When Clark opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the big hole in the roof of the fortress. He was laying on his back and his cape was laying under his head like a pillow. The debris all around him was moved aside and it was obvious that someone started to tidy up while he was sleeping.
Clark shrieked up and looked around. He was shocked about the damages.
"Kal-El, you are awake!" Lara said when she appeared next to him.
"Mother, what happened?" Clark asked confused.
"The Jonathan and the Jordan from the future had a, how Jonathan called it, a disagreement! The damage is not as worse at it looks like! Jonathan is helping me getting an overview." Lara told.
"Jonathan! Where is he?" Clark asked upset and looked around.
Jonathan was sitting quietly at the other end of the room on the ground, holding the folder with the documents in his hands. Not looking on his father while some documents were spread out in front of him. Obviously, he collected and sorted them to get an overview over them. Clark rushed over to him to see if he was okay. Jonathan had visible bruises on his arms but seemed not severely injured.
"Jonathan… are you okay?"
"Hmm…" was everything Jonathan said. He didn't even turn around to face his father. And his voice sound dismissive.
"Are you hurt?" Clark asked and suddenly saw the bruises. "Gosh you are hurt!"
"I am fine!" Jonathan said and focused on the documents again.
"What is this?"
"Tell me!" Jonathan moaned and held one of the papers directly into Clark's face.
Clark became pale when he read the document. Because it just proved something, Clark was always afraid of. Jonathan continued by presenting him the rest of the documents and some other files. Jonathan was able to sort it and to analyze them…
"Jonathan… Jonathan, believe me I had no clue…" Clark defended himself.
"Kal…" Lara interfered now. "…would you please come with me. There is something I want to talk to you about…"
Lara used the fortress' technology to pull Clark away from Jonathan to talk to him in private.
"Kal… I can't tell you how disappointed I am in you! And in Jordan! And in Lois!" Lara said audible upset. "On Krypton, nobody had powers! We were a respectful and peaceful race! And instead of proving your son that Krypton has good sides and that he can be proud on his heritage, you denied him knowledge about his own family-history, you denied him to meet me and your grandfather and your sons have both a totally wrong picture of Krypton!"
Clark lowered his head in shame.
"Everything what happened today is only because of your mistakes! This is why I hope that Jordan's powerlessness is as long as possible. To show you that there is more. I also insist on seeing Jonathan from now on regularly and I strictly prohibit you forcing him to stay in this terrible place you live now! And also…"
The following minutes were not hard to bear for him while Lara continued to rant on him for all his mistakes and all the things that make him a bad father…
A few hours later, it was already far past midnight, Lois and Clark were sitting in their dining room, trying to get an overview of the overwhelming events of today…
Jonathan was still at the fortress. Lara insisted on him staying to help her repairing the damages and also learning more about Krypton in the process. To get those biased thoughts he has about Krypton out of him. And for Lara to get to know him better.
Lois had some pretty rough hours after her, after spending hours in her office at the phone to come up with a fake story about the earlier call. Sarah helped her because she felt bad for the chaos she inadvertently created. Now she was home and crying the whole time. For now, they were safe. The DOD found nothing else in Sam's office or on his computer. Just the stuff that would everyone expect due to their relation.
Clark was with her. Trying to help Lois to get an overview. They had a lot to handle. Jordan was in his room, brooding about everything that happened…
"According to Jonathan, his future self and the future Jordan died and vanished." Clark told her.
"Oh my god… how is Jonathan?"
"Mad, of course! As well as my mother." Clark said, rubbing the pinch of his nose while looking on the documents on the table. He could only shake his head. He told her what his mother said to him earlier and Lois cried after hearing it. "This is all my fault…"
"Yes, Clark! But it's my fault, too! I could had been more wary of it, too! I should have been seeing how much Jonathan was struggling. And I should have seen that we actually alienated him from the family. My father was always living in his own world. I thought with the boys he is different. But he just did with them what he did with me and Lucy in the past. And that led Jonathan to struggle just like Lucy did. With the only difference, that he had plans how to handle the boys."
