Chapter 1
Clark looked up anxiously at the red neon sign above Victoria May's, pausing for a moment to gather some strength. He squeezed his wife's hand softly as she turned to face him, resting her other hand reassuringly on his arm. Looking back down into her eyes, he couldn't help but smile at her knowing expression
It said 'You're Superman… You can handle Taco Tuesday.'
His son's seemed just as apprehensive. Jordan was staring intently at the diner doors, like he was trying to see if his X-ray vision had come in yet so he could seek a peek at who was inside. Jonathan just kept checking over his shoulder, as though expecting to be attacked.
Clark felt a twinge of guilt, but he tried to remind himself why this outing was so important.
They'd spent their whole lives trying to juggle world-ending disasters with spending time together as a family, but lately, it felt like all of that was falling apart. So much had happened in such a short space of time, and things that they knew should have warranted a lot more attention were falling by the wayside.
Clark could honestly say, these last few months, he'd felt like a complete and utter failure.
His mom wanted them to move to Smallville so that he could spend more time with the boys. She knew how important it was that he really be there for them, a solid source of support and guidance. Like his father was for him.
He wanted that so badly - to make up for all the missed time and show them he could be different - but it seemed like every time he turned around, some new threat appeared and he had to focus on being Superman instead.
Not that he was doing such a good job on that front either. Over and over again this year, it had been up to someone else to save the day, or even to sacrifice their lives, because Superman simply hadn't been strong enough.
The truth was, he had never felt so lost.
Tonight may not be the perfect time to try and take a break from all of the bizarro world craziness, but one thing was becoming crystal clear - if they waited until there was no danger on the horizon before they did anything together as a family, it might never happen.
Of course, they had another problem to address. Between Jonathan getting caught with X-K, Lois' integrity being called into question after Lucy's podcast interview, and then Clark supposedly leaving town for a month on a mysterious journalism assignment - their lives were starting to become hot Smallville gossip. Rumours of what the Kents were hiding were spreading like wildfire and Clark's stomach tied in knots when he overheard casually whispered suggestions
They needed to do some damage control, and this was the best opportunity they'd had in months to show up to something together as a family and walk in with their heads held high.
'Do we really have to do this?' Jonathan asked, shifting uncomfortably and clearly wishing he was anywhere else.
Clark felt another twinge of guilt at his son's pleading expression.
He knew this had been harder on him than anyone, and he hadn't exactly been there to help him through it. He'd been missing for over a month while Jonathan contended with being the town pariah. Lois had done her best to support and reassure him, but it hadn't helped that he'd been left feeling like his dad hated him the whole time.
After seeing what happened to their family on the other world, Clark was more terrified than ever of losing his son, but he was still so confused and angry at Jonathan for doing something he'd never dreamed either of his sons would do. He'd risked his life taking X-K and Clark's fear of what that meant was making him act out in ways he wasn't proud of. Even though he'd come home with every intention of resolving their fight and making sure Jonathan knew how much he loved him, he'd still lost his temper all over again when he found out about Candice. How could he not? His son needed to know that lying to them was unacceptable, no matter how noble he thought he was being. He couldn't just let these things slide, could he?
Being a parent so often felt like stumbling around in the dark, but right now he would give anything for a torch and some clear directions.
'Yes, we really do,' Lois said softly but firmly, looking to both boys for their understanding.
Jonathan sighed and Jordan nodded reluctantly, hesitating for one last lingering moment before pushing open the diner doors.
The mouth-watering smell of fresh Tacos hit them immediately and they almost forgot what they were worried about.
Almost.
Sharon Powell took another swig of whiskey from her flask and tried to calm her nerves. She'd been waiting for this day for so long, she could hardly believe it was finally happening.
