that I deserve to call myself an El. And now… what is true? What am I? Who am I? AGHHH…"
Jon turned away from them to walk up and down the fortress. Tears running down his face. The Kryptonian-suit he was wearing, suddenly feeling so heavy and so wrong. The crest on his chest suddenly feeling like a burden and like shame instead of hope and pride…
"Jonathan… Jon-El… please, I am…" Earth-Krypton-Clark realized how much he messed up.
"No… I don't want to hear anything anymore… I… want to go home…" Jon cried and fell on his knees. Tears running down his face. "… I want to go home!"
"Home?" everyone asked. Not really knowing what he meant? Earth? Argo City?
Jon didn't answer. He start to run. He just run. Not knowing what to do, not knowing who he could trust and not knowing who or what he was supposed to be now. And without really thinking he departed into the air and flew away…
In the fortress, the powerless doppelgangers and the powerless Earth-Krypton-Clark were shocked about the sudden return of Jon's powers.
"HOW CAN HE STILL HAVE POWERS?" Earth-Krypton-Clark said shocked. He could feel that he was drained.
"He is an anomaly in the universe! The current conditions of this world don't affect him!" the A.I. confirmed…
Jon-El flew over the ocean as fast as possible. Ignoring that he was supposed to be powerless, or that the world was frozen in time. Tears were running down his face…
He destroyed everything. If he hadn't made that heritage-test his life would be great. With a loving family, great friends… Not locked up in a lab, then moving to the remnant of a planet, he was obviously not allowed to even know about, to figure out that he was supposed to be a coward and useless bystander, that always has to sacrifice and give up everything. And that for powers, nobody was supposed to ever get. Not his father, not his brother, not his sister… nobody! Powers that had nothing to do with the Kryptonian culture as everyone always told him…
Jon yelled in despair and just continued flying…
Earth-Prime…
"Shouldn't we interfere?"
"Now! You see how devastated he is! Give him at least a few minutes before to calm down!"
"I don't like this! Maybe I should talk with him? I mean… it looks like he knows me and trusts me?"
"Thank you, Kara! But before that we need to fix the damage in the space-time continuum."
"I don't endure this anymore. Clark, as soon as we are home we tell both boys the truth! And you take both to the fortress! You let them both scanned! And if one of them is powerless you do everything in your power to eighter give the unpowered powers, too. Or take away the powers from the powered one. Or I file up the divorce!"
"Yes, Lois! I wonder why your doppelganger hadn't already divorced mine in the world of that teenager-Jonathan?" (Earth-TUD25)
"Maybe because my doppelganger there is stupid!?"
"GUYS… we should focus on that boy now! What does he mean with: Going home? Is he trying to get back to Argo City now?"
"No… but I have an idea where he is going…"
The void…
Jon-El reached the west-coast of North America. Having no idea where he actually was. He guessed over Alaska. And coincidentally he passed Ketchikan!
Jon fulfilled a hard landing in the town that was located on an Island, with no direct road access. He looked around and saw the beautiful landscape, the river and the town. So, this was the place his adult doppelganger lives in? And where he is highly regarded and respected. But under a new identity, living with demons in his mind, embittered and full of shame… Jon departed into the air again to fly further. It was night now, and the further towards East he flew the darker it became…
He flew over Yellowstone again, where dozens of TV-trucks stood near the Camping ground where he met that family. The boy who filmed him was interviewed and obviously enjoyed the attention…
He found Smallville. Right were his 'father' showed him on the map. The place he would be forced to live now if he wouldn't have been 'saved' by the doppelganger. It was remote, kind of isolated and pretty unspectacular and boring like his teenager-doppelganger described. So this is the place, he would end his miserable life…
An ice-cold shiver ran down his back when Jon saw the barn. It got worse when he walked up the stairs of the porch to get into the farmhouse. The door was unlocked. A pot with a delicious smelling dish stood on the stove and the table was set for four. Clark, Lois, Jordan and Nattie. There was no plate for him. No place for the powerless, ordinary human in this extraordinary family…
Jon looked around and studied the various pictures standing all over or hanging on the walls. Then he found a picture of Martha. According to his father, she died two years after his departure to Argo on a stroke. Looking on her, let Jon feel so sad. According to his doppelgangers, she was the most lovely, most awesome, most generous and kindest person in this awful town. A saint, loved and respected by everyone. The only person in the family who would have loved him, even after Jordan's powers manifestation and the X-K incident (according to his doppelgangers).
