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Clark sat on the rail of a fence with his head bowed and the corners of his mouth turned down. The gaze of his blue eyes was lowered as if to avoid the glare unavoidable on a cloudless day.
His pa knew "that" wasn't true. Clark never avoided sunlight. The brightest, hottest, driest summer days didn't faze his boy. So, despite it being noon in August, Kent knew his son wasn't bothered by the weather.
So, the farmer strolled up to lean on the fence his son sat on and turned his head to study Clark's bowed one. Then Mr. Kent picked a blade of long grass and stuck it between his teeth. His straight A son, often reading ahead in class, could chatter on about things that hadn't stuck with him from his school days. Sometimes, this made giving Clark the answers he sought hard if not downright impossible. However, Johnathan had found having something real to chew on, at such moments, gave him time to puzzle out something to say. After he'd screwed up his own courage and brains to the point of diving in, Johnathan tried to start the talk on a simple note. "What's on your mind son?"
Clark sighed, closed his eyes, and shook his head. "I just read a chapter in my biology textbook for this fall semester on genetics and hybrids. A horse and a donkey can make a mule, but the mule can't breed with anything. So, even if 'I' can have a kid, I probably shouldn't. They wouldn't be able to have kids of their own. And that's just not fair. So, our family name will either die with me or my kids Pa. All that Smallville and family history with the Kents you tell me about, I can't pass it on to anyone"
Jonathan nearly sucked the grass blade down his throat. So, he plucked it out and threw it away. Then he cleared his throat before asking. "Why do you think all those facts about mules are apply to 'you' and your future kids son?"
Clark turned a scowl on him. Jonathan raised his eyebrows. He thought about telling his son to be more respectful, but Clark's spoke before he could. "I'm an alien! Even if I don't ''look' that different, I am! My metabolism, endurance, and reaction to sunlight are all extremely different from a human's! I've tested myself! Why should I assume I'm similar enough to ... to ..." Clark looked away and bowed his head. His mouth closed a moment. When he opened it again, his voice came out broken and soft. "The Kent family is gonna end with me, because, somehow, I'm an alien ..."
Johnathan let out a deep sigh. He let the silence drag on a moment missing that blade of grass. Then a thought occurred to him. He shifted slightly trying not to smile and keep his tone serious. "Well, son, before you came along, I thought the Kent line would end with me ..."
Clark's head jerked up. His gaze darted to and then fixed upon his father. "I … I'm sorry … Pa … I … I … didn't think about that. I was just feeling sorry for myself! I'm sorry ..."
"Naw, naw! I shoulda thought of this myself and maybe talked to ya about it sooner. To tell the truth, there's been so much to think about and too little to really know about, when it comes to ya being both an alien 'and' a Kent. But I tried to come to terms myself with not being able to pass on the Kent name in the usual way years before you dropped into our lives. Your ma actually told me she was sorry and … if I wanted to try again with someone else, she'd understand."
Clark was already scowling at him again, when Johnathan glanced his way after repeating Martha's offer. The old farmer chuckled and grinned back. "I had about the same reaction to her suggestion then. I knew I'd never turn her out of our home, or my life, knowing she loved me maybe even more than I loved her, and couldn't help what we'd learned from the doctor. Later, though ... I had an even bigger thought on the matter."
Clark's eyes widened. "What was that Pa?"
Johnathan nodded as he continued. "I realized I could pass on the what the Kents stood for: loyalty, hard work, and building your dream that way rather than by cutting corners … or pass on our blood alone by doing what your ma suggested ... So, even if I'd thought one second before of sending her away, I found another reason not to. All my ancestors would have been rightly ashamed of me."
Johnathan reached up and slapped Clark on the back. His son barely felt it, but nonetheless straightened before his pa went on. "And now we 'do' have another Kent here just through a rather unusual set of circumstances! You may be an alien. You may never sweat. But I see ya get your chores done, help your neighbors and mind your teachers, the pastor, and your ma and me. You live out Kent values. So, I've successfully passed on the Kent way to my very own boy. And I think, someday, you'll do the same."
Clark's eyes filled with tears, "But how Pa?"