In fact, for the past few months, this was basically all that she'd been living for. She'd just about given up completely when Johnny found her in that bar, consumed by grief and hatred, drinking herself into oblivion every night. He'd listened to her when no one else gave a damn anymore, shared her anger and her pain. He'd given her a reason to fight, a way of taking back some power after feeling so utterly powerless. Now, the day they'd been preparing for was finally here – they were going to get real justice for her son.
'You okay sweetheart?' Johnny asked, checking the straps on the device strapped to her chest.
She nodded back at him; a look of steely determination fixed upon her face.
'Oh, I'm ready,' she told him eagerly, and he responded with a devilish grin.
'No going back now,' he said, reaching his hand into her hair and cupping the back of her neck.
'There's been no going back since I met you, Johnny,' she breathed at him, and they looked at each other hungrily.
The sound of a machine gun being cocked right next to them pulled them away from their desire and they looked up at their disapproving partner.
'Can you two keep things professional, please? This isn't a Bonny & Clyde movie,' he scolded them, and they both rolled their eyes.
'Kurt, I'm no amateur. I know what I'm doing,' Johnny replied defensively, turning his attention back to the bomb.
The tall man was uncomfortably hunched over in the back of the blacked-out van, meticulously inspecting several automatic weapons.
'You'd better hope so,' Kurt said, his tone deadly serious. 'If the boss finds out we messed this one up, we're all dead meat. Do you understand that?'
'How are we going to mess this up?' Johnny retorted confidently, gesturing at the vest. 'Even Superman's not going to see this coming.'
'Superman's not the priority here,' Kurt said flippantly. 'We get them to hand over the X-K and the other kryptonian – that's the mission. Our little surprise for Superman is just a contingency.'
Sharon noticed there was something about Kurt's tone and the way he kept his eyes trained on his gun when he spoke about Superman... but she decided to brush it off. Whatever the man was hiding, as long as it didn't get in the way of her own mission, she couldn't care less.
'I say let him come,' Sharon said, her voice brimming with vitriol. 'He's just as guilty as the rest of them.'
She'd had a lot of time to go over the events of last year in her mind, and it wasn't long before her resentment turned into blind rage and a thirst for revenge. Superman, Lois Lane, the General – they'd all known her son was dead, how he'd died, who was responsible… and they'd kept her in the dark, wondering if he was still coming home, begging for answers. She'd watched Superman's fluffy speech for the Smallville Gazette about how proud he was of Smallville, but she saw right through the charming smiles and cheesy platitudes – she knew the truth now. He and his people were dangerous. They were the reason her son was dead, and General Lane and his daughter were covering that up.
It was time for them to pay for what they'd done.
'Looking good babe,' Johnny said, looking satisfied with his handiwork as he stepped back from the bomb.
He held out his hand to help her to her feet before turning to grab his weapons. He tucked a pistol into his belt and lifted one of the machine guns Kurt had been checking over, holding it in front of him with both hands.
The older man opened the van's back doors and looked back at them expectantly.
'For Derek,' Sharon said with conviction, and they stepped out of the van and into the evening dusk.
Jonathan's heart twisted in his chest as soon as they entered the diner.
All eyes were on them within seconds, and animated conversations quickly turned into hushed whispers. He was sure some of what they were saying was about his parents, but he knew most of the hate filled glares were meant for him.
He looked back at his parents, who were obviously a bit taken aback by the blatant judgment coming from every table in sight, but his dad simply gritted his teeth and set his jaw in response. Jon knew that look, he'd seen it enough times lately. His dad wasn't backing down on this, no matter what happened.
He felt a bit guilty admitting it to himself, but it kinda felt good to have people questioning his dad's perfect reputation. It may not be what they thought it was, but after the way he'd been acting lately, it was a relief to have someone at least ASKING if he might be in the wrong sometimes. He hadn't exactly been dad of the year, and Jon was tired of being the only one calling him out.
'Hey, it's the mysterious Kent family,' Coach Gaines voice boomed towards them. 'When did you come out of hiding?'