Jon took the photo and pressed it against his chest. More tears running down his face and knowing that he will never get the chance to meet this awesome and extraordinary woman who would had been his anchor in this family and the only one on the entire planet, who would be able to understand his troubles…
Jon looked around again. The longer he was in this house, the more uncomfortable and scared he felt. So he left to fly home instead. To Boston! The only home he knew before that fateful day. The only place he knew he could go without fearing to get rejected…
In Boston it was already far past midnight. The streets were empty. Most people in bed. A few people were still out, but the few that were out were on the way home. Jon flew over his old school and thought about his friends again and about the football-team he would play in now, or his teachers or the cafeteria-lady they always expected her wig falling off her head one day…
Jon just flew on and landed in front of his house. Or at least the house he used to live in. Without really thinking he pushed the door open, breaking it and entering. If the time would be running, the alarm would start to ring, waking up the entire house and the neighbors. But it was silent. And he was shocked how much had changed…
Nothing was like it was before. Different walls, floors and furniture. Different people… everything was different! Desperately Jon looked for a clue that he was once living in this house with his parents. But everything was gone…
Jon walked up the stairs and went to his old room. As soon as he opened the door, he gasped in shock…
His room, once painted in dark-blue and full of posters of Superman, Beast Boy and football stars, has turned into a pink princess castle full of Barbie-dolls, horses, unicorns and Disney-princesses. A little girl of six or seven years was sleeping in there. Jon looked around in his old room and start to cry again. This was not his room anymore! This was not his house anymore!
He investigated the other rooms. The guest-room was the room of a ten or eleven years old boy now. The boy was sleeping in Beast-Boy-bedwear. At least that was remembering him the old house. He had Beast-Boy-bedwear, too. He had always been a fan of the shapeshifter, too. His father even once met him. Wondering how it feels to transform into animals. Maybe the same Plastic Man feels when he stretches and reshapes? But who knows?
Jon went to the next room: A teenage-girl's room. A big poster of his 'brother' Jordan, wearing his Superboy-suit was hanging over her bed. A lot of thoughts went through his head while looking on the boy, who was supposedly responsible for destroying his life. A part of him told him to be proud on him for being a hero. Another part of him told him to yell the crap out of him, take his suit and burn it, or throw it into a chopper like his doppelgangers did.
Jon left the room again and start to run. He just ran again. Out of the house, out of the neighborhood and to the cemetery, where he knew his parents had bought a place, a year before they died…
Jon burst out in tears again when he found the place. It was very … when his parents showed him that place once and told him that one day in the future, they will rest in peace here…
It was a big tombstone, with all their names engraved on it. His mother's, his father's… and his own…
'JONATHAN LUCAS REYNOLDS 2006-2018'
He knew that was not him. That were not his remains, buried here next to his parents. It was a foreigner! A foreign child. Jon fell on his knees and start to sob again. Crying waterfalls…
"MOM, DAD… PLEASE FORGIVE ME! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!" Jon cried. "It's my fault that they cached me! It's my fault that you got killed! It's my fault that they refurbished our house… Aww… my whole life I asked myself where I come from. Where I belong… but the whole time… I was right where I belong! I was always where I belong! With you! Only with you…"
Jon was in total despair. Crying over his dead adoptive parents, that he didn't notice someone landing right behind him…
"Jon…"
Hearing the voice of his 'supposed father' let Jon turn so angry that he wanted to laser him directly. For ruining his life, for neglecting him, for hurting him… and mostly for disturbing him while visiting his real parents…
Jon turned around. His eyes glowing in bright red, ready to laser him directly into his face. But it was not his father… it was also not his doppelganger who kidnapped him. And not the other Clark he saw in the fortress…
This Clark was younger. He didn't have a five-o'clock-shadow in his face and a whole different suit. The belt was thicker, the neckline more open and the cape was fixed under two shoulder-pads. The boots were higher and thicker, too. And the crest on his chest was bigger and brighter.
"I want to talk!" Earth-Prime-Clark said with a calm voice…