Johnathan Kent shrugged. "Maybe you'll adopt like your ma and I."
"But, should I even get married knowing I'd be the reason my wife wouldn't ... you know ... have a baby herself?"
"You should definitely talk to her about it all before marrying her son. I wouldn't advise you keeping secrets like being an alien from your wife! Things like that need to be shared with the person you share a life with. But, you know, having a baby the usual way is pretty hard on women. Maybe the one you choose might be grateful to avoid that unlike you ma."
Clark's face grew long again. "So, Ma really wanted a baby ..."
Johnathan nodded with a sad smile, "She did." Then his grin returned as he reached up and gripped Clark's shoulder. "And she got one, just one from somewhere else between three and six months old by finding him in the back of our pickup truck. And someday, I hope you'll have a boy or girl of your own, who makes you just as proud as that boy made us."
Clark grinned and his eyes shone with the sun's rays. "Thanks Pa."
Decades later in nearly the same place.
"PA!"
Clark looked away from where he was setting a new board against a fence. He'd just pulled out the old rotting one having finally founding the time to do it. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Johnathan zip to a stop at his heels. Then his son fell back into the dust so it puffed out around him like the line of it he'd left behind doing a super-sprint. "I'm still not as fast as you!"
Clark chuckled down at the eleven-year-old lying in the dirt. "Do you need to be?"
Jonathan's scowled deeper. "Of course! What if it's because I'm half human? I may never be as fast as you!"
Clark's smile fell away. "Johnathan, there's nothing wrong with being like your ma …"
Lois often acted like she had superpowers charging into monsters' dens to steal their secrets and proclaim them to the world. If Jonathan ever followed in her footsteps, Clark was glad he had at least some of his invulnerability. Right now though, their son was not acting like Lois. In fact, he was scowling and pouting in a way he knew she would not put up with. He tended to be more patient during their son's "adolescent whine sessions" as Lois put it. He almost laughed remembering what else she'd said. "He'll grow out of it, eventually. But man, I can now see how insufferable my sister and I must have been at that age!"
Clark began nailing the new board to the fence post in front of him as he continued. "Really, your mom is one of the smartest, toughest people I know."
"I don't mean it's bad to be like mom! It's just … you know, what if I turn out not to be as good as you?!"
Clark paused before hammering in the next nail. Not as good as me? With all the statues, news stories, and adulation, he understood what Jon meant. He didn't like it, though.
Long before becoming Superman, he'd been afraid of, and somewhat rightly, that power-hungry people would try to capture or stop him after learning about his powers. He hadn't expected others to worship him. He tried not to show everything on his mind, when "Superfans" approached him. Long ago, he'd realized from listening to them they were not really fans of him, but of who they imagined him to be. They didn't "know" Clark Kent the farmer with a fence to fix and a son afraid of not being as good as him. He had chosen not to share that side of himself with many. The last thing he wanted the power-hungry to learn was he had a son with Superpowers too and where that son, his mother, and Superman-in-disguise lived. The least he could do was protect Jonathan and Lois from that.
Lois teased he married her to keep himself humble. She had been the hardest person on him in the media, when he first started flying around Metropolis. "Earning" Lois' trust and love had been more than worth it in his mind. She claimed to not know him sometimes, usually in the middle of fights, but she did. She'd gotten to know first Clark and then Superman slowly over years, and then he'd told her they were two sides of the same person. After the anger at finding herself fooled for so long died down, she'd admitted she liked both sides the more for learning they shared a coin.
While they were dating, Lois had said she didn't want kids, in any way. That had almost deterred him from continuing his pursuit of her. After his "death" and then "resurrection" as many called it (he hated hearing it referred to as such) she'd admitted she'd wanted a part of him still with her during his time away. She had been sorry they'd waited. He'd then reminded her he didn't know if he could ever give her that.
Years before conceiving Johnathan, Lois and he had mostly given up on adopting. He'd realized he couldn't make it to even a third of the meetings it took to convince the state you'd made a good parent. In those days, he'd come himself to think being a good pa and a good Superman might be impossible. Being a good Superman and husband was hard. Lois, intent on being a good reporter, had had similar issues with both making the meetings and making herself believe she was mother material.