He sat on a stool at the counter, a generous plateful of overstuffed tacos in front of him. He held one half-eaten in his hand, it's contents looking rather precarious as he turned towards them.
Jonathan looked up at his dad who put on an impressive wide smile and said, 'Not hiding, Coach, it's just been a busy few months. How have you been?'
'Oh, you know, coaching a football team that can't play any games for the rest of the season isn't quite how I pictured finishing out the year,' he said, looking over at Jonathan accusingly.
He bit his lip to hold back the retort on the edge of his tongue, not wanting to make things worse than they already were for himself.
'Yeah, it must have been really difficult finding out that so many of your boys were using that stuff,' his mom said, her voice sounding just empathetic enough to veil the pointed comment.
'Yeah, well… nothing's been the same since Edge opened those mines,' the Coach responded, a bit flustered and defensive. 'I mean, space drugs? It's not like there's a test for that.'
'How are the Tacos tonight?' his dad said quickly, trying to shift the conversation to something a bit more amicable.
'Smallville's finest Kent, you know that!' the Coach beamed, grateful for the change of topic. 'I remember when Vicky first started up these Taco Tuesdays. Didn't take long for word to spread. Now we've got people driving over from New Carthage just to get a taste.'
'This town's got a lot to offer, just doesn't get noticed as much as it should,' Clark said, showing his pride for the community that raised him. 'You remember the amazing wood sculptures Mr Grantham used to make with chainsaws?'
Jonathan looked over at Jordan as his dad began swapping Smallville stories with their old Coach. His brother rolled his eyes and nodded his head towards the counter suggestively. After a brief glance at their mom for approval, they headed over to the till where a waitress stood with her back to them.
'Hey, can we get two large cokes please?' Jordan asked, pulling out one of the stools.
He practically fell over when the waitress turned around, fumbling to keep the stool and himself upright.
'Omg, Nat?!' Jonathan asked, unable to contain the amused smile that broke out on his face.
She looked embarrassed at first, then quickly composed herself and gave them both a threatening look.
'Wha… what are you wearing?' Jordan asked, looking her outfit up and down.
All the waitresses in the diner wore a white button up dress with patches of red flannel. It wasn't exactly Nat's style and she looked seriously uncomfortable in it. Jonathan stifled a laugh when he saw the dumbfounded look on his brother's face and the death glare he was getting from Nat in response.
'Don't!' she warned both of them. 'Yes, I am wearing a ridiculous uniform. Yes, I am working in a small town diner and serving Tacos. No, I do not feel good about it. So please, don't make it worse.'
'But, why are you doing this?' Jonathan asked, suddenly curious why she'd be putting herself through this at all.
Natalie looked around cautiously before leaning in and saying, 'I needed money to buy some materials for my suit. I couldn't keep stealing from my dad, he was going to notice eventually. Besides he didn't have everything I needed.'
'Does your dad know about this?' Jordan asked.
'Not yet, but I guess he will soon,' she replied, glancing anxiously over to where their mom and dad stood awkwardly trying to break away from the conversation with Coach Gaines who was shovelling bites of Taco in as he spoke.
'Yeah sorry, it looks like your secret might be out,' Jonathan confirmed, rolling his eyes slightly. 'Our parents are all about honesty lately.'
'That's okay. I knew I couldn't live this double life forever,' she sighed with a hint of humor. 'Two cokes, right?'
Natalie handed them their drinks and they headed over to their usual booth about halfway down by the window. Their parents finally managed to break away from Coach Gaines and joined them, sliding into the other side of the booth.
'Well, that didn't go too badly,' his dad said, looking relieved to have been able to turn the conversation around.
'One down,' his mom replied, looking around the diner at the faces still curiously glancing their way. 'Just the rest of the town to go.'
'Is that Natalie?' his dad asked, and his mom turned in the direction he was looking.
'Yeah, she got a job here a little while ago,' Jordan confirmed, trying to sound like it was no big deal.