"I don't like his plan!" Clark moaned and looked on a certain document again.
There was no doubt: Sam wanted to recruit Jordan and Natalie for a special-team. And he really spent so much time with Jonathan in the past, only to keep him on good terms in the case his powers show up. Clark's wish to have the boys a normal life was effortless. All the bonding was not only to get closer to Jordan and Natalie, but it was also to start his team. A team, Jonathan didn't fit in, because he has no powers and had no fight-suit. And after Jonathan's X-K abuse, Sam looked for a way to get Jonathan away. Boarding-school, military-academy, boot-camp… just away from the farm because he would be a distraction for Clark being Superman and for the training of Jordan… He only stopped that plan because he knew that Jordan would have turned against him and because of Jonathan's new job at the firehouse that kept him busy and distracted. Away from the family…
Clark felt that urge to get Sam into the living-room so he and Lois could yell the crap out of him and banish him out of the boy's live for eternity. For destroying Jonathan's self-confidence, for creating a rift between them and for lying to them. They knew, if Martha would be with them, she would have seen Sam's true intention much earlier and would had banished him from the farm and prohibited him to ever see the boys again. As much as she would have disowned Clark after the barn-scene and prohibited Jordan to ever fly again…
"He… he told Jonathan to be wary of you and Jordan. He excluded Jonathan from everything. He even told him to don't bother you with his problems when we moved here, so you can focus on being Superman… Gosh, Clark… why we didn't see it?" Lois cried.
"Because I was dumb, Lois!" Clark confessed. "I decided to move us out here to be closer with the boys. And I didn't keep my promise. I was focusing on Jordan and his powers, that I totally ignored Jonathan's feelings… Lois, we live here so long now. And I feel as if I am even less connected with Jonathan than before… no surprise he believes that I prefer his brother because of his powers."
"I think we have now an explanation for his X-K abuse!" Lois moaned and looked down at her notes and the documents again. "But… all he told us today… There are even more open questions now…"
Lois looked down at her notes she made about everything the boys told during the fight and everything Clark told her what happened after: A lab, public exposure, the DOD, a book he is going to publish, signs of experiments and abuse…
"All these bad things… how do they fit in today?" Lois asked before she looked on the other notes again. "There must be something we have missed… Clark if you could travel back in time and could choose every date you want to prevent something terrible in the future… which date would that?"
"You mean like today?" Clark asked.
"I mean in general! Jonathan chooses this exact date! Today! For a reason?"
"His broken arm?" Clark said and looked on the documents again.
"Clark… What if his broken arm was just a trigger…" Lois suddenly realized something. "Just think about it… The seminar…"
"I know that face!" Clark said and recognized Lois' 'I've got it-face' immediately.
"Yes, that's it… I think I got it…" Lois said and start to sort and rearrange some of the documents. "How many people were at the seminar?"
"I don't know. Maybe 100?" Clark said. "Why?"
"A seminar full of firefighters, some of them are filming what they are doing on the seminar. Jordan is here, hears the supposed danger at the seminar and thinks Jonathan is in danger. So, he flies over and saves him. But instead, he humiliates Jonathan in front of so many people and breaks his arm… the broken arm… so many witnesses, don't you think one of them made a video of it and published it?"
"A video of the 'Smallville Samaritan' breaking the arm of a civilian would go viral quickly!" Clark realized. "And the people would start to ask questions. As Jonathan is from Smallville and the Smallville Samaritan hurt the son of Lois Lane… people could had begun to see a connection…"
"And considering that Lex Luthor, the DOD, and basically the whole world is now looking for the Smallville Samaritan, could led them assume that he has a connection with our family. And Jonathan could also be pulled into the focus?" Lois concluded.
"Yes… A broken arm… Jonathan would be forced to give up his job… so the broken arm, could also be the beginning of a chain-reaction… A chain-reaction that led to more trouble for him! The previous time it led him to take X-K! And the time before he brought himself into danger! He chooses this day, to prevent our family from being pulled into the mess, too… Aww… Lois, I failed as a father. I thought I am doing everything right since we moved here. But instead, I pushed away my son who believes now I don't love him. My other son is acting superior and aloof. My father-in-law turns out to be a liar. And ever since we moved here, we slipped from one crisis into the next! I think we should use the next few weeks to figure out how to help the boys."