Clark wondered again at how Bruce, who was perfectly capable of reproducing as Damion proved, had adopted so many children over the years … all while unmarried. But, Bruce had a knack for showing up at meetings on time or even early. Some in the League said that was his real superpower.
Clark marveled again at how he, had not obtained the dream he'd once thought possible for him, of adopting a child like his ma and pa had, but had instead conceived Johnathan with Lois. Their son was a miracle as much as him falling from the sky and into his parents' pickup had been. And now, his miracle was worried about not being "alien" enough.
"I used to worry about not being human at your age."
Johnathan blew a raspberry behind him. "Yeah right! Who wants to be the strongest kid on earth after all?"
"I didn't then. But I got used to the idea. Really, Johnny, I was afraid of my powers being noticed at your age, because of what your uncle J'on said to me. I didn't measure my speed or other abilities like you at eleven years old …"
"And three quarters."
"I started that when I was twelve. So, we can't know for sure yet that you won't be as fast as me someday. Maybe you'll be even faster."
Clark could 'feel' the scowl aimed at his back even though he wasn't looking in its direction. He did hear the words spoken from there loud and clear. "How can I, when I'm half-human?"
"Strange things happen." Clark smiled. At first, he and Lois had thought their son wouldn't have any powers. In fact, he kinda missed those days. He'd noticed among his co-workers the mischief super-powered kids could get into, even just super-well-trained ones. There was one reason he hadn't given Johnathan such training ... yet. He supposed now he had to. He was glad his son had some of his invulnerability if Damion and he were going to spend time together. The sword-wielder with a superiority complex (or perhaps disguised inferiority complex) might easily hurt Jonathan otherwise if they got into a fight or just played too roughly. Not that he wanted to stop them from hanging out. Bruce had said he'd noticed a marked difference in his youngest since he started spending time with Jonathan.
Clark's super-powered son sighed behind him. "What if I'm 'never' as fast or strong as you? What if I never fly? Then when I do more superhero stuff everybody will talk about how I'm just a off-brand half-Kryptonian!"
Clark turned and gave his son a look that made Johnathan freeze. Looking into his son's wide eyes made Superman want to lighten his stare, but he didn't. "Don't 'ever' say something like that in front of your Uncle Conner."
Johnathan's head bowed, shoulders hunched, and gaze lowered. "I didn't mean 'him' Pa!" Johnathan's back straightened. His head came back up. His eyes looked straight into his as he held up his forefinger and thumb so they nearly pinched each other. "He's only got a 'little' human DNA! I've got a "lot! Fifty percent!"
Clark let his shoulders fall and gaze soften slightly. "Then you do think Conner is as much a hero, Kryptonian, and Kent as me despite that little bit of human DNA?"
"No one is as great a hero as you!"
Clark grinned. "I disagree. Your uncles Conner, Bruce, and J'on are just as great heroes. With or without the Kryptonian DNA you and I have, folks can be heroes. Has anyone in the league or in general told you different?"
Johnathan's face screwed up in thought. "Not really. I think Nightwing cut Arsenal off from saying something, when I talked about becoming like you while we were hanging out at the manor. Damion gave Arsenal a bat-glare then too. But Damion does say even though Mom is "impressive in her boldness, her blood probably isn't going to help me in battle."
Clark bit his lip so as to not laugh. He imagined Bruce's youngest stating this with narrowed eyes and probably crossed arms and a raised chin looking ridiculously like Bruce himself. Maybe he'd even been trying unsuccessfully to soften his speech with one of the few people he made an effort for. Sometimes, when the youngest Wayne attempted to speak kindly it came off worse than when he didn't. "Damion is entirely human, but I think he's less afraid in battle than Conner, Kara, or I. Great powers don't make you a great hero John. Doing the most with whatever power you have to help others whatever the danger to yourself or pain you experience doing so does. Your Uncle Conner has saved our cousin Kara and I by grabbing Kryptonite and throwing it away even though it really hurts him to. Kara and I can't even do that much."
Johnathan raised wide eyes to his father. "Really?"