'That's weird, John never mentioned anything,' their dad said.
'Oh well, good for her!' his mom added, 'I think it's great she's going for a bit of independence.'
His dad smiled at his mom in the sappy way he often did, before picking up the menu and asking, 'So, you boys know what you're having?'
'Uh… Tacos,' Jonathan replied sarcastically before he could stop himself.
His dad gave him a mock look of hurt and said, 'You should know by now that Vicky May's has a full range of taco options! Hard shells, soft shells, three different kinds of meat. All the fillings you can imagine. You're spoiled for choice!'
It seemed like something about his exchange with Coach Gaines had put his dad in a better mood than he'd been in months. Or maybe it was just them being here in the diner on Taco Tuesday. Once again, he was just the corny, slightly awkward, and embarrassing version of their dad that they'd thought he always was... until they'd found out he was Superman. In some ways, Jonathan realized he missed just thinking of him like that.
'Anything but the beef & bean for me,' Jordan said, and Jonathan scoffed as he remembered the disastrous consequences of that first Taco Tuesday. He'd never been so glad their farmhouse had two bathrooms.
His mom bit her lip to hide a smile and his dad's face contorted into a look of revulsion as the memory hit him. Of course... he had super smell! Jon couldnt help but laugh uncontrollably. Jordan smacked his arm playfully and then shrugged, taking a sip of his coke and looking around like he was hoping for a fast change of subject.
He had been dreading this, but he had to admit, it was kind of nice doing something 'normal' again. Everything felt so hopeless lately, and he couldn't see how things were ever going to get better. As he continued to talk and laugh with his family in their usual booth, he felt a little bit of that weight lifting.
He saw his dad's head pick up at the sound of the little bell over the diner door, and his smile immediately dropped from his face. Jonathan twisted round to see who had just walked in and quickly realized why his dad's mood had shifted.
Standing in the doorway with an equally uncomfortable look of surprise on her face was Ms Cushing, with Sarah and Sophie at her side. Sophie bounded up to the counter and sat down on one of the stools, saying something to Natalie that made her smile. Sarah looked briefly in the direction her mum was looking, spotted Jordan, and immediately tugged on her mom's arm for her to follow Sophie to the bar.
Lana turned her attention away from them without even a nod of acknowledgment, and he could see the hurt and rejection all over his dad's face. Jordan slumped on the bench next to him, Sarah's appearance obviously sending him into an emotional spiral as well.
'She's just doing what she thinks is best for her family,' his mom said, placing her hand over his dad's reassuringly.
'I know,' he replied, his voice heavy with regret. 'I just wish what was best for her family didn't mean staying away from ours.'
'I think she's seriously overreacting,' Jonathan said, and he thought he saw a bit of gratitude in his dad's eyes.
'Maybe,' he acknowledged with a sigh, 'but for now, we just have to respect her wishes and keep our distance.'
'Can we just eat and get out of here,' Jordan asked sulkily, clearly wanting to be as far away from Sarah as possible.
'I know this is hard sweetie,' his mom empathised, 'But you are going to bump into each other sometimes, it's unavoidable.'
'I just don't get why Ms Cushing wouldn't just tell Sarah the truth,' he complained. 'She knows I could protect her.'
'It's not that simple bud,' his dad responded. 'Lana doesn't want Sarah to have to lie to her father or her sister. She doesn't want her to have to carry that burden. That's exactly why I didn't go around telling people when I was your age. This secret comes with a lot more consequences than you realise.'
The little bell over the door rang out again and this time it was his mom that seemed to tense up when she saw who stepped through the door.
'Is that Sharon Powell?' his dad asked, looking confused at his mom's tense expression.
'I hadn't had a chance to tell you about her yet,' she said anxiously. 'She's not been coping well with everything that went down last year. The loss of her son, not knowing what happened to him. She came into the gazette while you were away and kind of… threatened us,' she confessed.