"Oh, yes… both boys!" Lois insisted. "Clark… the barn-scene… was it necessary to remember Jonathan that day that he is powerless?"
"No! And believe me, if I could travel back in time, it would be the day, I go back to prevent my past self from leaving with Jordan!"
"Really? That day? What about travelling back to a date when the boys were younger and telling them earlier that you are Superman? Before Jordan's powers kicked in? Before that chaos your brother, Ally and…" Lois ranted.
"Lois, I know! I am sorry! I… You are right! After everything we heard today, I think I would travel back to the time, the boys are… 11… or 12…?"
"Let's say 12!" Lois answered.
"Okay… 12! So, let's travel back to that day, take the boys on a trip to the farm and tell them here!" Clark said. "Not after they found the spaceship! Not because we are forced to! But because we want to!"
"And take both boys to the fortress! Introduce both boys to your father! Let them both get scanned! Jonathan will not allow you to teach him how to handle his powers as soon as they kick in! That opportunity you ruined!" Lois said with crossed arms.
"That is not the only thing I ruined!" Clark wailed. Thinking about how much fun he and Jordan had together and that he could have had it with Jonathan, too if he hadn't been so focused on Jordan. That Jonathan rather handles all this alone than trusting his own father mad Clark sad. "Do you think he will at least allow me to support him when he sues 'whoever' in Smallville?"
"Oh, believe me… Now that I know that he will leave me, if you support the people of Smallville in the trial, I will divorce you, if you dare to!"
"Your inverse doppelganger divorced mine after their own barn-scene, so I think I would get what I deserve. And not only after Jonathan publishes his book about our family!" Clark said abashed.
"That brings me to another question: Why the future Jordan wanted our family to get exposed? I mean… It obviously happens… or happened… or would have happened… you know what I mean!" Lois said confused. "These documents would had proved the DOD everything they need to get you!"
"Because… He turned into a celebrity after our exposure?" Clark said and shrugged. "And Jonathan…"
"Into a laughingstock!" Lois wailed. "And with everyone knowing…"
"Things for us get out of control!" Clark continued.
"The DOD gets in control of you and Jordan!"
"And Jonathan would end up in their lab to figure out why he has no powers, while Jordan does!"
"I would have thought that this is what Luthor wants!"
"But the future is in our hands now, Lois! Our top priority is to safe our secret! Get Luthor back in prison…"
"And safe this family!" Lois insisted.
"Yes… and safe this family!" Clark agreed and took her hand.
"And now that we have a couple of weeks where you don't train Jordan and can't fly away with him, we have a lot of time to do so…" Lois said.
"Yes… I and Jordan are banished from the fortress anyway… for a very long time…."
Clark became red. But smiled innocently.
Both were unaware, that Jordan was sitting on the top of the stairs and listened to them…
Even without his superhearing Jordan could hear them clearly through the open doors. And everything he heard made him pensive. Ever since his powers showed up, he and his father had this close relationship. Sure, they had their ups and downs. Especially in the last time. But now it felt so wrong! It felt as if he destroyed his brother in the same process…
His brother's struggles, his X-K abuse, his broken arms… and the events today… Jonathan had really nothing good from Krypton. He only got pushed aside and proved every and ever again that he has nothing to say and nothing to do without powers. Jordan knew that if his brother would be the one with the powers, that he would be so extremely jealous, that he would have voluntarily merged with his inverse, would take X-K and would yell on his parents every day… Why should he think that Jonathan was different?
Jordan looked down on his hands and thought about all the things he can't do anymore. He can't fly anymore! He isn't strong anymore! He is Jonathan now! He is his brother now! Even if it is temporarily! Maybe this is exactly what he needs, now! Sarah told him so, his parents told him so and Lara told him, so… after hearing what his future self did to them, Jordan was convinced, that he does not want to become like this…