"Really. So, let's not feel sorry for Conner, or you, just because you both have less Kryptonian DNA than Cousin Kara and me. You are both still heroes. Besides, it would make your mother, Damion, and Bruce angry if they heard us saying Kryptonian DNA is better than a human's right?"
"Yeah, and Damion and mom are both pretty scary when they get mad."
"Like I said." Turning back to his chore, Clark asked "Speaking of him being angry, how are Damion and his siblings getting along these days?"
"He says I'm lucky to be an only child. And even when he and the other Shadows shared small spaces, they were mostly remained silent and honored him. Now, he can't get away from noise and disrespect."
Clark didn't successfully smother his laughter this time. He let out a brief snort and his shoulders shook twice before he stopped himself and looked back to see if his son was insulted on behalf of his friend. Johnathan was smiling too. Clark grinned in back. "What did you say to that?"
Jonathan's smile fell away. He shrugged. "I said I always kinda wanted siblings. Then he said 'you would.'"
Clark's grin fell away. "I'm sorry, Son. You were a miracle in and of yourself. Your mom and I tried for years both before and after your came ..."
Jonathan shrugged again before reaching out to hold the board his father also held in place. Clark removed his own hand, stepped around his son, and began hammering its other end to another post while listening to the eleven-year-old's reply. "I know. I guess Damion is kinda like having a brother. He also said I can share his family."
Clark grinned as he finished hammering. "Now you know our secrets and are more connected with the league, you probably will. The league tends to be like a big family."
"Will the other heroes always want me around, though, especially if I turn out not to be as powerful as you?"
"They'll respect you for being the hero that you'll become John. You've just started out. There's a lot of possibilities."
"I'm not that great right now ..."
Clark's smile fell away as he turned and put the hammer down. He waited till Johnathan turned his gaze up to meet his. Then he told his son, "None of us start out as good as we become John."
Johnathan tilted his head at him. "Did your pa say that to you?"
Clark smiled. "Yes, he did! And he was right."
"What was he like? I'm named for him right?"
Clark almost felt his heart stop. He bit his bottom lip.
He still missed his pa. He wished he had him here at times like these to help him raise the younger Johnathan. Not that this Johnathan was exactly like himself or his human father, whom he'd named him after. His half-human son had a harder time with his studies than he had had at his age. Folks who had known his father during his elementary school days said young Johnathan was doing better than Johnathan senior had then. The old Jonathan Kent, said the elders of Smallville, had worked harder at his studies than young Johathan did now, but had struggled more getting Cs with the occasional Bs and Ds.
He and Lois pushed their son to be a diligent student. Young Johnathan got Bs and the occasional C, when he applied himself. He very occasionally got a D, especially when they didn't pay close enough attention to his study habits.
Upon receiving his first F, their young Jonathan had tried to run away from home. Back then, he'd not known his father had x-ray and telescopic vision not to mention superspeed, flight, and a great deal of fear for his then very normal and only son. Lois had actually been angrier once he'd brought their boy home, than he had been, both for the F and disappearing. He'd had to remind her she'd tried to run away with her little sister at about the same age. Lois had then muttered "that was different," but had gone quiet. He'd taken Johnathan upstairs and put him to bed.
In the following week, Clark had learned from the oldest citizens of Smallville his pa had tried to run away too after letting his family's cows get into, eat, and trample a neighbor's cornfield. Though he'd chased the animals back to where they belonged, locked the gate behind them, and packed his extra clothes, some sandwiches, and cookies before walking down the road a few miles. Thankfully, then "his" pa, had caught up, talked to, and taken him home.
Grasping onto this story, Clark nodded. "He was somewhat like you. He worried about me and cared for his friends, he worried sometimes because he didn't have superpowers like me, and he didn't know then that I would grow up to be a superhero with a whole league of others to help me, but he taught me right from wrong and … and he was a good pa, husband, and neighbor … He ... taught me a lot."
"Like you do with me?" Jonathan smiled. The sun reflected in his wide sky blue eyes so like those Clark knew he was seeing them with himself.
The full-blooded Kryptonian beamed a warm smile down on his half-human son. "I hope so."
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God bless
ScribeofHeroes