'Lo-is,' his dad replied, clearly frustrated she hadn't shared that with him sooner. 'Why wouldn't you tell me that?'
'In case you haven't noticed, there's been a lot going on, Clark,' she said defensively. 'It just completely slipped my mind.'
The woman his dad called Sharon Powell was accompanied by two men who looked like complete opposites of each other. One was tall and well-groomed, with short hair and a fancy-looking suit. His face seemed blank and emotionless. The other had messy blonde hair and stubble, and his eyes were wild and excited like he was high on something. Both of them pulled something out from behind their backs, and Jonathan realised with shock that they were suddenly holding what looked like machine guns up in the air.
Whatever they wanted, it didn't look like they were just here for the Tacos.
'Alright folks, this is a hold-up!' the wild-looking man said.
Screams rang out throughout the diner and Jon saw Lana grabbing Sarah and Sophie and pulling them into a crouched position. Natalie immediately ducked behind the counter, and the rest of the diner shielded themselves protectively at their booths and tables. Coach Gaines was the only one who didn't move. He just sat there in shock, letting a half-eaten Taco drop slowly from his hand.
The screaming stopped quickly but was replaced by a fraught silence interrupted only by occasional whimpers.
Jonathan looked over at his parents expectantly. He could see the tight grip his mom had on his dad's hand like she was holding him back. His dad looked like it was taking all his effort not to super speed over there and rip the guns out of their hands.
'Now all you people gotta do is stay quiet, don't do anything stupid, and this 'ere Taco Tuesday ain't gotta end bloody, alright?' the stubbly man said, seeming to enjoy being in the spotlight. He gestured towards Mrs Powell and said, 'Now sweetheart, do you wanna take your jacket off and show the nice people what we mean?'
She looked around at the terrified faces and it looked like a flicker of doubt crossed her features, but she obliged, fumbling with her buttons.
Underneath her jacket, some kind of bomb was strapped to her chest with various boxes, wires and tubes attached. Gasps of shock and fear travelled through the room at the sight of the explosive device. Jonathan felt dread begin to set in, but for a different reason. Some of the tubes seemed to have a green liquid inside... and it was glowing.
Jonathan heard his dad grunt softly and saw faint traces of pain appear on his face. He watched him grit his teeth and squeeze his eyes tight for a brief moment before snapping them open and looking at Jordan protectively.
Jonathan looked over at his brother and realized that he had turned a deathly pale and seemed to be struggling to stay conscious. He did what he could to support his brother to stay upright and looked over to his mom, eyes wide with panic. He didn't know if his parents could see it, but he could feel Jordan shaking with pain beneath him.
Keeping as much of a poker face as she could manage and trying not to draw any attention to the action, his mom pushed the coat she'd slung next to her on the booth earlier under the table towards Jonathan's feet.
He looked up at her, confused by the gesture. She nodded her head towards his brother discreetly and he frowned slightly but quietly lifted the coat up and covered his brother with it, assuming that's what she meant.
To his surprise, his brother's body immediately stopped shaking. Jordan looked up at him, his face filled with confusion and fear. Jonathan realized gratefully that his mom's favorite coat wasn't just a fashion statement. It must be blocking the effects of the kryptonite somehow.
'Yes, that's right, this is a bomb,' the wild-haired man continued. 'Now, if everyone does exactly as they're told, then my beautiful lady here won't need to let go of that hair trigger under her finger, got it?'
Jonathan watched his dad carefully surveying every inch of the room, before tilting his head like he was using his super-hearing. His whole energy had changed, and Jonathan almost couldn't believe he was the same geeky small-town guy he'd been laughing with earlier.
'Let's be clear,' the man's stiff counterpart added menacingly, raising his gun and pointing it around the room for emphasis. 'If anyone even thinks about trying to play hero, it'll be the last Taco Tuesday any of you ever see.'
So much for a nice normal night out as a family, Jonathan thought, hoping his dad would somehow be able to get them out of this.